How many times while growing up have you heard someone say, “If someone bothers you or wants to fight you just walk away.”
Parents, teachers, coaches, and other adults all gave you that simple piece of advice, and it may have been the best advice you could have received at that point in your life.
Now you are a police officer and no longer enjoy the luxury of just walking away. When you are performing your duties as a cop, you don’t walk away — you walk in.
So now a whole new piece of advice has to be added to your thinking. Since we must walk in and not away you must have these tools in your bag to effectively deal with people.
1. Good professional appearance and approach.
2. Great verbal skills to either assure people you are here to assist and help or commands to take control and arrest if need be. You must be confident in who you are and your ability take charge. The fair and nonsense officer.
3. know your strength and weakness when dealing with people bigger stronger more hostile than you when you arrive on scene. Don’t wait to request back up.
4. know your equipment well. Know how to use everything on that tool belt. How to get to it and use it property. Don’t use OC if wind is blowing in your direction. Common sense right. Not so much when things are heated and you are ready to fight.
5. Firearm cleaned loaded and bolstered properly. Practice clearing drills from time to time tap rack bang drills dry fire a must for your accuracy. Get some snap caps they work well for these drills. Do a mag change once a month rotate your mags in the weapon. Empty the mag to relax spring and assure it is operating not frozen. Officers who work by the water or marine patrol need to do this periodically.
Officers must be ready to walk in prepared.