By Bank Miller and Ben Kurata

Considering the myriad current requirements and budget constraints, law enforcement firearms trainers
may find their jobs increasingly challenging. To help build a solid foundation and establish some basic
criteria for what a law enforcement training program should include, Action Target Academy has adopted
the 12 critical elements outlined below.
The information gathered for this analysis was obtained from several surveys conducted by the California
Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The FBI has collected data on officers killed and assaulted since 1945, and California POST started
collecting such data in 1980. The surveys cited in this study encompass those conducted by the FBI from
1995 through 2004. After summarizing these studies, the following guidelines were drawn for police
firearms training.
1.  Prepare officers for immediate, spontaneous, lethal attacks.
Based on the above statistics, it becomes obvious that close quarter tactics and techniques are a must for
officer survival. Personal communication with unknown individuals is a large part of law enforcement
officers’ daily routine. In order to communicate effectively, officers must be close enough to the person to
communicate. The difficulty arises when some of these people turn out to be bad guys. When this happens,
a mastery of drawing and firing from various close quarter positions, weapon retention, physical strikes and
other close-quarter combat skills are critical.
To satisfy the close distance issue, a basic cardboard target holder that is sturdy enough to withstand
muzzle blast, palm strikes and an occasional flying ticket book should serve you well. As far as sudden and
spontaneous goes, a high-speed turning target system that suddenly presents a bad guy just as the officers
glances away can add a tremendous amount of stress to the situation
2.  Prepare officers for assaults by multiple threats and uninvolved subjects.

Statistics tell us that there is about a 60% chance that an assault will involve more than one attacker. At the
same time, we need to be aware of uninvolved, innocent bystanders as well. In many domestic abuse calls,
the spouse or other family members can start out as uninvolved and quickly join sides against the officer, if
a conflict ensues. Learning to break the tunnel vision phenomenon and engage multiple threats with total
awareness of uninvolved subjects justifies shoot/no-shoot training, increases survivability and decreases
liability issues.

The most obvious approach here is lots of targets. Tall ones, short ones, some closer, some farther away,
some clustered in a group and some off by themselves. Another particularly effective technique employs
turning targets, although they have to be individually controlled. As your officer is engaging targets 1 and 2
as they edge and face right in front of him, try facing target 6 and see if he notices. Better yet, use a 180
degree turning target that can show you a bad guy or a good guy in the same place at any given time.
3.  Integrate the sudden transition to firearms from arrest and control techniques, including
searching and handcuffing.

Many potentially lethal assaults occur as the officer is searching and/or attempting to handcuff the subject.
This sudden shift to a deadly force situation can be exceptionally dangerous if the officer has not been
conditioned with the proper response techniques. Glaring examples of insufficient training and
conditioning include: a failure of the officer to create distance if the chance arises, or an attempt by the
officer to draw his firearm while his handcuffs are still in his hand. The use of drag dummies, CPR
dummies and turning targets are all effective here. The dummies provide realism and a platform for
practicing control techniques, while the turning targets provide the sudden visual indicator that the situation
has escalated.
4.  Base training on the fact that most officers are killed at short distances.

The statistical table presented earlier clearly establishes where most officer fatalities occur. However, it is
important to note that this element does not say “Teach your officers how to shoot at close distances.” It
says to base your training on the fact that most fatalities occur up close. It’s like the guy who tells his
doctor that he broke his leg in two places and the doctor says “So, don’t go to those places!” If most
fatalities occur at close distances, we should all be aware of when it is appropriate to be farther away. In
addition to the close-quarter combat techniques discussed earlier, a moving target that charges straight at
the officer can be extremely effective at illustrating the importance of creating distance, and demonstrating
the best ways to move quickly and effectively in various situations.
5.  Base training on the fact that officers will have limited fine and complex motor control.

We should all be aware of the various physiological responses our bodies undergo during a combat
situation. Manual dexterity is the one we are focusing on here. As blood flows away from our extremities
and toward our core, we lose a degree of fine and complex motor control in our fingers and hands.
Unfortunately, elements of good marksmanship like trigger control can be the first to go. Now before a
panic ensues, we believe that teaching basic marksmanship skills (like proper trigger manipulation) is
absolutely vital and should not be abandoned! However, make room in your training for the fact that fine
and complex motor control will be decreased.

The best way to demonstrate the effects of stress to your officers is to immerse them in it. Make them run,
get their heart pumping and their adrenaline flowing, then send them into an interactive scenario with dye
marking rounds and role-playing bad guys shooting back at them. The breakdowns in technique will be
startling.
6.  Integrate two-person contact and cover teams involved in realistic scenarios.     

