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the street seems to be the hardpart.

The truth is, and pardon me ifI am preaching to the choir, itcan happen here and does eachand every time an incident of

this type happens. If our admin-istrators and town officials re-fuse to acknowledge the obviousor provide adequate funding, weneed to come up with creativeways to include this type of

training into our curriculum.We may not be able to con-

duct the full spectrum that wedesire but some training is betterthan none. We may need to

break up the training intosmaller blocks and accept that itwill not be completed as soon aswe would like. No instructor

likes to compromise with theirtraining plan however we mayhave to in order to achieve ourultimate goal. One thing weshould not compromise on is thequality of our training. If youare only allocated 2 hours foreach officer this quarter, be surethat (Continued on Page 2)

In the fall of 2004, two teen-agers were arrested in Marsh-field (MA) charged with plan-ning to kill school officials,students and police officers.The story has been reported in

detail elsewhere but to summa-rize, four Marshfield teens re-

portedly called themselves the Natural Born Killers and wereallegedly plotting a Columbinestyle shooting at the MarshfieldHigh School. Their list of vic-tims included fellow studentswhom they felt deserved to be

punished, school officials in-cluding the principal and policeofficers. According to availableinformation, they intended tocarry out this attack with home-made explosives, napalm and

firearms. They would use bicy-cle cable locks to lock the exitdoors to prevent their victimsfrom escaping and to deter re-sponding officers from entering

the school.Two of the leaders may have

had a falling out which led toone threatening to expose the

plan. The other, apparently,took the threat seriously and

preemptively went to the policeimplicating his buddy. Bothwere eventually arrested and thelegal outcome is pending at the

time of this writing.A tragedy was averted but

was it because of good commu-nication between school officialsand students as the local authori-ties and the media have assertedor was it a falling out amongthieves? Regardless of whichwas the cause, the real issue isIT CAN HAPPEN HERE! Ifthe fact it almost happened inour own back yard is not enoughto convince you, the schoolshooting in the quiet Amishvillage of Nickel Mines, PA

should ring your wake up bell.As firearms instructors, we

are often ahead of the curve inrecognizing the type of trainingour departments should receive.Convincing our superiors thatwe need to be addressing thistype of threat in addition every-thing else we may encounter on

The Fallacy of It Cant Happen Here

2007 Executive Board Nominations

Nominations for the MLEFIAAExecutive Board were accepted

at the December meeting held atSIGArms Academy. The bylaws provide for the nominationof any active or retired memberfor a position on the E-Boardwhich consists of President, 3Vice Presidents, Secretary,Treasurer and Master-at-Arms.

Nominees must be members in

good standing.

On a motion by Kevin Cooley,the membership nominated the

current board en masse. Theslate includes:

President - Chief Bert DuVer-nay, New Braintree P.D.

1st V.P. - Lt. Edward OLeary,

Randolph P.D.

2nd V.P. - Officer Todd Bailey,

Duxbury P.D.

3rd V.P. - Officer Bill Peterson,

Wayland Aux. P.D. (ret.)

Secretary - Officer Joe

Picariello, Princeton P.D.

Treasurer - Martin Michelman

Master-at-Arms - Officer Bruce

Klinger, Boxford P.D. (ret.)

The annual election of officerswill be held at the January meet-ing at S&W Academy in Spring-

field.

Every person owes some of

his time to the improvement

of the profession to which he

belongs.

Pres. Theodore Roosevelt

WINTER 2006/2007 2006 MLEFIAA

The Case HeadThe Case HeadThe Official Publication of the Massachusetts Law Enforcement

Firearms Instructors & Armorers Association

Inside this issue:

Troopers NewPistol Recalled

2

MPTC FirearmsInstructor Cur-riculum Changes

2

Firearms Qualifi-cation vs. Training

3

2007 ConferencePlanning Under-way

3

Product ReviewBrite-Strike Tacti-cal Light

3

Dry Fire TrainingDevelops MuscleMemory

4

Dont ForgetYour Long GunTraining

5

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The 12/7/06 edition of theBoston Herald ran a front pageheadline which reported theSIGArms P-226R DAK service

pistol issued to Mass. Statetroopers, was recalled after

problems were found duringtesting. The article stated the

pistols jammed during firing.The Double Action Keller-

man (DAK) trigger provides theattributes of a double actiononly trigger system with a re-duced trigger pull (~6.5 lbs.).

The State Police websitestates they were in the processof transition training. The newweapons were being broken in

and troopers familiarized with

the new trigger system. Fourweapons experienced malfunc-tions during this range session.The MSP Armorer examinedthe weapons and it was deter-mined they were not withinfactory specs. The problemwas identified as a recentmodification to the trigger bar.

A SIGArms source con-firmed the problem was withthe trigger bar dragging on slidecausing some friction which

prevented the slide from goinginto battery. The problem wasattributed to the outside con-tractors specs on the part.

The MSP immediately

pulled the weapons from the

street as a precautionary meas-ure. SIG engineers inspectedthe 400 new weapons that weredelivered and any trigger barsout of spec were corrected. AState Police spokesman statedthe agency will continue issuingthe P-226R DAK service pistol.

This illustrates the impor-tance of range testing everynew duty weapon before plac-ing it in service. Our dutyweapons must function reliably100% of the time. Anythingless is not satisfactory and en-dangers our officers and public.

Hats off to the MSP Fire-arms Training Unit for picking

this up in a timely manner.

implements more changes.

This change brings the MPTCmore in line with the programMLEFIAA has been teaching

for the past two years. As youmay recall, we made the moveto a 3 Day Patrol Rifle/ShotgunInstructor program after wenoted the one day class just didnot provide sufficient class timeto achieve our training objec-

tives.

The original one day PatrolRifle course was written by

MPTC Firearms Training Coor-dinator Bill Leanos has advisedMLEFIAA that he has elimi-nated the one day Patrol Rifle

Instructor Course.

