Patrol Rifle:Supress or not ?

By Carl R. Hospedales
I write this article not to preach, but to generate logical discussion on the use of suppressors within the Law Enforcement family. What is a Suppressor? A Suppressor also known as a Silencer, Low Signature System or “Can”, are automatically thought of as equipment of Spies and Special Forces. As equipment of the “elite”, Suppressors are used to eliminate 2 of the 3 items that generate sound when a firearm is discharged;
1. Muzzle Blast (Hot gases propellant exiting the barrel)
2. Sonic Crack (As the round passes the transonic speed, approx 1120 ft/sec)
3. Cycle action of a firearm (Physical movement of the slide, bolt carrier, etc…)

In truth suppressors/silencers aren’t silent, they only reduce the level of sound produced by approximately 30dB (Decibels), subject to suppressor design. What does 30dB mean? In a nutshell the normal sound level for a rifle report is somewhere between 150dB – 160dB. Reducing the sound level by 30dB, according to research in Europe, has a dramatic effect. The European Union Department on Safety & Sound Risk have a limit set at 140dB, so with the 30db reduction, 160dB becomes 130dB, well below the Safety Sound Risk. In the US the testing standards for suppressors are MIL-STD-1474 for those of you willing to conduct further research. Other benefits of a suppressor are the elimination of muzzle flash and reducing recoil by 20% to 30%. All these benefits not only allow for stealthy operations, but they reduce noise and recoil fatigue, confusion to location of hostile shooter, thereby reducing the risk of Blue on Blue confusion and improved team communication. They can be attached to the patrol rifle with either quick-connect or threaded onto the barrel with the removal of the flash suppressor. Some suppressors are maintenance free, others you have to clean after a specified number of thousands of rounds as per the manufacturer instructions. The size & weight of suppressors vary also from 6oz to 24oz in weight. If you are considering the employment of a suppressor, consider having it permanently attached to the patrol rifle with a routine of scheduled maintenance. Once attached, re-zero the rifle with its new suppressor. The choice of suppressor should be a measured result between noise suppression efficiency, maintenance, durability and cost. But remember this, in today’s world, quality costs, like a good suit it may be costly at the time but it’s the one suit you are still wearing years later. A common misconception is that if you have a suppressor you require sub-sonic ammunition. This is not the case. In fact unless you are considering conducting Black Operations, sub-sonic ammunition would cause you more problems than its worth for a patrol rifle. A word of caution with regard to 5.56mm or .223 ammunition with lead content; due to the metal property of the lead and the heat build up in the barrel and suppressor when employed in full auto, the thermal radiation, affects the ballistic trajectory performance of this calibre causing the rounds to yaw excessively, degrading the suppressor to approx 200 rounds before suppressor failure or replacement.
The potential use of the patrol rifle in a life or death situation brings me to the weapons report and hearing safety issue. Hearing is irreparable, once lost or damaged, it’s lost and damaged forever. With the educated policy makers, and the undercurrent movement from patrol shotgun to patrol rifle for liability and greater engagement distance etc… Remember the saying “The only reason you have a hand gun, is so you can fight your way back to your long gun”. Bringing the Patrol rifle into the Law Enforcement inventory is a good thing, but how many officers carry hearing protection while on patrol, let alone would have time to put on hearing protection during a critical incident. That is the time a suppressed patrol rifle come into its own. I hear some of you saying I would never use it, or for the amount of occasions I have had to deploy a patrol rifle it’s not worth it. All I would remind you is to, take a look at the captured Al Qaida operators training video with the direct targeting of Law Enforcement Officers while on duty (Never Say Never…) In some police departments the financial cost negates the purchase, with the average cost of a suppressor at $780 USD each, you will find it cheaper by researching prices. The cheapest I found was $375 USD, the most expensive was $1350 USD. The larger police departments with full-time specialist teams would not have a problem and have the financial muscle to purchase, but the smaller police departments with part-time specialist teams or, only have the patrol rifle for the supervisor’s vehicle; it would be difficult to justify the expense. This is where the manufacturers could help by possibly offering used, manufacturer-refurbished suppressors at a greatly reduced cost to smaller police departments, or consider other incentives for the smaller police departments.
I mentioned earlier “liability” for a reason, with the constant shadow of legal action against officers who discharge their firearm, it make logical sense that an officer with a patrol rifle is only responsible (Liable) for discharging 1 round at a time (Well aimed shot placement) with the extended engagement area of up to 150 yards, unlike the 12gauge Shotgun with 00 buck with an effective combative distance of 18 yards. Why 18 yard some would ask, simply put the 8-9 pellets discharged from the shotgun spread 1 inch for every yard of travel, and the average human’s centre of mass being 18 inches across. Beyond that the shot pattern keeps spreading and the officer who discharged the 00 buck is accountable for each pellet, in the eyes of the law. Some would argue about patrol rifle ammunition over penetration, but with new law enforcement frangible duty ammunition available on the market, and ammunition testing results carried out by the FBI, Ballistics Research Facility at Quantico, VA, that argument is redundant. Managers please take note; a sign of a good police department is having proactive rather than reactive policy development. (As for the Shotgun lovers reading this article, don’t misunderstand me, the shotgun has its place in the Law Enforcement inventory, as a breaching tool for door entries and deployment of less lethal munitions. Also from my military years great for jungle warfare, and as far as I am concerned, in the dark, there is no other sound in the world to attract people’s attention more, than racking a shotgun, even when it’s not loaded.)

Close Quarter Survival Skills for the 21st Century – Part 2

Close Quarter Survival Skills for the 21st Century – Part 2

By Ron Avery/President, Director of Training

Close Quarter Dynamics:

Close quarter situations from 0 – 7 yards represent the highest probability of being injured or killed.

Manner of inflicting serious bodily injury or death range from shooting with firearms,(in 20% of them the officer’s own firearm was used), knives and other penetrating traumas, blunt trauma with objects, or fists or feet.

In many cases officers are hampered with training programs that are simply inadequate to deal with the realities of truly violent offenders bent on mayhem who will not succumb to a simple arm bar or other arrest and control tactic that work in a static environment with a mildly resisting partner.

While tasers and firearms represent a means of defense, they may not be immediately accessible to the officer if the offender takes them by surprise and initiates the assault with speed and extreme violence.

With the popularity and spread of Mixed Martial Arts such as Gracie Jiu Jitsu, Russian Sambo, etc., earlier systems of arrest and control are dangerously inadequate in dealing with individuals who have some level of training in these systems. Without prior knowledge and early warning of techniques, an officer may find themselves put into a choke or an armbar and sustain serious damage or die before they can successfully defend against such highly effective techniques.

Training:

Training programs should expose the officer to the dynamics of close quarter situations. Learning how officers can get hurt or die and then teaching effective strategies and technical skills to defeat the attacks must be understood and trained effectively. This would include utilizing effective principles of personal defense that are optimized for the individual based on their body size, strength, age, physical condition and skill level.

Utilizing correct body positioning relative the offender, movement and footwork to neutralize the offender’s advantage, effective penetration to takedown and control or disengagement while using tools available to defend must be taught until it is automatic.

Recognition of common, high threat attacks and effective means of defense must be a major component of training. One must be prepared to deal with the reality of being taken to the ground and having to defend from there. Situating your tools and backup weapons so that they are available from different positions and then deploying them successfully must also be drilled in a realistic fashion.

Close quarter shooting techniques while simultaneously moving, defending against weapons or take-away attempts are part of the reality of close quarter engagements. Drawing and firing rapidly and precisely are essential life saving skills.

