Cruel Hand Luke

From Greg Ellifritz of Active Response Training....... http://www.activeresponsetraining.net/the-philando-castile-shooting-and-some-advice-for-my-cop-readers?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ActiveResponseTraining+(Active+Response+Training) The Philando Castile Shooting and Some Advice for My Cop Readers Posted on June 22, 2017 by Greg Ellifritz in News and Tactical Advice Tweet EmailShare SUMO Written by Greg Ellifritz This week, a Minnesota jury acquitted officer Jeronimo Yanez in the shooting death of motorist Philando Castile. This was a controversial police shooting that probably didn’t have to happen. I would encourage all of you to watch the recently released dash cam footage of the shooting if you have not done so. Watch the whole incident. It’s tragic. My take on the shooting is that both the officer and the motorist made some mistakes. Having researched the case, I don’t believe that Philando Castile was actually reaching for his concealed carry pistol. He did, however, tell the officer he was armed and make a hand movement consistent with drawing a concealed firearm. Those of you with CCW permits should know to be extra careful and avoid making any motions that a poorly-trained officer could construe as being threatening. Mr. Castile, failed to exercise this type of caution and was shot by the cop as a result. He made a mistake, but in my mind that mistake should not carry a death penalty as the consequence. The bigger mistake, in my opinion, was made by Officer Yanez. He appeared to panic when confronted by the fact that the driver he stopped was armed and didn’t seem to be paying proper attention to his verbal commands. He probably didn’t need to shoot Mr. Castile, but I feel reasonably certain that the officer felt that he had no other option. That is the predictable result of poor training, possibly combined with poor hiring practices on the part of Officer Yanez’ agency. People prone to panic should not be hired as cops. All cops should be given quality force on force training so that they know how to handle incidents like this without reflexively firing their weapons in abject fear. Unfortunately, both problems are likely to persist in the face of ever-shrinking government budgets. What can you and I do to prevent innocent folks from being killed by poorly trained cops? It’s a difficult problem to solve. I have a couple words of advice for my readers who are CCW carriers and even more advice for my cop readers to follow. First, if you are lawfully armed and encounter a cop, you should follow your state’s laws with regards to notification. Some states require that you notify the cop you are carrying and some don’t. Make sure you state your notification calmly. In all honesty, Mr. Castile’s notification to Officer Yanez was virtually textbook. When you make this notification, your hands should be visible on the steering wheel and you should not be moving at all. Don’t try to get your wallet out or reach into your glove compartment for your insurance card. Remain perfectly still! Listen to what the officer tells you to do and obey his commands. If there is any doubt at all what the cop wants you to do, simply freeze. Don’t move at all until you are sure what the cop wants you to do. Always err on the side of remaining motionless rather than doing something when there is any doubt about the cop’s commands. It’s sad, but it’s probably safest for the armed citizen to assume that the cop will be poorly trained and might get scared at your notification. Do everything possible to keep things calm and avoid making any potentially threatening motions or statements. There’s no guarantee that this will keep you safe, but it’s the best advice I can provide. For my police readers, how would you like to be in Officer Yanez’ shoes right now? Clearly, he is better off than Mr. Castile because he is still alive, but his career and life are ruined. You don’t want to kill an innocent citizen. You also don’t want to go to jail, lose a lawsuit, or get fired. The onus is on YOU to prevent these things from happening. It isn’t your agency’s job to keep you alive, out of jail, and employed. Your agency will neglect to give you the training you need and fire you in a heartbeat when you screw anything up. It’s YOUR job to keep yourself out of the trick bag. My cop readers need to focus on two issues: 1) Ensuring the validity of the initial transaction- The first thing that comes up in any police shooting investigation or any lawsuit filed against the cops is “Why did the cops contact the person they shot.” If the reason for the contact is bogus, then everything that transpires later is viewed with suspicion. The media works this angle to the cop’s detriment. They blame the shooting on the reason for the stop, not what the suspect did afterwards. Right now we are hearing every media outlet talk about Mr. Castile being shot “for having a couple of burnt out brake lights.” That’s not why he was shot, but it doesn’t matter in the court of public opinion. Your contact with any citizen in an enforcement capacity needs to be rock-solid. Not only rock-solid in a legal sense, but rock-solid in the court of public opinion. Look at this shooting. The reason for contact (only one functioning brake light) is valid legally, but what do people think about cops pulling people over for minor infractions like that? They don’t like it. Following the logic, they will like it even less when someone gets shot as a result of a “bull####” stop. I know what the cop was doing, he was likely hunting for criminals and people who have warrants. I see it pretty regularly. Cops pull over crappy cars for equipment violations, hunting for an arrest. Poor people who can’t afford to fix busted tail lights often can’t afford to pay their tickets, their child support, or their court fees. Their driver’s licenses are frequently suspended and they regularly have warrants. So, aggressive cop looking to arrest “bad guys” pulls over a beater car and runs everyone inside for warrants. About 25% of the time he gets lucky and gets an arrest or a bunch of tickets. Every once in awhile, bad #### happens, innocent people die and the cop ends up in the national media spotlight. Is it worth it to take the chance of such a negative outcome to enforce a relatively inconsequential traffic violation ? The problem is that a large portion of society thinks that your hard work and “aggressive and proactive” policing style looks an awful lot like “screwing with poor people” instead of hunting criminals. STOP HASSLING PEOPLE! The fact