MPTC will only offer the 3 DayPatrol Rifle Instructor class asof Oct 2006. Bill added the 3Day rifle class to the existing 5day instructor certification to

bring it to a total of 8 days. Atthis time, there are no changesin the curriculum, only timechanges. Bill advised that maychange in the future when he

Maj. A. J. Belleville of the EssexCounty Sheriffs Dept. A.J. was a

plank owner with MLEFIAA andwas instrumental in getting the

patrol rifle accepted here in Mas-

sachusetts back in the early1990s.

By todays standards, the originalcourse is very basic and simple

but it provided a base on whichwe have built better courses of

fire.

MLEFIAA will keep its members

updated with any new changes.

Mass. State Police New SIG P-226R DAK Recall Info

MPTC Firearms Instructor Curriculum Changes

The Fallacy of It cant happen here (cont. from Page 1)

they are the best two hours youcan put together. Rather thanone drill around use of coverand another around movement,create a drill combining thetraining objectives of both. Becareful not to make it too com-

plex thus counterproductive.Some agencies have re-

ceived the cold shoulder fromthe local school department

when planning for activeshooter scenarios. For somereason, having a PhD or multi-

ple masters degrees in educa-tion does not necessarily meanthey can see the forest for the

trees.If your municipality has a

Multi Hazard Plan, considerorienting the training around awork place shooting. Whilethere will be differences in thelocation, the tactics for the ini-tial responding officers should

be similar. The more common-ality in tactics and training thatyou can develop, the more your

officers are likely to retain inthe long run.

We will never have enoughtraining hour or dollars allo-cated to us. Good instructorshave to be creative enough to

use what they have to achievethe best results possible. If youkeep your material fresh and thecontent realistic, your officerswill see the training as a benefitrather than another departmentmandated exercise they have tocomplete to work. Run exer-cises that hone your officers

practical skills. Do not be satis-fied with maintaining the bare

minimum.If it does happen in your back-

yard, have the tools and tech-niques in place to meet and beatthe threat. Remember - It can

happen here.

Meeting Calendar

Dec 12, 2006SIG ArmsAcademy(2007 E-BoardNominations)

Jan 23, 2007S&W Academy(Elections)

Feb 27, 2007Mass. State PoliceLogan Airport

Mar 27, 2007Open

Apr 24, 2007Lancaster P.D.

May 22, 2007Open

June 2007HSCInstructor Recerts

June 2007HSCFamily Shoot fest

July/August 2007No Meetings

Sept. 2007Open

Oct 2007Conference

Nov 2007Open

Dec 2007Open

Watch your E-mail fordetails

Page 2 2006 MLEFIAA

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A local police department recently com- pleted one of its quarterly training ses-sions. During the training, the questionwas raised, Is this sufficient for qualifi-cation? The service pistol course of firethat was being run involved response to athreat stimulus, engaging multiple threats,shooting while moving, muzzle disciplinewhile moving around static innocent by-standers, target recognition, scanning andverbal commands. Shooters fired at dis-tances varying from 12 yards in to contact

distance. Total rounds expended was ten.

At issue was the fact that department hadabandoned the MPTC Pistol QualificationCourse in favor of their own program.The departments instructors were lookingfor a program that more realistically re-

flected what an officer will do in a gun-fight. The Chief questioned, Does thiscourse of fire qualify an officer with re-spect to liability? After thinking aboutthis for a moment, the lead instructoranswered No, however no otherqualification course does either. It isour entire training program and the indi-vidual officers successful participation

that protects us from liability.

Typically a department may run quarterlytraining with the sessions being broken up

into range time with the Service Pistol,Patrol Rifle & Shotgun, Judgmental Useof Force or Force on Force and a class-room session that may review the depart-ments Use of Force Policy and otheracademic material. None of these aloneis sufficient to qualify an officer. Themore forward thinking departments willinclude Integrated Use of Force wherethere people will need to utilize thoseauthorized tools (OC, DT, Taser, etc.)which fall between voice and firearm.

If an officer has an on going problem, isthere a remedial training program that

extends beyond an immediate correctionon that range day? In these days ofshrinking budgets, limited range facilitiesand officers with no prior weapons ex-

perience, how many of our problemshooters actually get the additional train-ing they really need? The fact the officerhas the same problem every time they go

to the range may be a good clue.

Beyond the actual course(s) of fire, whatconditions do you train in? If you go

back through your training records, willthere be a common denominator - clearskies, warm, daylight? Do you cancelfirearms training due to weather? Whenis the last time your troops had to worryabout rain obscuring their vision, glovesto keep their hands warm and poor foot-

ing on muddy ground?

Given the above, I am not even sure weneed a qualification course. By defini-tion, a qualification course merely statesthe individual officer met a particularstandard on that particular day. It is nota true indicator of how an officer will

perform under any other conditions.Would it not be better to evaluate an

officers performance over a wide vari-ety of training exercises under varyingconditions to determine if they are com-

petent to carry a firearm in the course oftheir duties? You may want to ask your-self this question the next time you haveyour people standing static on the 7 yardline (with no cover) getting ready to fire

ten rounds in nine seconds.

on the Blue Dot Series which I received

a prototype for evaluation for 2 weeks.

This line features a body which is CNCmilled from a billet of aircraft gradealuminum which is then anodized with aMil Spec Class III black finish. Thelight source is provided by a state of theart Luxeon LED. Powered by a singleor two CR123A lithium cells dependingon the model, the result is a brilliantwhite light with no dark spots. The

body design features what the manufac-turer calls a Tri Strike Crown on both

Reviewed by Todd Bailey

A new player in the tactical light field

made their product debut at the IACPConvention in October. Brite StrikeTactical Illumination Products is a localcompany started by a police officer to

meet the needs of law enforcement.

