Much of America, including CNN’s Attorney Sunny Hostin, can’t seem to grasp how Officer Darren Wilson could have been justified in shooting an ostensibly unarmed man. If Ms. Hostin got through law school without learning the definition of “disparity of force,” well, she wouldn’t be the first to do so.
DISPARITY OF FORCE is the legal principle which recognizes that even without a per se weapon, a violent attacker may have such a physical advantage over the intended victim that if the assault is allowed to continue, the totality of the circumstances indicate that the victim is likely to be killed or crippled. This authorizes the victim to use an actual deadly weapon in self-defense. That situation would exist if the attacker was significantly larger and/or stronger than the victim. It would exist if the attacker had complete freedom of movement and leverage, and the victim did not, a situation known as “position of advantage.” Another element that could create disparity of force would be that the victim was already handicapped or injured, even in the course of the instant assault, impairing the victim’s ability to fight back, escape, or evade or block continuing blows. ALL OF THESE WERE PRESENT WHEN THE 292-POUND MICHAEL BROWN WAS SMASHING OFFICER WILSON IN THE HEAD WHILE WILSON HAD VERY LIMITED RANGE OF MOVEMENT INSIDE THE PATROL CAR.
(There are other elements of disparity of force as well, such as male attacking female, multiple assailants attacking lone victim, and more, but none of them seem to have been in play in this encounter.)
This initial attack warranted Wilson drawing his gun and ordering Brown to get back or be shot. Then, Brown went for Wilson’s gun – as proven by bloodstain evidence and Brown’s DNA on the gun – and something else kicked in. BROWN WAS REACHING FOR A GUN, and Wilson testified that Brown had turned the muzzle into Wilson and was trying to pull the trigger when Wilson shot him the first time. This is no longer an unarmed man, it’s a man attempting to kill a cop with his own gun. Thus, shooting him at that point was justified.
Brown ran. Wilson followed police protocol and pursued. He testified that when Brown stopped and turned toward him, one of Brown’s hands went to his waistband as if to draw a gun of his own. This is apparently confirmed by Brown’s bloody handprint on that area of his own clothing. This is what is called a FURTIVE MOVEMENT, in this case a movement consistent with going for a gun and not reasonably consistent with anything else, and at law satisfies the requirement of a reasonable belief that the opponent is armed with a deadly weapon and attempting to draw and use it. This in and of itself, in assaultive circumstances where the opponent is close enough to kill you with such a weapon, justifies deadly force. Simultaneously, he lunged toward Wilson according to the majority of credible eyewitness testimony, consistent with attempting to disarm him again, and was close enough to do so very quickly. It was at this point that Wilson fired his second series of shots – and between the furtive movement and the forward attack, WAS JUSTIFIED IN DOING SO TWICE OVER.
After a short pause, witnesses for the most part agreed, Brown lunged again: another disarming attempt, which again justified shooting. Wilson fired his third and final string of shots, Brown fell, and it was over. Note that each time Brown stopped attacking, Wilson immediately stopped shooting.
These are facts which the grand jury must have taken into consideration. These facts explain why the narrative of “unarmed teen shot by armed jack-booted thug” totally fails the reality test.
Feel free to share with others who, like Attorney Hostin, “just don’t get it” … or, perhaps, don’t want to.
Mas,
I appreciate your analysis and it sheds a lot of light on the reasons Officer Wilson may have been wholly justified in shooting Brown.
However, Ladywest makes some very reasonable points and has raised questions that still remain. You claim Ladywest has an agenda, but I only see a desire to have unanswered questions addressed.
You say that there is no credible reason to believe that Officer Wilson “attacked” Michael Brown, yet more than one witness said that Wilson opened his door and it made contact with Brown. Where Wilson and Brown were coming from is really neither here nor there. While I very much agree with your analysis for the most part, I do have to wonder why you dismiss several witnesses assertions that Wilson aggressively engaged Brown with the cruiser.
No one doubts that an officer must adopt a different frame of mind when they put their lives on the line every day, but they are still human and do make errors in judgment. Your forceful rebuke of Ladywest seems like you’ve chosen sides when it comes to witnesses and it appears a little dishonest, I have to say.
Apart from that, you’ve shed a lot of light on why it could be seen that Wilson feared for his life and/or the safety of others in shooting Brown.