that some dude has a suspended license or hasn’t paid a speeding ticket is not negatively affecting the real safety of the community you patrol. I know you want to do good things and make lots of arrests, but every stop you make has the potential to go REALLY bad. Don’t stop people for bogus violations. Don’t hunt minor scofflaws. The public doesn’t respect you for doing so and occasionally you will get thrown under the bus when you screw something up, or your stop ends up in a shooting that you didn’t intend. Put yourself in the position of Officer Yanez. Would you have made that traffic stop if you had known it would turn out like it did? My guess is the answer is “no“. Think about that the next time you feel like making a stop for a cracked windshield or some other trifling infraction. I know this opinion will be criticized by hard working, aggressive police officers; and perhaps rightfully so. Most cops want to do a good job and lock up bad guys. A problem is created when the very public we serve does not approve of the manner in which we do this. The public’s disapproval of pretextual traffic stops and enforcement of petty traffic violations is at a historic high. They don’t like it. And they like it even less when you get involved in a controversial shooting because you finally caught one of those really bad guys that you were trying to put in jail. In today’s world it becomes more a matter of individual and career survival than an issue of getting one more arrest. In my mind, that balance is pretty clear. I don’t make pretextual traffic stops. I don’t stop vehicles for minor equipment violations that don’t endanger the motoring public. I don’t run the plate on every car I see looking for the dude who has a suspended license because he didn’t pay his child support. Most of the people you catch by making these kind of stops aren’t truly criminals. They’re broke! Yes, they have likely made numerous poor decisions that have resulted in their warrants/suspensions, but most of these folks aren’t a real danger to your community. Don’t make it a habit to focus your attention on these “small fish.” Your community would probably prefer that you spend your time doing something more productive to enhance your residents’ safety. My hard charging rookie self would have scoffed at this advice 20+ years ago when I was leading my police department in total numbers of arrests and traffic tickets. You cops reading this may scoff right now as well. Do what you think is best, but I promise that your perspective will change after a couple decades in the game. I want you to make it to your retirement healthy, happy, and outside the confines of a correctional institution. The best way to do that in today’s world is not by stopping every car that moves. 2) You need more and better training. I don’t know a single department in the country that gives its officers all the training they need. Initial recruit training in most states is abysmal. In Ohio, barbers get three times more training than cops do before being licensed. In-service training is even worse. I know some departments that provide NO in service training other than watching a couple videos each year. If you are scared of legally armed citizens with CCW permits and you freak out because someone has a gun, you simply aren’t confident in your own abilities. That’s a huge problem. When you aren’t skilled and confident, you get scared and you over react. Freaked out cops don’t make good decisions. When cops don’t make good decisions, they end up on the national news. Your department won’t give you the training you need. You have two options. You can seek out the training on your own or you can hope you never get into a bad spot where your lack of skills gets you killed or put in jail. There has never been a greater variety of top notch weapon and martial arts training available for cops and private citizens. You need to start taking classes. You will be amazed at what you don’t know. I was already a state-certified police firearms instructor before I took my first professional shooting class. I learned more in that first day of professional gun training than I did in the two-week police “instructor” school. If you haven’t done any training outside the academy or your agency’s in-service classes, quite honestly your skills are likely to be subpar. You don’t know what you are doing. You are prone to being killed or doing something stupid that will get you fired or jailed. Even worse, you may mistakenly kill an innocent citizen who makes a minor error of judgement in your presence. Even though I’ve been teaching gun skills professionally for almost my entire career, I still take lots of outside training classes to keep my skills sharp. I make it my goal to seek out at least 80 hours a year of professional training over and above the training my agency provides. And I pay for those classes (and travel costs and ammo) out of my own pocket. I shoot my guns in practice at least weekly and pay for 5,000-10,000 rounds of practice ammo out of my own pocket every year. If you aren’t doing something similar, you are not ready to fight real bad guys on the street. The same is true with police defensive tactics training. If your only training is from the academy, you don’t know how to fight. You owe it to yourself to get at least a year or two of quality training (at least two sessions a week) at an outside martial arts studio that focuses on a realistic fighting art. And it better be a fighting art where you regularly train against other people who are trying to punch, kick, or choke you. Doing fancy katas in your dojo’s mirror isn’t adequate. Look at wrestling, Judo, Jujitsu, boxing, Muay Thai, MMA, or Krav Maga. It doesn’t have to be a lifetime passion. You just need to do the work necessary to beat most criminals. You’ll be amazed at how differently you look at situations on the street when you know how to fight. Your confidence will be a game changer and the criminals won’t even try you. If some guy high on marijuana doesn’t follow your commands instantaneously, you’ll have options other than shooting him. OR, of course, you can ignore my advice, roll the dice and hope nothing bad happens. I wish you luck if you choose that route. It hasn’t worked out so well for some other folks lately. If you’ve read this far, I thank you for your time. If you are a cop, I hope it prompts some positive change. As always, the views I express here are the rambling thoughts of a single curmudgeonly police trainer. They do not reflect the views of my fellow officers, supervisors, or agency.

