Michigan Tactical AirSoft Center

Officer Smith is dispatched on a disturbance call. Upon arrival he attempts to interview a known drug dealer who is present on the scene. The suspect threatens the officer, picks up a weapon and charges the officer in a threatening manner. Realizing that he is in grave danger, officer Smith draws his department issued Berretta, fires two shots and then holsters his firearm. The suspect sustains two hits to the chest and continues his drug-driven tirade, killing Officer Smith. When hearing this story, most people’s first question is; “Why did he holster when he was still in danger?”. The unbelievable answer is: “He was trained to.”

Officer Smith, like many, many other officers, spent hundreds of hours over his career training himself to draw, fire two shots and then holster. The most important impetus for proper training is the fact that under extreme stress, we will do what we are trained to do.

In reality, not many of us are likely to be attacked by a stationary piece of cardboard in front of a proper backstop with nobody else in the way—but, that’s often what our training is restricted to. Therefore, the impetus is on us to adapt our training methods to make training as realistic as possible to the types of situations that we may actually encounter. Here’s some easy ways to make our sessions better prepare POs for what they may face.

On the practice range, every situation is designed to shoot. Far more important that gun skills is the discipline to determine when to shoot and when not to. Don’t train yourself to shoot every time you draw your firearm. Don’t make every scenario a shoot scenario. Be sure to train with no-shoot targets. Train as much as possible in both shoot and no-shoot scenarios.

Verbalize on the training range. Envision a real life situation and interact with the suspects accordingly. Practice cooperative situations also. Give disarming orders and practice commands to put them in a safe position, call for back up, and take it all the way to cuffing.

Distance, cover and concealment are your friends. Practice your verbalization and shooting while getting to a safer place. Get so used to shooting from cover that it feels unnatural to shoot in the open.

Remember the cruiser video of the officer that took four attempts to get his sidearm out of his holster when attacked on a routine stop? Snap-up always, and practice unsnapping. Practice drawing at realistic speed. Draw while moving, while verbalizing and while interacting with others.

A miss on the street may kill an innocent or get yourself injured. Don’t shoot as fast as you can, shoot as fast as you can hit. Accurate speed will develop.

When you miss, use it as a training tool. Take the time to understand why you missed and how.

Envision this scenario: you’re in the back of a convenience store. You walk to the cashier and realize that there is a robbery in progress. The perp is holding a gun on the clerk. You draw your weapon and order him to put down the gun. He turns to shoot you. Do you think you can react fast enough to shoot him first? The only way to know for sure is to act out the scenario with simulated weapons such as Airsoft, Simuntions or paint guns. Train real-life scenarios with simulated weapons and learn your limits.

On the street, it’s rare that a perp will stand still while you shoot them. Use moving targets. Practice shooting while you move. Use different height targets. Place multiple targets in different locations and different angles.

The first time I was at a range where you are allowed to shoot at a wall, I found it disconcerting and hesitated the first couple times because I spent years not hitting range walls. The first time you are required to shoot a human being this may happen to you a hundred fold. Make your targets as realistic as possible even it is as simple as putting a T-shirt over cardboard.

In real life, you shoot until the threat stops. When you shoot on the range, don’t simply double-tap the targets, use as many shots as you may realistically need in a real shooting. If you’re working with pepper-poppers, shoot continuously as they fall and don’t stop until they do.

If you have to shoot on the street, chances are it will not be slow fire, two shots. Practice controlled rapid, continuous fire. Most firefights are at close distances, yet little practice is ever done at distances less than 15 feet. Set up scenarios where you fire at targets 10, 5 and yes, even 3 feet away. Practice defensive and offensive moves when the perp is close enough to reach you before you shoot.

Don’t just stand behind barricades. Shoot from barricades as if someone is really shooting back. Don’t expose any more of your body than you really have to. Shoot over barricades, through them, under them and next to them. Use realistic objects like mailboxes and especially cars.

We are all trained to use the sights on our weapon. During a draw, I often think to myself; front sight, front sight, front sight to remind myself to aim. In reality though, aimed fire may not be realistic. Your mind will not be on the front sight, as you will most likely be paying attention to the perp. In the heat of a life threatening situation, you will be concentrating on your threat’s weapon and not on your sights. More than likely you will be point shooting and not aimed fire. Point shooting is especially prevalent in quick encounters where a shot is fired as soon as the gun is drawn. Quick point shooting should be practiced as well as aimed fire. Knowing that you can accurately quick fire by pointing will give you added confidence if you need to use that technique.

Practice these suggestions and as many others and you can think of because training works—plain and simple. The first time I attempted shoot, no shoot scenarios, I was almost in shock. I stood there almost motionless, my mind racing through all the options and ramifications that I could think of. While my mind was thinking, my body was getting shot. In my next attempt, I was verbalizing, using cover and taking control of the situation. If just a few minutes of training can have that dramatic of an effect, imagine what the results would be with a sustained and realistic program.