The internet is a wonderful media. I’ve spent the greater part of my life surrounded by people who, for the most part, were logical and fair minded, willing to adjust their beliefs when facts dictated.
The internet has exposed me to a different breed of folks. I’m seeing posts from people that probably set down with a 10,000 piece jig-saw puzzle, with a hammer and scissors, and are able to change an intended landscape picture into an image of a white cop brutalizing and killing a submissive black child, all the while refusing to acknowledge the pieces of the puzzle could have depicted anything else.
It does help me better understand how our country has come to where it’s at.
Good post Mas, thanks for putting it on here.
A couple of things though I’m hoping you can clear up for me that I have mixed feeling on or perhaps I’m just misunderstanding something…. Under the concept of disparity of force in regards to the Zimmerman case made sense due to GZ being mounted. Had GZ escaped would that had not changed the disparity of force circumstances?
And if the fatal shots in the Wilson/Brown case occurred in the car with Wilson being pinned, hit and Brown apparently trying to disarm him, that to me would seem to be a disparity of force situation, but when the fatal shots were actually fired, Wilson was out of the car, mobile and in pursuit without any serious injuries. Brown was larger, but Wilson was pretty big himself so I don’t see just someone simply being larger enough to justify disparity of force. Mike Brown was a lot larger than Mike Tyson, but I don’t think anyone would say there would have been disparity of force favoring Brown between those two. Additionally, Wilson was a trained and experienced Police Officer with different weapons and defensive tool options available to him. I may be way off base and I’m not saying Wilson was wrong, just that I guess I can see some validity to points and questions others have brought up.
Thanks.
Best regards,
Dan
No problem at all, Dan.
First, I think any court would recognize that Mike Brown’s 82-pound weight advantage over Darren Wilson would constitute a disparity of force advantage favoring Mr. Brown.
Second, as noted in my blog entry, Brown’s sudden movement of his hand to his waistband was consistent with going for a gun, and under those circumstances, the officer (or for that matter, the law-abiding armed citizen) doesn’t need to wait to see the gun, given the totality of the circumstances. This alone would normally suffice to warrant Wilson opening fire the second time.
Third, at the critical instant, only the guy who has been punched in the head by the stronger man at least twice knows whether or not he believes he can once again retain his weapon against the stronger man’s next attempt to take it and kill him with it. Wilson made it clear that he thought with one more punch to the head he would be unable to retain the weapon, and was likely to be killed. There was no other reasonable explanation for Brown’s final charge at Wilson, which caused Wilson to fire the third, and fatal, series of shots.
Great observations, Dennis – you manage to elicit all manner of responses from me – all of them good. I laugh, I get mad, I become thoughtful. Keep ’em coming! Once again, kudos to Mas for his patient, intelligent, methodical analyses and replies on this site – and others. Everyone who reads Mas should be inspired to higher levels of maturity – I know I am. I pray that this nation become inspired – inspired to return to its founding principles – it really is up to those of us who remember – those of us who care.
I’m good with the Grand Jury’s decision and Officer Wilson’s actions. Now that they have spoken – I have a question. Not knowing LE procedures – was it wise to be in a position where the suspect was immediately outside the officer’s patrol car and could confront him through the window? Is LE taught to pull up alongside an individual on the street? Doesn’t seem like a good position to handle a possible confrontation.
Thanks Mas,
Those who haven’t watched all your videos and read your books can’t understand a lot of things. Most of those who still say Brown was a “gentle giant” are simply ignoring the factual evidence, including his parents.
Thanks for being here and answering even the asinine questions with intelligence and courtesy.
You are who you are and I and many others appreciate that!
I’m sorry, Mas, and I don’t mean to troll here, but you’re throwing another assumption that stands in the way of getting answers. Witnesses said Brown’s hand went to his waistband because he was pulling his pants up. There’s very little evidence for Darren Wilson to think Brown was reaching for a gun. If there was a scuffle in the car and a gunshot wound to Michael Brown’s hand, if in possession of a gun, Brown surely he would have gone for it by that point. Wilson may have believed Brown was about to charge him, justifying the disparity of force, but have a difficult time believing Wilson thought Brown was reaching for a gun. I haven’t asked Officer Wilson, so I can’t say you’re wrong. It’s just another one of those mysteries.
I have no dog in this fight other than to try and see a reasonable factual picture of what happened.
OrnanceMan, the recognition of hand going to waistband as possible draw of a weapon is not assumption on my part. It comes from Officer Wilson’s testimony.