Critical Decision Making under Duress:

The officer has a statutory right to use the level of force appropriate to effect an arrest or defend against force used against him. An officer is justified in using a higher level of force when the level of force that is being used is insufficient to control the situation.

Officers should be put in situations in training when they recognize they no longer hold the upper hand. Officers must learn, through judgmental training scenarios, exactly when that moment has occurred and make the decision to escalate then, using correct timing and technique so that the offender cannot successfully counter the escalation.

Struggling uselessly in an inferior position, fighting someone who may be younger, bigger, stronger than you and is striking you in the face or choking you while you lie on the ground, choosing the wrong tool to deal with the situation, having a firearm in hand and not being prepared to use it are all ways to get killed.

Officers must learn their mental and physical limits in training and understand how fatigue, differences in personality, skill levels, mindset, weight, strength, age and stamina will lead to a different decision making process from their peers.

Options should be available when the plan you are using is not working. This would include getting back to a better position of defense, protecting vitals, working into a better position, conserving energy while letting the offender wear themselves out, defending the weapon or accessing backup weapons and using them successfully.

Critical, close quarter decision making under real world stresses must be a part of training.

To be successful in close quarter situations you must be able to:

• Defend and counter spontaneous assaults using the tools you have immediately accessible to you.
• Assess what level of force is being used against you and immediately choose the correct level of force.
• Have well drilled, immediate action drills and techniques in place that require a minimum of time and effort to perform. Strong techniques geared for real world fighting and not Hollywood style fighting is what is needed.
• If, while attempting to arrest or control the situation, you find yourself starting to lose, you must recognize that fact and be able to immediately escalate the force used successfully.
• Have options available in the form of alternate defenses, strategies and weapons placed strategically.

I believe most officers get hurt or killed because they either don’t assess the situation correctly when put under pressure or they go in with the wrong mindset and find themselves taken by surprise without options to defend successfully once the initial defense fails.

Close quarter survival entails the integration of all force levels, from presence and verbal skills all the way to deadly force. There should be a true integration of skills and not different systems taught independently of each other. Typically courses are segmented into blocks of instruction. Arrest and Control Tactics, Baton, Pepper Spray, Taser and Firearms. Some add some folding knife work into the mix.

Integration of force means that you have to blend all these systems together to be able to flow from moment to moment in an encounter and make a correct choice and execute immediately or have a backup option instantly available if the one you are using isn’t working. You don’t want to get stuck repeating a failing strategy or only having one option available to you.

If you only box or kick then you will be vulnerable to takedowns, control holds and ground techniques. If you only practice your ground-fighting skills using competition rules then you will be vulnerable to other forms of attack or concealed weapons. If you only practice with firearms at a distance then you may not be ready for a sudden physical assault where your hands are neutralized and then you are out before you can even get to your firearm.

Learning how to integrate these systems requires that they be taught together once the individual, technical aspects are learned. Only then will you learn how to flow through the different levels of force and choose the correct means to defend or control under duress. Your life depends on your successful execution of these vital skills.

Close Quarter Survival Skills for the 21st Century Part 1

By Ron Avery/President, Director of Training
The Practical Shooting Academy, Inc.

The following encounter was related to me by Sgt. George Jahant of the San Antonio Police Dept. It is all the more tragic because it involves an individual that was not only a great police officer but also a personal friend.

John “Rocky” Riojas was on patrol in San Antonio, TX one evening in a high crime area of town. He saw an individual engaged in suspicious activity and ordered the individual to stop. The subject fled and Officer Riojas pursued. During the foot pursuit, Officer Riojas drew his handgun. As the subject attempted to climb a fence, Officer Riojas grabbed him and pulled him down.

The fight went to the ground, and Officer Riojas ended up on top of the subject, chest to chest with his gun still in his hand. The individual grabbed Officer Riojas’ gun and then extended Officer Riojas’ arm and gun out away from him as he turned on his stomach. Being taller and longer of arm than Riojas, he was able to apply more leverage and got the gun away from Officer Riojas, who was physically very strong.

Officer Riojas was now on the subjects back. The subject had the gun underneath him and officer Riojas was trying to get the gun back from under the subject, reaching around and under the right side of the subject.

Meanwhile, the subject switched the gun to his left hand and extended the gun back over his left shoulder, next to his own ear and pulled the trigger. Officer Riojas’ head was on that side and he took the round through the forehead, killing him instantly.

The individual was later caught so we have parts of the story while other parts remain unanswered.

So passed a brave officer in the prime of his life, leaving behind a wife, a small baby, his friends and the life that he knew and loved.

John Riojas was a friend of mine. He was a member of the San Antonio Police SWAT unit. He was very strong, skilled with firearms and conventional hand to hand skills and a very courageous officer. He was not a stranger to conflict.

One out of five police officers killed in the line of duty with a firearm die by their own weapon. Countless others are injured during physical assaults and it is probably impossible at this time to count how many attempted disarms take place during these conflicts.

Even while weapons retention and now ground fighting skills are being taught to officers at the academy level, even with the introduction of level 2 and 3 retention holsters, these statistics are not changing significantly.

During my career as a full time police officer, I have had a few people attempt to disarm me during arrest and control situations. I was able to successfully neutralize these attempts without injury to myself. One of the things that really helped me was the early recognition of the attempt on the part of the perp to initiate the take-away. This combined with instant repositioning of the body and then application of techniques to neutralize the threat worked to my advantage.

There are many officers and other individuals who have had much the same experiences as I did during their careers.

Philosophical Shift

Close quarter survival is not just arrest and control. It is about surviving when a situation has gotten out of control. It is when your plan has gone awry and what was supposed to be a “routine” contact or arrest has now turned into a fight for your very survival. This can occur while you are contacting an individual, running them through roadside maneuvers, attempting to control a domestic situation or effecting an arrest.

In this day and age of litigation and officer and administrative fear of liability, officers are far more prone to hesitate in applying the appropriate level of force soon enough in the confrontation. Over reliance on technology such as tasers, OC and firearms does not increase officer confidence in their own hand to hand skills when that technology may not accessible.

Train the Mind and the Body Will Excel!

by Randy Meyers and Brian Willis
Those among us who take pride in our performance often spend many hours practicing our skills. Learning a new skill or mastering an existing one takes repetitive practice. Finding the time for this practice can be a challenge in today’s world of hectic schedules. Time and time again we do drills breaking them down in an effort to identify and eliminate trouble spots. We are continually seeking to improve areas of our performance that seems to be less than perfect; areas that detract from our over all performance.

Countless hours are spent training with our goal being to perfect every aspect of the skill. This is true of any professional whether it be law enforcement officers, wrestlers, boxers, competitive shooters or public speakers. There is always something in our performance that we are seeking to improve for the next time. Regardless if the person is considered one of the elite in their field, or a novice just starting out. Everyone who takes pride in their performance is always looking to improve. For many this has meant hour upon hour of physical practice.

Physical practice is important and will always be important, but there is a problem that can never be completely overcome when we are talking about physical practice – time. Time is something that no one seems to have enough of. There is only so much time to spend on the range, on the basketball court, at the batting cage, or to spend rehearsing a speech. No matter what you chosen endeavor, time is precious. So what else can be done? We have squeezed every possible second we can out of our schedule. The answer does not lie in better time management. The answer can be found within our own mind.

Our mind is our portable training environment. It is available anytime we need it, no matter where we are, and no matter how little time we have at that particular point in our day. It is available to us 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. And the best thing about this training environment is that we can always win there.

