A Summerdale, Alabama police officer has been hospitalized in a single vehicle crash. According to Chief Eddie Ingram of the Summerdale Police Department, Officer Terry Fent was on his way to a training session on Saturday, February 18, when he swerved to avoid an animal in the road.  The truck left the pavement, went into a ditch and struck a culvert.  Officer Fent’s injuries include multiple fractures to his spine and lacerations to his face and head.  He has reported numbness in his extremities, but no paralysis. His condition has been upgraded from critical to stable.

Officer Fent has been employed with the department for eight months.  Because he is still a probationary employee, he is not eligible for health insurance.

The Summerdale Police Department is accepting donations to assist with Officer Fent’s medical expenses. Checks may be written to Officer Terry Fent and mailed to:

Summerdale Police Department

502 West Lee Avenue,

Summerdale, AL. 36580

(251) 989-7777

Donations may also be made at any United Bank location in Baldwin County, Alabama.

Learn more about this article here:

http://kixcountryclassics.com/archives/736

http://www.fox10tv.com/dpp/news/local_news/baldwin_county/Officer-not-covered-by-policy-yet

At about 1:00 am on Thursday, February 23, 2012, a Washington State Trooper made a routine traffic stop. This is something that any police officer would do at any time during the course of his shift.  The trooper followed all his safety precautions.  He radioed his location and the vehicle description along with the license plate of the vehicle to his dispatcher.

A few minutes later the dispatcher checked on his status.  Silence, no response.  I can feel my heart sinking as I write this.  Every dispatcher involved would, fear the worst.  Immediately, the dispatcher had another officer in the area check on his status. In this case, a Kitsap County Sheriff’s Deputy responded to the scene. Sadly, the trooper was found outside his patrol vehicle suffering from a gunshot wound.  Medical assistance was rendered.  He was taken to St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Tacoma where he was pronounced dead.  The trooper, Tony Radulescu, 44 years of age, was a 16 year veteran of the Washington State Patrol assigned to the Bremerton District, where he served for his entire career.

The trooper had stopped a pick-up truck on Highway 16 about 20 miles west of Seattle across Puget Sound.  The registered owner of the vehicle was known and a search for the driver, owner, and vehicle commenced.  About three hours later, the vehicle was located abandoned on a county road near Port Orchard only two miles from the scene of the traffic stop and shooting.

The search began with tracking dogs and contacting local residents for information.  The citizens were advised to stay inside their homes and report any suspicious persons and other activity.

Investigating officers received a tip on where to find the registered owner of the pick-up truck that the trooper had stopped.  It was not known if the driver or shooter was the registered owner of the pick-up truck.

Knowing the danger, the Kitsap County Sheriff Department SWAT team was called out and made their approach to the house. As officers were closing in on the possible suspect, a single gunshot was heard according to Sgt. Ken Dickinson.  A male subject was found inside the house suffering from a gunshot wound.  He was taken to Tacoma General Hospital.  His identity and medical condition have not been released.  Sgt. Dickinson could not confirm whether the man was the owner of the truck, suspect in the shooting or both. Some reports state that the suspect has died as a result of his self-inflicted gunshot wound however that has not been confirmed.

Trooper Radulescu was a military veteran with a son in the area who also is a soldier. Trooper Radulescu was well known and popular in the community where he often spoke in schools according to Chief John Batiste at a news conference at St. Joseph’s Medical Center.

An aid car carrying Radulescu’s body was escorted by dozens of patrol cars with lights flashing from the hospital to the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office, where an autopsy would be conducted.

The last Washington State Patrol Trooper killed in the line of duty was James Saunders, 31, back in 1999 in Pasco, Washington.  He also, was shot during a traffic stop. In that case, Nicolas S. Vasquez pleaded guilty to aggravated murder and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Trooper Tony Radulescu, gone but never forgotten.

End of Watch:  February 23, 2012

The World Trade Center Health Program’s Scientific/Technical Advisory Committee seems poised this week to advise that certain cancers be covered under the terms of the Zadroga Act. The Zadroga Act was named for NYPD detective James Zadroga, a healthy non-smoker who became ill with respiratory problems weeks after responding to 9/11. Zadroga died in 2006 at age 35.

Cancer is generally defined as the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in the body. The attack on 9/11 has brought cancer to the forefront as the most disturbing and troubling trend associated with the events of this day.

Looking back, it is hard for me to capture the worst moments of that time. Each time that I thought I had witnessed the “worst” thing, more news would create subsequent “worst” moments. I mistakenly thought nothing would be more shocking than having my Chief inform me that a commercial airliner had struck one of the Twin Tower buildings. I was wrong. I saw the live coverage of the first tower burning and thought that was the worst. As I watched, a second commercial airliner flew into the second tower. I thought this carnage was an uncontrolled cancer, which would have a long-lasting effect.

My next worst moment was learning that a total of four planes had been hijacked. America already knew that two airliners struck the Twin Towers, a third crashed in Pennsylvania en route to the White House, and the fourth airliner slid along the ground like a missile into the Pentagon.

