Comments Elsewhere

This week in POLICE: THE LAW ENFORCEMENT MAGAZINE: “I firmly believe that during an exigent circumstance . . . you can’t be hemmed in by policy, political correctness, or misguided citizen beliefs [sic]. You either take immediate action or someone dies—MUCH LIKE THE MILITARY APPROACH. Therefore, to improve your tactics for such situations you should understand and incorporate elements of PROVEN MILITARY DOCTRINE. . . [Movement to Contact] leaves law enforcement only one choice: engage. Our number one priority is stopping the threat by any means possible. There is no way to candy coat this, though many people try by playing word games. . . [C]LOSE-QUARTER COMBAT is characterized by danger, physical exertion and suffering, uncertainty, and chance. This sounds like what a law enforcement officer faces during an active shooter situation. As with ANY WARRIOR, a law enforcement officer must possess the courage, mental and physical toughness, mental stamina, and flexibility to handle the situation. There are three objectives in a movement to contact operation that law enforcement shares with military doctrine: find, fix, and finish . . . When you are one of the first to arrive, you automatically become a member of a fire team. You need to outfit yourself with as much firepower as possible.” – Amaury Murgado, “special operations lieutenant” for the Osceola County, Florida sheriff’s office. http://www.policemag.com/channel/careers-training/articles/2013/11/movement-to-contact.aspx But, hey, he wants you to know that this is “not about militarizing law enforcement.” It’s about “making us more effective in doing the very things the public [sic] demands from us [sic].” By, you know, studying and using military tactics and doctrine.