In the privacy of our own mind we can always perform at our best. In his book Cloud of Sparrows, Takashi Matsouka talks about this portable training environment when talking about a gunfighter who did not have access to his guns or a range but needed to keep his skills sharp. “The only place he could be sure of privacy was his own mind. So that‘s where he practiced. Draw. Cock the hammer on the upswing. Sight the heart. Squeeze the trigger. Cock the hammer on the recoil. Sight the heart. Squeeze the trigger. There was an advantage to this. His mind was a portable room, he could practice anywhere he was, anytime.”

Think back to the last time you practiced your shooting skills on the range. There was likely a point where one or more of the following happened during the course of your physical practice session. Your performance was good, maybe even excellent at some points, but less than stellar at others.

After a large number of repetitions you became fatigued, began to lose focus and your performance began to deteriorate.
When this happens we often wind up ending the day on a less than positive note. The last thing you remember from the session was the less desirable performance at the end. The high points seemed to fade into the background while the negatives stand out. No one can physically perform a physical skill or task perfectly every time under ideal conditions. And as time wears on during a training session we become less focused, less interested, and less physically adept.

Physical practice is important to skill development and maintenance. It is a way to measure our skill level, our progress and to set benchmarks for improvement. In our mind we can perform perfectly each and every time. We never miss, we never tire.

We can mentally practice the entire skill package, or only a segment that we wish to give particular attention to such as a magazine change. Over and over we can imagine ourselves doing it flawlessly. We hit the magazine release with our thumb while our other hand is retrieving the fresh magazine from our pouch. The exchange is seamless as your hand firmly grasps the fresh magazine, smoothly removing it from the pouch with minimal movement.

Your index finger falls along the edge of the magazine and it begins to move upward. The dry magazine falls free from the magazine well as pistol is canted slightly towards the new magazine. Your trigger finger remains indexed. The old magazine has barely cleared the well as the new one is fed home. Your loading hand slides right up into its support position as the pistol rotates back to your presentation position and you quickly re-acquire your front sight. You are smooth, fast, and efficient.

The execution of this mental drill was flawless, expended no physical energy and can be done while driving to the store, taking a shower, walking up the stairs, sitting in a chair, laying in bed, flying on a plane, or while you are out fishing. You can be anywhere and can take 10 seconds or 10 minutes. With this type of mental training there is no need for a range, a range officer, a gun or any ammunition. It is extremely safe, and extremely beneficial as a tool for performance enhancement. How many times a day can you do this? Literally hundreds, if you so desire.

Try doing a couple hundred physical reloads a day, let alone do them perfectly each time. If you noticed I said “imagine” yourself doing the particular skill as opposed to “see,” or “visualize”. Why? Visualization for most people only involves one sense – sight, and not everyone processes information visually. Everyone however, can imagine.

Imagination involves all the senses and the more senses that you involve, the more realistic the experience and the greater the effect. Let’s use the reload example again. If I tell you to see yourself doing it you may have some sort of visual image of the process. But if I tell you to imagine doing the reload all of your sense can come into play. You hear the report of the weapon, you are aware of your sights and feel the weapon recoiling. You imagine the action of the slide and you become aware that the slide is locked back. You feel the magazine release and experience the pressure you exert on it.

You feel the baseplate of the new magazine and notice the difference in texture from the magazine itself and the pouch. You can feel the drag as you pull it from the pouch and can feel the edge of the magazine on your index finger, maybe even the nose of the top round. You can hear the click of the magazine being disengaged from the pistol at the same time you feel the loss of pressure on the magazine release as the magazine drops free.

You imagine the new magazine going in to the well as the old one drops free, you can feel it sliding up inside the pistol and the butt of your hand hitting the butt of the weapon while at the same time you hear and feel the click as the magazine locks into place. On the palm of your hand you can feel the release of pressure as you remove it from the magazine floor plate.

Your hand moves up and over and grasps the slide behind the ejection port. You imagine pulling the slide fully to the rear and releasing it forward chambering another round. You feel it, see it, hear it. Your support hand regrasps as the pistol rotates back towards the presentation position. You imagine the pistol moving out and up and you quickly pickup your front sight. Perfect!

Changing anything from that performance would not improve it. It could not have been done more perfectly, more smoothly, or more quickly. How long does it take you to do this? That is completely within your control. You can imagine yourself going very slowly concentrating on every detail, or you could imagine yourself doing it real time.

The bottom line is you could have done it in your mind at least twice in the time it took you to read this paragraph, maybe more. And you would have done it correctly both times. Performance Enhancement Imagery has been around for some time. It has been used by athletes at the elite levels, musicians, shooters, people undergoing surgery, etc. Limits to its use are tough to find. There are two keys for the best results:

Involve as many senses as possible. The stronger the image the better the result. One famous professional golf champion stated that he imagined his performance on the course before actually playing it. He recalled his imagery was so strong that he could actually smell the grass and feel the breeze.

Practice. Just as in the physical realm, one time does not make you a champion. The key is repetition. The beauty is that you are not limited to practicing when the range is available. And, like the actual physical practice, the more you do it the better you get.
Our minds are divided into two parts; the conscious and the subconscious.

The subconscious is the larger and more powerful part. If we were a physical computer the conscious mind would be the random access memory, or RAM. It is the part of memory that is used for working on a project, etc. The subconscious would be the hard drive. Much larger, and much more powerful.

The conscious mind will always analyze and try to come up with a “why.” The subconscious processes information literally and cannot differentiate between fantasy and reality. Once something is programmed it will work through the neural pathways to make the body respond in the way you imagined resulting in improved performance.

Part 3 of a 3-part series

Part 3 of a 3-part series

In the first two parts of this special survival series, Chuck Remsberg shared a wealth of life-saving, yet often overlooked, things officers can and should do when trying to help a seriously injured officer survive.

Robert “Coach” Lindsey, one of the nation’s most popular officer survival experts with four decades in LE training, ASLET Lifetime Achievement Award winner, former colonel and academy director for the Jefferson Parish (LA) S.O

In agreement with PoliceOne’s other experts on the psychology of helping a wounded officer, Lindsey addresses some of the often-ignored practical aspects of responding to an officer down call that can make the difference between life-threatening chaos and life-saving control.

“When you get that kind of call-one of the worst things that can happen-you have to consciously make an effort to mentally, emotionally and spiritually prepare for what you are about to get involved in,” he says. “In about 30 seconds you can bring to your conscious mind specific things you’re going to do, an ‘internal p lan’ for when you get to the scene.

“This very well may be the most important and challenging thing you ever do. With this ‘when/then thinking’ you start to manage things before you even get there, preparing yourself to be part of the solution, not the problem. The antithesis to that is a bunch of people standing around with no plan and a wounded officer bleeding out.

“First, you need to calm and control yourself. You don’t want to surrender your ability to act to things that diminish your performance skills, like high adrenalin, high blood pressure and respiration and high stress.

“When you arrive, you may come under fire from the same person who shot the officer. You have to protect and save yourself before you can protect and save him. Don’t take for granted that he has fled just because you don’t see him or there’s no immediate gunfire. Get cover for you and the down officer and use other officers to set up a safety perimeter in case the attacker surfaces again.

“Medically, you have three basic duties until EMS arrives: stop the bleeding, start the breathing and treat for shock.

“If the officer is shot in a vested area, he may still have tremendous impact trauma that will affect his breathing and put him at risk for shock. If he’s unconscious and not breathing, do you know how to clear his throat…how to restore respiration?

“If he’s shot in a non-vested area, where’s the blood coming from-the entrance wound? an exit wound? both? Do you know how to push a cloth into a wound to stop the blood flow…how to handle a sucking chest wound? If for no other reason, you need these skills at a genuinely useable level because you may need to apply them sometime to help yourself.

“Someone may have thrown a blanket over the injured officer to keep him warm as a prevention against shock. But is there any insulation between him and the cold ground, which may be the main source that’s chilling him out?