These events demonstrated the quickly replicating widespread cancer of Jihad and terrorism, which was not limited to New York City on this day. This cancer could not be controlled. The terror cells spread too quickly and too fast. Authorities took immediate action to address this cancerous growth after a severe and significant loss of life. All aircraft were directed to land immediately.

Ironically, in New York City, the medical form of cancer would be discovered over time like terrorist sleeper cells are finally discovered by authorities. Cancer grows secretly. The cells are not detected in the human body until they have progressed significantly. People eat, drink, and live their lives with no knowledge of the multiplying cells or a forewarning of the cell’s threat to their lives. Cancer cells in the body are much like the sleeper cells of terrorists.

Cancerous Jihadist sleeper cells lie beneath the surface and become deadly once they multiply and become active. On 9/11, the means to create human cancer cells were released with the fall of the Twin Towers. I watched the debris form into what we would ultimately call Ground Zero. The Twin Towers, two jet airliners, and over 3000 people were vaporized! That dust of concrete particles, computer particles, asbestos, and human remains weas released into the air that first responders breathed in. Public safety personnel were on scene breathing in air-born particles of the toxins released by the collapse.

Shortly after the attack, NYPD requested mutual aid. My department, located just north of New York City, responded as many did. At midnight on September 12th, my squad of five officers squeezed into one marked police unit and headed for the City.

There was very little conversation. We all knew where we were headed, but we did not know what we would find. The most poignant moment was driving past a staging area filled with hundreds of ambulances parked with the EMT crews on standby, ready to go. Everyone there awaited the call for assistance to serve living victims which would never come. This too became a worst moment.
We responded to a staging area and deployed nearby to provide assistance to NYPD. I spent only a brief time directly near Ground Zero during those nights, but something within me instinctively recoiled from the ghostly dust hanging in the air. I know of one officer present with me those nights who has since died from cancer.

What I witnessed can never be explained in writing. I stood in disbelief at Ground Zero with my officers. I realized they were caught up in the moment watching and then there was that dust, always that dust rising. We weren’t equipped to be on scene at Ground Zero. I wanted my squad signed in and deployed as required.

I realized five police officers without any breathing apparatus or other protective gear were standing in the wrong place at the wrong time. I made the decision that if my squad was directed to stay on scene, I would not require my officers to do so. I would permit my officers to volunteer if they chose to stay. I would not order my officers to remain. I knew we all would stay, but this required a personal decision.

Providing mutual aid meant deploying a uniformed presence in the City to enable the NYPD to focus on Ground Zero. My squad was sent to a gas station in lower Manhattan. The proprietor was receiving threats the gas station would be “blown up” because gasoline was being provided to fuel first responder vehicles. I found it particularly odd how close we were to Ground Zero yet we were far enough away that the ongoing rescue operations could not be seen or heard.

I’ve written about my worst moments that September 11th. There were also special moments when my public safety colleagues showed the world what kind of heroes they are.

I know what I saw at Ground Zero. I do not believe it is unreasonable to believe that it is likely a direct cause and effect relationship exists between the fall of the towers, and the high percentage of officers who contracted cancer or other serious illnesses. The legislature needs to step up for the officers who have died or fallen ill due to their service at Ground Zero. The numbers are staggering.

I recently returned from another counter-terrorism training event in Israel hosted by Marc Kahlberg, a retired Israeli National Police officer. As a law enforcement trainer, I brought another delegation of American first responders to Israel. This program hosted police and fire chiefs from various agencies as well as a very highly educated former CIA agent.

Marc Kahlberg, retired detective, commander of the Netanya Tourist Police and Israel Police English language foreign relations spokesman, has hosted or organized specialized law enforcement training tour programs to Israel since the aftermath of 9/11. Marc, a first responder veteran of 16 suicide bombing attacks and many other terror-related events during his career ran the program.

Even though the delegation was briefed before their arrival to the Ben Gurion International airport in Tel Aviv, there were still many questions from almost all of the attendees about the training schedule. Israel is such a dynamic country. Emerging events can alter even the most solid of itineraries.   All of the U.S. personnel had a pre-conceived idea of what transpires on a daily basis in Israel from first-responder’s perspective.  They had come to Israel to learn what really happens behind the scenes. We spent the first afternoon on a Tel Aviv beach and, after an amazing dinner, were briefed on schedule that lay ahead.

The first day of training was in the Old City of Jerusalem.  We were given a briefing at the Western Wall by the Israel National Police spokesman on the security issues. This was followed by a presentation at a secure police facility equipped with state-of-the art technology used to safeguard this historically and religiously important global heritage.

