# Combative: Are You Doing Everything to Win Decisively?



## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

By Matthew W. McNamara

I had the opportunity to study and comment on a Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) research project, entitled "Survival Scores Research Project." Published in April 2004, this study was done to try and determine the dramatic affects stress has on performance by putting officers and cadets through stressful situations similar to those confronted by law enforcement officers nationwide. While studying the research, I came to the following text (taken directly from the report). It has forced me to ask whether or not law enforcement is requiring, providing and receiving the combatives training we need based on the following unimpeachable facts regarding law enforcement felonious deaths in this country. This short excerpt is the impetus for the opinions and discussions in this article, and is something that trainers, leaders and obviously officers need to think about.

"Current significance of the problem:

The FBI Report for the year 2000 provides some alarming statistics in the area of officer survival: 

The number of law enforcement officers feloniously killed in the line of duty was up 21.4 percent from the previous year's number-51 officers were slain in 2000, and 42 officers were killed in 1999.
Slightly more than half (53%) of the felonious shootings took place at a distance of 0-5 feet, and 70% were at 0-10 feet. These close range killings are also representative of the ten-year period for 1991 - 2000.
Body armor appears to provide minimal protection in close range shooting scenarios, as 29 of the 47 (62%) slain officers wore protective clothing.
Many shooting incidents occur in poorly illuminated environments, at close range, with multiple subjects, sometimes including innocent bystanders. Most such incidents are over in less than three seconds. Many routinely recurring situations have the potential to expose officers to inordinate risks (domestic violence investigations, traffic stops, undercover investigations and arrests). Thus, the law enforcement officer must maintain continuous vigilance, exercise sound judgment, accurately assess threat level, communicate clearly, respond promptly and appropriately, and if threat escalation warrants, rapidly change tactics to include force-if necessary, even lethal force."

Full Article: http://www.policeone.com/training/articles/1665017/


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