“Keep do ing what you can to treat the officer until you can hand that responsibility off to someone who is better trained in procedures and equipment than you are.

“The injured officer may be on the very brink of panic: ‘How bad am I hurt? I don’t want to die!’ People want to know what their chances are and whether you can help them.

“It’s imperative that you take a positive position: ‘I’m here…I’m going to help you…You’re going to be ok. You’re shot once. I’ve controlled the bleeding. You’re breathing. I’m going to raise your feet and keep you warm. The paramedics are just two minutes out.’

“Keep him informed so he has no mystery about what’s going to happen, and ask him what he needs. Give him believable, truthful feedback in which your non-verbal language and your verbal support each other. Tell him, ‘I want you to look me in the eyes and know I’m telling you the truth.’
“Get the wounded officer involved, so he participates in saving his own life.” One drama tic example occurred when Lindsey responded to an officer who’d been badly shot in the throat in an overgrown vacant lot where it was feared the assailant might still be lurking. Because Lindsey needed both arms to carry the officer, he handed the officer his pistol and told him to cover them on the way out to safety.

“That made him part of the process of surviving. It took his mind away from the gravity of his injury and empowered him to be part of saving his own life.”

When possible, “someone the officer has an excellent relationship with should be brought to him and should ride with him in the ambulance,” Lindsey says. “He shouldn’t just be handed off to strangers, if you can avoid it.

“After the scene is clear, start taking care of yourself. For every stain on your body there are stains within you that need to be washed clean. The officer who was hurt may not be the only one who needs post-traumatic stress counseling.”  

By Chuck Remsberg

survive serious injury? Part 2

By Chuck Remsberg

Part 2 of a 3-part series

In Part 1, Chuck Remsberg shared the potentially life-saving importance of giving a seriously injured officer “something to do” and of getting him o r her “focused on things in life that are important to him.” We continue the series with insights from police psychologist Dr. Alexis Artwohl and Calgary (AB) instructor Brian Willis.

Dr. Alexis Artwohl, former psychologist for the Portland (OR) Police Bureau, co-author of the book Deadly Force Encounters, expert on the mental impact of traumatic experiences, principal in Survival Triangle Training:

High on Artwohl’s list of crisis aids is the book Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies and Why. Using fascinating case histories, the author explores how people react in life-threatening situations, and Artwohl believes there’s much that cops can learn from his discoveries. 

What he finds, she says, is that “survivors are people who have the ability to stay cool under pressure and control their emotional response. Also they tend to be proactive in working toward their own survival. They quickly get control over the ‘Oh shit!’ reaction and focus on what they need to do to save themselves.”

If you are injured, proactively helping your survival can include continuing to fight to neutralize the threat, seeking cover, calling on your radio, yelling for help. “You keep responding as a problem-solver,” Artwohl stresses. “You don’t just sit there like a victim. Even when you’re injured, there are usually things you can do.

“Even the smallest things that help promote your staying alive are more powerful psychologically than just waiting for fate to play your hand. People who do that have much less chance of making it.”
[The author of Deep Survival, Laurence Gonzales, says he found “an eerie uniformity in the way people survive seemingly impossible circumstances. [T]he most successful survivors…go through the same patterns of thought and behavior, the same transformation and spiritual discovery, in the course of keeping themselves alive….[I]t doesn’t seem to matter whether they are surviving being lost in the wilderness or battling cancer, whether they’re struggling through divorce or facing a [financial] catastrophe-the strategies remain the same.” Gonzales lists “The 12 Rules of Survival,” with elaboration on each, at ]http://www.deepsurvival.com.]

Whether you’re wounded or trying to help another officer who is, remember that how an injury looks is by no means conclusive. “A lot of blood doesn’t mean anything,” Artwohl says. “With today’s medical care, you may be shot through th e heart and still survive. You just don’t know enough on the scene to make an accurate determination of the long-range effects of a gunshot wound.

“If the wounded officer asks about her condition, reassure her, no matter how bad it looks, that medical help is on the way and that she’ll recover. The most important thing is for the officer to feel safe, protected and hopeful about surviving. In talking to her, you need to appear calm, in control and optimistic. Even if they don’t completely buy it, it’s a lot better than being negative.

“Any kind of physical contact tends to be comforting, if it does not compromise the wounded officer’s medical condition. Hold their hand, at the very least. Sit on the ground next to them. Keep your posture relaxed, smile, use a calm voice, no alarmist terminology or facial expressions. Avoid nervously pacing or fretting. Remember that 80% of human communication is nonverbal, and the wounded officer will pick up on your body language an d will be influenced by it.

“You need to engage in purposeful behavior designed to improve the situation. I’m not saying it’s easy to do, but it is important.”

Part of an optimistic approach might be to use humor, particularly if you know the wounded officer well. “Humor can be a huge stress reliever and help calm the injured person,” Artwohl explains. She recalls a situation in which an injured party, suffering great pain, expressed concern that he would be permanently scarred. A friend tending to him quipped, “Yeah, you’re gonna be uglier than you were before!”

“Cops are used to black humor,” Artwohl says. “Trading insults back and forth like partners often do in their daily relationship can help lighten the atmosphere and normalize the situation. It’s very helpful any time you can restore a sense of normality to an extremely stressful situation.”

If you don’t know the wounded officer well, you may want to introduce humor very gently into the situatio n. “Maybe start with something fairly low-key, like saying lightly, ‘I hate it when this happens,’” Artwohl suggests. “See what reaction you get.” If you are wounded it may be helpful to crack jokes about yourself in relating to the responders who are tending to you.

When working with an injured officer, “don’t forget to ask them if there’s anything you can do for them right now,” Artwohl says. “They may have specific wishes, to put a jacket over them so they’re warmer or to contact their spouse to meet them at the hospital-things that are important to them that you may not think of.”

And if you’re hurt, tell the responders what you’d like. “Successful communication on all levels is essential in these crisis situations.”

Brian Willis, 25 years as LEO/instructor with Calgary (Alberta) Police Service, certified in variety of performance-enhancement disciplines, creator of “Winning Mind Training” and “Verbal Trauma Control” programs:

“With the right approach to a wounded officer, you can stop his bleeding, eliminate shock and start his healing and recovery right there,” Willis told PoliceOne. “Whether he’s shot, stabbed or has a heart attack, there are things you can say to help him use the power of his mind to survive…even if he is unconscious.

“Too often officers trying to help get caught up in urging the wounded person, “Don’t die!,” “Don’t do this to me!,” “Don’t give up!” These are not useful things to say.

“What’s much more effective is to combine positive imagery, the power of language and the power of expectation” in what Willis calls Verbal Trauma Control.

“People who are in a trauma state are frightened, confused, uncertain about what’s going to happen and feeling very alone even if other people are around,” he explains. “Mentally, they’re in an altered state that is very highly suggestible. They need someone to tak e command of their situation.

“As the helping party, you need to stay calm and project confidence and authority, just like you’re accustomed to doing with civilians in trauma. “Tell them, ‘I’m here to help you, EMS is on the way, the worst is over.’ Emphasizing that the worst is over can be very effective in getting their mind properly channeled.

“To augment your practical first aid procedures, tell them, ‘You can start doing things to help yourself. Your mind has the power to stop your bleeding. Just let your mind do this. Stop bleeding. Save your blood. You’ll notice that you’ll start to feel better right away.’ Gently but firmly keep reinforcing your commands.

“They’re not in an analytic, conscious state of mind that’s going to argue or reject what you’re saying. In effect, you’re bypassing their conscious mind and speaking directly to their subconscious, which is ultra receptive in this highly suggestible state and can process information at hyper speed, ev en if the person is unconscious and appears unable to hear you.