The technology viewed is certainly an important factor in understanding how the Israel Police are completely capable of being pro-active. The abundance of cameras and sensors with high-tech analytics and other technological innovations help prevent crime and acts of terrorism before they begin. We saw exclusive presentations, which included video streams of terror attacks on civilians and law enforcement personnel. The attacks were captured by these surveillance systems as they happened and attempted attacks were thwarted by this technology. As we watched these real events unfolding in front of us, it was so quiet that we could have heard a pin drop in that room because of the level of concentration.

As the week progressed, the first responders met and trained with Israeli security forces in the police, military, and fire services as well as the intelligence community.  We experienced firsthand the security issues from Israel’s northern border with Lebanon to the West Bank to the southern border area including the Gaza Strip and the Egyptian/Jordanian border.

The border crossing points that lead into and out of the Palestinian Territories known as the West Bank was extremely interesting.  While at these border checkpoints, Israel Defense Forces personnel underscored the security issues at these locations.  Issues include the smuggling of drugs, humans, weapons, and explosive devices on a regular basis. These checkpoints are located along the controversial but seemingly necessary security fence that Israel built.

This security fence was necessary mainly due to the influx of terrorists and terror attacks Israel suffered from 2000 – 2005. We personally observed how the fence is able to stem the flow of terror attacks and suicide bombings that were an almost daily occurrence during these years. The Wall, as the security fence is referred to by its opponents, and the checkpoints that operate exactly like any international border crossing, have been in the international media spotlight since it was completed.

There have been what I believe are false allegations of brutality by Israeli security personnel against Arabs who cross to and from Israel.  All we witnessed throughout the week at the checkpoints was total professionalism by all of the police and military security forces.  Officials were courteous as they explained why they were checking people and vehicles. We realized it is actually the Israeli people that have been forced to “fence themselves in” in order protect themselves from potential terror attack.  The media portrays the fence as something exactly the opposite.  The Wall has proved time and time again that it is effective thwarting terror attacks against Israeli citizens.

The defining moments of our trip were when we met with survivors of terrorism, including police first responders to mass casualty attacks. We truly were able to recognize that behind every uniform there was a human being.

Marc and two other police officers that worked with him during these years of terror and carnage spoke to us. They had been on scene outside of the Sharon Mall in the city of Netanya in 2005.  They described being only feet away from a Palestinian homicide bomber who detonated his explosive belt. This was one of three attacks that targeted this mall during these terror years.

Part of our case study was done on scene at the mall at the very spot where the bomber detonated.  NYPD officers were training with Marc not far from the blast site.  They were witnesses to 9/11 and then this deadly homicide attack in 2005.   We saw some of the residual damage done by shrapnel, which had penetrated a security railing on sidewalk next to where the bomber had been standing. This one attack killed 5 civilians and injured over 60.

Both of these ranking command staff police officers told their heart-wrenching stories and their struggles to deal with the aftermath of this and other terror attacks. When they described the events, it was like it happened only five minutes ago for them. One of the female officers told us she actually grew up as a young child in an Arab village. She even had an Arab nanny that helped raise her.  She thought of this woman as a second mother, she said. She told us that her mother would even give their hand-me-down clothes to some of the less fortunate Arab families in the village.

The one astonishing point that was noticeable in speaking with all of these victims of terrorism from the civilians to the police officers is that there was not one word of hatred and vengeance. There was no remorse. It was as if they all knew that their mission in life was simply to carry on and never be defeated by the terrible carnage and horror instilled upon them by the terrorists. They are still struggling to understand why they are hated as a people.  All they want to do is raise their families, go to work, and live in peace with their neighbors.

Not all of the police survivors of these attacks are still on the job. Many have had to retire due to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Those who are still on the job have been changed forever.

After the up-close and personal accounts of the Sharon Mall attacks, we brought the delegation to the Park Hotel in Netanya, the scene of Israel’s most devastating terror attack.  This attack changed Israeli government and policy in coping effectively with the onslaught of continuous terror attacks.

After walking through several scenes of terror attacks on a short strip of road and eventually arriving at the Park Hotel, Marc Kahlberg and a veteran member of the Israel police bomb squad told their harrowing story.  On Passover, observed the night of March 27, 2002, the hotel was full of guests.   Some Holocaust survivors had gathered for a Passover Seder dinner in the hotel’s main function room. Since it was Passover, police staffing had been at a minimum.  Most officers, including Marc, were home with their families.

As we sat in that same function room, Marc began reliving that harrowing night.  He told the delegation that a male Hamas suicide bomber, disguised as a woman, walked into the hotel lobby, past the security guard and then into the main function room with all of the guests and detonated his belt. Thirty-one people were killed and 140 were injured.

Marc got the call at home just minutes after the attack. Like other off-duty officers, responded immediately. It was scene of utter devastation and carnage with bodies that had been ejected from the hall and were out around and in the pool area in the rear of the hotel. One of those killed that evening was Marc’s close friend, who was the hotel manager.  The bomb squad commander as well as Marc’s former commander stood with Marc as he told his emotional story.

