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February
13, 2007 |

Table
of Contents:
I. Chicago Off Duty Death
Reminds Us of Risks
II. Upcoming
Street Survival Seminars


Chicago
Off Duty Death Reminds Us of Risks
By Lead Street
Survival Seminar Instructor Dave
Smith
Early in the morning
hours of February 12, 2007, Chicago Police Officer and Special
Enforcement Unit member Jose Vasquez was shot and killed in the back
of his Chicago home as he was exiting his
vehicle. Although it's usually the bad guy on the losing end of the
altercation, this time another Brother-at-Arms has fallen while
simply trying to get home.
Chicago
seems to be the home of off duty shootings involving officers just
trying to get home, but the lesson for all of us is an essential
one: keep your head in the game
until you are safely home!

Officers who have
survived being robbed or ambushed have often relied on more than
luck, which often seems to be the only asset we might have when the
perp strikes. There are several steps we can take to increase our
odds in these deadly encounters. Understand, nothing guarantees that
our brothers and sisters who have fallen and gave us these lessons
would have survived if they had done these steps. No doubt many may
have fallen anyway, but it is our duty to learn and honor their
sacrifice by carrying on the mission on and off duty.
The first step in
surviving these encounters is awareness.
In the Street
Survival Seminar we emphasize the need to stay in Condition Yellow, a broad
external awareness that permits us to process what is going on
around us. In this day and age of distracters and stress it is not
unusual for us to get on the cell phone immediately and start
thinking about our time off. We essentially go mentally off duty
before we're out of harms way. This is called Condition White and is a
healing, problem-solving, internal focus that does not serve us well
when threats are around.
The goal is to maintain
a "on patrol" mindset all the way home. Ask yourself, "Who is behind
you, walking down your alley or street, parked in an odd position,
or driving too slow in your neighborhood?" In other words, stay alert!
Next, make sure your off duty weapons are
available and you have trained with them.
Too often, we like to
buy great little (or big) off duty weapons we then fail to train
with. As with all tools our life may depend on, we need to practice
with them until their use becomes habitual and automatic. Some
departments even require officers to qualify with their off duty
guns and that seems like a very good idea since individual weapons
have strengths and weaknesses some officers are not aware of.
For example, if you plan
on using a special fanny pack or purse that you intend to shoot out
of without drawing the weapon an automatic might not be a good
choice since many devices will not allow the slide to cycle
properly, giving the user one shot...and one shot only.
Another thing to take
into account is what are the environmental issues you are dealing
with? Going home at 5:00 PM is going mean different environmental
concerns than getting off at 2:00 AM. Things such as weather,
lighting in your neighborhood, special problems in the vicinity like
bars or half-way houses and any other concern you can think of,
should be problems you focus on when driving home.
If you are going to stop
at convenience stores, banks, fast food restaurants, or other higher
risk locales, you should approach with the same steps and mindset
you do on duty: observe, approach, park to advantage, observe again,
and then proceed.
Finally, it seems we
have been writing a lot about off duty incidents and family issues.
The truth is Newsline merely follows where the news leads us and
2007 has lead us to be concerned with preparing for off duty
encounters as well as teaching our family members and those we truly
care about the dangers the world can throw at us and the best way to
react to them!
Editor's
note: Today's reports of a
mass shooting in a Utah shopping mall [Read
news reports on PoliceOne.com] serve as timely confirmation of
the points made in this Newsline article. One of those who
confronted the active shooter was a heroic off-duty officer who
happened to be in the mall and was able to distract and contain the
shooter until other officers could arrive. He stands testimony to
the truth that you may face an off duty attack wherever, whenever.
Whether it's aimed specifically at you or focused on others, you
need to always be ready to engage a threat and stop it.
If
you have off-duty tips and pointers you would like to share, please
e-mail them to thebucksavage@aol.com
For more about off duty
encounters and family training read Newslines 817, 819, 758, 752,
and 445 in the Newsline Archives on the Calibre Press Web site or go
to the Newsline page and search "off duty."
About
the author
Former Lieutenant
Dave Smith is an
internationally known speaker, writer and law enforcement trainer.
While a police officer, Dave developed the popular "Buck Savage"
survival series videos and was the lead instructor for the original
Calibre Press "Street Survival" seminar from 1983 to 1985, helping
to develop the popular Tactical
Edge book. He served as the Director of Education for the
Enforcement Television Network, general manager of Calibre Press,
and is now the lead instructor of the "Street Survival" seminar and
a regular Newsline contributor. He can be reached at thebucksavage@aol.com
II.
Upcoming Street Survival Seminars
|
Seminar Location |
Dates |
Details |
|
Street
Survival Seminar Spokane
,WA |
February 21-22,
2007 |
Detail
|
|
Street
Survival Seminar Arlington,VA |
March 5-6,
2007 |
Detail
|
|
Street
Survival Seminar Cincinnati (Hamilton),OH |
March 12-13,
2007 |
Detail
|
|
Street
Survival Seminar Boston,MA |
March 20-21,
2007 |
Detail
|
|
Street
Survival Seminar Minneapolis,MN |
April 11-12,
2007 |
Detail
|
|
Street
Survival Seminar Denver,CO |
April 17-18,
2007 |
Detail
|
|
Street
Survival Seminar for WOMEN Las
Vegas,NV |
April 25-26,
2007 |
Detail
|
|
Street
Survival Seminar Cleveland,OH |
May 16-17,
2007 |
Detail
|
|
Street
Survival Seminar Lake
Tahoe,NV |
May 22-23,
2007 |
Detail
|
|
Not
coming to your area? Please contact
Slavka Younger at
Slavka.younger@trinitylearning.com
to find out how you can bring Street Survival seminar to your
department. |
Help
us keep you safe. Send your story ideas and opinions, as well as
material for Weapons Warning and Concealment Gallery to Newsline.
Send e-mail to the editor: newsline@calibrepress.com
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