Very succinct and insightful, Mas. I know that we talked, in our class, about disparity of force. However, l do not recall “position of advantage”. It occurs to me that this is why, during a traffic stop, an officer wants the driver to remain in the vehicle , so that the officer has the ” position of advantage”. Would that be correct?
Pay attention, folks. This discussion of Officer Wilson’s actions that fateful day has involved hours of scrutiny of every action/reaction/decision he made in response to Micheal Brown’s actions.
Hours of scrutiny.
From the moment that Officer Wilson notified the dispatcher to send cover, before he initiated the second contact with Brown, until the all the events being discussed were over, was 90 seconds.
90 seconds of ” oh my God”.
Hours/weeks/months/ maybe years of second guessing.
Ordanance man says “Wilson may have believed Brown was about to charge him, justifying the disparity of force”. Brown WAS charging him, after previously trying to disarm Wilson, and after already battering Wilson in the head. The first shot scared Brown off. Even if Brown DID NOT REACH FOR HIS WAISTBAND WILSON WOULD HAVE BEEN JUSTIFIED IN SHOOTING THE MAN CHARGING AT HIM THAT JUST BEAT HIM UP AND TRIED TO TAKE HIS GUN.
Thank you, sir. Disparity of Force was well covered in my CCW permit class, and I have had problems understanding why the concept seems to escape so many commentators in this case. I can’t believe that the Average Joes and Janes in my class are better versed on a point of law than an attorney, so her apparent ignorance must be agenda-driven.
Randy, it’s one of many reasons. When writing a ticket, talking on the radio, etc., it’s nice to be able to have the subject in one place where you can keep an eye on him.
Robert, I agree that if Brown was charging Wilson, then this whole issue is put to rest. What I have a real problem with is that every eyewitness other than the friends of Brown’s or friends of Wilson’s said that Brown was definitely not charging Wilson. One said he appeared to be stumbling, but the rest said he was moving quite slowly and did not appear threatening.
Secondly, If you look at the pictures of Brown’s body, his underwear is showing and his pants are down around his thighs. He looks like someone who had to pull his pants up often. I have a very hard time believing that Wilson thought Brown was in possession of a gun when going for his waistband, but my opinion really means nothing.
I am ex-military, not a police officer but know several who are good friends. I am a strong supporter of law-enforcement and very grateful for their sacrifices on the job – one of the toughest in the world. I am not out to damn Wilson.
However, I believe this incident should be a teaching moment for everyone. It shouldn’t be peppered with unrealistic assumptions and shouldn’t be swept under the rug in the interest of putting it behind us. If there are actions to be taken in training, community outreach or greater understanding of the use of lethal force, then the entire community of Ferguson has some work to do.
It won’t be easy because you’ve got an African American population that is so mistrustful of law enforcement and you’ve got a small-town police force that is trying to keep the peace in a racially charged (and let’s be honest, dangerous) area.
OrdnanceMan, may I respectfully ask:
— What “friends of Wilson” do you believe testified to witnessing the shooting?
— Why would you believe, in fast-breaking circumstances, the hand of a man who has just violently attacked and beaten you reaching for his pants to pull them up is more obviously believable than that same person reaching for a weapon, especially if he has just tried to kill you with your own department issue service pistol?
I think that, again as in the Zimmerman case, some people have a problem when there’s only one version available after a deadly encounter. They have no qualms about dismissing the survivor’s account as suspect and self-serving, and even less about replacing it with pure conjecture. “How do we know that [insert far-fetched theory here] is not what really happened?” Well, we don’t. But (criminal) courts don’t convict people based on what could’ve possibly happened.
I realize that not all survivor testimonies will be candid, objective or accurate. But what some have to accept is that there’s a reason why the courts tend to side with accounts from LEOs. Their understanding of critical incidents tend to be more reliable than that of most people because of both training and experience. Should they be less than truthful, the hammer should fall, but if there is doubt… I believe they should get a pass. Call me biased if you want.
Thanks for a succinct and scholarly explanation. Although I graduated from law school forty (40) years ago and practiced law for the next twenty-six (26) years, I cannot recall the doctrine of disparity of force. Even so, I recognized the elements of justification for Officer Wilson’s ultimate resort to deadly force.
