I woke up yesterday morning to the news: Terror attacks in Brussels, Belgium have left dozens dead and scores more injured. I’ve watched the story evolve since it happened; it seems that the Islamic State/Daesh has taken credit. These are the latest in a string of suicide bombings, mass shootings, and other forms of ideologically motivated violence across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. At home in the US, the San Bernardino attackers were inspired by IS, with a similar attack thwarted in Milwaukee by other sympathizers.
The goal of terrorism, in part, is to create a feeling of helplessness and vulnerability. If an attack can happen anywhere, anytime–the Metro station bombed in Brussels was blocks away from the European Commission’s headquarters–then none of us are truly safe. That’s the theory, anyway.
And it’s nonsense. Don’t get me wrong: the danger is there, and it’s real. These jerks strike without warning, often using methods that are difficult to counter–one cannot reason with a suicide bomber. However, there are steps we can take to keep ourselves safe and be proactive in dealing with these lunatics.
By the numbers:
Educate yourself on what to look for: the signs of a concealed weapon, a hidden explosive device, or other indicators that something might be about to go down.
Hone your shooting skills every chance you get, and drill the tactics you’ll need to survive and armed encounter. I hold that the CCW community can be an effective deterrent to many attacks, especially mass shootings. Let’s make sure we’ve got what it takes.
Learn first aid, and go a step beyond by learning the basics of trauma care. After the bombings in Boston, a lot of lives were saved by the quick intervention of folks with the right training and gear. Be ready to be that kind of hero.
In Belgium as I write this, an entire nation has been told to stay home. Most public institutions are closed, and I have to imagine that transportation is a nightmare. A resident of Brussels who I interviewed online described the situation as “chaotic” nationwide . At times like this, help might take a long time to get to you. It might not show up at all. You’ll need to be able to care for you and yours.
The causes of this conflict are complex, with roots in the First World War. There are a lot of players involved, and their motivations are complicated. It’s a bit of work, but it gives you an edge.
We can’t give in to fear or paranoia. We can’t turn on each other when we need to be united against our foes. And we can’t give up.
As a final thought, I encourage you to remember that while these events are sickening to us, they’re a fact of day to day life in many places around the world. Spare a thought for all afflicted, and please stay safe out there.
Some states require CCW holders to notify police they are armed on contact with them. Many more states do not have such a requirement, but is it a good idea anyway?
I’ve lived in places, both here and abroad, that don’t do that, and I can tell you from personal experience that what we have for concealed carry is better! However, there are times when being legally armed can raise some interesting questions, such as when we interact with police.
Many people go a lifetime in the United States and never do more than encounter police, literally, in passing. For many more, their only encounter with police is a traffic stop or accident, with or without a ticket. While we all worry about being victims of crime, it is still relatively rare, statistically speaking, for the average law-abiding citizen to be a crime victim and encounter police in an investigatory capacity. Since CCW holders are among the most law-abiding of citizens, the most likely police interaction for them is the traffic stop.
Some states require CCW holders to notify police they are armed on contact with them. Many more states do not have such a requirement, but is it a good idea anyway? The answer may vary depending on whom you ask, but regardless of what state I’m in I err on the side of caution and tell law enforcement officers (LEOs) that I am carrying. My reason is simple: I have yet to meet the cop who likes surprises. I prefer to tell them I’m carrying, rather than have them find out on their own.
Thinking back to my own time in blue, I encountered people who had CCWs and I appreciated their telling me they were armed. I did not appreciate the few times I had to find out about it on my own! Besides, most cops don’t know who we are when they encounter us in their official capacity as guardians of public order and safety. Anything I can do to demonstrate good faith is good for both me and the officer.
Cops are like us; they want to go home after work with their moving parts intact and no extra holes in them.
Consider the respective roles in interactions between police and armed civilians. That of the police is to enforce the law and maintain order among a citizenry that has a range of legal rights and privileges that police are obliged to respect and protect in the course of their duties. At the same time, police must protect their own safety and that of the public. For their part, legally-armed citizens are entitled to exercise their Second Amendment rights, and are also obliged to exercise those rights responsibly. The cop knows himself to be a good guy, but he does not necessarily know that those he encounters in the course of his duties are good guys.
