Hokey religions and ancient lubricants are no match for a good Group IV PAO
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That a well-regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe defense of a free state;
Just a dog chauffeur that used to hold the dumb end of the leash.
Yepp the dog is just a tool like the Taser or the baton on your belt. They can fail. We can put them in situations they haven't trained for or seen. Sometimes we forget we're seeing things the dog can't.
Chuck is right. There are bad guys out there who are dedicated enough to fight dogs. You train, you better be, training your dogs for encountering that 1% who will actively fight them. It's how you select dogs and how you train them to make them street worthy. Just like coppers you put stress on them in training and inoculate them for it. You make them think they are the baddest dog on earth because we could meet someone like that any time we deploy. Every know and then you have to get the best agitator you have and put them through the ringer. Put them in a fight and push them right up to the point of failure. You expose them to as much as you can in training and on the streets. That's how you get ready. If a handler isn't working his dog actively it's a failure waiting to happen. It's a team event. If your dog is in a fight for his life you had better be there fighting with him.
One of the phrases I like I heard in SKIDDS (SWAT K9 Interacting During Deployments) during team area searches. You never know what's behind that gate you're opening. Is this THE gate. You and your dog better be ready.
Some of the more gruesome bites I've seen are guys who start punching the dog in the head and the dog releases and rebites the hand. Ive seen crotch bites too. Its not pretty.
Just a dog chauffeur that used to hold the dumb end of the leash.
Depends on the panhandler, which is why my post was as it was. Lots of training for dealing with interpersonal conflict, armed or unarmed, deals with low-motivation attackers because that is the overwhelming likelihood of what most folks will encounter. People have been attacked and killed by panhandlers. But they are few and far between, so training folks to respond to the panhandler as if he were a terrorist trying to make it to Heaven probably isn't the best way to prepare folks for the more common interactions they might face.
"PLAN FOR YOUR TRAINING TO BE A REFLECTION OF REAL LIFE INSTEAD OF HOPING THAT REAL LIFE WILL BE A REFLECTION OF YOUR TRAINING!"
"PLAN FOR YOUR TRAINING TO BE A REFLECTION OF REAL LIFE INSTEAD OF HOPING THAT REAL LIFE WILL BE A REFLECTION OF YOUR TRAINING!"
I agree, it is not "train for one and not the other." But it is a matter of limited resources and how best to use them. Let's face it, the majority of gun owners won't get any formal training, and for those thta do get formal training it will probably be 8-16 hours over their lifetime. Given that realization I'd rather see the training focus on how best to work with what is likely as opposed to learning how to work with the unlikely and hope that it also works for the unlikely.
"PLAN FOR YOUR TRAINING TO BE A REFLECTION OF REAL LIFE INSTEAD OF HOPING THAT REAL LIFE WILL BE A REFLECTION OF YOUR TRAINING!"
Is there anything in particular y'all'd recommend a civilian do in that situation? Paul Howe likes to say, "The cop who responds might have two decades on the job, or two days on the job." Thusly, in my imagined scenarios, I'm always focused on putting the pistol away as soon as safely possible so that no good guys get over-amped and service the wrong problem.
I am extremely weary of open carry for this exact reason. There's zero guarantee that people will either respond, or even instigate, in a rational fashion. Raindogblue posted this just recently, and I think it hammers a point home:
RDB's demeanor and confidence no doubt played a critical role in that de-escalation. Call me crazy, but I don't have much faith in your average OC'er handling things with as much discretion.At a light off Second, a transient staggers over to the open driver's window of my patrol car. His hand is wrapped in a blanket, in the shape of a gun, at me.
He screams, "I got a gun." He leers, juts out his lower jaw. "What the fuck you gonna do?"
I look at his hand, then lock eyes. He backs up, aims his finger in the air, and walks away.
I watch him leave.
A man in the car next to me says, "This city is a circus. I appreciate what you do."
I thanked him as he drove away.
"Sapiens dicit: 'Ignoscere divinum est, sed noli pretium plenum pro pizza sero allata solvere.'" - Michelangelo