Brite Strike has three product lines at thetime of this writing. The Blue Dot Se-ries, Protector Series and a larger re-chargeable line that is due to be releasedin January 07. This review will focus

the head and button end. The aggressivesaw tooth projections are intended to

inflict pain compliance in the event thelight is used as a defensive weapon.

The light is activated via the buttonfound on the end cap in the same stylefound on many other brands. The proto-type furnished was stiff and a little diffi-cult to operate especially in conjunctionwith shooting a handgun. The manufac-turer indicated production models will

be available with (Continued on Page 4)

Can You Qualify Your Officers With A Single Course of Fire?

Product Review Brite-Strike Tactical Lights

Conference Committee Begins Planning for 2007

first day will consist of classroom train-ing and the product expo. Day 2 through

4 will be range training. The conferencecommittee felt that the Devens Commonand Springhill Suites provided excellentservice and value. Negotiations with thefacility will begin in the early spring.After a contract is available, we will de-termine the price structure. Members canlook forward to some changes in the 2007format. Details are not available yet but

due to the longer format, we are lookingat new options for course registration.

If you are interested in presenting a train-ing module, please contact MLEFIAASecretary Joe Picariello. MLEFIAA isalways looking for new blood with fresh

ideas to keep our program current.

Watch your email, the Case Head and ourwebsite (www.MLEFIAA.org) for details

and registration information.

The MLEFIAA Executive Board hasbegun setting the wheels in motion for the

2007 Firearms Instructor DevelopmentConference. In response to member feed-

back, we have decided to expand theconference to four days in 2007. Setaside September 25-28 on your calendarsfor the best training bargain in New Eng-

land.

In keeping with our proven format, the

Page 3 2006 MLEFIAA

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One thing that gets put asidein the midst of an officer's dailygrind is any type of regular dry-fire practice routine. This in-

cludes practicing a smoothweapon presentation from yoursecurity holster. As we allknow, muscle memory is thekey to being able to smoothlydraw and accurately fire ourweapon in a high stress situa-tion with maximum accuracy

and minimal fumbling.Set up a target in your garage

or basement where you have 3to 7 yards of room. Be sureyour duty weapon is unloaded.Double check it! Mistakes can

be not only embarrassing but

damaging to your home as wellas your neighbors. Use snapcaps if you have them. Practicewith your duty holster and withyour body armor on. Facingyour target, practice smoothingclearing the weapon from theholster and coming up on tar-get. Start slowly concentratingon the fundamentals of thedraw: Grip, Draw, Together &

UpWhen the draw is smooth,

work on obtaining your sight picture and the trigger press.

This can be the traditional sightpicture or if you are a followerof point shooting, the use of a

bore laser will be helpful. The

Beam Hit system is an excellent product which will help theshooter develop these skills.Cost is $330 and up dependingon the model and options you

choose.In addition to dry fire practice

which, by itself, will increaseyour accuracy at the range or inthe field, you are improvingyour target acquisition skillsand the timing of your firstshot. Keep your sessions toabout 15 minutes. This teachesmuscle memory and keeps you

from getting tired which canaffect the end result. Be sure todraw from a fully secured hol-ster. Dont cheat! Practice afew days a week, and you'llnotice the difference, guaran-

teed.S/A Alan Ferguson, Lead

Firearms Instructor for the IRSCID recommends that hisagents use their reflection inthe bedroom mirror as the tar-get. In this manner the agentdevelops reactionary skills to athreatening movement as well

as target acquisition. Usingempty magazines to performreloads develops muscle mem-ory and improves their reload

technique. Though the slide isnot locked back, you can de-

press the slide release simulat-ing the emergency reload drill.

Experienced instructors willsee a flaw in this technique.Relying on the slide stop maycause a problem when theadrenaline charged situation hascaused a loss of fine motorskills and the shooter must fum-

ble with the small slide stop.We recommend racking the

slide as the preferred option.The key to this drill is the

repetitive drawing and bringingthe muzzle on target for a first

shot hit. BEFORE CONDUCTING

ANY DRY FIRE DRILLS,

INSURE YOUR WEAPON IS

UNLOADED. CHECK IT

AGAIN.Drop the magazine from your

weapon and perform properclearing procedures both physi-cally and visually. Ensure that

it is empty.Do not cut corners with these

safety measures.

Brite-Strike has reversed themounting location so the officercan clip the light to their jacketor shirt epaulet. The open de-sign makes this easy even whenwearing gloves or with the non-dominant hand. I found thisfeature worked as advertisedand that I tended to use it asBrite-Strike intended.

Brite-Strike carries a line of ballistic nylon holsters suitablefor use with your duty gear.The pouch fit easily onto my 2inch nylon duty belt howeverthe belt loop was to small for

my 2-1/4 inch leather duty belt.

I used the 3 watt model for twoweeks and found it more thanadequate for patrol related ap-

an improved button that isunlikely to be inadvertentlyactivated such as when worn in

belt holster or carried in a

pocket.

The activation button is avail-able in two modes - Hi/Lo andMomentary/On. The two cellmodel puts out up to 90 Lu-

mens for about 4 hours. Ifequipped with the Low setting,it will run for about 50 hours at40 Lumens. These numbers arereduced to 2 and 35 hours re-spectively on the single cellversion. I found this light willeasily illuminate up your sur-

roundings 20 to 30 yards away.

Like many other lights, theselights feature a pocket clip.

plications. Brite-Strike advises a 5 watt version is in the

works and will be available in 2007. The construction isrobust and the Class III Mil-spec finish is hard as nails. O-

ring seals serve to make the light water and shock proof.

The Blue-Dot Series is only available to law enforcementofficers and agencies. Pricing is very competitive andonline ordering is available. The company offers a limitedlifetime warranty on all its products and is definitely wortha look if you are looking for a new light. For more techni-cal data and ordering information, visit their website at

www.brite-strike.com.