Add a gun to the equation, and the cop’s danger radar goes to instant high alert. Police are bound by their duty to the public, and their duty to their own survival, to take precautions when encountering people with guns. All this taken together makes sensible courtesy and sober caution the order of the day when we find ourselves armed in the presence of police. It also means we should give some leeway to police when we encounter them while we are armed.
Depending on their agency’s policies, police may have less operational discretion in encounters with armed people than I did when I enforced the law. They also often operate in an environment that is more forgiving when officers use deadly force against what they reasonably perceive to be threats from armed citizens, even when those perceptions later turn out to be wrong (such as the Amadou Diallo incident in New York City, where Diallo was shot 41 times by NYC Police after they mistook his wallet for a weapon).
This means if police know you have a gun, and think you are a threat to them or others, you are more likely to be shot. We can argue all day about whether this is good or bad, but I submit it is a fact of life, and that both sides of the badge will be better off if the armed citizen errs on the side of caution and behaves prudently, politely, and respectfully when encountering police while armed.
Cops are like us; they want to go home after work with their moving parts intact and no extra holes in them. Cops also deal with the full spectrum of humanity for a living, often in adversarial and hazardous circumstances. While most of that humanity is honest and law-abiding, and the vast majority of police-citizen interactions benign, a small minority is sufficiently dangerous to have feloniously killed an average of 62 police officers nation-wide annually in the 14 years between 1996 and 2009, and to have injured on average 56,405 police officers in those same years (according to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports). There’s a reason most cops, especially the good ones, are suspicious. They must bring that suspicion to bear in every interaction they have, and they must be especially careful when guns other than their own are present.
Just because YOU know you’re the good guy doesn’t mean the cops do.
Every situation is different, but here’s what I do: First, I lower my tinted windows, and if it’s a night-time traffic stop, I turn on my interior lights. I tell any passengers to let me do the talking, to keep quiet, and to keep their hands in plain sight. My hands stay in full view on the steering wheel, and I make no sudden moves. I present my driver license and CCW to the officer when he approaches me. With my hands in plain sight, I tell the officer, calmly and politely, that I have a CCW, that I am carrying and where the pistol is, and I ask what they want me to do.
The last time I did this, the Nevada State Trooper returned my CCW saying he didn’t need it, and then went back to his car to write me a speeding ticket. He brought the ticket back to me, asked me to sign it, returned my driver license, and we both went on our way. He said not a word about my gun. Alternatively, you can take Massad Ayoobs’s advice of handing over your CCW with your driver license and let the officer take it from there, and answer any subsequent questions politely and honestly.
If it’s a non-traffic interaction, I politely and calmly tell the officer at the first opportunity that I have a CCW, that I have it on me and where on my body I have the pistol, and ask what he wants me to do. If the situation permits, I provide my driver license and CCW, as in a traffic stop. In any event, I answer questions politely and honestly; I do what the officer says, slowly and carefully; and I keep my hands in plain sight, without making any sudden moves.
Your experience may vary by jurisdiction and their policies (both written and unwritten) about citizens with guns, and by the attitudes of individual officers. Some LEOs may take possession of the gun until the contact is over, returning it at the end of the encounter. Some officers may prone you out, handcuffed, until the end of the contact or until they are satisfied you are not a threat. Some may react like the Nevada State Trooper I encountered, while still others may want to talk about guns and carry gear. The one constant is that both parties are armed, and like it or not, police will likely view you with suspicion and caution until they are satisfied that you are not a threat or that the threat is neutralized.
If you have used a gun in a defensive situation and police are arriving, make sure the gun is not in your hands.
I recall a traffic stop I made one summer night. I approached the vehicle cautiously, flashlight in my weak hand and my strong hand on the butt of my pistol, checking the car’s interior as I approached, and keeping my light on the driver’s hands while asking for his license and registration. My light followed his hands as he opened his glove box to retrieve his registration, and the light caught the butt of a pistol.
I shouted for him to “Freeze!!” while my service revolver came out of its holster and went up against his ear. I ordered him to slowly grasp the butt with thumb and forefinger and to very slowly bring it out of the glove box and give it to me ever so carefully! It was a tear-gas pistol. We had an interesting discussion about cops getting jumpy when they see guns, especially at night during a traffic stop. I also suggested he might consider alerting officers to its presence to keep from having revolvers stuck in his ear–or worse!
