Well, if everything goes smoothly, I will be stepping away from the Thin Blue Line effective the final Saturday in January, a bit short of 34 years of sworn service. This will allow me to work one final Houston Marathon, an OT detail that I usually enjoy, on the Fourteenth. (Retirements are normally effective when a pay period ends, and this pay period runs from the Thirteenth to the Twenty-Sixth.) My final night to work a patrol shift, alone, will probably be the night of the First of January. I may decide to ride one or more Tuesday nights with a specific partner, but otherwise, I am mostly using leave, effective the night of January Second.
What could cause a delay? If I become the subject of an IA investigation, I would have to delay retirement until cleared, or if not cleared, until the disciplinary period has run its course, in order to be granted the status of “honorably retired.” I would want to be honorably retired, regardless, but in addition, the ability to continue to legally carry a handgun, under Texas law and the LEOSA, is dependent upon being honorably retired.
If I thought it would hurt my fellow officers, by depriving them of my knowledge and skills, I would stay longer. Well, my knowledge and some skills would remain helpful, but physically, I am becoming more of a liability than an asset. My duty belt size has not changed since I was a slim rookie, but my relexes are slow, and my ability to quickly get onto my feet, from sitting, and especially from on the ground, is diminished. I used to amaze folks with my ability see/perceive things in the darkness, but those days are long gone; I now miss things that others see easily.
This being pistol forum forum dot com, well, my carry pistols may change a bit, but more due to aging and injuries affecting what I can comfortably shoot, than being freed from PD policy. My G26 has already been sold. The G19 will probably diminish in importance, because it now hurts to shoot them, and practice with a larger, heavier G17 does not necessarily translate to G19 skill. My G19 skills are much more perishable than my G17 skills. I may keep my G17 pistols, and sell the G19 pistols.
Shooting a full-sized, all-steel 1911 is not exactly comfortable, but they do not hurt my right hand and wrist, as do my G19 pistols. What works against the 1911 as a carry pistol is that the draw from IWB positioned at or behind the hip requires some geometry that my aging right shoulder finds challenging. The draw is possible, but slow. AIWB of a 5” 1911 puts the muzzle end of the holster jabbing uncomfortably into my thigh. The obvious solution is OWB, and dressing around the gun and rig. I have done this for a number of years, off and on.
A shorter 1911 is an option, should I decide to try try them again, and if the effects of recoil are tolerable, and I find one that is trustworthy.
I have found AIWB Nirvana, a 2.25” SP101 in a JMCK George. If an SP101 is “primary,” it is rarely alone. The second gun can be anything from a second SP101, to a GP100, 1911, Glock, or a Speed/Security Six, etc.
Being freed from PD policy will radically change my defensive long gun choices. I let my patrol rifle qual lapse a number of years ago, when my aging eyes started to really needed an optic, which was forbidden at the time, and because I was satisfied working the night watch with a shotgun. As firearms policy applies 24/7*, my sole off-the-clock long gun choice has been shotguns since about 2005. (870P, then joined by Benelli M2.) Effective 27 January 2018, at 00:00:01 Hours, I will be able to grab my BCM Lightweight Middy, without having to be concerned about pleading “weapon of opportunity” to a supervisor or investigator.
Finally, there is the recent birth of my second grandson, soon after his older brother started walking. I have another “job” to be doing. Life is good.
*Pure home defense with any weapon of opportunity has been seen as generally acceptable for several years. The problem gets more complex when the officer, or an attacker, are not standing on the premises of the officer’s home.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by voodoo_man