In any event, Officer Wilson had a duty to pursue and arrest as a dangerous felon who had just battered a police officer
In my view, the weak link in the Ferguson P.D. is the chief who, among other things, could have spoken out sooner (Did he ever?) to publish the facts and defend Officer Wilson.
I’ve not paid a great deal of attention to the facts of this case beyond what I’ve seen come across on the news, but it does seem like the mainstream news neglected to report a lot of information. A lot of folks(myself included) can’t wrap their head around why an 18 year kid who doesn’t have a long criminal past and isn’t severely mentally ill would behave like Mike Brown did. It’s just not something the average person can relate to. I watched the video of Mike Brown in the convenient store and to me it illustrates Brown’s violent and irrational behavior as well lending credibility to Wilson’s story that Brown likely did act as erratically as he claimed he did and it appears the evidence supports his story. It’s still an all around sad tale for everyone involved and it’s unfortunate it couldn’t have ended differently. And despite of what he did, Mike Brown was still someone’s child and I can’t imagine the sadness involved in losing a child. I think people can change and perhaps somewhere there’s a kid with problems making bad choices who might learn something from this case and just maybe make some changes in their life and make some different choices before it’s too late. At least that’s what I’d like to hope could happen.
Mas, thanks again for the insight.
Sincerely,
Dan
Wel, I think that Obama’s Executive Orders, and Funding, is no more than exceeding his Authority, and an implimintation of his intent to create a Federal Civilian force greater than America’s Military, that will be loyal to, and take, and follow ORDERS, ONLY FROM OBAMA’S APPOINTED MINIONS, AND CRONIES!
Back when he first hired, and trained, a mostly Minority init as the first step in Obama’s TAKE OVER OF ALL FEDERAL MILITARY, AND LAW ENFORCEMENT, WHICH IS MOST LIKELY NOW ALL A PART OF DEPT. OF HOMELAND SECURITY?
Now his racial investigations of most local Police forces, and this, along with all his equipment demands, and the Federal Funding to pay for them, ARE OBAMA’S LAST STEPS IN CRUSHING ALL STATE’S RIGHTS, WHILE TURNING OUR NATION’S LOCAL POLICE DEPTS INTO FEDERALLY DOMINATED ROBO-COP UNITS ANSWERING ONLY TO OBAMA, AND HIS FEDERAL FUNDED CONTROLERS!
ANYONE SMELL, “BIG GOVERNMENT” 1984 RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER?
I simply cannot understand how some folks can digest the very same facts I do – from the same trusted sources I do – then arrive at one erroneous conclusion after another, refusing to accept the only true answer, albeit one that doesn’t fit their preconceived notions. Apparently some folks cannot “wrap their heads around” the absolute FACT that evil does exist in the world. I wish it were otherwise, but sadly – it is not. “Some folks,” often there is no rational explanation for the actions we witness – please quit looking. These evil-inspired events have no happy endings – for anyone. There are no winners or losers – only a true sociopath would claim a victory when someone dies.
Mas,
The emotion invested here is very clear. If you believe Officer Wilson’s testimony then I would agree that he was completely justified. But let let me ask you to take a deep breathe and ask you to look again at the physical evidence and its sources.
The state autopsy seems the most crucial here. It describes wounds in the thumb, the head, the shoulder, and in the arm. The arm wound being held as proof that Brown could not have been holding his hands in the air, but rather in an aggressive posture. The head wounds were the final and fatal ones. While the rest of the shots could have happened in any order.
Officer Wilson had plenty of time to make sure his testimony matched what the physical evidence, so its no surprise that he was on point there. But the relationship between the prosecutor, medical examiner, and investigators bring the validity of it all into question. Especially when Officer Wilson uses “cop outs” like furtive movement.
When I look at it as a victim of a dishonest cop I see a circus. The competing testimonies aren’t completely contradicted by the physical evidence. I would think the independent citizens would be more credible than a suspected murderer.
If you have been kind enough to run this thought experiment would you reply with thoughts on who is more credible? Either way I’m sure the federal autopsy will offer more critical answers to this.
-Josh
Josh, Wilson’s account of the incident that he gave verbally right after it happened does not differ significantly from his later account. Those first accounts were given prior to the autopsy and other evidence becoming known to the officer. Therefore, it’s not a matter of him tailoring his story to the evidence; it is a matter of the evidence later confirming his account.