Police-citizen interactions are not a good time to debate the legal merits of concealed carry and police attitudes thereto. We armed citizens know we are good guys, but the cops don’t know that. Granted, some cops can be heavy-handed, even badge-heavy, but in my experience, many, if not most, are pro-gun and pro-concealed carry, and will be as nice to you as you and the situation will let them be. Still, some cops don’t like armed citizens, and some can misunderstand and misinterpret (or even ignore) laws regarding concealed carry.
Having been on both sides of the badge, my advice is to be polite, be cooperative, obey the officer’s order, and don’t argue with them. Even if you are in the right and the officer is in the wrong, arguing can be interpreted as being hostile and uncooperative at best, and as resisting police at worst. If you think the situation was handled wrongly, get the officer’s name and take it up with police management after the fact.
If you have used a gun in a defensive situation and police are arriving, make sure the gun is not in your hands. If you must stay pointed-in to maintain control of the bad guy(s), be still and obey police commands to drop the weapon. Don’t argue, just drop it immediately.
Five Stay-Alive Tips
Cops see themselves as the good guys. They are sworn to protect, serve and arrest; they are trained and experienced; they have uniforms, badges, and guns. A legal presumption of good intent and proper action cloaks much of what they officially do. As legally-armed citizens, we know we are certified good guys, too, because we went through training and at least two criminal background checks to get our guns and carry permits. We can unconsciously bring that “good-guy” attitude into our interactions with police. I think we need to be careful with that. The following story will illustrate why.
In the summer of 2010, Eric Scott went shopping with his fiancée at the Costco in the Summerlin area of Las Vegas. He had a CCW and was armed while shopping in the store. Costco has a corporate no-guns policy, although this Costco was not posted to that effect. During the course of his shopping, an employee noticed he had a weapon.
Interacting with police while armed doesn’t need to cost you your life.
The employee alerted store management, who called police to report a man with a gun. Three officers responded and ordered the store evacuated so they could wait outside the store entrance for the man with the gun to come out. A store employee waited with them to point out the man in question. When Scott and his fiancée left the store, police ordered him to freeze.
Details about what happened next are murky, even after a lengthy and thorough police investigation. It does not help that the several store surveillance cameras were not working that day. Witnesses reported seeing and hearing different things. At least one witness reported hearing Scott say, “I am disarming.” Seeing him move his hands and thinking he was reaching for a gun, the three officers shot him dead. A coroner’s inquest found the shooting justified.
I live in the Summerlin area, and regularly shop at that Costco (it is still not posted for guns). I wasn’t there, but based on the press reports, I surmise Eric Scott fell tragic prey to the good-guy syndrome, in that he knew he was a good guy, and unconsciously assumed police would understand that he was acting safely and responsibly to defuse the situation by peacefully disarming. Instead, it cost him his life.
Interacting with police while armed doesn’t need to cost you your life. Keep your hands off your gun, be polite, keep your wits about you, use common sense, give police some leeway, and it should be a non-event for you and them.
https://www.usconcealedcarry.com/handling-police-and-armed-citizen-encounters/
by Rick Ector - Monday, August 18, 2014
A violent crime can occur anywhere at any given moment. However, it should not be a surprise to anyone that violent crime occurs more often in urban environments than in suburban or rural communities. A person venturing into a well-populated city for business or recreation would be well advised to conduct some pre-trip planning to ensure a safe stay. Accordingly, persons who are concerned about big city crime may wish to legally carry their firearms for personal protection during their visit. Appropriate arrangements should be made to ensure a hassle-free and safe experience.
Statutorily Defined Firearm Concerns
The first consideration for carrying a firearm in the city is to ensure you are aware of any local ordinances regarding firearms. In some states, such as Michigan, firearm laws are "pre-empted" at the state level. As such, firearm laws are uniform and the same all across the state. However, in other states, such as North Carolina, gun laws may vary depending on what county you are visiting. Furthermore, different cities within a county may have varying laws at the city level. Failing to know the laws of the city you are visiting is not a legally valid excuse of running afoul of them.