Both of the other commanders then opened up and gave their heart-wrenching accounts of that night. This was the first time in ten years that the bomb squad commander had openly discussed his personal feelings to a training class. All of these officers suffered some effects on the terrorism that has touched their lives. Having been with Marc at the Park Hotel for numerous past case studies, reliving the horrors of that evening with his former boss and colleague, he was the most composed I’ve ever seen him. Netanya was Marc’s “beat” and the hotels were one of Marc’s main intelligence sources for countering terrorism. He had not been on duty that night and that still haunts him.

For Marc, who is on the road to recovery from PTSD, educating first responders and being able to talk about the effects of terrorism has become part of the necessary therapy for him to take him down that long road.

In 2002, the same year as the Park Hotel massacre, Israel suffered 130 more terror attacks with 425 people being killed.

Before the week had concluded, we brought the delegation to an undisclosed location on the Israel/Gaza Strip border. This is the same region where the majority of the over 10,000 rockets have been fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip. The delegation received training from bomb squad personnel from the police in that region.  They were able to see many of the missiles that were fired and targeted at one city. We held actual Kassam and Grad rockets that had been recovered from the fields and city streets where they had landed.

We were brought throughout one particular city and shown the public bomb shelters at schools, bus stops, and markets.  By law, every existing home and new construction must have one. We witnessed a warning siren drill that when sounded, gives citizens only 20 seconds to make it to a shelter.

According to statistics from the Israeli Trauma Coalition (ITC), a non-governmental organization that assists and counsels victims of terrorism, upwards of 70% of the citizens in southern Israel including children suffer from some form of PTSD.  This is due to the incessant rockets fired into Israel from Gaza.

The following day, a rocket landed not far from where we stood, staring into Gaza City limits. This was one of three rockets that fell in southern Israel during the week that we were there.

Israel has learned how to deal with the terror threat and the missiles that are fired almost on a daily basis. The statistics on terror attacks being successfully carried out on Israeli soil have shown that the tactics are working. Homicide bombings are almost nonexistent today as bombers are thwarted long before they get the chance to enter Israel. The civilian population, even though exhausted from the constant threat of missiles and rockets fired from Gaza, are well drilled and prepared for almost any threat.

At the end of the training, all participants advised that they now understood what challenges Israel faces on a daily basis just to survive, not to mention the burden of counter-terrorism incorporated into the traditional policing duties.

Just as it was for me the first time I went to Israel, this was a life-changing experience for these first responders.  They now realize that the struggle Israelis face against terrorism is the same struggle as American police officers, fire fighters, and EMS personnel are facing.  The difference is that much of our first responder community has not awoken to this reality yet.

After a terror attack in Israel, life is brought back to normal as quickly as possible, usually within just a few hours. Despite the constant threat of terror in Israel, life goes on as it must. It is a lesson we here in the U.S. need to adopt, especially in the first responder community in the event of future attacks on our homeland. It will be how well we the cops, fire fighters and EMT’s respond and perform that will set the tone for getting life back to normal after a mass casualty incident.

As someone who frequently travels to Israel and trains with the Israeli security services behind the scenes, I am truly inspired by their love of life, service to their country, and their will to survive as a people is truly a model for all first responders across the world.

Detective Brian J. Smith is a 16-year veteran officer with a Boston-area police department.  He is the Terrorism Liaison Officer with the Department of Homeland Security.   Detective Smith is a DHS-certified antiterrorism instructor, firearms instructor, and specializes in dignitary/close-protection training. He is a former US Army Military Police member, where he began his counterterrorism training and law enforcement career. Brian is the president of BJ Smith Consulting, LLC.  He serves as the U.S. Director of Operations for M.K. International Security Consulting, Ltd., one of Israel’s top homeland security solutions companies. Brian consults throughout the US and internationally on mass-casualty response, cultural/ethnic diversity, and counterterrorism for local law enforcement.  Brian regularly brings US-based public safety professionals to Israel to cross-train with the Israel National Police. 

Brian can be reached at brian@mkisc.com or visit the company websites at www.mkisc.com and www.iscIsrael.com

A stray bullet hit a 48 year old Mexican national pushing a baby carriage in El Paso, Texas on Tuesday.  The woman, who was in the United States legally, was taken to the hospital for medical treatment after receiving a gunshot wound to the leg.  Local police theorize that the stray bullet make have come from a gun battle involving Mexican police taking place at the same time just over the border in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. 

Stray bullets have hit a number of buildings right along El Paso’s border with Juarez, including University of Texas El Paso facilities.  However, this is the first time authorities know of that a person on the United States side of the border has been hit. The Mexican police were battling carjackers at the time of the incident.

Mexican drug violence has been estimated to have caused over 35,000 deaths in Mexico since 2006.

Learn more about this article here:

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/woman-el-paso-struck-stray-bullet-gunfight-ciudad-juarez-mexico-article-1.1026929

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/laplaza/2011/06/mexico-war-dead-update-figures-40000.html

Knife training needs to be simple and direct, especially for law enforcement where the object is self defense response (SDR) with a knife. It’s not like learning a martial art. Martial arts are a labor of love spanning many years of trial, tribulation, hard work, and acquired learning. They have a beginning and no end based on the use of techniques driven by conceptual motions, each one progressing from the other. It’s a never ending process of trial, learning, and understanding.