“The subconscious mind controls all the autonomic functions of the body. It knows how to do what you’re telling them to do. It can reduce the heart rate, lower blood pressure, slow or stop bleeding, release the body’s natural pain inhibitors, all through the power of suggestion.”

A paramedic who uses Willis’ techniques wrote him recently about an officer’s husband who suffered a burst aneurysm and was bleeding profusely from his abdominal aorta and suffering intermittent seizures when EMTs arrived. “I guided him through his blood vessels, how intact and perfect they were, how he can begin to stop bleeding to conserve his blood for its important functions, etc.,” the paramedic reported. “Within a few minutes, the external wound had clotted. He improved his skin colour and condition and peripheral pulses for the trip in [to the hospital]. His doctor felt that he beat all kinds of odds and told him [later] t hat what happened on the scene was what saved his life.”

In reducing pain, Willis advocates helping the wounded officer create positive mental images in which they are in a comfortable place where the pain is able to disappear. He cites instances in which victims of severe burns have been told to “imagine a cold, clear mountain stream washing over your body, starting to heal it.” Not only does this help subside pain, he claims, but these people “recover faster with minimum swelling and scarring.”

Using a technique Willis calls “discomfort dialing,” an officer whose pain is relieved through the power of suggestion can be told that when he reaches a medical facility his pain will temporarily return to help the doctor in making an accurate diagnosis. After that, they’ll be able to “turn it down” again. You need to counteract any negative input, Willis advises. “Otherwise other officers or gawkers saying how horrible the situation is can have a huge adverse impact. ‘Immun ize’ the wounded officer by telling him, “You may hear negative things from other people here. Ignore them. These people don’t understand the ability of the mind to control and heal.’ This will help sustain your positive suggestions.”

If you are the injured party, Willis suggests: “Slow your breathing down to slow your physiological responses. Tell yourself, ‘The worst is over. I can stop bleeding now.’ Imagine your bleeding stopping and the wound closing over. Imagine yourself in your favorite place and experience how comfortable it feels. Direct your mind to scan the rest of your body to confirm that it is ok, so you’re not obsessing only about the injured part. Imagine-and do-what you need to do to help yourself prevail.”

The effectiveness of all this will be enhanced if you have advance experience with positive mental imagery. “The more you practice this approach in a variety of situations, the more comfortable and skilled you’ll be with it and the better you can tap into the incredible power of your mind for help.”
[Brian Willis offers a new one-day course, Verbal Trauma Control for First Responders, that can prepare you for effectively using the power of suggestion in a variety of crisis situations. For more information, contact him at: (403) 809-5954 or ]http://www.winningmindtraining.com]

Next: The final installment of this special survival series in which Robert “Coach” Lindsey, one of the nation’s most popular officer survival experts, shares insights into the value of “starting to manage things before you even get there.” Stay tuned to the Street Survival Newsline!

survive serious injury?” Part 1

By Chuck Remsberg
The gunfight’s over. The attacking suspect lies dead on the pavement, but your partner is badly wounded, leaking blood profusely. Until EMTs arrive, what can you do, besides administer first aid ASAP, to help this desperate officer survive?

Realizing that your response could make a life-or-death difference, PoliceOne asked 5 prominent trainers of survival psychology what they would advise. And what would they suggest if you are the injured party, lying there alone or perhaps surrounded by others who don’t know what’s best to do or say?

In this 3-part series, these experts offer practical tactics you can use to confront grave survival challenges that may remain after the shooting stops. These techniques, in fact, can be applied in any serious injury situation-at an auto accident scene, for instance-whether you are helping a hurt LEO or a civilian.

Dr. Bill Lewinski, behavioral scientist with nearly 30 years’ experience in LE psychology; executive director, Force Science Research Center, Minnesota State University-Mankato:

“Negative fantasy is the greatest enemy of any success,” Lewinski says. “So in dealing with an injured officer or other person, you want to minimize the opportunities for their mind to roam to how bad the situation is. If they’re focused on the negative, their imagination can be the worst thing and can actually promote their going into shock, even dying.”

He recalls a terrible traffic accident, with multiple fatalities and severe injuries. “The person who was most traumatically affected at that scene was a rookie who just stood and watched what other people were doing. Because his brain was not productively occupied, it sought out all the negative stuff to dwell on.”

To successfully intervene, Lewinski recommends, first “catch the wounded officer’s attention so they hear what you say to them. You want to get them out of any internal preoccupation and focused on you. Let them know that ‘together we’re going to make it.’ For most people, there’s a tremendous calming effect in knowing that someone else is in the struggle with them.

“Your exact words aren’t so critical, but you need to be encouraging, to transmit the belief that no matter how gory or how bad the situation looks, together you can overcome it. By being calm and reassuring, you can help build their belief that by working with you, they will survive. And what they believe can be crucial to the end result.

“Give the injured officer something to do-to press a wound to help stop bleeding, to hold a piece of plastic against a sucking chest wound to help seal it, to talk to you, even to just look you in the eyes. Get them working with you in some way and keep them involved.

“Remind them to breath deeply and rhythmically as a calming technique. This helps lower their pulse rate and blood pressure and will help slow down bleeding and reduce the risk of going into shock. If they’re in a state of shock or panic, they’ll leak more. The slower blood flows, the greater the chance of it coagulating.

“Every little thing you can get them doing will help them feel empowered. The more empowered someone feels to be able to influence their survival, the more positive their attitude will be and the more effectively they will work with any resource that’s available to help them survive.

“Depending on how quickly you feel that medical help can reliably arrive, you may want to consider taking the wounded officer to the nearest ER rather than wait. This helps them see that they’re actually advancing toward professional care, rather than just lying there hoping and waiting for its indefinite arrival.”

Lewinski cites a situation in Canada in which an officer disengaged from a gunfight in order to walk his partner, who’d been shot in the face, to a hospital half a block away. “The officer decided it was more important to save his partner than to apprehend the bad guy right then. And the partner was boosted psychologically by knowing he was the top priority.”

If you are the wounded officer, focusing on whatever you can do to help yourself, even if it’s just breathing deeply to calm your system, will be important, Lewinski stresses. If other people are around, “providing direction for them will help you take charge of your own crisis. You can empower yourself by building a supportive team to get things done.

“Most important is a positive, determined belief that you can survive and are employing the mechanics to do it,” Lewinski told PoliceOne.

He describes a conservation officer who suffered multiple broken bones and other major injuries when his surveillance plane crashed in a remote part of Africa. He faced unbelievable dangers. The heat was so intense that he had to seek the only shade available, the plane itself which was leaking fuel and could explode. Lions and hyenas stalked him. When he rolled over at one point, he cracked his pelvis on both sides. Broken shards of bone chewed into his muscles whenever he moved. He suffered spasms from waste products building up in his body. He feared gangrene.

But he did everything he could think of to keep his mind off his injuries and on his survival, beginning with painstaking crawling to where he could retrieve sticks that he lashed to his broken legs with his boot laces to form splints.

“The key in his situation was his positive belief system-the will to survive, accompanied by the determination that he would survive,” Lewinski says. “In a situation in which many people would see only a bleak, morose future and would die of discouragement, this officer prevailed. He kept himself alive until finally he was found and rescued, as he firmly believed he would be.

“Your mind-what it is set to do and what you believe you can do-is the most powerful instrument you have. But this kind of mind-set doesn’t just fall on you from the sky. You have to cultivate from as early on as possible so you can bring it to the situation when your life or the life of a fellow officer is on the line.”

