Major Steve Ijames (ret.)

Less Lethal Options for Today's LE Challenges

Steve Ijames retired in June of 2007 as a major with the Springfield, Missouri Police Department after 29 years of service. Steve formed his agencies full time tactical unit in 1989, and worked his way through the structure from team leader to special operations commander. Steve was an original member of the National Tactical Officers Association (NTOA) board of directors, and the course developer/lead instructor for the NTOA and IACP less lethal "train the trainer" programs, addressing impact projectiles, chemical agents, and noise flash diversionary devices. Steve has provided such training across the United States and in 31 foreign countries, and frequently provides litigation consultation when the use of such tools are called into question.

Full list of Major Steve Ijames (ret.) results

In defense of the 12-gauge bean bag round
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The 12-gauge bean bag is an extended range impact projectile system that has been proven safe and effective in numerous police officer/suspect encounters
Impact projectiles: Shot placement in death and injury prevention
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The single most critical aspect of safe and effective use of impact projectiles — shot placement — continues to be misunderstood by police trainers
Mitigating the danger of bean bags and other impact rounds
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The answer is found not in the bean bag rounds themselves, but in the manner in which they are used
6 safety considerations for flashbangs
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Tactical teams have to recognize and adequately address the potential dangers of flashbang devices
Hurting ourselves and our training
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Focusing on Risk/Benefit Analysis and the ways in which we train can help police trainers more safely replicate circumstances officers are likely to face on the street
Less lethal case study: Halton, Ontario Tactical Response Unit
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Successfully engaging potentially deadly persons affected by mental illness is one of the most challenging situations law enforcement officers face today-and one of the driving forces behind the pr...
The Wallbanger
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The initial scene plays out almost every day in America. SWAT operators stage in preparation for serving a drug search warrant. The announcement is made, and following an appropriate amount of time...
Public order management 101: Chemical munitions
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An interesting and somewhat unique part of Northern Ireland's past troubles involved the arrival of the summer marching season. The vast majority of the world enjoys a parade, but in "The North" th...
Building a better mouse trap: The J & N Tactical Bang Stick
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As most in the law enforcement community know, the Noise Flash Diversionary Device (NFDD) is a tool used by tactical teams to briefly distract suspects in order to reduce the risk of death and seri...
Tragedy in Boston: The impact projectile death of Victoria Snelgrove
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As most police agencies with a major league or Division I athletic program know, the potential for sports related public disorder cannot be ignored. Thankfully, the statistical probability of a rio...
The less lethal philosophy & barricades involving the mentally ill
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by Police1.com Columnist Major Steve Ijames Sponsored by TASER This is a less lethal column, and as such some might wonder why I’m writing this month about barricaded subjects. Less lethal force is...
Impact round training & the critical issue of "point of aim/point of impact"
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by Police1.com Columnist Major Steve Ijames Sponsored by TASERThe National Tactical Officers Association (NTOA) offered its first impact projectile "train the trainer" program in 1995, followed wit...
I have seen "The Light" Part 2
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Additional integration of less lethal force options and illumination tools by Police1.com Columnist Major Steve Ijames Sponsored by TASER In one of my earlier Police1 articles , I wrote about “seei...
Impact Projectile Training: Critical issues for positive performance
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Impact projectiles are generally accepted as "contemporary" tools of the police trade today and as such, most agencies that deploy them give significant thought to training and preparing officers i...
When is enough enough? Reconciling the use of force "coercion/custody" dilemma
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It is a fact of life that police officers use force on a regular basis. Most involves tools, tactics, and techniques that are geared towards meeting operational objectives, without causing death or...
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