Knife training isn’t knife fighting. Knife fighting is a close quarter interpersonal war / killing art. Knife fighting is a specialized way of fighting which uses knives designed specifically for fighting and killing the opponent. Knife training is a simple direct way to understand the use of a knife and its application under duress.  You then learn to apply that understanding in an actual physical application such as a SDR event. Knife training can be learned in hours, not years and applied right away. Knife training isn’t rocket science.  Anyone can do it and master it.

Law enforcement officers have a lot on their plate. Any training has to be simple enough to be absorbed (yes absorbed) right then and there and stored away till needed. If it needs constant repetition, diligent practice, and large blocks of time no one is going to do it. If the training overwhelms everything an officer needs to do daily on the job then the training, even if shown to save lives, will be put on the back burner and eventually forgotten.

So what kind of training is simple, direct, and allows an officer to retain the training after only a few hours? It’s called Gross Motor Skill Training (GMST). It works because the skill set is designed at the lowest functioning levels of an officer under extreme duress.

Let’s take a look at how we as people function. Human beings are very complex and capable of learning and doing things under difficult times. Our brains have several functioning levels of thought or in simpler terms we have three speed brains: fine, complex, and gross.

Fine thought is creative, elusive, and expanding, Complex thought is attention to detail and it can be expanded by training and perseverance.  Gross thought is plain simple thought such as fight or flight, details aren’t important nor can they be called up. This three-speed brain is unfortunately in control of a two-speed body. The physical body is only capable of fine motor function and gross motor function, there is no such thing as complex motor function. Push a person into stress and all sorts of things happen.  The first is that the brain can’t do fine thought. The brain steps down a gear into complex thought.  It’s this second level where training allows one to maintain a sense of control longer than a non-trained person. This doesn’t mean one is functioning at fine thought or close to it; it’s a conditioned space of thought like an overdrive gear in a car.

A good example is watching professional fighters or athletes in pregame or warm up.  Each of the fighters displays amazing skills and abilities.  Each person knows that their fighter will use these skills to defeat the opponent. The fighters get into the ring and all the fans start yelling at the fighters.  Do this! Do that! Why didn’t he see that opening? How could he miss that punch or kick?

When the fighters were watched preparing for the fight in training or warm up, they were in their element.  The level of stress and duress were minimal. Once in the ring against an equal opponent, that stress moved the fighters down to complex levels. The crowd watching is seeing it from fine thought levels.  This leads to lots of loud yelling and frustration from the spectator’s point of view.

The fighters seem incapable of doing the complex moves and techniques they did in the pre show or training previews: which is actually the truth. When one of the fighters moves down to gross level function from stress, from impact or submission the fight is basically over. It can be seen immediately and the crowd can sense and see a fighter in survival mode while the other is still in complex fight mode. Remember this is only sport.  Duress affects trained athletes who strive to minimize any degradation in their skills under stress.

Law Enforcement is NOT sport. Law enforcement can be life or death.  The stress levels are more intense than sport. Fine thought goes out the window immediately. Not only does the brain shut down but the body can’t respond. Officers who train to maintain the complex level of thought under extreme duress find out their body has dropped to gross motor function.  That means the officer can think of what to do but the muscles of the body can’t respond nor function in that way. As the brain hits gross thought level one’s fingers begin to fumble at simple tasks for they cannot do fancy motions.  They can clench a fist or open it, but no fancy twirling or dexterity drills are possible.

Under life or death stress other functions begin to fail or do fail completely. Vision goes from wide angle to a narrowed sight range like looking through a piece of 4 inch pipe.  It’s called tunnel vision.  There is no peripheral vision. Officer’s team members or partners completely disappear from view unless they are directly looked at. Your sense of time goes amok; it’s called tachypsychia.  It’s why we get the effect of seeing the proverbial “life flash before your eyes” or the incredible slowing of time to a crawl.

With all of this happening there’s another simple biomechanical issue that cannot be changed by training, wishes or intent or even gross motor skill.  Human bodies only function one way. There are three basic motions a human being can do because of biomechanical design. A human being’s arms can only be open or closed. The first motion is the arms are hinged to go from the outside of our bodies shoulder height palm out to the inside hip level on a downward diagonal ending palm up.  This is how our shoulder joint, elbow, and wrist work in conjunction with each other.

The second motion is on a low horizontal motion of inside to outside, from palm down to palm up as the arm approaches the outside of the body to a recovery position, like doing a biceps curl. The third motion is either downward clear the space or short upward vertical motion of cover the head palm neutral facing inwards. These three motions are gross survival motions.  Anyone can do them:.  If people couldn’t do them there would be no people alive, for these motions are imprinted in each person to protect the body and the head without direct thought or conscious action.