You should be aware of the statutorily defined "gun-free zones" in the city you are visiting. In addition, you should also research all of the businesses on your itinerary to see if they have any company-specified bans on carrying firearms for visitors. If your plans involve traveling to and entering these areas, you must decide upfront what you are going to do with your gun. You may elect to leave your firearm in your vehicle, if local law allows you to do so, but please be mindful that criminals frequently prowl parking lots of "gun-free zones" looking to steal firearms from unattended vehicles. Thus, if you must leave your gun in your car, it would be wise to secure it in a car safe.
If the risk of having your firearm stolen from your vehicle is too great for comfort, you may want to have it secured in a safe in your hotel room or in a safe at the hotel's front desk. Do not just leave your firearm unattended in a hotel room, despite how well you think you can hide it. If there are no safes available at the hotel or you can't securely store your gun in your vehicle, you're best bet may be to leave it at home.
Soft Personal Protection Tips
A great way for visitors to stay safe in urban environments is to always be aware of their surroundings. Large cities offer many visual distractions that can prevent visitors from identifying potential threats. As such, activities performed in public—such as talking on a cell phone, taking tourist photos and reading maps—can signal that a person is "safe" to victimize. A defensive firearm has no practical benefit if the carrier is not paying attention to his environment.
A predator prefers an unaware target because the victim won't see the attack coming, which ensures the bad guy's safety. As such, visitors should always be aware of the people around them and what activities they are performing. The tasks strangers are conducting should be congruent to that specific environment. Strangers should not be allowed to violate a visitor's personal space. Crime is a personal affair—it requires the assailant to be physically close to the target. Any variety of ruses can be employed to close that gap, such as requests for assistance, submission of personal questions or attempts to return something you allegedly dropped. Never allow a stranger to encroach and violate your personal space.
Furthermore, a visitor can also enhance his personal safety by confidently and briskly traveling to his destination with a full head of steam. The visitor knows exactly where he is headed, because he did his research online and mapped out his route ahead of time. Accordingly, he can't be easily taken off course by any ruses and doesn't have to depend upon the kindness of strangers to help him make it to his destination. More importantly, he does not appear to be a hapless tourist by any attending predators. The best form of protection is avoidance facilitated by prior preparation.
The Bottom Line: Knowing The Law and Having A Plan
Carrying a defensive firearm for personal protection in an urban environment requires more preparation and active attentiveness than doing so in suburban and rural communities because the risks of being a crime victim are higher. There are more criminals present in the city who are enabled by an even higher number of visual distractions. As a consequence, the defensive-gun carrier should engage in pre-trip planning to ensure a smooth and safe visit to the city. Requisite tasks include conducting firearm-law research and planning an itinerary with travel directions. Moreover, once the visitor has arrived in the city, it is imperative for him to be actively aware of his surroundings and to jealously guard his personal space.
People choose to carry concealed weapons for various reasons, but one common thread is that these people want to be prepared to handle an emergency situation, and protect themselves and others. A firearm is a great tool for this in certain circumstances, but it is not the only tool a person may need. We can’t fix every problem with a handgun, but by choosing our everyday carry items carefully, we can become better prepared to handle a multitude of problems that life may throw at us.
It should come as no surprise that I am going to suggest a reliable handgun be part of your everyday carry gear. Find a quality holster that is made for your handgun of choice that retains the handgun securely and keeps the trigger covered. A spare source of ammunition should be carried as well. A quality magazine or speed loader holder will keep your ammunition in a consistent location for ease when reloading. If you are required to have a permit to carry a concealed firearm, get one and carry that also.
Carrying The Load
Ares Gear Enhanced Aegis Belt.
Let’s discuss some other items that will help us be self-sufficient when things go wrong. I have found that a component of a concealed carry firearm system that is sometimes not given enough consideration is the belt. The width of the belt should match the width of any mounting slots on your holster, and the belt should be firm enough to prevent the weight of the firearm from pulling the grip away from the body. This will keep the firearm from moving on the belt and rubbing against the user. An uncomfortable holster will lead to the user reaching down and adjusting it regularly. This indicator can communicate to others that you have a concealed firearm. My current belt is the Ares Gear Enhanced Aegis Belt. The belt consists of same 1½-inch proprietary scuba webbing, but it doesn’t look out of place with jeans, tactical pants or a suit. This solid platform will help carry some of the other gear we will be discussing.
