Maintaining a Combat Ready State of Mind

Being a cop is a dangerous job....Don't take it for granted.

Although most of a cops day may consist of somewhat routine activities such as serving papers, serving warrants, making traffic stops and shuffling around endless paperwork, cops have to be aware of their surrounds both on duty and off-duty. As we detailed in other articles complacency kills. Lets take for example alarm calls... Although cops run a lot of alarm calls during the course of their carrier (some push 99.5% of alarms are false) there is always the .5% chance you are walking into a "good" alarm where the burglars are still on the property.

Alarms - Be aware of your surrounds and anything odd. Be acutely aware. It's easy for cops to forget they are cops and obvious targets for burglars that would rather not get caught and go to jail for a long period of time. The only thing that is stopping them from getting away from the burglary, is you. So they have to go through you to gain freedom. For some at the cost of your life. So, when approaching a residence or a business check first for any obvious signs of movements. Call out vehicles parked out front or adjacent to the business. If there is obvious signs of forced entry call for a backup officer, or several, and perhaps even a dog. Do not be afraid to remove your weapon from it's holster an keep it readily available for a combat situation where you may suddenly trade gunfire with a suspect because you can believe his weapon will not be in a holster. Clean your weapon weekly, even if not fired.

Vehicle Stops - Vehicle stops are statistically one of the more dangerous activities that a police officer can engage in. So, here are some safety tips. When stopping a vehicle at night position your spotlight beam between the driver's rear view mirror and the driver's side mirror (many times the driver will move the mirrors to avoid being blinded by the light, in which case he can't see you either), approach from the passenger side of the vehicle by backing up from the driver's side and circling to the rear of the police cruiser, keeping in view the suspects by looking through the rear window, avoid looking at the lights, when approaching a suspect vehicle make physical contact with an ungloved hand, stand to the rear of the "B" post (B post have been known to stop and/or deflect bullets), if allowed carry a secondary weapon., keep watch on suspects by writing citations or warnings at eye level, keep dome light off in vehicle, if required use passenger side map light to illuminate ticket book, don't concentrate too much on computer, if a rear view camera is apparent, pull closer to the vehicle and turn all vehicle lights on high (high beams, takedowns, etc) to blind the camera.

Code Response to Calls - Statistically most police officers die in traffic accidents responding to calls for service. Remember to clear intersections even if coming to a complete stop. Remember you can only help if you get there in once piece. The call you are headed to is probably not worth dying over.

Stress - Stress can play a varied roll in police work. Some people fold under stress while other people focus. However, stress and Adrenalin can overcome some serious obstacles including mortal wounds. So, even if shot and dying remember take the other bastard with you. Stress can also wear you down. If feeling too stressed to go to work, don't. If you are not concentrating at your fullest being stressed can cause a life threatening distraction while on stops or with suspects. If needed contact a professional or utilize your agencies EAP (employee assistance program). Don't let the game play you.

Management - Poor management can cause a lot of undue stress to an agency. But it is important to remember that you work for the agency however you are not indebted to them or their slave. While it is important to be respectful to your supervisors and administrators try to take the stress imposed with a grain of salt. It's where you work but it's not the universe itself. Play the game until the game starts playing you.