While I recall seeing at least one of these in a motor officer's boot, I never saw nor heard of anyone actually using one as a restraint.
While I recall seeing at least one of these in a motor officer's boot, I never saw nor heard of anyone actually using one as a restraint.
We were issued Safarilands with the thumb break. I can remember watching a revolver fall out of one during a fight. Dude get your gun!
Just a dog chauffeur that used to hold the dumb end of the leash.
Started Jan 3, 1978. Central Illinois.
We were taught early on to use "common sense" when dealing with someone carrying. If the person was a "good guy", no action was taken. If you were dealing with a street urchin or dirt bag, different story. I worked in a large housing project on our south side. Several men I knew always carried when on their way to work or wherever because of the environment. No problem.
But just like today, a known group of bad asses carried all the time also. We would arrest them, seize the weapon and write a report. They would be released the next morning. We'd arrest them again with in days. Just like the instructions on a bottle of shampoo, Wash, Rinse, Repeat.
I noticed half way thru my career (retired 2008 from the street) the dirt bags were getting better and better weapons. Not unusual to come across AK / AR any more.
JW
Many believed that the thumb-break slowed their draw and on a hot call, would preemptively unsnap the holster. You see this with some of the folks carrying the Safariland SLS today. They'll rotate the 'hood' out of the way.Originally Posted by Coyotesfan97
I was on the PD's equipment and facility committee and started addressing leather covered steel shanks as a requirement for an approved holster. The real bad-ass coppers were stretching out the thumb break Model 29 holsters until the frikken gun was laying out away from their legs a few degrees away from horizontal. The thought of doing away with their beloved holsters was heresy, until word got around about a neighboring agency. During a domestic an off duty Sgt who was somewhat intoxicated twisted a female officer's holster and the leather gave way. On the spot reports indicated that there was absolute and immediate silence and the Sarge handed the holstered gun back to the officer.
I did personally witness another guys Model 66 sliding up a bar floor as it got bumped out of a Model 2800 "Judge" holster during a bar fight.
Last edited by FNFAN; 12-11-2019 at 10:13 PM.
-All views expressed are those of the author and do not reflect those of the author's employer-
I started in 1981. I remember seeing ads for the "Iron Claw" in Law & Ordermagazine but I never knew anybody who carried one. We had one in a desk drawer in the office for a time, and it disappeared, and then reappeared in the display case full of patches & memorabilia in the lobbey.
I started in a little town that had a wide open weapons policy. The Chief carried a Browning P-35 (condition two, hammer down on a loaded chamber), three of us carried M1911 pattern pistols (all were involved in IPSC shooting at the time) one guy had a Colt Trooper revolver, another had a Smith & Wesson 27, another a S&W 28, another a S&W 19, and the Sergeant (who was a small guy with small hands) carried a Colt Diamondback in .38 Special.
One partner carried his M1911 in a Bucheimer Auto Draw break front holster. One night we went to a domestic disturbance (which turned out to be a slightly drunk married couple yelling at each other over the charge card bill for Christmas) and he slipped on the ice exiting the squad car. He didn't fall, but he hit the butt of the gun on the door frame somehow and it pushed the gun out of the front of the holster and it landed in the snow. He didn't realize that had happened, and while we were approaching the front door to make contact I asked him if he wanted his gun back. He never used that holster again.
Only time I'd ever seen one of these was on display at the Texas Rangers' Museum in Waco.
How exactly did they work?
by twisting the handle, you could apply pressure to the claw around the subject's wrist to cause pain compliance if the subject didn't come along willingly. I guess this would have best been used where you had to walk the subject to jail, say you worked a foot beat and had no radio or other means to request prisoner transport.
Last edited by LtDave; 01-14-2020 at 02:13 PM.
The first indication a bad guy should have that I'm dangerous is when his
disembodied soul is looking down at his own corpse wondering what happened.
When did people start carrying smaller belt worn flashlights vs the huge mag lights? Mag lights were still the thing when I started but not for long.
In 1993, I bought the new Surefire 6P, with rechargeable battery and charger extension, for around $165 if I remember correctly. 65 BLINDING lumens. I had just graduated the Academy and threw down the big money. After purchasing the belt holder, it cost over half of what my first G19 cost.
I bought my first SF 6P in '92-'93. On nights I still always carried an SL20 because they were approved impact weapons. Taught a low light class Sunday evening, I drug out a 6P and compared it to various Streamlights, a Surefire Fury, and a Modlite. Quite the difference.
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