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Safety Tip: Avoid Over-Blading During Traffic Stops
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During roadside stops, most officers blade themselves against the subject’s car so as not to get hit by oncoming traffic. Although staying out of reach of passing vehicles is obviously wise, blading to the point that you’re parallel to the car can short-circuit the effectiveness of your ballistic vest by giving the driver clear access to the opening between your front and back panels.

Should he shoot at you while you’re in your over-bladed stance, the odds of the round finding it’s way into that opening are pretty solid. Whenever possible, be sure that your front panel is positioned between you and the subject while remaining clear of traffic flow. Doing so may take some role-playing and practice but it’s time well spent!

Scott Buhrmaster is Vice President of Training and Editorial for Police1.com, which was awarded the “Quill & Badge Award” for Excellence in Journalism by the International Association of Police Unions. He is also the Publisher of Police Marksman magazine and has served as Contributing Editor for Law Officer magazine. He has been a member of the law enforcement training community since 1989, when he began work as Director of Research with Calibre Press, Inc., producers of The Street Survival Seminar.

Throughout his tenure at Calibre, Buhrmaster was involved with virtually every aspect of the company’s officer survival training efforts, from the planning, creation and marketing of the organization’s award-winning textbooks and videos to developing and securing training content for the Seminar. In 1995, he was named Director of the Calibre Press Street Survival Newsline®, an Internet-based officer survival training service he helped found. In less than five years, Newsline readership grew from 25 officers to more than 250,000 in 26 countries, making it one of the most popular training vehicles in law enforcement history. His efforts now focus on providing training and information to the nearly 400,000 officers worldwide who visit Police1.com every month.

Prior to joining Police1, Buhrmaster, who also serves on the National Advisory Board of the Force Science Research Center and stands as an active member of the American Society for Law Enforcement Training and the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association, was President of The Buhrmaster Consulting Group, an international consulting practice for the law enforcement training sector and the publishing industry. Scott may be reached at buhrmastergroup@comcast.net.

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