Paul Ruffolo, presently with a special investigations unit of the Illinois State Police, after 27 years as an LEO and police trainer in the US and abroad; ILEETA presenter on “The Will to Win: Self-Improvement and Motivation:”

“Trainers need to begin indoctrinating survival at the recruit level,” Ruffolo told PoliceOne.

“New officers need a reality check on how dangerous things can be on the street, to counteract the tendency many have early in their careers to think they’re invincible behind that badge and vest. But they also need to get into their head that there’s nothing out there they can’t survive. That does not mean there’s nothing that can hurt them.

“The attitude needs to be: ‘There’s some real bad stuff out there, but I can survive it. I can win in any situation.’ If an officer doesn’t have that mind-set, it’s going to be harder for him to cope with a severe wound.”

At an injury scene, Ruffolo advises that you “first do what you can to get the wounded officer safe from additional assault.” Then administer battlefield medicine, in which, unfortunately, many officers are “woefully inadequate,” he says. “A lot of times people don’t survive because basic first aid isn’t given. You need to know how to stop blood flow, how to get blood to the head so the officer doesn’t pass out, how to prevent shock. If an artery is spurting blood, that’s not the time to be talking. Tie it off-then we’ll talk.

“It’s important that the wounded officer know you’re there and that you’re not going to leave him, you’re going to stay with him physically and emotionally and see him through this ordeal. Touch is an important element. Hold his hand to make sure he knows you’re there. His body may be going through a tremendous upheaval and you may not be sure he hears or understands what you say.”

To motivate a will to survive, “try to get him focused on things that are important to him-family, job, religious beliefs, retirement, whatever. It’s easiest to get people to fight for what matters most to them. If they’re not around, these things they care about will suffer. They need to feel there’s a purpose in their surviving, that their surviving is critical to their values. By reinforcing the things most valuable to them you can link their thought pattern to their performance in fighting to hang onto life.

“If you know the officer well, you’ll probably know what linkage to capitalize on and to keep foremost in his mind. If you don’t know him, try kids or other family. Most people are very sensitive to this. If the officer is someone you’ve worked with closely, tell him you need him to survive because there’s a lot more you still need to learn from him.

“The wounded officer may constantly be asking: ‘Is it bad? Am I going to make it?’ Give only reassuring responses, not too much medical information. Make as light as possible of the injuries, even if they’re horrendous. Listen for cues that they think they’re not going to make it. They may ask you to deliver messages to their spouse or children, for instance. You can respond, ‘You’re going to tell them yourself, because you’re hanging in and you’re going to come out of this to see them again.’

Ruffolo encourages the use of guided visualization techniques to mentally rehearse helping a downed officer-and to help keep yourself alive if you are wounded. Part of creating the optimal mind-set, he believes, is putting aside cynicism and reinforcing the conviction that law enforcement is a special calling.

“As an officer, you go out and improve the quality of life for people every day. That is a noble thing. If you truly believe that, it constantly impacts your self-image. When you have a picture of yourself that requires you to always give your best, toward your goals, that will help you to survive when your best effort is needed to stay alive.

“When you do make it through, you’ll have a sense of gratefulness and a sense of ability. Surviving builds confidence. You’ll know, ‘I did this. If I did it today, I can do it again if I have to.”

NEXT: More life-saving insights from top survival experts on tips for staying alive after suffering serious injury.

The Development of Character

How can we teach the soldier to do this ; how can we take an ordinary peace-loving citizen and convert him into a soldierthat is, into a man who is willing to hold back his instinct of selfpreservation and sacrifice his life, perhaps for a thoughtless word of command? This is the problem we must solve if we wish to endow our men with that fighting spirit which commands success. 

How can we teach the soldier to do this ; how can we take an ordinary peace-loving citizen and convert him into a soldierthat is, into a man who is willing to hold back his instinct of selfpreservation and sacrifice his life, perhaps for a thoughtless word of command? This is the problem we must solve if we wish to endow our men with that fighting spirit which commands success.
There are two factors we must turn to for assistance ; the first is the character of man, and the second is the law of change. Character gives to us our direction ; change enables us to concentrate and distribute. Certain men possess characters which are totally unsuited for war, especially for combatant work ; these we must avoid, but their class is not a large one, since most men are in nature primitive, and primitive man is a fighting animal.
And now as to change.All mortal things are born, they live, and they perish ;their lives are one continuous change ;for no man even for an instant remains the same man. It is truly a wonderful thing to realize that we cannot raise an eyelid, breathe a breath, or utter a word, without our bodies and brains being changed.In fact, there is not a single thing which surrounds us which is not changing us, at this very moment, for better or for worse.This being so, then, because of the law of change, inseparable from life, it is possible for us to take a man, and, through his surroundings, change him from a peace-loving citizen into a soldier-that is, into a man who thinks more of an order than he does of his self-preservation.
How, by applying this law, can we best control the instinct of self-preservation? I will take an example in order to illustrate what I mean.
A child is brought up in some filthy slum, surrounded by squalor; it witnesses theft and listens to lying ; drunkenness and sordidness surround it ; its life and environments are one long degradation.Is it to be wondered at that this child becomes a criminal? No ;for in such circumstances few children will possess sufficient force of character to win the moral battle against these influences.
In place of filth and squalor, drunkenness and theft. I will substitute cleanliness, sobriety, and honesty-the family virtuesand in place of a criminal we get a moral man. I will now add honour, patriotism, and comradeship-the national virtuesand we get the rough elements of the soldier. Suppose that these are developed by adding knowledge, skill, endurance, and pluck-the individual virtues-then we get the fighting man, the soldier, a synthesis in every sense.
We must remember this-a man’s mind is being continually bombarded by impressions from outside, and, as his character changes with each shot, it is our duty to see that it changes in the right direction. 

Police Rifles

There’s nothing magical about introducing a rifle into a pistol fight, but the results can be, and usually are, significant—for all parties involved. The downrange effect of a rifle, even a .223, is substantial. From muzzle blast to terminal ballistics, virtually any true rifle round is several levels ahead of any handgun round in every category. At rifle velocities, suddenly, the term “stopping power” actually comes into play.
But why the seemingly sudden interest in rifles for police? In light of the new generation of shotguns and high-performance ammunition for them, why can’t shotguns, the “classic” police long gun, handle the chores involved? Frankly, there are simply times when the ability to direct well-aimed, powerful, center-fire rifle fire at a threat is simply the solution to a situation gone bad.
Additionally, muzzle blast and recoil often hinder training and application of the common police “dozen-gauge” pump gun. Small-framed shooters are frequently intimidated, consequently failing to train properly—or enough—and are often hesitant to deploy a shotgun when it’s needed most. The weak part of the equation is that most of the fright involved is based on reputation rather than reality. Many petite officers can handle a 12 gauge with aplomb, but the fear still exists. All of which brings us to a handy solution. 

