Sure.Originally Posted by HCM
I shamelessly use Paul Howe's procedure as the mechanism by which students can correctly evaluate a potential threat and whether that person satisfies the common criteria of ability, opportunity, and jeopardy.
Nothing really new or innovative here. I'm sure others have done these types of things long before I came along. But I really try to impress upon the students the importance of doing it this way.
In the classroom, I explain the importance of a thorough procedure by asking them to think of themselves in the position of being the one assessed suppose they have just shot someone in self-defense, are now standing there holding a gun, when another concealed carrier sees them or responding LE arrives. That responding party had better not stop assessing when they see the student's gun in their hands, and my students need to afford complete assessment to others as well. Suggestions are also made to get into a position to put the gun down or away upon seeing responders arrive or, if safe, putting the gun away before that point.
I use the example in the classroom of a person approaching them in a darkened parking lot (with rusing verbiage my dog, my grandma, my bus ticket, can I talk to you for a second, hey sir you dropped this, etc.) We talk about that, then I bring it back to Paul Howe's procedure by turning the lights down, tucking my black shirt behind my black gun (grip now visible in the waistband), then walk toward the student tables with the same rusing verbiage, but now with a visible pistol in my waistband if they look there. If they don't look there, the lighting is just low enough that it's easy to miss.
On the range, when we get to the 360 scan in post-shooting procedure, I try not to let them do the perfunctory non-scan that is commonly seen, and instead actually look at the real people me and the assistant instructors who are really there and evaluate us properly, looking at the whole person, then the hands, then the waistline, etc., and consciously practice evaluating us for ability, opportunity, and jeopardy.
They will see people known to them, their instructors, in uniform or normal clothes with ID badges, who have ability (some of us visibly so and some not) and opportunity, but are not doing or saying anything that makes us a legitimate threat to them. And I make it clear that at no time will we do anything requiring any actual response by them.
As we continue running drills and practicing post-shooting procedure, the staff behind the students may have various objects in hand. We use common items wallet, keys, cell phone, flashlight. Then I conspicuously pick at my nails with a big knife while they are scanning. I specifically question them on that one and we discuss again that seeing a weapon in hand, in absence of threatening behavior or circumstances, does not constitute a deadly threat. Some day, as an example, they are going to be at a mini mart and some genius is going to whip out a big knife at the counter to open their pepperoni stick.
There is also a live-fire low light exercise we do that deals with identifying objects depicted on targets. One has a gun held near the high torso, but a badge at the waistline as if clipped to a belt. They better look at that whole person and waistline.
It also should be addressed when they get to FOF/scenario training.
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