This is the first installment on the Ten Deadly Errors as written by Pierce Brooks. For the whole list, refer to the introduction to this series here: http://blueprojectstalbans.blogspot.com/2015/03/10-deadly-errors-original-text.html
1) Failure to maintain proficiency and care of weapon, vehicle, and equipment
Wow is this an overlooked one. If the last time you went shooting was your last qualification, you're wrong. I must confess I am wrong many times. Hey, life gets in the way. Spouses, kids, track meets, football games, cheer-leading competitions, it all adds up to not enough hours in the day. Regardless, you have to make time for range time. It can be tough when ammunition prices spike, but there are ways to get some trigger time in that won't break your bank. One former co-worker of mine had a 22 pistol and went shooting about every week or so and probably shot 500 rounds for next to nothing. Keeping the eye & trigger finger connection trained doesn't always require the caliber of your sidearm.
But we are more than our sidearm. When was the last time you practiced drawing your sidearm? At least once a week I empty my Glock and practice with my duty holster. Every few weeks it's the same drill only with some movement. You never need your sidearm in to play until you need it quickly. That is the time you don't want to be a beat slow. Remember boys and girls to empty that gun first! Why do I do this? Well, I have always done that. But as I've gotten older and changed assignments to a more administrative role, I have felt the need to stay proficient. I don't wear my uniform every day so my method of carrying changes. When in civilian clothes I have a different holster naturally. It is of a similar type to my duty holster, so the muscle memory doesn't change, but I now have to deal with a jacket or other clothing covering the holster. Doing 10 or so dry draws makes me feel a bit more ready in case something happens. When transitioning back to uniform carry, it is a requirement to adapt to that holster and it's extra layer of security. If I don't get my mind right for that holster, there could be dire consequences.
Why bother you ask? Well if you utter those words, "It will never happen here" you can stop reading now because there is nothing I can say that will change your mind. You are so far out in the land of unicorns and rainbows I can't help you. Hopefully you are not an instructor who will poison the minds of people you "train." Let me clear: IT CAN HAPPEN HERE! IT CAN HAPPEN WHERE YOU ARE! People probably told Chief Tim McKenna of the Chardon, OH Police Department that a school shooting would never happen in that small town of just over 5000 people. Yet they had performed drills with area law enforcement, local fire and EMS, and even the city's street department ready to block streets off with dump trucks. All of those drills paid off on February 27, 2012 when five students were murdered.
What about your backup weapon? If you carry a backup sidearm, practice on getting that in to play. If it's an ankle piece, you better run on the treadmill with it so you are confident that holster is comfortable and the gun is secure. If you carry a knife for this purpose, can you get to it quickly? Can you open it under stress? Is it in an accessible location?
Are your handcuffs in good working order? Can you open them or are they virtually glued shut by dust, grime, and dried something off that dirty guy you arrested a few months ago? One of my coworkers wipes his handcuffs down with a wipe after every arrest. In case you haven't noticed we don't deal with the cleanest of people. It's really sad to make the one clean decent person who just made a bad decision wear the same handcuffs as the heroin addict who hasn't bathed in weeks.
Check that TASER every day you carry it. Check your ASP baton to make sure it still opens. Check the oil in your cruiser before you start it. Look underneath for any wet spots which could indicate fluid leakage. Turn on the emergency equipment and walk around the cruiser to make sure they all work. With LED lights, they won't burn out anytime soon but all electrical systems can fail so check them anyway.
How do your shoe or boot strings look? You don't want to be late for roll call because you had to scramble for string. Maybe change them when they first start to appear worn. I have found if I start the shift bad by being especially late or scrambling because of some oversight, things tended to snowball and my whole day was shot. Maybe that's just me and I am a doom and gloom guy. But just maybe I want my mind right when I am at work.
We should do these things because we need to and not because someone tells you to. It is what is REQUIRED to be the police! Recently I found a great video of former Baltimore Raven Ray Lewis talking to some college football players on what it takes to be great. He said, "Greatness is a lot of small things, stacked on top of each other." Watch the video here:
http://walkercorporatelaw.com/motivational-speeches/greatness-is-a-lot-of-small-things-done-well-via-ray-lewis/
Friday, March 27, 2015
Sunday, March 15, 2015
10 Deadly Errors: The Original Text
Any officer who has been around a while has heard of the 10 Deadly Errors. They have been posted on bulletin boards of police stations all over the country. There have been countless articles written in law enforcement magazines and posted on all of the popular web-sites aimed at police officers. What most of us who are still on the job don't know is the origin of this list. Where did they come from? Well, they came from a book called "...officer down, code three." It was written by Pierce R. Brooks and published in 1975. What I have found out is if you were remotely interested in police training in the pre-Internet 1970's, you had this book on your shelf. I couldn't even find it in print any more. I had to pay over $70 on Amazon for a copy which was used, but still in great condition.
The author, Pierce Brooks was a legend. Had he never written this book he would still be a legend. He was a WW2 veteran of the US Navy and joined the Los Angeles Police Department in 1948. He worked every unit you could imagine and ended up in homicide. He worked the Onion Field murders of two LAPD officers. They were kidnapped and murdered. It was such a horrific crime, it was written about by Joseph Wambaugh, at the time still a LAPD officer and already the writer of two best-selling police novels called The New Centurions and The Blue Knight. Wambaugh's non-fiction treatment of the Onion Field murders lead to a movie starring a pair of future stars in James Woods and Ted Danson. How many detectives can lay claim to their work being turned in to a book AND a movie?