I pretty much agreed with the Zimmerman verdict....Like it or not Trayvon Martin was not a "child" and he was the same height and weight as Marvin Hagler and Sugar Ray Leonard. He would still be alive if he hadn't doubled back around and attacked Zimmerman. Zimmerman may be a douchebag but he has a right to defend himself from unlawful violence. I agreed with the Michael Brown investigation not leading to charges being filed. The whole "hands up don't shoot" has been proven to be fantasy and the coroners report shows a pretty clear picture of what happened. I even can see how Betty Shelby was acquitted (the officer who shot Terence Crutcher in Oklahoma). But I was truly surprised (and a bit dumbfounded) at the Yanez/Castile decision. When asked why he shot Castile , Yanez said "I don't know" . Really? You DON'T know? I get it that Castile matched the description of a robbery suspect in that area. That is enough to amp up any officer about to interact with someone. And you hate to Monday morning quarterback in these situations but it just seemed that Yanez was a little TOO amped up and maybe out of his depth. Was this the first time he'd ever encountered a legally armed citizen ? In the audio he seemed like someone who just realized he had really screwed up. I'll be the first to tell you that there is very little time to make a measured decision when human reaction time can mean the difference in life and death.....but this case just seems like a cop who was maybe a little too ready to shoot saw a black guy and a gun and fear of the two together lead to a shooting that should never have happened. I'm normally going to come down on the side of "if you don't fight the police you are not likely to get shot"....but Castile by all accounts was not fighting them and it is pretty unlikely he was initiating a gunfight with his girlfriend and her 4 year old daughter in the car. This is just a sad situation all the way around. And while I feel there are far too many families of criminals protesting their hoodlum family members finally falling victim to the law of averages (and not every "gentle giant" is in fact gentle), this one seems to be a case of at a bare minimum an officer being a little too quick on the trigger and that cost a man his life. .

