In my experience qualification with an officer’s off duty weapon often turns into a “hurry and let’s get it done” affair. Training time is short and precious and since you have already demonstrated proficiency with the duty weapon what difference does it really make?
The answer is, a lot. How similar is your off-duty weapon to your duty weapon? Are the make and type similar? How much weight and sight radius length are you giving up when try to achieve that perfect compromise in an off duty gun, concealment and firepower?
If you carry a full size Glock on duty and a compact or subcompact off duty there is a lot of similarities, which is good, but not every cop does. The subcompact .380 with a front sight that would be dwarfed by a grain of rice makes finding a sight picture and shooting at any distance problematic. Super small guns are nice to conceal but tough to learn to hit with quickly and accurately.
Does your off duty qualification also include you drawing your credentials and identifying yourself to anyone in the vicinity? I hope your duty qualification includes loud verbal commands identifying who you are, but what about the case of an off-duty encounter?
Ever considered how you will go about drawing your weapon and taking a suspect at gunpoint, drawing your state required form of identification AND getting on the cell phone to get back up on scene as quickly as possible?
You should be mentally and physically practicing the process of identification to insure that you don’t get misidentified by the first responding on duty officers. If you know someone has already called dispatch to get out the word, reach for your ID, position yourself to cover the suspect(s) and watch the area those responding officers will arrive from. Consider sending a friend or relative outside to tell the officers an off duty situation is in progress.
Get your badge in your off hand and up over your head moving the ID back and forth. The latest research indicates this is the fastest way for those on duty officers to identify you. If you don’t think anyone has called it in you might want to make the phone call before you get out the badge. Consider putting the phone on speaker, placing it in your shirt pocket and communicating with dispatch with that off-hand free to get out your tin.
If the situation allows it seek cover and distance and holster your weapon with your hand on it in case you need it quickly. When responding officers arrive you can then raise an empty gun hand, while communicating your law enforcement status.
Make the process part of your training.
1. Look like a good guy when the cops arrive.
2. Expect to be treated like a bad guy. Until you are properly ID’d, you arer just a person with a gun.
3. Act like a good guy. Follow all the officers’ commands, just like you would expect someone to do when you have them at gun point.
4. On-duty orders trump off duty/undercover commands on scene.