But wait! There's more! In 1957, Brooks worked a series of rape & torture murders of young women in southern California that convinced him to think police detectives would benefit from some system of collecting facts from unsolved violent crimes in the hopes that other detectives in other areas would recognize similar crimes in their own jurisdiction. This thought in the wake of a multi-jurisdiction murder in the 1950's lead to the creation of VICAP, or the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program in 1980's.
Brooks retired from LAPD in 1969 and ended up being a police chief in Springfield, Oregon and Lakewood, Colorado, before heading back to Oregon to serve as Chief for the Eugene Police Department. He passed away in 1998 at 75 years of age after having suffered from Alzheimer's disease. Before his death, Brooks donated his files on the Onion Field murders to the Springfield (OR) Police Department. This knowledge has been protected and is displayed proudly by Springfield PD
http://www.bakersfieldnow.com/news/local/Onion-Field-Murder-case-files-preserved-at-Oregon-police-station-167067295.html
With all these great accomplishments in his career, it's hard to single out one thing to celebrate. His observations of the 10 deadly errors came out of a career of observations and investigations of some of the most violent crimes one could imagine. He noticed when police officers were murdered, often there were things they did which contributed to their own demise. At the risk of striking a nerve, he pointed them out in a general way. Not to ridicule, but to save lives! While first written in the 70's, these 10 errors he observed over a career that began in the late 1940's. They were true then, they were true in the 50's and through the 70's. I submit they are still true today. These 10 deadly errors are:
1) Failure to maintain proficiency and care of weapon, vehicle, and equipment
2) Improper search and use of handcuffs
3) Sleepy or asleep
4) Relaxing too soon
5) Missing the danger signs
6) Taking a bad position
7) Failure to watch their hands
8) Tombstone courage
9) Preoccupation
10) Apathy
Over the next few weeks, I will write about each of these errors and explain how I think they are still valid today. Even with new equipment like security holsters, in-car computers with GPS, walkie-talkies, widespread use of kevlar vests and seat belts, stress inoculation training, modern medical science, advanced life support ambulances, helicopter ambulances, and more, officers are still getting killed. My point is this job we do is unpredictable. I have said more than once, police work is a job where you can do everything right and STILL have fatal consequences. It's risky, but risk can be managed. Pierce Brooks pointed out 10 things all police officers can do to manage this risk. In recent years, the Below 100 program pointed out five specific things officers can do to manage risk.
As I said, I will write about each of these 10 deadly errors in the coming weeks. I hope you learn something to point out to some young officer.
Stay Safe!
The author, Pierce Brooks was a legend. Had he never written this book he would still be a legend. He was a WW2 veteran of the US Navy and joined the Los Angeles Police Department in 1948. He worked every unit you could imagine and ended up in homicide. He worked the Onion Field murders of two LAPD officers. They were kidnapped and murdered. It was such a horrific crime, it was written about by Joseph Wambaugh, at the time still a LAPD officer and already the writer of two best-selling police novels called The New Centurions and The Blue Knight. Wambaugh's non-fiction treatment of the Onion Field murders lead to a movie starring a pair of future stars in James Woods and Ted Danson. How many detectives can lay claim to their work being turned in to a book AND a movie?
But wait! There's more! In 1957, Brooks worked a series of rape & torture murders of young women in southern California that convinced him to think police detectives would benefit from some system of collecting facts from unsolved violent crimes in the hopes that other detectives in other areas would recognize similar crimes in their own jurisdiction. This thought in the wake of a multi-jurisdiction murder in the 1950's lead to the creation of VICAP, or the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program in 1980's.
Brooks retired from LAPD in 1969 and ended up being a police chief in Springfield, Oregon and Lakewood, Colorado, before heading back to Oregon to serve as Chief for the Eugene Police Department. He passed away in 1998 at 75 years of age after having suffered from Alzheimer's disease. Before his death, Brooks donated his files on the Onion Field murders to the Springfield (OR) Police Department. This knowledge has been protected and is displayed proudly by Springfield PD
http://www.bakersfieldnow.com/news/local/Onion-Field-Murder-case-files-preserved-at-Oregon-police-station-167067295.html
With all these great accomplishments in his career, it's hard to single out one thing to celebrate. His observations of the 10 deadly errors came out of a career of observations and investigations of some of the most violent crimes one could imagine. He noticed when police officers were murdered, often there were things they did which contributed to their own demise. At the risk of striking a nerve, he pointed them out in a general way. Not to ridicule, but to save lives! While first written in the 70's, these 10 errors he observed over a career that began in the late 1940's. They were true then, they were true in the 50's and through the 70's. I submit they are still true today. These 10 deadly errors are:
1) Failure to maintain proficiency and care of weapon, vehicle, and equipment
2) Improper search and use of handcuffs
3) Sleepy or asleep
4) Relaxing too soon
5) Missing the danger signs
6) Taking a bad position
7) Failure to watch their hands
8) Tombstone courage
9) Preoccupation
10) Apathy
Over the next few weeks, I will write about each of these errors and explain how I think they are still valid today. Even with new equipment like security holsters, in-car computers with GPS, walkie-talkies, widespread use of kevlar vests and seat belts, stress inoculation training, modern medical science, advanced life support ambulances, helicopter ambulances, and more, officers are still getting killed. My point is this job we do is unpredictable. I have said more than once, police work is a job where you can do everything right and STILL have fatal consequences. It's risky, but risk can be managed. Pierce Brooks pointed out 10 things all police officers can do to manage this risk. In recent years, the Below 100 program pointed out five specific things officers can do to manage risk.
As I said, I will write about each of these 10 deadly errors in the coming weeks. I hope you learn something to point out to some young officer.
Stay Safe!
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