Dry Fire Training Helps Develop Muscle Memory

Brite-Strike Tactical Light Review (cont. from Pg.3)

Muscle

memory is the

key to being

able to draw

and accurately

fire our weapon

in a high stress

situation.

Page 4 2006 MLEFIAA

Photo courtesy of Beam Hit, Inc.

Photo courtesy of Brite-Strike Technologies,

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Generally, the qualityof service weapon training hasmade great strides in law en-forcement over the past fewyears. The reasons for thisinclude notable court cases suchas Canton v. Harris, Tuttle v.Oklahoma City, Popow v. Mar-gate and publications such asthe one you are reading. Nolonger do we accept shootingfrom a static position in thetraditional target shootersstance. The greater majority ofdepartments have introduced atleast a combination of stress,

proper use of cover, movement,verbal commands and shooting

using the non-dominant hand.Budgets remain tight but it isnot uncommon to see a creativeinstructor cram most of theessentials into a four hour train-ing block. After giving theirofficers several hours of qualityservice pistol training and withtime running short, they run aquick shotgun and/or patrolrifle (or carbine if you prefer)qualification course so they cankick their officers loose before

overtime kicks in.This does not make

sense. Why do we take great pains to administer the best pistol program possible given budget considerations then runa quickie long gun course offire which is almost an after-thought? It is a sad fact thatmany departments short changetheir officers when it comes torifle and shotgun training. Isyour training program in thiscategory? If your long gun

program does not include all thekey elements which that have

become standard in a firearms

training program, you need tothink about revising your train-

ing.USE OF COVER -

Even if use of cover is intro-duced into long gun training, itis often done with little or nothought to using it correctly.Inevitably, the shooter is tooclose to the object providing the

cover. This can provide anadversary the opportunity tograb the barrel from the off sideas the muzzle protrudes beyondthe corner. Even if theshooters muzzle is backslightly from the barrier, thereis the chance of the shooter

being injured by flying debriscreated when a round inadver-tently strikes the cover. Com-monly referred to as spalling,concrete and other masonry

barriers are notorious for this.This can be caused by theshooter failing to consider theoffset between the sights and

bore axis or rushing the shot

without properly aiming. Ourtraining program advocatesbeing at least 3 or 4 feet behindcover. If possible, we suggestmore is better. Just as we teachwith the handgun, staying backfrom cover allows us to slicethe pie more effectively. It alsomeans we expose less of our

body thus less potential risk

provided our cover is adequate.SHOOT FROM

THE NON-DOMINANTSIDE - Unless your program isreally above average, you

probably are not shooting fromyour non-dominant side withthe long gun. I feel this is acritical training point for everydepartment that has rifles orshotguns in their inventory. Wedo not have the luxury ofchoosing which side we will beable to shoot from. In theadrenaline charged seconds of agunfight, our officers will bescrambling to find whateversafe cover they can so they cancontinue the fight from an ad-vantageous position. Since

Murphys Law usually prevailsin cases like this, the cover youfind will require you shoot fromyour non-dominant side or ex-

pose an unacceptable amountof your body using your domi-nant side. Many of your offi-cers will whine when you forcethem to use a technique they are(Continued on next page)

Dont Forget Your Long Gun Training

Why do we take great pains to administer the

best pistol program possible given budget

considerations then run a quickie long gun

course of fire which is almost an afterthought?

Page 5 2006 MLEFIAA

(Above) MLEFIAA Staff Instructor Brian Neeley demonstrates the proper techniquefor shooting from behind cover. While difficult to see from this angle, the muzzle is

about a foot behind the wall.(Below) This photo shows the same situation from the front. The officers elbow

should be tucked in closer to his body to prevent it from being hit by hostile fire.

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equation, this all changes. People startto fumble with buttons and maneuver-ing the long gun from between seats or

out of the trunk becomes more difficult.Including this facet into a course of firealso will induce some stress especiallyif they are being engaged with Simuni-tions or Airsoft rounds. Dont forgetto insure they know how to put it backcorrectly. If your rifle or shotguns arestowed in the trunk, do all your officersknow its there? This may sound ludi-crous but I know of one occasion wherean officer did not know the Mini-14 wasstowed in the trunk above the spare tireshelf. This was despite an email beingsent to all personnel two months priorand the cruiser equipment check re-quired by department policy prior toeach shift. While you are conductingthis training, check the locking mecha-nism to ensure it is functioning prop-erly. Does the release work as de-signed? Does the device securely holdthe weapon? Chances are the mechanicwont include this with the oil and fluid

change every 1500 miles!SLINGS - One of the most

important accessories you can fit toyour long gun, be it rifle or shotgun, isthe sling. Simply put, the sling is to thelong gun as the holster is to the hand

gun. If you have an administrator thatcan not seem to understand the impor-tance of having slings, ask them if its

permissible to discard the empty riflewhen the officer has to transition tohandgun or go hands on because thethreat level de-escalated. The thoughtof a patrol rifle laying around on theground and most likely disappearing bythe time the officer returns to retrieve itusually gets their attention. Includelong gun to hand gun transition drillsinto your program. Depending on theskill level of the user and whether youhave common weapons (weapons that

are assigned to a particular cruiser andwhatever officer that happens to be

driving it), there are a number of goodchoices. For simplicity, I recommend a

jiffy or hasty sling. If your depart-

ments policy is to assign long guns toindividual officers, let them use thesling type that works best for them.Rule #1 is put a sling on the long gunand be sure everyone knows how to use

it.POINT SHOOTING This

may be controversial depending onwhich side of the topic you adhere to. Iam a firm believer that point shootinghas a place in our training. It is not theend all solution to every situation butfor fast, in close shots, the shot taken

by aiming the weapon without estab-lishing the traditional sight picture isquicker. Your people need to knowhow to do it. Active shooter situationsare a common training scenario thesedays and an excellent place to conductthis type of shooting. Induce move-ment into the equation forward, back-wards and pivoting. Multiple targets,especially those which depict friendlyor no shoot images will make your

training more realistic.The patrol rifle and to a

lesser extent these days, the traditional police shotgun are key tools for us.They are force multipliers which allow

us to extend the effective range of ourservice weapon. Unfortunately, thelong gun training for many departmentshas not kept pace with what they havedone with their service pistol training.This needs to change. We need to

bring long gun training beyond an an-nual rehashing of the fundamentals. Becreative with your courses of fire. TheMLEFIAA Instructors Course Manual(www.mlefiaa.org/manual.html) is agreat place to start if you are lookingfor ideas. If you are making improve-ments to your service pistol program,examine your long gun program to see

if similar upgrades are needed there aswell.