First Aid Fixes
Dark Angel Medical Pocket Kit
The importance of having some type of emergency medical kit on your person cannot be under estimated. As a firearms trainer for law enforcement and responsible citizens, I have run across a few people who have had to use a firearm to protect themselves or others. However, I have run across far more people who have encountered some type of traumatic event traveling on the road, at a child’s sporting event or even around their own home. My current daily carry kit is the Dark Angel Medical Pocket Kit. It mounts directly on your belt or can be carried in a pocket. It is purpose built to have the supplies you need to survive a traumatic injury without the extra stuff that you don’t need. “Simplicity under stress” is the Dark Angel Medical motto.
Communication Is Key
iPhone 6
Most everyone carries a cellular phone these days. Keep yours on your person, and as highly charged as possible. If you have to draw your firearm to protect yourself, whether you have to fire or not, one of the first things you should do is report that you are the victim of a crime. If you draw your firearm and the bad guy flees the scene, he may decide to call and report to the police that you are the criminal. Additionally, the phone can be used to summon medical aid and can help law enforcement with navigation in some circumstances if needed.
Maintain Your Edge
Zero Tolerance 0350 folding knife.
A knife is the most basic of tools and one that we should have on our person any time it is legal to do so. Besides the obvious application of being a weapon capable of inflicting deadly force that never runs out of ammunition, a good blade can handle a multitude of mundane tasks like opening boxes, cutting para cord or even removing a splinter. For my preferences, Zero Tolerance is the right brand for me. This company makes quality knives that are not the cheapest on the market, but they also do not come with a price tag that encourages you to keep it in a collector’s case. My daily carry is a Zero Tolerance 0350 with a partiallyw serrated blade. The knife comes with a clip that can be configured to be carried tip up or tip down on either side of the blade. This is a great feature if you want to carry the knife to be accessed with your support hand for weapon retention purposes.
Lighting The Way
SureFire EB1 Backup
If you are interested in self-protection, a quality flashlight should be part of your daily carry gear. You may need it to identify a threat or evacuate a building. A flashlight can also make a great improvised weapon in areas where firearms are not allowed, such as when you are flying commercial airlines. My daily carry flashlight is a SureFire EB1 Backup. At under 4.5 inches in length, this LED light can produce 200 lumens if I need a lot of light to reach out and light-up someone, or 5 lumens of light if I just need to navigate through my living room during a power outage. To further increase this light’s utility, I added a Thyrm SwitchBack Backup to my light. The SwitchBack is a ring that mounts on the rear of some models of flashlights that allows the user to hold a firearm in a standard two-hand grip while being able to control the function of the flashlight. For those users who prefer crenellated bezels on their lights, check out the new SureFire E1D LED Defender flashlight.
Tactical Travel
FirstSpear Comm Packs.
Sometimes I am forced to dress in a manner that makes it difficult to conceal all the gear I want to have available to me. For those times I have set up an “everyday carry pack” in order to have the additional gear I desire close by. The company 5.11 Tactical makes a couple of packs ideally suited to this purpose. The Rush 12 Backpack is large enough to carry what you need to get to work and back, but not so large that you end up carrying more than you need. If you want a pack that looks less tactical, try the 5.11 Tactical Covrt 18. This pack is slightly larger but made to not appear to be tactical at all, with a total lack of visible MOLLE straps or Velcro fields.
Another example of a pack that is designed to blend into an urban environment is the FirstSpear Comm Pack. This pack’s urban appearance helps to prevent others from guessing that you are a concealed carry holder. Anytime I can’t carry the above listed items on my person, I make sure I have them in my “everyday carry pack.” Other items I include in my pack are the cables I need to charge my phone, as well as a portable charger to recharge my phone when power is not available. I always have a water bottle on board and a pouch with more medical gear, including routine things like prescription and non-prescription medications, spare contact lenses, a multi-tool and other small gear.
Concealed carry holders like to be prepared. With a little planning your everyday carry gear can help you be prepared for all of what life can throw at you.