Josh – please – carefully read all of Mas’ methodical, patient responses to queries just like yours throughout this blog. Then, read my post directly above yours. The “invested emotion” you speak of does not apply to facts. I submit it does apply to conjecture.
@Dan: You asked what might have made Michael Brown act as he did. At least one very real possibility is that he was reacting to the possibility that he was about to be caught for the theft of the cigarillos minutes earlier. Though there is some controversy about whether the officer had identified him as a suspect or not (Wilson says that he had – and I think that he had – but there’s some question on whether his story changed on that point) but there’s no question that Brown himself knew and was aware that there was quite a bit of police activity in the area. A kid whose generally been a good kid may very well panic and act inappropriately in that situation, and that’s particularly true for a person of color who has reason to fear how police may react.
It’s like Mas says about how you are to react when you’re confronted by the police after you have used deadly force to defend yourself. These aren’t Mas’ words, but they boil down to this: First and foremost you’ve got to not fail the stupidity test. A kid, especially one who’s not been much involved with the police before this incident, is clearly capable of failing that test out of fear, misplaced anger, panic, overconfidence about what might happen, or any combination of those, rather than be apprehended or (in his mind, whether justified or not) brutalized.
I agree with Jeffrey Toobin in this article:
http://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/risk-using-ferguson-metaphor
and this interview (use your page search to skip down to “Let’s move on to Ferguson”):
http://www.npr.org/2014/12/03/368228244/president-obama-and-the-courts-a-shift-in-balance
that while there was a lot of irregularity in what happened with the grand jury that the right result was reached and that this case is a bad one to serve as the poster child for the too-many-young-black-men-are-killed-by-cops movement.
brown was about 50 yards from Wilson. Wilson was not in danger from the charge. furthermore, Wilson initiated the aggression verbally (“get the f*** off the street”) and initiated aggression physically by calling the brown over to the car and slamming his cruiser door into brown. after the door was slammed into brown, Wilson reached out through the cruiser window and grabbed brown around the neck.
if officers want to avoid physical confrontations, maybe they shouldn’t initiate verbal and physical aggression.
Ferndale, it would be very useful for you to read the grand jury minutes, linked elsewhere in the blog and readily available online.
Mas, at 66+, you would think I’m too old to be surprised by anything, but “ferndale” has managed to achieve the impossible. Thanks for once again providing a great example of the proper, mature answer.
Hello Mas,
In the wake of Ferguson news, did you hear about the group called Oath Keepers moving into town, setting positions in various places, including on rooftops, protecting small businesses?
Please comment on your knowledge of this group. I know the business owners were grateful for their presence.
Thank You, and Merry Christmas to you and your readers,
Tim Arrington
IDPA and NRA member
Mas, Your clear-thinking analysis throughly disqualifies you from being a “journalist” these days. And that is really a shame. As a former student I can attest to the fact that many in the press could benefit from taking your Mag-40 class.
Thank you for your insights into this case. To preserve justice, we should all take the opportunity where available to advocate for the triumph of rule of law over mob rule.
Edmund Burke once said, “When bad men assemble, good men need to associate.” (And that was not his most famous line, which is, “For evil to triumph, all it takes is good men to do nothing.”)
These are inspirational thoughts that help compel good people to stand up to evil. Ferguson is just 5 miles away from my home and office, but looting got as close as 3 doors away from my dental office (a nighttime break-in.) Scary times when evil creeps up to the surface and exposes itself freely.
Several weeks before the Grand Jury decision, “strange” cars were seen behind my office building. I was more concerned about my own safety and the ladies I work with than getting a description of the cars for police. I made sure that the “would be thugs” knew my eyes were on them. (That was enough to scare them away.) I carry all the time now!
MAG-40 seems to be a reasonable next step for me.
Dear Mas,
I am a pro-gun and self-defense leftist ( I know, like a white unicorn) and I have been listening to your videos for a few years. I recently decided to read your thoughs on the killings of Zimmerman and Brown. I think that Zimmerman is more clear than Wilson, but I would agree with many that there are probably better situations that people could use to criticize racism or the excessive power of the state via law enforcement. I was wondering if you have written anything about the case of Eric Garner or Oscar Grant? Are there aspects to those activities that I don’t know about from my left-wing sources about those cases? I live in Colorado and also was wondering if you know anything about the recent high-publicity cases there as well (Marvin Booker, etc?) Thanks!