Dont Forget Your Long Gun Training (cont. from Page 5)

Page 6 2006 MLEFIAA

not comfortable with. You need to make itclear that this can save their life. Shooting a

patrol rifle or shotgun from your non-

dominant side will seem awkward at first butcan be easily mastered. Introduce this con-cept slowly from the prone or kneeling posi-tion. Have your shooters take their timewith the goal of making each shot count. Asthey become acclimated to shootingbackwards, their confidence will grow andyou can increase the training tempo. Thetransition to shooting from the non-dominantside is easier if you are fortunate enough to

have optical sights.

I M M E D I A T E A C T I O NDRILLS - Your officers need to be able tomanipulate all the mechanical functions ofthe long gun and they need to be able to dothis regardless of which side they shootfrom. Malfunctions occur with long guns sowe need to be able to clear them and get

back into the fight. Transitioning to oursecondary weapon (service pistol) is thequickest way to get back into the fight albeitat somewhat of a disadvantage. Gettingyour primary weapon back into action willallow you to continue to go on the offensivewithout being at a disadvantage. Clearingthe various types of stoppages and reloadingwhen necessary should be second nature.This brings up another point. Have youequipped your long guns with spare ammo?

Some officers carry spare long gun ammohowever the use of a spare magazine pouchor shotgun side saddle carrier is more com-mon. These are inexpensive accessories and

provide a 100% increase in your availableammo. Once your officers become comfort-able with this, have them do it in the prone

position or while in a tactical squat tosimulate the awkward shooting positions wesometimes find ourselves in.

GET THE LONG GUN INTOACTION SMOOTHLY - Another training

point we often forget is having the officeraccess the long gun from the locking storageunit located in the cruiser. You will have

officers question the need for this statingthey know how to take the rifle or shotgunout. Once you induce some stress into the

If you are making improvements to your service pistol program, examine your long

gun program to see if similar upgrades are needed there as well.

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PLEASE DIRECT ALL CORRESPONDENCE &

PAYMENTS TO THE FOLLOWING ADDRESS:

M L E F I A A

P. O. Box 253

Princeton, MA 01541-0253

Is Your Department Sending Your Dues & Payments to the Correct Address?

Page 7 2006 MLEFIAA

Association Secretary Joe Picariello hasadvised that a few departments continue tosend dues and other payments to the oldHolliston address. Please double check toinsure that your department is using thecorrect address for all correspondence and

billing to the Association. Mail sent to theHolliston address does not get forwarded toMLEFIAA. This problem has caused Joeconsiderable time and effort to chase downthe wayward payments and get checksreissued after they have expired. The cor-

rect address is included here.

Ammo Failure Reported by Somerville P.D.

MLEFIAA Secretary Joe Picariello recently received anadvisory from fellow firearms instructor and member Lt. Car-

mine Vivolo of the Somerville P.D.Lt. Vivolo reports that while using Federals 165 grain Hy-

dra-Shok 165 grain duty round, his department experiencedwhat appears to be a squib round which became lodged atthe muzzle of a SIG Sauer P229 DAO pistol after being fired -

see accompanying photo.Lt. Vivolo stated that this occurred during the departments

annual firearms qualification. His policy is to have his offi-cers expend their current duty ammo during the qualification

and then to issue new at the end of the training.At a second session at the range, another round became

lodged in the barrel of a Glock 23. In this case, the weaponcycled properly chambering the next round. He reports twoadditional instances where the bullet barely left the barrel and

the weapon did not cycle.The subject ammo was purchased from Four Seasons in

Woburn and carries a Lot # of 3 48R635. Lt. Vivolo has con-tacted both Federal Ammunition Co. and Four Seasons. As of

this writing, no reply has been received from Federal.

The symptoms appear to indicate insufficient powder wasloaded in the cases. The obvious danger here is that if theweapon cycles and the shooter fails to recognize the mutedreport or recoil, they could very well fire a subsequent roundinto the obstructed barrel. This can yield anything from a

bulged barrel to a catastrophic failure with possible injury.In the event you encounter such a failure, remove the maga-zine and insure the chamber is empty. Dismount the slidefrom the frame and remove the barrel from the slide. A hardwood dowel or cleaning rod may be used to dislodge the

bullet. With a mallet and the dowel, carefully tap the bulletout from the chamber end. When it is clear, thoroughly

inspect the barrel for damage including a bulge or cracks.Usually, if you run your fingers down the sides of the barrel,you can detect a bulge. A dark ring side the barrel can also

be an indicator of a bulged barrel. The weapon should not be fired until this inspection has been made by a qualifiedarmorer or gunsmith. Instructors need to be alert for incon-sistencies such as this to prevent mishaps and officer inju-

ries.

The Case Head thanks Lt. Carmine Vivolo of the SomervillePolice Department for submitting this information and pho-

tos. Lt. Vivolo has been a member since 1996.