What has this to do with knife training? Everything! For knife training to be effective it must incorporate both gross survival motion for biomechanical function and the use of gross motor skills. In this case, the training incorporates GMS which is the bottom line of protecting one’s self.  Those motions are duplicated to be the same as one’s offensive knife skills. This way there is no hesitation or thought during situations of extreme duress or stress. One reacts to the situation with a correct response that is designed to save lives.

The basic idea of where to cut in training with a knife is to target the opponent’s hands. No hands no attack, no grabbing, no holding of a weapon. That’s pretty simple and direct. If you simply cut the bad guys hands the attack is over. Knife training must teach this aspect. Many want kill shots and termination, but shut down is far more effective and simple!

In my next article I’ll discuss the actual motions and applications of these motions and how they enhance a simple direct approach to knife training.

Bram Frank has studied various fighting arts such as Wing Chun, JKD, and American Freestyle Karate for over 40 years. Currently, Bram is Director of Edged Weapons training at the S2 Law Enforcement-Security Institute. He is the SME (subject matter expert) on knives for the Hialeah Police Department. For the last 10 years, Bram has concentrated on the design and use of edged weapons / tools as an instrument of self defense and their use in military, police, and anti-terror applications. Bram was Black Belt Magazine’s Hall of Fame Weapons Instructor of the Year 2007. Action Martial Arts Magazine and their Martial Arts Hall of Fame in 2008 named Bram the Grandmaster of the Year 2008. He trains others in Europe, Israel, the Philippines, and the United States.

are the backbone of the education system in America, and the police academy is no exception. While I like to highlight the increased value of active learning, the lecture will always have a place in the learning process. Lecture can be an excellent method to convey information when it is done well; however, active learning – which requires students to discover, discuss, demonstrate, and explain the information – is more suited to our audience. The two methods should be combined by the police instructor to create Spellbinding Lectures.

“I hear and I forget. I see, I remember.
I do, I understand.” ~Confucius

Confucius was onto something. Knowing the learning styles of most cops and cadets, we can add to his declaration for the police instructor.

• When I only hear information, I may forget some. (Lecture)
• When I hear and see information, I will remember. (Add videos, pictures, and images to the lecture)
• When I hear, see, discuss, and question the information, I understand. (Add group exercises to the lecture)
• When I demonstrate and teach others the information, I become proficient and skillful. (Add students teaching exercises and activities to the lecture)

Lecturing is still the most efficient way to impart knowledge and communicate large amounts of material in a short amount of time, but that does not mean that everyone is retaining that knowledge or is even awake. For the younger generation of law enforcers, who have grown up in an active world filled with attention-grabbing commercials and video games, a lecture can be painful.

Learning is not guaranteed just because we pour out information on a particular topic. Active lectures emphasize the real world in a classroom, something our audience needs. The involvement of our audience is necessary before any real learning can occur. With active involvement, the student is seeking an answer to a question, or information to solve a group problem, or a technique necessary to perform a skill.

Any teaching method can be good or bad depending on how that method is applied, and lecturing is the best possible method in some instances. We need to lecture with three learning domains in mind: the “head” (knowing), the “heart” (feeling), and the “hands” (doing).

Heads, Hearts, & Hands

Bloom’s Taxonomy breaks the objectives into three domains: Cognitive, Affective, and Psychomotor.

Skills in the cognitive domain (the head), revolve around knowledge, comprehension, and critical thinking of a particular topic. Giving a quiz would require the student’s to access their cognitive domain. Skills in the affective domain (the heart), include emotional reactions and empathy. Talking to cadets about the results of child abuse or another particularly emotional subject would rouse this domain. Skills in the psychomotor domain (the hands) are identified by the ability to physically manipulate a tool or instrument. Teaching a cadet the proper way to load and fire a gun would be one way to stimulate this domain.

Demonstrating for the class how to search a prisoner only reaches their cognitive domain (the head). But when the students demonstrate the same technique on each other, a psychomotor skill (the hands) can be developed. While skills associated with the psychomotor domain are retained at high levels in the brain, repetition is still the key. Showing a video of a jailer being stabbed by a prisoner who was poorly searched will also connect their affective domain (the heart) to round off the learning experience.

If you want to be effective as an instructor, think along the lines of Bloom when you are lecturing. If we involve these three areas in our lectures – using different techniques and exercises – we will produce a better class of guardians for society.

Keep them Moving

Anytime we can get our students moving around, it increases their potential to learn and serves to keep their heads off the table – both are of interest to instructors. Dr. David A. Sousa is a consultant in educational neuroscience whose research has provided educators with strategies for improving student learning by simple physical interaction. “It seems that the more we study the [brain], the more we realize that movement is inescapably linked to learning” (Sousa, 2000). The Richipedia interpretation: Get cadets moving around, and it will kick their brains into gear.

