Officer Safety
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I preferred the night shift because there was great camaraderie among the ranks – but I paid the price for being a night owl
A sharp-eyed police officer interrupted a mailbox break-in outside a post office, uncovering a potential identity theft scheme and saving hundreds from becoming victims
There’s a lot more to consider than just stopping power
“When someone does a good job, the officers don’t typically come forward, but other officers will say ‘Hey, why don’t you look at this person’s body camera, they did a really good job’”
In the past four months, there have been at least three training shootings nationally
Paperwork, computers, fingerprint machines, printers, weapons, ballistic vests and gun belts for the department’s officers were destroyed
Homicides dropped by 20%, while the number of shootings decreased from 672 in 2021 to around 440 this year
Cpl. Ray Hamilton was a five-year veteran of the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office
The officer, his wife and children were not at home when the fire occurred
“Everything was in slow motion, and I saw a flash. Suddenly I was down on my stomach, but I didn’t even know I was shot.”
Officers had recovered a “high capacity handgun” during the suspect’s initial arrest, but he was in possession of a second hidden gun on his body
Kyle Mellard was awarded Officer of the Year for saving the lives of fellow officers by warning them of an ambush while taking fire himself
Evidence shows the teen fired at officers first after shooting six people, fatally wounding five; the suspect later died due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound
BWC video shows the suspect pull a handgun from his waist and shoot an officer twice, hitting him in the body before another officer returned fire
As she tried to get her gun holstered, the officer heard one gunshot and was struck in the leg by the gunfire
The program focuses on providing mental health support to officers using yoga and mindfulness techniques
Strategies for success in 23 key areas of policing
After striking the PD’s security door with a chainsaw, the man drove home when police arrived and began “dangling a pair of young children from a window”
A motive is still unclear, but police say the man had a history of mental illness
A roundup of the biggest stories impacting law enforcement in 2022
Whether aimed or not, it is clear that firearm assaults can be much faster than the time needed for an effective response
Brodnax Police Chief Joe Carey, 66, had pulled off to the side of the road to recover the remains of an animal when he was struck returning to his vehicle
The officer, whose home was destroyed by a fire as a child just before the holidays, empathized with the woman’s life-changing event
“To me, it just feels like a challenge I have to overcome,” Officer Tyler Moldovan said
The changes include centralizing the Crisis Intervention Team and equipping CIT officers with less lethal weapons such as Bolawraps
The bill will help PDs adopt de-escalation training when encountering individuals with mental health issues in an effort to reduce officer-involved fatalities
More police officers recently lost their lives because of a knowing disregard for our collectively agreed-upon firearm safety measures
A hotel owner was on a smoke break when he rushed to help the officer, using his radio to call for help
Once the fire is under control, police property specialists will go inside and see what has been destroyed and what can be salvaged
The suspect used a VSKA AK-style pistol to fire several shots toward the officers through his windshield
Fifty years ago I was taught that the right-side approach on a traffic stop is the safest – and that message is just as relevant for recruits today
The suspect waited for officers to round a corner near an apartment building, striking one several times
Sgt. Eric Kocheran was placed in a medically induced coma after being shot in the chest outside his police station last month
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