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have pulled out your calculator andfigured out that 50 rounds fired by fiveofficers at three suspects (in motion)

comes out to a little more than 3 roundsfired at each suspect by each officer.On face value - not an unreasonable

amount.According to the Times, police re-

ported one officer fired 31 rounds.Apparently he emptied one magazine,reloaded and emptied the second. An-other officer fired 11 rounds. The oth-ers fired four rounds, three rounds and

one round respectively.The reporter cites police experts

who stated the number of rounds is highand that it is a symptom of contagiousfire. He cites several other shootingsin New York, including the Dialloshooting in 1999 where a high number

of rounds were fired by police officers.The presence of Anti-Crime and

other specialized units in the area willresult in a larger police response to asituation. Logic states if there are moreofficers at the immediate scene, therewill likely be more officers firing at thethreat. In this case, the undercoverofficer believed at least one of the indi-viduals had a gun. A subsequent argu-ment between the individuals escalatedthe situation. When police approached

the vehicle, the suspects hit the officerwith the car and then struck a vehiclecarrying other officers. If that was notenough, the suspects then rammed the

police vehicle a second time.There is little doubt that deadly force

was justified in this situation. The offi-cers lives were clearly in danger andthe correct response was to stop thethreat. At issue is the 31 rounds fired

by one officer and the 11 fired by asecond. But is this an excessive num-

ber?I think we can successfully argue

that it was not excessive. While I am

not intimately familiar with the traininggiven to NYPD officers, I will presumethey are taught to shoot to stop andthat they may employ an appropriatelevel of force until the suspects lethalactions are stopped. It would be en-tirely reasonable to consider a 4000

pound vehicle driving at you to be a

lethal threat. It could also be consid-ered reasonable to fire at the operatoruntil the operator stopped his threaten-

ing actions. We know that the 9mmround can be ineffective against tem-

pered glass windshields especially ifthey are angled back like many newcars are. If NYPD trains their officerslike we train ours, they shot to stop thethreat. When the threat didnt stop andthe pistol ran dry, they reloaded, asthey were taught and continued to fire.Most likely, this all happened in a mat-

ter of seconds.The idea that the response of the

officers was contagious is pure un-adulterated bunk. Each officer evalu-ates the situation based on their percep-tion of the events. Response time to adeadly force stimulus will differ fromofficer to officer. This means one offi-cer may not have time to fire as manyshots as another before the threat isstopped. The officer who is in front ofthe approaching vehicle may well feelin greater danger than one to the side.This perception may induce a greatersense of urgency (rightfully so) to stopthe threat and thus they may fire fasterand more often until the threat is

stopped.According to Bill Lewinski and the

Force Science Research Center, offi-cers generally are not aware of theresponse of other officers in their pe-riphery. Their decision to shoot is

based on the individual perception ofthreat by each individual officer andthe belief by that officer that their re-sponse was needed to stop the threat.These were the chief reasons why theofficers started shooting, stoppedshooting and fired as many rounds asthey did.

In the course of your training, em- phasize that a deadly force responseneeds to be based on the threat - not on

the response of another officer. Docu-ment this aspect of the training. Wecant control what the press prints butwe can stress to our people to exercisetheir right to remain silent when ques-tioned about topics they have no exper-tise in.

Contagious Fire - Fact or Media Hype?

Page 8 2006 MLEFIAA

The Nov. 27th edition of the New YorkTimes newspaper ran a headline, 50 ShotsFired and the Experts Offer A Theory.

The author, Michael Wilson, would like hisreaders to believe that police officers firetheir weapons because it is contagious -like laugher or fear and it spreads likegerms. The 49 shots that followed thedetectives first (shot) may have been conta-gious shooting, said one former police offi-cial who insisted on anonymity because theinvestigation is continuing. The article alsostates that the officers have not yet beeninterviewed by police investigators or prose-

cutors to give their account.The facts, as reported by the Times, are

as follows. An undercover officer postedinside the Club Kalua, a site of frequentdrug, weapon and prostitution complaints inJamaica, overheard an exchange between astripper and a man that led the officer tosuspect the man was armed, Police Commis-sioner Raymond Kelly said on Saturday. Theundercover officer alerted the officers actingas backup outside there were seven offi-cers in all at about 4 a.m., setting intomotion the events to follow later.Eight men left the club and argued brieflywith another man. One from the group say-ing, Yo, get my gun, Mr. Kelly said. Theeight men apparently split into two groups offour, with one group piling into a Nissan

Altima driven by Mr. Bell, CommissionerKelly said.As an undercover detective who had been

following the group on foot approached thevehicle, Mr. Bell drove into him, striking hisleg, before plowing into a minivan carryingtwo backup officers, the commissioner said.The Altima reversed, mounting a sidewalkand hitting the lowered gate of a building

before going forward and striking the vanagain. The officers opened fire, striking Mr.Bell, 23, twice, in the right arm and neck,Commissioner Kelly said. The criticallywounded man, Joseph Guzman, 31, wasstruck 11 times, and the third man, Trent

Benefield, 23, three times. Mr. Kelly said itwas unclear whether there was a fourth man

in the car and what became of him.Most of us will look at this situation and

see Assault & Battery on a Police Officerwith a Dangerous Weapon (to wit an auto-mobile) and the officers logical response tothe situation. If you are like me, you would

According to the Times, one officer fired 31 rounds. He emptied one magazine,

reloaded and emptied the second. Another fired 11 rounds.

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New Bedford City Councilman Proposes Statewide Air Gun Regulations

Page 9 2006 MLEFIAA

An article in this months issue of theOUTDOOR MESSAGE caught my eye.It seems a proposal has been drafted by a

member of the New Bedford City Councilto request the local state representativeand senator to file legislation to ban thesales of air guns in the Commonwealth of

Massachusetts.According to the paper, this was

prompted by an incident where local po-lice shot and killed a 38 year old man who

pointed a pellet gun at them in a crackhouse. Lamont Cruz was a recoveringdrug addict who was on parole for a 1990manslaughter conviction.