Handling a rifle or carbine in the close confines of a beat car takes training and close attention. With most agencies, however, familiarity with the shotgun being deployed in similar circumstances makes the transition easy. Keeping the rifle in the trunk may often mean a delay in putting it into play—seconds that may spell the difference between success or failure for an officer on the street.
But Why?
While addressing a study group convened to investigate a move to rifles for patrol on the San Diego Police Department, a SWAT Commander said, “We should only equip certain patrol officers with long guns and then give them special training.”
At this, a senior patrol sergeant commented wryly, “In light of how poorly the average cop shoots his handgun, maybe we should give rifles to every cop and have special ‘pistol-trained’ officers who are issued pistols on a limited basis.”
There is usually a core group of highly motivated officers on any department that train hard to keep proficient with their duty handguns. But there is usually also a larger segment that simply put in the quarterly or half-yearly qualification shoots, and that’s it. Often, those same shooters pass by the skin of their collective teeth. These are usually the same groups that shy away from those Remington 870s locked in racks in their cars. Enter the rifle.
Based upon informal testing conducted by the author and others, it is very easy to see the improvement when you hand a rifle to even a mediocre handgun shot. Their accuracy at any normal handgun range is often astounding, and an added bonus is that their positive performance results in heaps of self-confidence.
Suddenly, a target that used to look like it was shot with a shotgun loaded with buckshot now displays nicely centered hits. All of which is important in the field. There’s no need for multiple handgun shots to be whizzing past a miscreant’s torso when one or two carefully placed rifle rounds can accomplish the same job quickly, easily and decisively. A high level of confidence translates into officers taking the rifle out of the car when responding to calls warranting the possible use of such force. A long gun in the hand is worth 10, or a 100, or a 1,000 shotguns tucked tidily away in the rack of a black and white.
With a pistol-caliber rifle, effective range is extended to around 100 yds. or a bit more; while with a true rifle round such as a .223 Rem., 7.62×39 mm or .308 Win., that range can easily be 200 yds. or better, even in a novice’s hands. However, having said that, we have to remember the overwhelming majority of gunfights involving police occur at toe-to-toe distances, or at best, seven to 10 yards. Think of a car stop, officers covering the doors of a bank or supplying back up during a stop on a group of gang members. Do we still need a rifle? You bet.
“Rifle fights,” as Clint Smith, Director of the Thunder Ranch training facility says, “take place at about the same distance as pistol fights and there’s a reason for that. You can’t shoot what you can’t see.” So, when we add the truth that many officers often miss badly at fingertip distances during gunfights to the unreliable stopping effectiveness of most handgun rounds, the rifle becomes even more attractive. Accurate, hard-hitting, easy to control, effective and generally the right tool for the job—a rifle just may be a working cop’s best friend in the field when the chips are down. We’ve seen the smile and look of confidence on the faces of young trainees on the range after they have just scored their first center hits with rifles. Big medicine, indeed, and in more ways than the obvious one involving firepower.

A New Idea?
On Sunday afternoon, September 4, 1887, Sheriff Commodore Perry Owens rode into Holbrook, Ariz., to arrest murderer Andy Cooper, who was holed-up in Cooper’s mother’s house. Owens held his Winchester 1886, chambered for a large-bore rifle cartridge, as he climbed the steps onto the front porch. Cooper answered the door with a revolver in his hand and, after shutting the door on him, Owens swung his big Winchester up and fired through it, hitting Cooper in the stomach.
As he levered another cartridge into the chamber, Owens moved off the porch just as John Blevins, also hiding in the house, snapped off a shot at Owens. He missed–but Owens didn’t—his rifle round crashing through yet another door, striking Blevins in the shoulder. Looking into a window, Owens spotted Cooper, revolver in hand, waiting for a clear shot. Chambering another big cartridge, Owens fired through the window, driving the bullet deeply into Cooper’s hip.
Sam Blevins then grabbed Cooper’s revolver and tried to shoot Owens. The Sheriff’s 1886 Winchester boomed again, sending a big lead bullet through his body at the hips. Mose Roberts, a brother in law of the suspect, tried to flank Owens at the side of the porch. The Sheriff sidestepped the attack and, once again, the Winchester spoke, sending a bullet through Roberts’ chest. In less then a minute, Owens had hit four suspects, killing three. All in all, it was a decisive display of marksmanship, cool-headedness under fire and proof of the undisputed effectiveness of a rifle in a close-quarter fight. The early lawmen realized it, and now, many today realize it too.
Handguns are convenient to carry, offer some modicum of self-defense capability but are makeshift weapons at best. As Clint Smith says, “A handgun is a good thing to use to fight your way to your rifle.” Why settle for second best? You’re only betting your life on it.

This line-up shows the wide-range of possibilities in commonly available patrol rifles. While there are many “exotic” models to choose from, often tight department budgets dictate a more realistic approach to the patrol rifle question.
Shown left to right are the AR15, Ruger Mini-14, Winchester Mod. 94, .30 Carbine, SKS, K98 Mauser in .308 (converted military rifle), Shortened .303 Enfield and a Ruger PC9 carbine.
The Hardware
Much has been said about which rifle is best for policework, and many trainers and officers have their own strong opinions. Recently, Police Magazine ran a survey of agencies to find which rifles were either authorized, issued or approved for patrol use (not SWAT). The results were both surprising, and not surprising. Of some 89 respondents, the AR-15 platform in .223, as made by many manufacturers, was the clear winner with 36 responses.
The Ruger Mini-14 in .223 garnered 12 responses, with AK-47 variants (in both .223 and 7.62×39 mm) coming in with eight. The new Ruger PC (Police Carbine) in either 9 mm or .40 S&W fostered six and tied with bolt actions. The M1A/M-14 was chosen five times and the humble SKS in
7.62×39 mm came in with three. Surprisingly (but much to our delight) the Winchester Model 94 lever action in .30-30 Win. was the chosen rifle for four agencies. The venerable M1 Carbine got two honorable mentions, the H&K MP5 was mentioned three times and the Colt AR 9 mm submachine gun was chosen twice.
Keeping in mind this was a survey with a limited response it still paints a clear picture. First, the AR-15 platform was the clear winner. Ease of use, effectiveness of the .223 caliber and ready availability may point to some of the reasons. It is battle-proven, so it should perform well. The Mini-14 is affordable, has an uncomplicated manual of arms and offers the kind of rugged reliability that has made it the rifle of choice for a wide cross-section of agencies. Additionally, the Ruger PC or Police Carbine was custom-designed to meet the needs for pistol-caliber rifles for police and accomplishes that goal well.
The surprises were the wide cross-section of different rifles chosen. Perhaps the old adage of “use what’s at hand” serves in agencies today. With budget crunches, those AK variants, SKSs and Winchesters are all inexpensive, easy to find and certainly serve the purpose. Indeed, many (the author included) think the Model 94 may arguably be the best of the lot for patrol use. Easy to use, powerful and able to be carried with a fully loaded magazine that will never get lost, the Model 94 is a simple solution to an often-complex problem. Had several officers on the scene of the famous 1997 Hollywood bank robbery and shootout had Model 94s on hand, things may have been solved quickly and effectively. Concerns about the magazine tube becoming dented could be easily overcome with a full-length nylon or plastic stock. Something to think about …
Today, police have more selections then ever when it comes to long guns. From AR-type rifles from manufacturers such as Colt, Les Baer, DPMS, Rock River, ArmaLite, Bushmaster and Olympic to the Heckler & Koch MP series, Ruger, Kel-Tec, Springfield Armory’s M1A rifles and Remington’s newest Police Rifle (a pump rifle that uses the same methodology as the 870 shotgun), these are, indeed, the “good old days.” An agency or individual officer needs to look at the needs of their communities, their budgets and their commitment to training before they make any selections.

While iron sights may be most appropriate on “general-issue” patrol rifles, some models (such as the AR-15 platform, for instance) may be equipped with an optical sight to enhance performance. The new Leupold Mark 4 CQ/T (top) is a 1-3X illuminated dot/reticle scope rugged enough for virtually any police or military situation. The Meprolight Reflex Sight (bottom) is compact and delivers surprising performance, using available light to illuminate the bright amber aiming point. In the dark, Tritium takes over to supply the illumination.
Sights can be an issue at times, but as Clint Smith is fond of saying: “The side with the simplest guns and uniforms usually wins the war.” If an optical sight is chosen, make sure it’s tough as nails, such as the MK4 CQ/T from Leupold or any number of others from many other manufacturers. Generally, rugged aperture sights, perhaps with a tritium insert, may suit patrol functions best. Also, a simple sling is a necessity on any rifle. Just as a duty pistol is nearly useless without a holster, so is a long gun a hindrance without a sling.