“Today’s brain, mind and body research establishes significant links between movement and learning. Educators ought to be purposeful about integrating movement activities into daily learning (Jensen, 1998)”. This research should inspire us to keep our lecture active whether by having a cadet fill in the blanks on a worksheet or by having them demonstrate their newly acquired skills.

“By engaging active and emotional pathways (the ‘how’ and the ‘wow’), we supply an additional ‘hook’ for learning.” (Jensen and Dabney, 2000).” In other words, physical activity and emotional content activate more of the brain, and that enhances retention.

A Nuclear Physicist’s Take on Lecture

Enrico Fermi (1901–1954) was an Italian-American physicist known for the development of the first nuclear reactor. He also made contributions to the development of quantum theory, nuclear physics, and statistical mechanics. He was awarded the 1938 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on induced radioactivity. Fermi is widely regarded as one of the leading scientists of the 20th century, and along with Robert Oppenheimer, he is frequently referred to as the father of the atomic bomb. All-in-all, he sounds like a smart guy. After attending a Physics lecture at the University of Chicago, he stated: “Before coming here, I was confused about this subject. Having listened to your lecture, I’m still confused, but on a higher level.”

The essence of training is creating an experience that will provoke thought and learning. Training should be about learning the realities of law enforcement – not just learning information to pass a test. Real training cannot take place when the audience is asked to do nothing. A lecture must be conducted with the audience in mind, or anyone can feel lost, even a genius who is capable of inventing a nuclear bomb.

You can combine a variety of methods to provide cadets with a compelling lesson. Variety is the spice of life and the spice of Spellbinding Lectures. You can trick out your lecture and captivate any law enforcement audience by using examples, techniques, exercises, and methods that encourage active learning.

Richard Neil is LET’s Police Training Contributor. He is the author of “Police Instructor: Deliver Dynamic Presentations, Create Engaging Slides, & Increase Active Learning.” He is a retired city cop, and instructs for several of Ohio’s criminal justice training academies. He can be contacted through his website that is dedicated to law enforcement training resources – www.LEOtrainer.com.

Brian Brockington is being held on Riker’s Island in New York City, but not for long. Brockington has been a suspect in three rape cases.  The first case he is accused in involved a sexual attack on a woman at gunpoint in 1993.  DNA evidence has conclusively linked him to this crime.

Other sexual assault cases were filed against Brockington in 1997 and 2003.  Officials with the Bronx, New York District Attorney’s Office state that there were issues which caused both cases to be dismissed.  They cited problems with evidence, as well as difficulties in getting witnesses to testify.

For inexplicable reasons, the DNA in the 1993 case was not tested for almost ten years.  When the District Attorney’s Office finally got around to filing charges, they did so one day after the statute of limitations to prosecute the crime had expired.

Now Brockington is busy giving jail house interviews, taunting police and the DA’s office with the media.  He reportedly told the media, “I don’t need to rape, I’ll buy the sex.”  Brockington has been in jail for five years following a plea bargain for the 2003 rape case whichwas reduced to an assault.

I’m not sure what we’ve come to in this country when a habitual rapist serves only five years and sees fit to taunt the criminal justice system about his impending release.

That’s what I think; I’d welcome your opinions,

Learn more about this article here:

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/suspected-rapist-mocks-bronx-da-office-article-1.1025

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2103409/Brian-Brockington-set-FREE-DAs-error-mocks-prosecutors-took-TEN-YEARS-process-DNA-evidence-rape-case.html

If my story through the eyes of the Israeli people and especially the first responders has a real meaning and theme over the last Decade, it is surely one of silence, one of heroism, one of patience, one of pain and ongoing suffering but most of all one of resilience.

Unlike the United States, who hailed the spirit on the 10th anniversary of September 11, 2001 in a manner that only the United States can do, honoring the fallen and the heroes of that tragic day etched forever in my memory. No one in Israel, officially, has revisited the people who were first responders. No one has undertaken to step forward and acknowledge my dedicated fellow professionals and simply thank them for giving up so much.

Remembering Ten Years of carnage, chaos and hell while providing my testimony of One Hundred and Thirty One terror attacks that took place in Israel in One Short Year. Yes, just One Year, is probably the only way I can ever give something back.

Where almost five hundred innocent lives were lost. Where thousands were injured never to be able to enjoy some of the simple things in life. Where shock and trauma set in and slowly but surely, like a cancer, destroyed so many people; in some cases only to be discovered ten years later. Where the survivors and families of those murdered or injured by ruthless cowardly killers, strapping bombs to themselves with shrapnel that certainly meant suffering with excruciating pain through extended periods of time. Where the survivors of these inhumane terrorist attacks that targeted innocent people jump at the sound of a siren or a car backfire. Where all I can offer to inspire my fellow first responders is a simple memory and a simple hug of affection.

Just like the heroic first responders of Ground Zero defined what it means to meet adversity, and then overcome it. Our first responders, here in Israel, relentlessly meet the same adversity over and over again and we have to overcome it again and again and again, and I ask why?

