Hi folks, just found this forum and it looks like an interesting place. Go take a potty break if you need to, this is going to be kind of long. 
I'm an LEO myself as well as a gun enthusiast. Everyone has made some valid points on this issue, but I must admit that it's a bit frustrating to be put under the microscope (I've worn a badge long enough to get used to it though). For every dumb cop I've seen on the range I've also seen ten stupid citizens. That's a good point to remember.
That being said, I think that there are several factors responsible for the current state of affairs. Mainly, lack of interest, lack of training and our culture itself. I'll freely admit that guns are what got me interested in putting on a badge. I knew several LEOs from the range and read a lot of books written by LEOs. I found the experiences that they related to me to be intruiging so when my military service was over I went for it.
Due to my interest in firearms I was already a step ahead of quite a few of my academy classmates. As I said before, there are several factors for this. First, interest. For most LEOs their radio holds more interest than their sidearm. They fire their gun only during qualification, when they have to. They aren't interested, nor will they be no matter how much you try to convince them how important it is. They suffer from the "it will never happen to me" attitude.
Second, training. Most departments alocate very little time for firearms and defensive tactics training. There was a time when you could walk into any station house and see the awards and trophies of the pistol team prominently displayed. This is now seen as politically incorrect and gives the public an "aggresive" image of their police. When I had finished my training I reported to my district. You wouldn't believe the flack I recieved from my fellow LEOs because I carried a gun off duty (none of them did). For quite a while I was labled as a "gun nut" who would probably "get into something" off duty.
My supervisor didn't carry off duty and I told him that anyone who doesn't is a fool (we still don't get along, suprise suprise). I don't look for trouble off duty, but it may come looking for me. We're not in the happy business folks, pure and simple.
Third, our culture itself. As our society becomes more and more urbanised new officers come from backgrounds which are not firearms related. Most of them have never even seen a gun, much less fired one. There's a good reason why a lot of those old timers that you see on the range are more proficient than the new guys. The type of sidearm has nothing to do with it. Their (the new guys) society has taught them that skill with a firearm is not something to be proud of, but is instead evil and uncivilised. Thier departments upper chain of command will probably not be supportive of these efforts either. In this age of litigation they're more concerned with being politically correct. It has been said that LEOs are a reflection of their society. A truer statement had never been spoken. The next time you choose to be overly critical of your local cops take a look in the mirror. They are what we as a society have made them.
I'm now involved in instructing our recruits in officer survival and traffic stop techniques. We do the best we can with the time and resources that we have. I'm hard on our recruits because I'd like them all to make it to retirement. I'm a firm believer in the saying "the more your sweat in here the less you bleed out there". I've had to tell a few that they need to find another line of work. They're good people, but good people don't neccesarily make good cops. I also tell them that the limited training time that our agency provides is no excuse for not being proficient. They need to take it upon themselves to make sure they are. Some do, some don't.
I'm an LEO myself as well as a gun enthusiast. Everyone has made some valid points on this issue, but I must admit that it's a bit frustrating to be put under the microscope (I've worn a badge long enough to get used to it though). For every dumb cop I've seen on the range I've also seen ten stupid citizens. That's a good point to remember.
That being said, I think that there are several factors responsible for the current state of affairs. Mainly, lack of interest, lack of training and our culture itself. I'll freely admit that guns are what got me interested in putting on a badge. I knew several LEOs from the range and read a lot of books written by LEOs. I found the experiences that they related to me to be intruiging so when my military service was over I went for it.
Due to my interest in firearms I was already a step ahead of quite a few of my academy classmates. As I said before, there are several factors for this. First, interest. For most LEOs their radio holds more interest than their sidearm. They fire their gun only during qualification, when they have to. They aren't interested, nor will they be no matter how much you try to convince them how important it is. They suffer from the "it will never happen to me" attitude.
Second, training. Most departments alocate very little time for firearms and defensive tactics training. There was a time when you could walk into any station house and see the awards and trophies of the pistol team prominently displayed. This is now seen as politically incorrect and gives the public an "aggresive" image of their police. When I had finished my training I reported to my district. You wouldn't believe the flack I recieved from my fellow LEOs because I carried a gun off duty (none of them did). For quite a while I was labled as a "gun nut" who would probably "get into something" off duty.
My supervisor didn't carry off duty and I told him that anyone who doesn't is a fool (we still don't get along, suprise suprise). I don't look for trouble off duty, but it may come looking for me. We're not in the happy business folks, pure and simple.
Third, our culture itself. As our society becomes more and more urbanised new officers come from backgrounds which are not firearms related. Most of them have never even seen a gun, much less fired one. There's a good reason why a lot of those old timers that you see on the range are more proficient than the new guys. The type of sidearm has nothing to do with it. Their (the new guys) society has taught them that skill with a firearm is not something to be proud of, but is instead evil and uncivilised. Thier departments upper chain of command will probably not be supportive of these efforts either. In this age of litigation they're more concerned with being politically correct. It has been said that LEOs are a reflection of their society. A truer statement had never been spoken. The next time you choose to be overly critical of your local cops take a look in the mirror. They are what we as a society have made them.
I'm now involved in instructing our recruits in officer survival and traffic stop techniques. We do the best we can with the time and resources that we have. I'm hard on our recruits because I'd like them all to make it to retirement. I'm a firm believer in the saying "the more your sweat in here the less you bleed out there". I've had to tell a few that they need to find another line of work. They're good people, but good people don't neccesarily make good cops. I also tell them that the limited training time that our agency provides is no excuse for not being proficient. They need to take it upon themselves to make sure they are. Some do, some don't.