Caliber Quandary
This is actually a simple question and it deserves a simple answer. Once the hype is cleared from the table it boils down to two elementary things: Penetration and controllability. Many are under the assumption that any round fired from a rifle will over-penetrate, when in actuality the reverse is often true.
The classic .223, especially in the 55-gr. standard loading, will rarely exit when a torso is struck. The bullet tumbles and breaks up, usually within 10” in ballistic gelatin and exhibits the same kind of performance in humans. Often, a 9 mm, .40 S&W or .45 ACP will pass completely through the same torso. So indeed, we have a high level of accuracy, controllability, tremendous and true stopping power and a high likelihood of no over-penetration–all with a rifle round. No handgun round can match this kind of real-world performance.
When it comes time to reach out or to penetrate a barricade, bust through a window or stop a vehicle, its hard to make a better case than the .30-cal. rifles. A Springfield Armory M1A Scout Squad rifle in .308 can solve just about any problem a rural cop may encounter and keep heads down until back-up arrives. Ditto for a Winchester Model 94, FN-FAL, Ruger Ranch Rifle or AK/SKS (in 7.63×39 mm), or even a bolt-action rifle in the right hands. Would the above perform well in a more urban environment? In some situations where suspects are barricaded, or covering fire needs to be placed to rescue wounded, yes. But generally, an urban environment calls for the .223 and then the various pistol caliber rifles. Additionally, some models of .30 caliber rifles recoil enough to cause some officers to balk.
Think of the pistol caliber rifles as simply an ultra-accurate method of delivering pistol ammunition–with perhaps a slight increase in effectiveness from the increased velocity afforded by additional barrel length. But no pistol caliber carbine or rifle is the equal of a .223/.308 or other center-fire rifle round in virtually all categories.

A wide cross-section of common cartridges make good fodder for police rifles. From left to right: the 9 mm, .40S&W, .45 ACP, .357 Mag. and .44 Mag. are all handgun rounds that can accomplish many of the duties a patrol rifle may be called upon to handle. After the .44 Magnum is the .30 Carbine, .223 Rem., 7.62×39 mm, 30-30 Win., .308 Win., 30-’06 Sprg. and the venerable 45-70 Gov’t. While the .30 Carbine is a “cross-over” round and arguable more of a pistol caliber, the rest can handle virtually any potential “problem” in the field! The 12 gauge shell at far right is shown for comparison.
Ammo
One of the most revolutionary developments lately has been in .30-cal. frangible or reduced-penetration ammunition for policework. The Hornady TAP (Tactical Application Police) ammo is a frangible bullet loaded to match-grade accuracy levels. It offers .308 Win. performance but with a limited chance of over-penetration. Other offerings by Delta Frangible (as loaded by a wide cross section of manufacturers and custom loaders) offer other frangible bullet options.
Testing has shown it is difficult to beat the standard 55-gr. FMJ for the .223. Stopping power is tremendous in most situations and the light recoil and handy weapons platforms all help to make the .223 the most-used choice in urban police rifles.
In the various handgun calibers, most agencies use their issue handgun ammunition, which makes sense … usually. It’s important to be aware that the longer barrel of a rifle often allows more efficient burning of powders, causing an increase in velocity. Often at the higher velocities, the pistol bullets expand radically, breaking up and under-penetrating. Some agencies have actually gone to two types of ammunition because of this. For instance, Federal Tactical handgun ammo is more strongly constructed than standard loads. This is a natural combination for pistol caliber carbines and duty handguns. Most other makers offer similar load options.
As Lieutenant Dave Spaulding, noted police trainer and writer said: “The shotgun has, historically been a better option at times than the duty handgun. With the rifle, we can give the troops a better, better option.”

Environment

Every organization has a particular work environment, which dictates to a considerable degree how its leaders respond to problems and opportunities. This is brought about by its heritage of past leaders and its present leaders.
Goals, Values, and Concepts
Leaders exert influence on the environment via three types of actions:
1. The goals and performance standards they establish.
2. The values they establish for the organization.
3. The business and people concepts they establish. 

Successful organizations have leaders who set high standards and goals across the entire spectrum, such as strategies, market leadership, plans, meetings and presentations, productivity, quality, and reliability.
Values reflect the concern the organization has for its employees, customers, investors, vendors, and surrounding community. These values define the manner in how business will be conducted.
Concepts define what products or services the organization will offer and the methods and processes for conducting business.
These goals, values, and concepts make up the organization’s “personality” or how the organization is observed by both outsiders and insiders. This personality defines the roles, relationships, rewards, and rites that take place.
Roles ad Relationships
Roles are the positions that are defined by a set of expectations about behavior of any job incumbent. Each role has a set of tasks and responsibilities that may or may not be spelled out. Roles have a powerful effect on behavior for several reasons, to include money being paid for the performance of the role, there is prestige attached to a role, and a sense of accomplishment or challenge.
Relationships are determined by a role’s tasks. While some tasks are performed alone, most are carried out in relationship with others. The tasks will determine who the role-holder is required to interact with, how often, and towards what end. Also, normally the greater the interaction, the greater the liking. This in turn leads to more frequent interaction. In human behavior, its hard to like someone whom we have no contact with, and we tend to seek out those we like. People tend to do what they are rewarded for, and friendship is a powerful reward. Many tasks and behaviors that are associated with a role are brought about by these relationships. That is, new task and behaviors are expected of the present role holder because a strong relationship was developed in the past, either by that role holder or a prior role holder.
Culture and Climate
There are two distinct forces that dictate how to act within an organization: culture and climate.
Each organization has its own distinctive culture. It is a combination of the founders, past leadership, current leadership, crises, events, history, and size. This results in rites: the routines, rituals, and the “way we do things.” These rites impact individual behavior on what it takes to be in good standing (the norm) and directs the appropriate behavior for each circumstance.
The climate is the feel of the organization, the individual and shared perceptions and attitudes of the organization’s members. While the culture is the deeply rooted nature of the organization that is a result of long-held formal and informal systems, rules, traditions, and customs; climate is a short-term phenomenon created by the current leadership. Climate represents the beliefs about the “feel of the organization” by its members. This individual perception of the “feel of the organization” comes from what the people believe about the activities that occur in the organization. These activities influence both individual and team motivation and satisfaction, such as:
• How well does the leader clarify the priorities and goals of the organization? What is expected of us?
• What is the system of recognition, rewards, and punishments in the organization?
• How competent are the leaders?
• Are leaders free to make decision?
• What will happen if I make a mistake?
Organizational climate is directly related to the leadership and management style of the leader, based on the values, attributes, skills, and actions, as well as the priorities of the leader. Compare this to “ethical climate”—the “feel of the organization” about the activities that have ethical content or those aspects of the work environment that constitute ethical behavior. The ethical climate is the feel about whether we do things right; or the feel of whether we behave the way we ought to behave. The behavior (character) of the leader is the most important factor that impacts the climate.
On the other hand, culture is a long-term, complex phenomenon. Culture represents the shared expectations and self-image of the organization. The mature values that create “tradition” or the “way we do things here.” Things are done differently in every organization. The collective vision and common folklore that define the institution are a reflection of culture. Individual leaders, cannot easily create or change culture because culture is a part of the organization. Culture influences the characteristics of the climate by its effect on the actions and thought processes of the leader. But, everything you do as a leader will effect the climate of the organization.