This may not be news to the more experienced officers... but was forwarded to me so I thought I would share.
Moderators I wasn't sure where to post this... please move if necessary. Thank you.
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FYI - From Calibre Press - Marc
I. WEAPONS WARNING - THE PEN-KNIFE
Newsline Subscriber and Auburn Police Department (Mass.) Officer Todd Hammond informed Newsline about a covert weapon he found on a heroin addict during a pat-frisk recently.
The weapon he discovered was a "pen knife" that is conveniently marketed as a letter opener by the manufacturer.
Hammond said that the pen is sold at a local flea market in Worcester, MA, which means it is easily accessible to anybody and everybody.
"This 'letter opener' had a very sharp edge and point on it, and could easily have been used as a violent weapon," Hammond said.
Hammond further explained that this same suspect had four bags of heroin hidden inside a tube of Chap stick.
"He had cut 3/4 of the Chap stick out of the tube and then opened the container and hid the heroin behind the Chap stick in the tube," Hammond said. "He had six tubes of Chap stick, and most of them had obviously been pried open previously, while others appeared to be in perfect condition. He had definitely perfected the skill overtime."
LESSON TO LEARN: THE "WRITE" WEAPON IN THE "WRONG" HANDS CAN BE DEADLY
The "letter opener" described above could obviously be used against you violently with just a flick of someone's wrist. Unfortunately, even a regular ink pen can be transformed into a dangerous threat in a split second. You have to always stay one step ahead of the individual intending to harm you. Even with the plethora of unique and innocuous weapons available to criminals, it is still possible for you to remain ahead of the curve just by remembering the basics:
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EDGED WEAPON CONTROL
As taught in the Street Survival Seminar, there are 7 ways to make a knife threat WORSE:
Freeze and just take it
Stand your ground and try to draw
Run backwards and try to draw
Fall and try to draw
Turn and try to run
Try inappropriate physical-control techniques
Invite attack with poor stabilizationIt is important to remember that EARLY recognition of an edged-weapon threat is key (whether it's an obvious weapon, or a covert one like the pen-knife). As the Calibre Press instructors teach, the average officer in Condition Yellow needs a minimum distance of 21 feet to reach and draw an untouched, holstered weapon and fire off 2 rounds center mass against a charging suspect with an edged weapon.
The best methods of winning against an edged-weapon attack are:
STAY ALERT to the possibility of an edged weapon assault at all times. Watch for signs such as hidden hands, hands in palming positions, sudden movement toward danger zones, or an increase in resistive tension or rapid movement toward you.
Maintain DISTANCE or create a BARRIER
Maintain an escape route
Select the proper force option
ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS wear body armor
Moderators I wasn't sure where to post this... please move if necessary. Thank you.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FYI - From Calibre Press - Marc
I. WEAPONS WARNING - THE PEN-KNIFE
Newsline Subscriber and Auburn Police Department (Mass.) Officer Todd Hammond informed Newsline about a covert weapon he found on a heroin addict during a pat-frisk recently.
The weapon he discovered was a "pen knife" that is conveniently marketed as a letter opener by the manufacturer.
Hammond said that the pen is sold at a local flea market in Worcester, MA, which means it is easily accessible to anybody and everybody.
"This 'letter opener' had a very sharp edge and point on it, and could easily have been used as a violent weapon," Hammond said.
Hammond further explained that this same suspect had four bags of heroin hidden inside a tube of Chap stick.
"He had cut 3/4 of the Chap stick out of the tube and then opened the container and hid the heroin behind the Chap stick in the tube," Hammond said. "He had six tubes of Chap stick, and most of them had obviously been pried open previously, while others appeared to be in perfect condition. He had definitely perfected the skill overtime."
LESSON TO LEARN: THE "WRITE" WEAPON IN THE "WRONG" HANDS CAN BE DEADLY
The "letter opener" described above could obviously be used against you violently with just a flick of someone's wrist. Unfortunately, even a regular ink pen can be transformed into a dangerous threat in a split second. You have to always stay one step ahead of the individual intending to harm you. Even with the plethora of unique and innocuous weapons available to criminals, it is still possible for you to remain ahead of the curve just by remembering the basics:
EDGED WEAPON CONTROL
As taught in the Street Survival Seminar, there are 7 ways to make a knife threat WORSE:
Freeze and just take it
Stand your ground and try to draw
Run backwards and try to draw
Fall and try to draw
Turn and try to run
Try inappropriate physical-control techniques
Invite attack with poor stabilizationIt is important to remember that EARLY recognition of an edged-weapon threat is key (whether it's an obvious weapon, or a covert one like the pen-knife). As the Calibre Press instructors teach, the average officer in Condition Yellow needs a minimum distance of 21 feet to reach and draw an untouched, holstered weapon and fire off 2 rounds center mass against a charging suspect with an edged weapon.
The best methods of winning against an edged-weapon attack are:
STAY ALERT to the possibility of an edged weapon assault at all times. Watch for signs such as hidden hands, hands in palming positions, sudden movement toward danger zones, or an increase in resistive tension or rapid movement toward you.
Maintain DISTANCE or create a BARRIER
Maintain an escape route
Select the proper force option
ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS wear body armor
