On Thu, 27 Apr 2006 12:15:53 GMT, John Husvar
wrote:

In article ,
Don Foreman wrote:


I don't see why a civilian should need "Hogan's Alley" training.
Civilians are not cops, HRT or Delta Force. Civilians can and
must have a tactical plan for their homes so they'll know where the
friendlies, i.e. others in the household including children, are and
aren't. Not where they should be, where they actually are and
aren't when you're squeezing to pop a cap.

Not jumping on your case, Don, but,

Pet Peeve Announcement #1:

Cops _are_not_ military: They are civilian hired help.


Engaging in gunfights is not something civilians do, by definition.
One who entertains the idea of engaging in gunfights is not a
civilian.

It doesn't matter how an assailant hold his weapon, crosswise or
upside down. Once a weapon is in evidence then a civilian is free
to deliver stopping fire to center of mass if he or she has the
proficiency to do so. Doing that will surely be very costly, so the
alternative of not doing it must be clearly unacceptable and worth the
cost to avoid imminent harm.

Gunfights are for cops and soldiers, not civilians.

PPA #2: Cops _are_ civilian hired help.


That is not to say that a civilian should not be proficient. If I
were to be an armed civilian, I would think that 50 rounds every 3
months would be far short of sufficient. I'd opine that one should
spend as much on ammo and training as on first cost of a handgun, at
least 500 rounds for openers. I'd think that ability to deliver 12
round of rapid fire into center of mass at 21 feet would be minimal
proficiency for stopping an attack upon a civilian.

PPA #3: Cops _are_ civilian hired help.


I'd also note that while military experience may be useful for
safety training and some tactical matters, training as a civilian
is essential because the rules of engagement are very different and
vary significantly with location.

PPA #4: Cops _are_ civilian hired help.


My opinion, YMMV.

Same here.

I don't consider anyone not immediately under the UCMJ by current active
commission or current active enlistment to be anything but a civilian.

This current pseudo-militarization of the police is a dangerous
precedent and fosters an us/them dichotomy among equals. Cops are just
hired help, like all civil serpents.

They may be valuable hired help: They may be brave hired help: They may
be self-sacrificing hired help. But they are still just hired help
without separation from the rest of the civilian population.

They are different in that they have a sworn duty to preserve, protect
and enforce the law, with rules of engagement slightly different
than those for other civilians. The danger lies when they forget that
they are civil servants with clearly limited authority.