The proposal would require air guns beturned in or painted a bright color. It

would also ban the sales of air guns with-out a license.It is not the intent of this publication to

get into the politics of anti-gun legislationbut rather to raise the awareness of certainimplications this legislation may have onlaw enforcement and us as firearms in-

structors in particular.The first concern is the misconception

that painting air guns a bright color will prevent tragedies like this from happen-ing. Anyone with half a brain can envi-

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sion the bad guys painting real guns bright colors to deter police from shoot-ing at them. This poorly thought out

proposal does nothing but endanger po-lice officers. Sadly, it is a good exampleof the mindset of some politicians. Thelast thing the officer on the street needs toworry about is whether that pink pistol isreal or not. Anyone who uses a firearm,

be it real or a replica, in the commissionof a crime, should face the full conse-quences of the law for that unlawful useof a firearm. What happened to good old

fashioned common sense?The second concern is how this will

affect the availability of Airsoft guns. Asmany readers of the Case Head know,

Airsoft is a viable training tool which hasbecome extremely popular in the past fewyears. The fact they can not chamber or

be converted to chamber a live roundmakes this an ideal training tool. Airsoftis also a much more economical alterna-

tive to other tools such as Simunitions.We have seen a decline in the avail-

ability of certain high end brands due totrade mark infringement. Ironically, theattention to detail that makes these prod-ucts so useful to us is also the reason

some can not be imported into the U.S.While the realistic stampings are of noconcern, replicating the exact dimensions

of the firearm in question has allowed us touse them with more success in Level IIIholsters and to fit the weapon mountedlights and accessories we carry on our duty

weapons.Hopefully the provisions of 15USC76

will apply and preempt this proposed legis-lation. Section 5001 reads:(g) Preemption of State or local laws orordinances; exceptions

The provisions of this section shall super-sede any provision of State or local lawsor ordinances which provide for markingsor identification inconsistent with provi-

sions of this section provided that no Stateshall -(i) prohibit the sale or manufacture of

any look-alike, non-firing, collector rep-

lica of an antique firearm developed priorto 1898, or

(ii) prohibit the sale (other than prohib-

iting the sale to minors) of traditional BB,paint ball, or pellet-firing air guns thatexpel a projectile through the force of air

pressure.

Time will tell. Stay tuned.

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MLEFIAA Firearms Instructors Course ManualMLEFIAA Firearms Instructors Course Manual

Page 10 2006 MLEFIAA

MLEFIAA members - $35.00 (free S&H)

Non-members - $40.00 (free S&H)If you purchased an earlier edition and would like

to upgrade, contact MLEFIAA for special dis-

count ordering information.

Contact MLEFIAA at Secretary@mlefiaa.orgWhats new about the 6th Edition?

Start with over 900 pages of courses, lesson plans, diagrams, forms and reprints of interesting

articles for the progressive firearms instructor. The manual is now in electronic format and

can easily be downloaded to your computer or run directly from the disk. With courses of

fire for everything from back up guns to SMGs, this manual ideal for the instructor who

finds it difficult to come up with new material each time they go to the range. Heres what

our users have to say about the MLEFIAA Firearms Instructors Course Manual:

Well worth it at twice the price and the CD format makes it so easy to find and use what you read. - Sgt Rich Verdi

(Holmdel, NJ PD ret.) IALEFI Board of DirectorsI am impressed - Dennis Carroll reviewing for ILEETAWhat a remarkable job putting this together! I have already placed it into our resources area and have directed staffto start using it. I hope you and others realize what a valuable tool you are providing and how many officers lives it

may save. - Chief Jeffrey Beahen, Elk River (MN) P.D.This is must have reference material for every firearms instructor American COP Magazine Nov/Dec 2006

Go to www.mlefiaa.org for more further info

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One of things we have seenrecently with the budget con-straints is a trend towards notreplacing an officers ammoload out on an annual basis.There are a couple of reasons

we are seeing this -First is the requirement to use

non-toxic and/or frangibleammo on certain ranges. Thismeans range masters are havingthe officer remove their dutyammo prior to the training orqualification to load the greenammo. Since the duty ammowas not fired, the natural thingis to load it back into theirmagazines and continue carry-

ing it on duty until the nextrange session.The other reason is financial.

The firearms training budget inmany departments has beenreduced down to a point wherethe instructors annual budget isless than his monthly grocery

bill. Departments are not re- placing the duty ammo on anannual basis as in the past.They are purchasing low cost

ball ammo for range trainingrather than purchasing new dutyammo (at about twice the cost)

each year. Considering the na-ture of the training we are try-ing to conduct, this is a recipefor disaster yet it continues

across the state.In and of itself, this would not

be a problem. Ammunition ifstored properly will last foryears. So where is the prob-lem? Ironically, it is with the

safety conscious officer.The problem I see at the range

when I inspect the weapons andammo of each officer prior to

beginning the training is with

what is called bullet set-back.Bullet set-back is caused byrepeatedly chambering the sameround over a period of time.This is most commonly caused

by the safety minded officerthat unloads his weapon eachtime he goes off duty. Rou-tinely they will remove themagazine, eject the chamberedround and place the single

round back into the top of themagazine. They then safelystore their duty pistol until theyare going to go back on duty atwhich time the magazine is re-

placed back into the pistol andthe round chambered. Multiplythis cycle by the number of daysthe officer works in a year andyou begin to see the beginning

of a problem.The repetitive contact with the

feed ramp as the round is pushedfrom the magazine and up intothe chamber will eventually

push the bullet back into thecase. This reduces the space inthe case for the powder to burn.The result is the chamber pres-sure increases dramatically.While this happens in any cali-

ber, it seems more pronouncedin the .40S&W round. The nor-mal chamber pressure in the .40is about 35,000 c.u.p. (copperunits of pressure). Setting the

bullet back a mere tenth of aninch can increase this pressure toin excess of 50,000 c.u.p. This

can lead to a catastrophic failureof the handgun.Inspect your officers duty

ammo on a regular basis in addi-tion to their weapons. Instructyour officers to rotate theirammo so that they are not load-ing the same round each time.Replace you duty ammo on aregular basis. Always wear eye

protection at the range.