SUAREZ INTERNATIONAL RGF-2: RIFLE GUNFIGHTING II JULY 15-16, 2017 CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE price : $350 INSTRUCTOR: RANDY HARRISRifle confrontations worldwide rarely exceed 25 yards. Rather than a long range marksman's weapon, our research shows the rifle will most likely be used just outside the reach of more conventional weapons, as well as within these closer intervals of confrontation.This course will take the student quickly through the basics and impart the techniques necessary to deploy the Tactical Rifle, Civilian Carbine, or Submachine gun in a close interval emergency.This course is highly recommended for civilian defenders, military personnel, or police operators (we make no distinction in the material presented). CLASS AND RANGE DETAILS DURATION: 2 days TIME: 9:00AM to 5:00PM AMMUNITION: Approximately 500 rounds (Minimum) and 50 rounds of pistol ammunition. RANGE & GEAR REQUIREMENTS: Rifle (any action or caliber suitable for use within 50 yards), all weapons must be equipped with a sling, also bring a pistol with at least (2) magazines, a belt, holster, magazine pouches, rifle ammo pouches, and ear & eye protection (knee and elbow pads are strongly suggested). Also Helpful Bring spare clothing appropriate for the weather, including a hat, sunscreen, and bug repellent. Plan to bring lunch, snacks, and water (min 1 gallon per person) for the entire day unless driving to lunch is a viable option from the range location. Bring allergy medication (if needed), a chair (if you prefer), note taking supplies, and a boo boo kit (band aids, gauze pads, antiseptic wipes, antibiotic ointment and tape). You may wish to bring pads such as knee pads, elbow pads, and gloves if the class lends itself to that. For more info and to sign up............https://suarezinternational.com/rgf-...hattanooga-tn/

Welcome from another Ooltewah resident....maybe I'll see you at the Cleveland IDPA match or at a class sometime.

Just a week to go!

As to how early, 9am central. We will meet in the back yard and head up to the range after we do waivers and meet and greet. I plan to get there about 830 to 845

Reminder! This one is coming up at the end of the month!

I have never gone there from Murfreesboro so I can't really answer that. It is essentially 20 minutes from Trenton Ga. Easiest way I have found with the least turns (from either east or west) is to go I-24 to I-59. Take I-59 south toward Alabama. At the 1st exit inside Alabama (Sulpher Springs) take that exit and go RIGHT. Stay right and go up the mountain. It will dead end into Alabama HWY 75. Turn LEFT. Go about a mile to the flashing traffic light where Alabama HWY 117 and AL HWY 75 intersect. Turn RIGHT onto AL HWY 117. Go probably a mile (that's a guess). You will pass Ider High School on your right and the Ider Senior Center (has a purple roof) also on right. Within the next quarter mile start looking for County rd 330 on your LEFT. The sign for the road is on the right side but the road is on the left. There is no sign on the left. Take that road and it will dead end into County Rd 332. Take a right and follow it until you see a boulder on the right with a 763 on it and an iron gate. You have arrived. There will be a "Suarez " sign out there if I get there before you do. If anyone has problems finding it my # is 423 827 9133

Reminder! This one is coming up THIS WEEKEND!

Me too. Hope everything goes well Bob.

No registration needed, just show up and pay at class. It just makes it easier on me if folks give me a heads up that they are planning to attend to know how many targets and equipment I need to bring. Hope to see you there!