For More Information
5.11 Tactical
866-451-1726; http://www.511tactical.com
Ares Gear
518-966-2737; http://www.aresgear.com
Dark Angel Medical
720-836-7150; http://www.darkangelmedical.com
DeSantis Holsters
631-841-6300; http://www.desantisholster.com
FirstSpear
636-349-4820; http://www.first-spear.com
SureFire
800-828-8809; http://www.surefire.com
Thyrm
408-444-5734; http://www.thyrm.com
Zero Tolerance
800-325-2891; http://zt.kaiusaltd.com
by Rick Ector - Monday, August 18, 2014
A violent crime can occur anywhere at any given moment. However, it should not be a surprise to anyone that violent crime occurs more often in urban environments than in suburban or rural communities. A person venturing into a well-populated city for business or recreation would be well advised to conduct some pre-trip planning to ensure a safe stay. Accordingly, persons who are concerned about big city crime may wish to legally carry their firearms for personal protection during their visit. Appropriate arrangements should be made to ensure a hassle-free and safe experience.
Statutorily Defined Firearm Concerns
The first consideration for carrying a firearm in the city is to ensure you are aware of any local ordinances regarding firearms. In some states, such as Michigan, firearm laws are "pre-empted" at the state level. As such, firearm laws are uniform and the same all across the state. However, in other states, such as North Carolina, gun laws may vary depending on what county you are visiting. Furthermore, different cities within a county may have varying laws at the city level. Failing to know the laws of the city you are visiting is not a legally valid excuse of running afoul of them.
You should be aware of the statutorily defined "gun-free zones" in the city you are visiting. In addition, you should also research all of the businesses on your itinerary to see if they have any company-specified bans on carrying firearms for visitors. If your plans involve traveling to and entering these areas, you must decide upfront what you are going to do with your gun. You may elect to leave your firearm in your vehicle, if local law allows you to do so, but please be mindful that criminals frequently prowl parking lots of "gun-free zones" looking to steal firearms from unattended vehicles. Thus, if you must leave your gun in your car, it would be wise to secure it in a car safe.
If the risk of having your firearm stolen from your vehicle is too great for comfort, you may want to have it secured in a safe in your hotel room or in a safe at the hotel's front desk. Do not just leave your firearm unattended in a hotel room, despite how well you think you can hide it. If there are no safes available at the hotel or you can't securely store your gun in your vehicle, you're best bet may be to leave it at home.
Soft Personal Protection Tips
A great way for visitors to stay safe in urban environments is to always be aware of their surroundings. Large cities offer many visual distractions that can prevent visitors from identifying potential threats. As such, activities performed in public—such as talking on a cell phone, taking tourist photos and reading maps—can signal that a person is "safe" to victimize. A defensive firearm has no practical benefit if the carrier is not paying attention to his environment.
A predator prefers an unaware target because the victim won't see the attack coming, which ensures the bad guy's safety. As such, visitors should always be aware of the people around them and what activities they are performing. The tasks strangers are conducting should be congruent to that specific environment. Strangers should not be allowed to violate a visitor's personal space. Crime is a personal affair—it requires the assailant to be physically close to the target. Any variety of ruses can be employed to close that gap, such as requests for assistance, submission of personal questions or attempts to return something you allegedly dropped. Never allow a stranger to encroach and violate your personal space.
Furthermore, a visitor can also enhance his personal safety by confidently and briskly traveling to his destination with a full head of steam. The visitor knows exactly where he is headed, because he did his research online and mapped out his route ahead of time. Accordingly, he can't be easily taken off course by any ruses and doesn't have to depend upon the kindness of strangers to help him make it to his destination. More importantly, he does not appear to be a hapless tourist by any attending predators. The best form of protection is avoidance facilitated by prior preparation.
The Bottom Line: Knowing The Law and Having A Plan
Carrying a defensive firearm for personal protection in an urban environment requires more preparation and active attentiveness than doing so in suburban and rural communities because the risks of being a crime victim are higher. There are more criminals present in the city who are enabled by an even higher number of visual distractions. As a consequence, the defensive-gun carrier should engage in pre-trip planning to ensure a smooth and safe visit to the city. Requisite tasks include conducting firearm-law research and planning an itinerary with travel directions. Moreover, once the visitor has arrived in the city, it is imperative for him to be actively aware of his surroundings and to jealously guard his personal space.