Just because one of your officers knows how to safely and effectively engage multiple threats, reload
efficiently and move from one piece of cover to another doesn’t mean he knows how to do those things
with two or three other officers running around him, trying to do the same thing at the same time. Where is
my muzzle? Where is my partner? Where is my partner’s muzzle? Proper tactical communication is
absolutely critical!
Have two- and three-man teams go through tactical scenarios together. Use portable cardboard and steel
targets in a variety of locations and configurations. Have the teams shoot side by side so their partner’s
brass is bouncing off the bill of their cap. Condition them to be profoundly muzzle conscious, and make
them realize the importance of communication when it comes to moving, reloading and staying in the fight.
7.  Emphasize the survival mindset and the will to win in all skills training.    
        
Quite often, what you bring to the fight will dictate the outcome of the fight. Having a winning mindset and
a positive attitude will only enhance the officer’s odds of survival.  While our work is dangerous, we have a
high risk of being a victim off the street rather than on the street, and at times the biggest threat we face is
the one in the mirror. Particularly with younger officers, movies and television have shaped much of what
they perceive as the realities of a gunfight. For example, the guy that flies back 15 feet and crashes into a
pile of trash cans after being hit with a single handgun round. Clint Smith said if you get into a fist fight
you might get punched, if you get into a knife fight you might get cut, and if you get into a gunfight you
might get shot. It doesn’t mean the fight is over, it just means you may have to finish the fight a little
differently than you had originally planned.
Knowing how to shoot, reload, and clear malfunctions with only one hand (both left and right) is
imperative. Our officers must be confident in their ability to win the fight, even if they are injured. They
must also be comfortable with these techniques in order to gain that confidence.
8.  Integrate one-handed firing of a handgun. Include dominant and support hand, plus drawing,
reloading and stoppage clearing.

Many law enforcement shootings occur with one hand, and using a single hand is often to your tactical
benefit (based on the situation.) Even if you are not injured, a traditional two-handed grip may be
impractical or even dangerous if it means giving up too much cover or concealment.
Primarily for safety reasons, one-handed skills training is best executed in small groups. Because officers
will be presenting and handling their weapons in untraditional and perhaps unfamiliar ways, muzzle
awareness is critically important.
9.  Integrate close-quarter structure searching and clearing, plus indoor combat tactics.

When a family comes home to find their back door kicked in, they call the police. Does the call go to the
SWAT team? Of course not–it goes to the nearest officers on patrol. Either alone or with a partner, every
single officer needs to know how to perform basic close-quarter techniques like tactical entry, hallway
navigation and room clearing. They need to know things like which way a door swings if you can see the
hinges (toward you), and they need to know things like: don’t expose body parts around corners, don’t rub
you back along the wall as you move and don’t hang out in doorways.

A live-fire ballistic shoothouse is the ultimate training tool for these situations. It provides a structure for all
the tactical movement and navigation training, plus it escalates the stress and realism of the training by
incorporating threat engagement with actual duty weapons. It’s one thing to fire a gun in a nice straight line
out on the qualification range. It is another thing entirely when you are inside a building trying to be aware
of 360 degree environment.
10.  Emphasize dim- or no light situations as much as daylight training.

Because 70% or more of law enforcement shootings occur under reduced or diminishing light conditions,
significant training with your duty illumination tools is a must. Target identification and threat recognition
are critical parts of this training as well. Keep in mind that flashlights are needed in the daytime just as
much as at night, because you never know where you may end up. The illumination tools you carry will
have a significant impact on how you handle your weapon, and ultimately on how you fight, so you must
be extremely comfortable using them under a wide variety of tactical situations. Many departments have
adopted the use of lasers, so your training must include the proper use of these tools as well.
If you already have a shoothouse that can be darkened, you have an ideal venue for all kinds of low-light
training. An indoor range also serves this purpose well. If you don’t have access to either of these facilities,
use your outdoor range.
11.  Integrate “moving then shooting” and “moving while shooting” techniques.

If you maintain a picture-perfect stance during a gunfight, you are not doing it correctly. If you are not
moving to create distance, you should be moving to cover. The ability to shoot effectively while
incorporating lots of movement gives you a dramatic tactical advantage. It also increases your chances of
survival and decreases the chance of hitting something you don’t want to hit. Remember, when shooting
while moving you should move no faster than you can hit, see and in some cases, hear.

Effective movement techniques can be taught with just about any target equipment. Running man targets
and automated turning targets can make the experience more realistic and intense by allowing the trainer to
control the scenario and respond to the trainee’s actions.
12.  Integrate engagement techniques for moving targets, both laterally and charging.

Training on moving targets has become mandatory for law enforcement agencies across the country, and
rightfully so. When was the last time you were in a violent confrontation with someone who just stood still?
Because running seems to be a part of most gunfights, the ability to fire safely and accurately at moving
threats can be one of an officer’s greatest assets. It is important to train for both lateral threat movement
and charging movement because each requires a specific skill set and response from the trainee.