Sean, I’m not familiar with the Colorado situation you mention; you’re welcome to send a link.
Oscar Grant’s death appears to have been accidental; the officer drew and triggered his SIG instead of his TASER. It was not the first such mistake ever made, but I believe was the first to result in the shooter being tried, convicted, and put behind bars. The Eric Garner case was also an unintentional death.
THANK YOU MASSAD
I took your course in 93 in IL. and now i’m retired from law enforcement since 2010. Thanks to you and St Christopher and the things you taught me I never had to take a life. I had to draw my weapon many times but it always ended well.I had few arrestees actually tell me that once they saw me line up my eyes with the sights of my gun so nice and calm like I was on the range on a Sunday morning they knew they were Fucked. (Also I would never scream at a perp I always used my regular voice tones to give out my commands, it scares the shit out of them).
Now on to Ferguson MO.. I think I drove my wife crazy with all the screaming I did. I just couldn’t believe what they were doing to this poor Police Officer. The first thing that came to mind, that always comes to my mind AOJ does it fit, O HELL YEA IT DOES! Then I heard the recording of the actual shots that appeared a few weeks later and thought to myself thats it, its over.
Boy was I wrong. Look, no Police Officer wants to take a life and we fear or for a better word anticipate the day it may happen. We all know the day we are sworn in theres a good chance you’ll be involved in a shooting, its part of the job.
Mr, Brown didn’t make one mistake,but multiple mistakes that day which caused his demise and although tragic was brought on by one person, himself. No one really wins these incidents. A young man is dead. A Police Officer has to keep that with him for life. Parents greave and a community is wounded. On the other hand there is no doubt in my mind someone was going to die that day no matter what, Why you ask,well lets just say someone had already made up their mind.
When I read your article on this incident and your analogy of the shooting I think I made my wife deaf when I screamed out someone gets it,someone really gets it. Ofc Wilson was and still is a brave and honorable Police Officer and the city of Ferguson, Mo. should have been proud to have him. I’m sure Ofc. Wilson never said give me a zone and leave me alone. ( for you civies thats a cop saying which means Fuck this shit. I’ll answer my calls but thats it, i aint looking for nothen, for what, so I can have a piece of string tied tightly around my balls!)
SHAME ON YOU FERGUSON!!!!!!!!!!
You lost a fantastic and caring cop but then again you didn’t deserve him
Rick S #38 (RET)
One more thing I forgot to mention. Something your team had taught me in class in 93. I believe we were on a smoke break and as usual we were discussing previous fatal cop shootings and what the officer could have done to save his life if only he had the knowledge at the time of his fate.
I remember talking about my S&W 645 along with my safari S3 holster and how it scared me how hard it is to retrieve that weapon from a sitting position in your squad and while under fire. It actually happened to a fellow police officer/friend of mine in Maywood IL. PD who was fatally wounded. When they investigated the scene they showed me a picture of his gun hand and all the deep cuts that were made by the hammer of the weapon between his thumb and index finger (on both sides palm and the top of his hand) as he desperately tried to retrieve his weapon from his holster to return fire. He didn’t have a chance, it was still holstered when they found him. That happened around 2007.
Anyways I don’t remember who asked me if I wear an outside Bullitt proof vest and I replied no but discussion around the PD was they may begin to allow it (remember this was 1993). The advice I was given was if they begin to allow outside vests have a little pocket sown in the back of the vest to fit a back up gun like a 38 snub something small but had a little power behind it. I remember the instructor saying make sure the pocket is sown in a way that your left or right hand can grab it just as easily as the other.
If they don’t allow outside vests then sow the pocket right to the vests carrier the same way you would on the outside vest. Get some old shirts and practice ripping your shirt off bottons and all and retrieve that weapon as fast and safely as you can. (practice with a unloaded weapon until you are familiar with the moves.) I’d rather lose 12 shirts than be carried by 6 (HA HA).
Just think how fast the Ferguson incident would have ended had Ofc . Wilson had that knowledge. From that day on in 93 until the day I retired thats exactly what I did. To me it was another tool in the tool box. Also I basically do the same thing now but with a shoulder holster now that retirees can carry concealed. Just thought I would pass that on because to me its one of the better tools in the box specially if your in a sitting position in your squad.
Last but not leas remember be as safe as you can out there and go home at the end of your shift and I will be praying to St Christopher for all of you.
Rick S #38 (RET)
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