04/23/2024
When we look at the science behind gunfighting, the average time it takes an officer to draw the handgun from a level II security holster and fire their first round is 1.5 seconds (1.7 seconds for a level III holster). In that amount of time, the offender has been able to fire between 6 and 8 rounds.
Most departments and trainers get stuck in a rut of doing things because that's the way we've always done it or blaming it on safety concerns (keeping fi****ms training separated from combatives training). Statistics reveal that police officers are more likely to be shot/killed in ambush style attacks. I would argue that nearly every attack on an officer is an ambush style attack.
An ambush is the fight you didn't see coming and the bad guy knows they have the advantage when they initiate the attack, and so do we, so why then, are we not incorporating more scenario based training in our training curriculums? Many would argue, budget, safety, coverage, etc. While that may be a good reason from the perspective of the agency's Administration, it will sound like nothing more than an excuse to the surviving spouse or child(ren) of the fallen officer.
Just something for Administration and training providers to consider.