Some portable moving target systems are very effective and flexible because they can be configured for
both types of threat movement (lateral and charging). A heavier-duty track-mounted system can be
equipped with a steel target plate to enhance muscle memory through the immediate positive feedback of
clanging steel.

Again, being a law enforcement firearms trainer today is an extremely difficult job. You have to be part
teacher, part motivator, part mechanical engineer, part lawyer, part drill sergeant, part counsellor, part
maintenance staff, part etc. etc. We pay tribute to you trainers who dedicate your efforts to developing the
next generation of warriors, and we hope the information presented here serves to focus and clarify the
process. 
Police training halts as agencies face budget cuts:

By Kevin Johnson, USA TODAY

Even as hundreds of police officers across the country are losing their jobs, law enforcement officials say
there is another disturbing casualty of the financial downturn: basic training.
Nearly 70% of police agencies cut back or eliminated training programs this year as part of local
government budget reductions, according to a survey this fall of 608 agencies by the Police Executive
Research Forum, a Washington-based think tank.
The cuts include a wide range of programs, from ethics and basic legal training to instruction on the proper
use of force.
Harvey Hedden, executive director of the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers
Association, says the cuts are "alarming."
CUTBACKS: Police curtail calls for some crimes
"In a lot of cases, training determines whether someone survives or not in our business," Hedden says.
Tulsa Police Chief Chuck Jordan says his department's entire in-service training program was shuttered for
a year, beginning in June 2009.
The shutdown interrupted crucial crime-scene investigation training and weapons instruction.
Yet, faced with the prospect of layoffs, Jordan says the training cut was a "no-brainer."
"We needed to keep people on the street and saw the cuts to training as a bridge to better times," Jordan
says.
Daytona Beach (Fla.) Police Chief Michael Chitwood says his department's entire $200,000 training budget
was wiped out this year because of municipal service reductions.
The chief says he is working with local universities that have volunteered to help restore the programs,
including instruction on the proper use of stun guns and how to defuse potentially dangerous confrontations
with the mentally ill.
The chief says city leaders were aware of the risk of lawsuits related to potential officer mistakes and
misconduct but that the city decided to "pay on the back-end."
"The private sector was appalled when they found out about this," Chitwood says.
In Philadelphia, Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey says he refuses to curtail training because there is
too much at stake.
"When you cut back on training, officers are sued and fired. I learned a hard lesson from that," Ramsey
says, referring to incidents during his previous stint as chief in Washington, D.C. "We're doing everything
we can to avoid that."
In some cases, the fallout may not be felt right away, but analysts say the scope of the cuts could soon
create serious problems.
"When you pull away the support beams of a building, it doesn't fall down immediately," says Chuck
Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum. "But eventually, it's going to have an
impact."


Budget knife falls on police trainingDepartments aren't just cutting back on the number of
officers; they're also eliminating basic training programs
By Kevin Johnson
USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — Even as hundreds of police officers across the nation are losing their jobs, law
enforcement officials say there is another disturbing casualty of the financial downturn: basic training.
Nearly 70% of police agencies cut back or eliminated training programs this year as part of local
government budget reductions, according to a survey this fall of 608 agencies by the Police Executive
Research Forum, a Washington-based think tank.
The cuts include a wide range of programs, from ethics and basic legal training to instruction on the proper
use of force.
Harvey Hedden, executive director of the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers
Association, says the cuts are "alarming."
"In a lot of cases, training determines whether someone survives or not in our business," Hedden says.
Tulsa Police Chief Chuck Jordan says his department's entire in-service training program was shuttered for
a year, beginning in June 2009.
The shutdown interrupted crucial crime-scene investigation training and weapons instruction, he says.
Yet, faced with the prospect of layoffs, Jordan says the training cut was a "no-brainer."
"We needed to keep people on the street and saw the cuts to training as a bridge to better times," Jordan
says.
Daytona Beach (Fla.) Police Chief Michael Chitwood says his department's entire $200,000 training budget
was wiped out this year because of municipal service reductions.
The chief says he is working with universities that have volunteered to help restore the programs, including
instruction on the proper use of stun guns and how to defuse potentially dangerous confrontations with the
mentally ill.
Chitwood says city leaders were aware of the risk of lawsuits related to potential officer mistakes and
misconduct but the city decided to "pay on the back end."
"The private sector was appalled when they found out about this," Chitwood says.
In Philadelphia, Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey says he refuses to curtail training because there is
too much at stake.
"When you cut back on training, officers are sued and fired. I learned a hard lesson from that," Ramsey
says, referring to incidents during his previous stint as chief in Washington, D.C. "We're doing everything
we can to avoid that."
In some cases, the fallout may not be felt right away, but analysts say the scope of the cuts could soon
create serious problems.
"When you pull away the support beams of a building, it doesn't fall down immediately," says Chuck
Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum.
"But eventually, it's going to have an impact," he says.