Editor’s Note: In PoliceOne “First Person” essays, our Members and Columnists candidly share their own unique view of the world. This is a platform from which individual officers can share their own personal insights on issues confronting cops today, as well as opinions, observations, and advice on living life behind the thin blue line. This week’s essay comes from PoliceOne Member James Magas, a sergeant with the Lee County Sheriffs Office currently assigned as a road patrol supervisor. Do you want to share your own perspective with other P1 Members? Send us an email with your story.
By Sergeant James Magas
Lee County Sheriff’s Office
Let’s go back to September 10, 2001. What would you have told me if I said, “Tomorrow an incident is going to occur that will ground every airplane in the United States.” You’d tell my I was crazy, right?! Unfortunately, that incident did happen and it was the worst attack on United States soil. Fast forward to today. Ask yourself as a law enforcement officer, are you really prepared for another terrorist attack? Weather it is from a foreign nation or to our very own domestic terrorism, are you prepared? Is your zone partner prepared? Is your agency prepared?
The days of living pre-9/11 are over. Gone. Look only to Spokane, Washington just five days ago. We need to change our mindset when responding to certain calls. I fully understand the philosophy behind civilian U.S. law enforcement. Departments across this country now more than ever are facing the burden of reducing budgets, putting hiring freezes into effect, and trying not to layoff their officers. In a time more than ever to increase our countries law enforcement personnel, we are reducing them. In today’s society a fast way to fortune is suing a police department for police brutality claims to wrongful deaths suits.
Now I ask this question, who is the United States Military on U.S. soil?
Answer: YOU ARE!
You as the frontline law enforcement officer are responsible to defend not only your city, county or state, but you are instilled to defend this country from both foreign and domestic enemies.
In certain situations we need to be aggressive. We need to have the mindset of being offensive rather than defensive. Today’s law enforcement community is based primarily on reactive policing rather than proactive policing. When terrorist goes into action they are hunters, as Lt. Col. David Grossman says “there are sheep and there are sheepdogs.” We can’t afford to be the sheep. We need to turn the situation around so when the hunter comes into our town they become the hunted (by our law enforcement personnel).
The mindset needs to be if violence occurs then you need to bring the violence with you.
Whenever I speak with tactical commanders I tend to ask them this question: “If you have a subject in a movie theater with explosives strapped to his back and canisters of bio-hazard materials with numerous individuals inside as hostages and there is NO ACTVIVE SHOOTING going on, what is your tactical team going to do?”
They tend to give me the same answer: “No active shooting going on, it is a barricaded subject. We wait for hostage negotiators to arrive.”
WHY? This is the mindset that we have to change across this country. Do you really think they are going to listen to a negotiator? The answer is no, they are waiting for the media to show up and carryout there plot on live television so they can get the most dramatic expose on TV. Remember terrorist want to disrupt and as the word says, put terror into the citizens of our country.
We have to go in and neutralize the threat. This is not your ordinary barricaded subject who got into an argument with his wife. This is a situation where there is no talking them out, no surrender, no letting hostages be released. Violence needs to be met with violence and that mental mindset of hunting and neutralizing the threat. This mindset needs to be embedded into our way of policing. This has begun with the help of SEALE Academy Trainer Ron Borsch, a 30-year law enforcement veteran. Ron’s training on SOLO Officer tactics when responding to an active shooter has become one of the most debated topics when responding to active murder in progress. Again, this mindset is one that violence is met with violence — fast, accurate, and effective. This can only be done by training. As budgets cut continue, the hardest hit is training. Failure for us is not an option. Today, the warrior mentality is ever so crucial to protect and defend not only our community but most importantly ourselves.
As the Greek Philosopher Heraclitus said, “Out of every one hundred men, ten shouldn’t even be there, eighty are just targets, nine are real fighters and we are lucky to have them for they make the battle. Ah, but the one, one is a warrior, and he will bring the others back.”
To win the fight against any and all enemies I encourage all of us in law enforcement to become that “one” if we can accomplish this, one becomes two then two becomes three then three becomes four and so on until we have ten’s of thousands of warriors, then the true term of brotherhood will spread across this country unlike any force known to man.
Train your mind, body. These three put together are ONE.
About the Author
James Magas is President, CEO, and Senior Trainer for Advanced Reality Tactical Training Inc. ARTT INC. is a company that provides quality Reality Based Training to enhance the individual officer’s survival skills to WIN any type of encounter. James holds a masters degree in criminal justice. He currently is a sergeant with the Lee County Sheriffs Office and is assigned as a road patrol supervisor. James is a former School Resource Officer and expert in the area of school violence and prevention. He is an instructor for the Florida Attorneys Generals Office teaching school resources officers in the area of critical incidents on campus and Rapid Response to an Active Killer. James teaches at the Southwest Florida Public Safety Academy as an instructor for basic recruits and for Advanced Classes. He holds numerous instructor certifications including Firearms, Rapid Response to the Active Shooter, Reality Based Training, and Simunition Instructor just to name a few. James is a current member of the International Law Enforcement Educators & Trainers Association. You can contact James at arttinc@yahoo.com
