Mike Irwin
Staff
OK, time for me to jump in, just for the heck of it.
But also because I know one of the training officers for the Washington, DC, Metro Police.
A little background context that is not provided in TFW's original post, but which is provided in the Washington Post's extensive write-up on the problems encountered when officers were armed with the Glock.
About the same time the transition was made, DC was under court order to drastically increase its hiring of minority police officers (this would later come back to haunt the District for a number of reasons).
Around the same time, training budgets slashed due to the onging financial crisis in the District.
The training issue was greatly complicated by the fact that, due to the crushing influx of new officers, along with the budget drawdowns, officer training at ALL levels suffered. Some officers were apparently released onto the street with only about 1/4 of their required firearms training. Many of these officers apparently never fired the qualification course.
Lo and behold, all of the accidental discharge issues start cropping up.
Is anyone really surprised by that? Should they be?
But there's also another interesting little sidelight. All of those officers, the ones who came on new because of the court order? They apparently had discharge rates that were MUCH higher than other groups within the MPD.
Why?
Apparently a couple of reasons.
1. Total unfamiliarity with firearms (at least older officers had been trained with their revolvers).
2. In the effort to comply with the court orders, many of the education requirements were totally ignored for new candidates. One saying about this time was "If you can breathe, you can be a cop in DC." Perhaps not a direct correlary, but a less educated, or less educationally capable, person may not be able to fully comprehend what needs to happen to handle a weapon safely.
3. Reduced training schedule.
4. Inherent design of the Glock.
DC has continued to battle this training problem for the past few years.
My friend, who is an MPD training officer, is a 17 year veteran. He's been carrying the Glock for years, and had trained hundreds of officers in its use.
He feels that 99% of the accidental discharges with the Glock could be solved by a better training program.
But, even with the fact that he's got perhaps some of the best firearms handling abilities I've ever seen, he blew the tips off of two of his fingers a couple of years ago while on the range.
How? In his own words, "by not paying *#$(&$)(&#$ attention to what I was doing."
And that, he feels, is the reason that virtually all of the problems happen. No an inherent problem with the gun.
But also because I know one of the training officers for the Washington, DC, Metro Police.
A little background context that is not provided in TFW's original post, but which is provided in the Washington Post's extensive write-up on the problems encountered when officers were armed with the Glock.
About the same time the transition was made, DC was under court order to drastically increase its hiring of minority police officers (this would later come back to haunt the District for a number of reasons).
Around the same time, training budgets slashed due to the onging financial crisis in the District.
The training issue was greatly complicated by the fact that, due to the crushing influx of new officers, along with the budget drawdowns, officer training at ALL levels suffered. Some officers were apparently released onto the street with only about 1/4 of their required firearms training. Many of these officers apparently never fired the qualification course.
Lo and behold, all of the accidental discharge issues start cropping up.
Is anyone really surprised by that? Should they be?
But there's also another interesting little sidelight. All of those officers, the ones who came on new because of the court order? They apparently had discharge rates that were MUCH higher than other groups within the MPD.
Why?
Apparently a couple of reasons.
1. Total unfamiliarity with firearms (at least older officers had been trained with their revolvers).
2. In the effort to comply with the court orders, many of the education requirements were totally ignored for new candidates. One saying about this time was "If you can breathe, you can be a cop in DC." Perhaps not a direct correlary, but a less educated, or less educationally capable, person may not be able to fully comprehend what needs to happen to handle a weapon safely.
3. Reduced training schedule.
4. Inherent design of the Glock.
DC has continued to battle this training problem for the past few years.
My friend, who is an MPD training officer, is a 17 year veteran. He's been carrying the Glock for years, and had trained hundreds of officers in its use.
He feels that 99% of the accidental discharges with the Glock could be solved by a better training program.
But, even with the fact that he's got perhaps some of the best firearms handling abilities I've ever seen, he blew the tips off of two of his fingers a couple of years ago while on the range.
How? In his own words, "by not paying *#$(&$)(&#$ attention to what I was doing."
And that, he feels, is the reason that virtually all of the problems happen. No an inherent problem with the gun.