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 a PoliceOne Member and police trainer from Southern California with whom we have had numerous email exchanges over the past several months. We typically don’t post stuff as ‘anonymous’ but are breaking from that policy briefly because we know the author and respect his wish to keep name out of it while also passing along some valuable food for thought. Do you want to share your own perspective with other P1 Members? Send us an e-mail with your story.
By Anonymous
Take a moment to read this article, then come back here and read what I think about it.
Let’s talk about Operational Risk Management — which includes Training Safety Protocols. I am often questioned about why I am such a stickler for safety, searching, wanding, and pat downs of my personnel as they enter from an uncontrolled zone to the safety zone. Why do I check every fx round? Why do I handle/clear/clean the training weapons and fill the magazines? After they gear up and brief in the controlled zone and move into the training area, why do I close all the doors and continue to be a door guard. Anybody can leave, but everybody gets checked again every time. My level of operational risk management is higher than some others and I have had to defend my actions often. I do this because of the following reasons.
I care about my people, including my role players, instructors and chain of command.
I have pulled forgotten knives from people after they have checked themselves and had a buddy check them.
I have found forgotten firearms still in holsters on guys who just got overloaded while getting ready to train.
I have found live ammo loose in pockets and in the bottom of mag pouches.
I have stopped lookyloos of all ranks from going into the training area without protection equipment because they were just going to look.
I have defended the use of groin protection to people who believe that draping a large jacket will cover them. Even though I have seen role players shot from behind correctly while they crawl away right in the crosshairs of the trousers groin area.
I have found bad line and carabiners/figure eights that would have probably failed.
I have had impact weapons break and fly into the crowd.
Early in my life as a instructor I saw many people get injured during training.
I love my men and women and do not want to end their lives or careers.
I do not want to have to tell their spouses and children that I am sorry because if I had did my job they would still have their loved one to hold.
I am not sure how I would handle being directly responsible for killing one of my men when I knew of better practices during training.
Thanks go to one of my former Police Sergeants, Sean Manning, for sending this to me so that I could forward it. He helped me with my training in the police world after leaving the Marines and more importantly he trusted me with the training of his young son.
Also, thanks to Ken Murray for teaching me his system on all of this, which I still follow to this day.
God rest the officer and may God help all those involved.