Real World Rifle Skills - Combative use of the rifle Date June 24 2017 Instructor : Randy Harris (https://suarezinternational.com/randy-harris/ ) Location:The Ridge in Dayton TN (http://www.theridgeshooting.com/index.html) Price $150 Cash or Check ($50 Deposit holds your spot) Time : 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM This class is a 1 day immersion level class that will work to bring your rifle handling and shooting skills up to speed . Whether you are looking to use the rifle for home defense, Police patrol, Military, or 3 Gun Competition, this class will improve your shooting and gun handling skills. With just a small amount of lecture time we will spend the majority of the day on the range honing skills with both dry fire drills and live fire. While there is no prerequisite for this class, students need to have a SOLID grasp of the fundamentals of firearm safety and be familiar enough with their rifle to safely load , fire ,and unload it. What to bring? Modern magazine fed semi auto rifle or pistol caliber carbine. Pistol. Ammo: Rifle 250 rds Pistol 50 rds Eye and Ear Protection and any other gear you want to bring like knee pads. Ancillary gear: Belt and holster and mag pouch for pistol , sling for rifle, at least 3 rifle mags, at least 2 pistol mags (or speed loaders if you use a revolver), and a way to carry rifle mags. This can be in your pockets, in belt mounted mag pouches, in a bag of some type or in a chest rig. This is not a contractor class so if you show up with hard armor and 18 magazines you'll be a little over dressed unless that is what you normally wear in your day job. Police officers/security personnel are encouraged to wear their duty gear. As a side note, if you have armor and want to wear it that is perfectly fine...but no whining if it gets hot. Use common sense on holster set up. If you are using a chest rig and or armor then NO AIWB (Appendix Inside the Waistband) unless you have a truly small chest rig and there is absolutely no conflict between the rig and the gun coming out of the holster cleanly. For safety sake I want no conflict between chest rig and holster when drawing the pistol . IWB or OWB belt is fine...as long as it is not impeded by a monstrously big chest rig. Drop leg holsters are fine. Just make sure you can safely get your pistol out of your holster without having to fight your chest rig for it. Some stuff we will cover.... SAFETY Combative use of the rifle (context of combative use vs competitive use) RULE #1 - Don't get shot! (use of cover and movement to keep from getting shot) Position Shooting to conform to available cover. Marksmanship - Quickly hit what you aim at whether standing, kneeling, prone or moving Use of APPROPRIATE sighting methods for the distances involved Clear malfunctions QUICKLY Keep it loaded (Both reactive and proactive reloads and why and when to use them) Transition from Rifle to Pistol (When , Why and How) Practical application of skills we learned For more info either PM me here at TGO or email me at Cruelhandluke2000@yahoo.com

This one is coming up in just about 3 weeks !!!

Only about 3 weeks to go!

TN / GA / AL Training Group On SATURDAY June 10 we will hold the first summer meeting for the TN/GA/AL Regional Suarez Int Training Group! Instructor: Tier 1 Suarez Int Staff Instructor Randy HarrisLocation: The usual place- Phillips/Edwards Farm 763 County Rd 332 Pisgah AL 35765 Time: 9AM CENTRAL time - 3PM CENTRAL timePrice: $60 - pay at class cash or check. What you need to bring: Pistol, pistol magazines and at least 200 rounds of ammo. Revolvers are welcome if you want to party like it is 1899. We will work on smoothing out our pistol skills and will shoot several challenging drills and work to be more competent and confident with the weapon we carry most...our pistol. Rifles are awesome but they are not always close by. The pistol is far more likely to be the weapon you will have in hand be it robbery, terrorism or whatever. This will give participants a chance to shoot some timed and scored drills and get a feel for where their skill level is and see where they can improve.

One week to go on this one!

Well that sucks. I'm guessing you've already contacted your card company and disputed the charges?

Just a quick reminder that this one is coming up the first weekend in June!

Just a few weeks out on this one. CRG is the class that put SI on the map and the class that covers the most likely encounters where people use pistols to defend themselves. There is a reason we call it our "flagship" course. Hope to see you there!

Working on a date now......will post it up as soon as it is finalized.

For those coming , in case you have trouble finding the location my # is 423 827 9133

And a quick reminder....the range is right where the time zones go from Eastern to Central. The range is on CENTRAL TIME....so if you get there expecting class to start at 10 eastern you will be an hour early.....

Coming up TOMORROW!!!

The next meeting of the TN GA AL Regional Training group will be held on Sunday April 9. It will be a RIFLE DAY ! So grab your rifle and your gear and come on out! Date: Sunday April 9 Time: 10AM to 3PM CENTRAL TIME. Price : $60 pay at class cash or check.Subject: Real World Rifle Skills (a study in robust manipulations and scoring fight stopping hits under stress) Equipment needed:A rifle. Any rifle is fine, but you'll be better off with a magazine fed semi auto with a couple of spare mags. But if you want to roll "Old School" with a lever gun or bolt gun you are more than welcome to join us. We'll be focusing on the zero to 75 yard distance and using steel targets for some drills so no green tip or AP ammo please. A pistol. Whatever you REALLY carry....preferably the way you really carry it. Ammo needed: 200 rds rifle (NO Green Tip or Armor Piercing ) 50 rds pistolLocation: The usual place .....763 CR 332 Pisgah AL 35765

Glad you finally got this project worked out. Any chance you'll be bringing it to the training day this Sunday?