On NewYear’s Day 2012, an incident stirred me to finally do something about the problem of blue-on-blue deaths. On Long Island, New York, a drug store robbery eventually involved an off-duty federal agent, an off-duty NYPD officer, and a retired Long Island officer. All three active and retired sheepdogs were in plain clothes and when the gunplay ended the federal agent was killed and three families were destroyed.
I searched once again for a way for armed plain-clothes, off-duty, and retired peace officers to better identify themselves should they decide to take action at a deadly force incident. A product from DSM Safety Products — the brainchild of retired SWAT Sergeant Mike Lessman — is the best option I’ve found. The company name says it all, “Don’t Shoot Me Safety Products.”
Mike’s idea is a brightly colored, reflective banner you pull from a pouch on your belt to drape across your torso, “Miss America” style. I was thinking about some type of lightweight hat that would store in a similar pouch, but Mike’s banner makes more sense. We are trained to shoot center-mass, so the bright banner across your torso stands the best chance of being seen and recognized by a fellow sheepdog.
I contacted Mike by email about his banners, which at that time were made in variations for Police, Security, and CCW — Carrying a Concealed Weapon. As one who goes armed under the HR218/Law Enforcement Officer’s Safety Act (LEOSA) I wanted an ID banner, but didn’t want one that merely identified me as a CCW holder.
I have nothing against CCW folks — I’m a big proponent — but I think retired peace officers hold a higher rung on the ladder of firearms proficiency. Mike told me he had been considering adding a small “retired” designation on their “Police” banners for retirees, but were concerned about impersonation charges from some overzealous prosecutor. While LEOSA-armed retirees can carry nationwide, the law grants no police authority. Mike accepted my idea of creating a “LEOSA” banner for retired cops and the production models are already shipping. At the same time, Mike and I agreed that most cops wouldn’t understand the meaning of a lime-green reflective banner emblazoned with the acronym LEOSA.
So, I promised Mike I would do whatever I could to begin a nationwide campaign to educate active-duty law enforcement officers on the banner’s meaning. Doug Wyllie, the Editor in Chief of Police1, was also immediately on board.
“My mission is to help LEOs be safer and more successful on the streets,” Wyllie told me recently. “That mission DOES NOT END and absolutely includes cops who have ‘pulled the pin’ and entered retirement. I want all those Sheepdogs to have every safety tool available to them, and I think Mike Lessman’s invention is a great step in that regard. Further, I want word to spread far and wide among the Warriors who now patrol our communities that they may one day encounter a LEOSA / HR218 individual out there, wearing this potentially life-saving product, and interdicting a crime in progress. It’s going to require some education, but that’s what we do here on Police1.”
So, here begins our education:
Boys a girls of the law enforcement community, add a new and important word to your vocabulary: LEOSA.
If you encounter someone during a high-stress event that is wearing a high-visibility banner with the letters LEOSA, that means they are an armed, retired peace officer. If this person has a gun in their hand, they are FRIEND, not foe.
They may have already stopped an active shooter event, or may be available to assist you in confronting such a threat. We know that such killing sprees occur almost weekly somewhere in the country and the more competent, armed sheepdogs we have on the street the more likely we are to have someone there to stop the senseless killing. DSM Safety Products requires proof of your status before they will sell you a banner, to prevent them falling into the wrong hands.
Help us spread the word. Mention this at shift briefings or post these pictures on the bulletin board of your squad room.
LEOSA = Armed, Retired Police Officer
Active officers should consider using the police version to protect themselves off duty. I am not making a single penny from promoting this product, but if it saves even one life I will consider myself a rich man. Mike Lessman has designed a product that can help prevent catastrophic blue-on-blue deaths and, just as important to us old retired folks, blue-on-gray deaths.
You can buy these safety banners direct from DSM at: http://www.dsmsafety.com/index.html
Pass the word!
Not Here! Not Today!
Dick Fairburn