The Importance of Rotating Your Ammo

Page 11 2006 MLEFIAA

Glock 22 (.40 S&W) with Federal ammo that suffered a catastrophicfailure that was attributed to bullet set-back. The Glock is an extremelystrong pistol and will withstand a great deal of abuse however a 50+%

increase in chamber pressure exceeds even the Glocks inherent strength.(Top & Middle photos) Note the longitudinal stress fractures below thecrack where the breech block ultimately failed and the separation of the

case head from the body of the case.(Bottom photo) The primer has been blown out and primer hole hasbeen enlarged about 30%. The pistol was a total loss as there wassignificant damage to the slide and frame rails. This is why checking your

officers ammo and wearing quality eye protection is important.Photos from authors collection

(Above) The cartridge on the left is anormal .40 S&W round. On the right

is a round that was taken from anofficer at a recent training session.

Note the bullet has been set back into

the case about 1/10th of an inch.

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There will be a Taser instructor class held in Peabody, MA, atthe Peabody PD, on Monday & Tuesday, February 5 & 6, from8-5 each day.

At this class, both new instructors will be certified, and exist-ing ones can re-certify. This is a good opportunity for Massinstructors to re-certify, since many of you are approachingyour two-year limit on your initial certification. The cost fornew instructors is $225, and for re-certification the cost is$80. The instructor will be Ralph Mroz.

All registration and payment is handled through Taser Interna-

tional--not through Peabody PD or the instructor. Go towww.taser.com then to the law enforcement training sectionto access the right forms, or contact Jami LaChapelle at Taserat 800-978-2737 ext. 2016, or email herat Jami@TASER.com

Location:Peabody Police Department6 Allens LanePeabody, MA 01960Contact Lt. Joe Berardino, rosie41692@msn.com

978-538-6315 for local info if needed.

2006 MLEFIAA

Upcoming Training

Firearms Instructor Development

& Certification Course

Date: Tentatively Late Winter

Location: To Be Announced

Cost: Minimal to cover expenses

MLEFIAA will run a Firearms Instructor certifica-tion class this winter if there is sufficient interest.Any department interested in sending officers tothis program should contact MLEFIAA Secretary

Joe Picariello at secretary@mlefiaa.org for moredetails. Tentative date will be January or Februarydepending on what arrangements can be madewith the host range. As before, there will be aminimal charge to cover our expenses and we willrequest certification approval from the MunicipalPolice Training Committee. Additional details will

be published as they are firmed up.

2007

Firearms Instructor

Development Conference

&

Training Product Exposition

September 25-28, 2007

Devens Common Conference Center

Harvard Sportsmans Club

Details will be released in the spring

Armorers School

Mini-14 and PC Series Carbines

Westminster Police Department

6 South Street

Westminster, MA

May 1-3, 2007

Cost: FREE

Advanced Registration Required

Contact: Secretary@MLEFIAA.org

This class is sponsored by

Ruger, MLEFIAA and the Westminster P.D.

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2006 Instructor Development & Training Conference Photos

Page 13 2006 MLEFIAA

As the states premier firearms instructor organization, MLEFIAAhas led the way for better firearms training since 1987. If you are

not a member, you are missing out on one of the best deals availablefor a police firearms instructor. For $30 a year, you can be a part of

the most active instructors organization in New England.

If you have let your membership lapse, now is the time to renew.Membership information and applications can be found on our web-

site www.MLEFIAA.orgor by contacting MLEFIAA Secretary JoePicariello at secretary@mlefiaa.org.

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Massachusetts Law Enforcement FirearmsInstructors & Armorers AssociationP.O. Box 253Princeton, MA 01541-0253

www.MLEFIAA.org

Contact MLEFIAA:secretary@MLEFIAA.org

Contact the Case Head:casehead@MLEFIAA.org

Send all mail to:MLEFIAAP.O. Box 253Princeton, MA 01541-0253

MLEFIAA Executive BoardPresidentGilbert DuVernay

Vice PresidentsEdward T. OLearyTodd A. BaileyWilliam Peterson

SecretaryJoseph Picariello

TreasurerMartin K. Michelman

Master-at-ArmsBruce Klinger

Appointed Officers

Case Head EditorTodd A. Bailey

Training CoordinatorsJames F. RingMichael ContiWilliam Leanos

QuartermasterRichard Forrester

If you have a training tip or article youve always wanted published, or you

just want to sound off about a topic you saw in the Case Head - this is yourchance. We welcome reader submissions but as with any other publication,there are a few rules. Articles should be no more than 750 words in lengthand in MS Word (97 or later) format. Any photos should be in JPEG for-mat. If there is enough input, we will start a Letters to the Editor columnwhere you can write in and tell us all that we are doing wrong (or right).Submissions should be sent to casehead@mlefiaa.org.

MLEFIAA encourages a healthy discussion of training issues but we mustinsist that you keep it level headed and respect opposing views. We will notpublish articles that are inflammatory or will tarnish the reputation of theAssociation.

The Case Head Wants Your Input

The Case Head can befound on the web atwww.MLEFIAA.org

Place Address Label Here

Copyright 2007 Mass. Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors & Armorers AssociationThe Case Head is the official publication of the Massachusetts Law Enforcement Fire-arms Instructors & Armorers Association and is published quarterly for the benefit of themembership. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the express writtenpermission of the Editor and the Executive Board of the Massachusetts Law Enforcement

Firearms Instructors & Armorers Association.The articles, views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do notnecessarily reflect the official position of the Massachusetts Law Enforcement Firearms

Instructors & Armorers Association, the Executive Board or its members.