My behind-the-headlines and personal account of a simple Israeli policeman’s experiences tackling brutal suicide terrorism, violent crime and delinquency is one that has not been heard or made public before.

A very ordinary, human approach permeates my real life account of extraordinary and highly unsettling events; but hidden deep within, the agony, stored inside me like a massive archive of data, needs to be released and told.

My life is not just one of facts and headlines that were too often taken out of context by an unethical code that some of the worlds journalist chose to abide by. I also quietly share, for the first time, my struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder (that I stubbornly refused to accept until recently) and by a silent battle, I have with myself and to an extent with my family, both immediate and extended, to ultimately rid myself of this now obvious condition.

I want to allow people everywhere to understand the daily struggles and dilemmas I faced while serving as a first responder, to learn of the solutions I helped formulate to these issues, and to gain a personal perspective on events that are often simplified, to say the least, in international news reports.

As an intelligence detective and then commander of the Tourist Police Unit in Netanya during the height of the wave of suicide bomb attacks on a city that is on a par to any major tourist vacation in the world, I have no doubt served on the frontlines against carnage and terrorism for many years.

Ironically, before that, I worked amongst and got to know the psyche of the Palestinian inmates convicted of terrorism charges while serving at maximum security military facilities during my compulsory military service and most of my reserve duty.

My life story should have a broad, universal appeal to all who are curious to catch a glimpse through the eyes of one Israeli policeman’s personal perspective while serving in one of the more volatile regions in the world, where the media and press are ever present, mostly for all of the wrong reasons. Where a cop is bound by a code of silence and the typical Israeli “macho” stigma places a massive role in the respecting of this unwritten code which forbids even a hint of self expression.

As a person, I certainly must be a universal theme of resilience, trauma, recovery, history and hope. I start and finish my day by scanning the global news to see where there has been another deadly terror attack. I deplore hearing when these events occur, no matter where they may be, but still I seek the news, just like I spent a year in 2002 with the police radio so close to my ear; not wanting to miss the suspect or the suspicious object, trying to thwart the next blast, the next attack and more terror, more blood.

I somehow find myself in the epicenter of terror attacks and even though I retired close to six years ago, last Monday put me back on the job while hosting law enforcement officials and a film crew from the United States. Again I witnessed yet another terror attack, not in the form of a homicide bombing but this time in the form of an attempted lynching of two elderly Jewish men in a very hostile area close to the Old City of Jerusalem. The vehicle they were travelling in was bombarded with rocks and bricks and by a miracle only, their lives were spared. Again the blood stained clothes and fear in these innocent faces looked at me in the eye, but I refuse to give in or give up.

I spent almost Seven years in the front line of a war of terror, I witnessed Palestinian suicide bombers launch one bloody bombing after another. Witnessing the horrors of these cowardly attacks over and over again certainly takes its toll and after either being present at or responding to sixteen of these attacks, I relentlessly searched for anyone who was even remotely part of this terror campaign as a priority of my policing duties. I made hundreds of arrests of potential terrorist suspects. At times I was successful but mostly these terrorists sowed carnage and death on all of those around me. My own family became secondary and sleep was deprived of me as the battle to prevent another attack was constant.

I watched those that worked with me or those that I worked with in the civilian sector lose loved ones to these insane acts of horror. I watched people’s lives shatter and become worthless after they were either mentally or physically maimed. I saw the pain and the suffering. I suffered then and I suffer today; certainly even more so today but at least in an open manner. I allow myself to ponder, ever so deep, over how these attacks could have been prevented and thwarted and if they could have been.

I am not sure what the statistics are on how many people face death in their lives by a suicide bombing, but I am sure that I am a statistic in my own right.

I have been present and active in sixteen terrorist attacks. I have responded to over fifty. I have spent many hours blocking roads so that terror could be contained and thwarted. I have spent many hours backing up fellow police officers in the Old City of Jerusalem, protecting this ancient, historic and religious city which means so much to so many.

I have almost been physically injured or possibly killed by at least a few of these attacks, and I have faced my own mortality more times than I care to remember, yet I didn’t talk about it with anyone. I never dared to speak. In every such attack, I saw blood and carnage in ways that are hard to imagine and describe. I recognized people I knew, that were killed, burnt and injured in the bombing scenes. And I left these scenes with a heavy load on my chest. But I kept it to myself.

It was my wife who alerted me to my simmering post-traumatic stress disorder. I never noticed it myself. As the bombs continued and the carnage scenes mounted, I spent up to 20 hours a day at work. I’d come home, take my shoes off, lie on the couch for three to four hours, and leave the police radio on next to my ear, on alert for the next blast.

Gradually, nothing else seemed to matter. I missed bringing up my kids, I missed out on the best years. Once upon a time I was an avid red meat eater – a relic of my South African origins. I stopped eating meat for months after the attacks of 2002. It reminded me of the bombing scenes. It still does at times. The smell lingers as does the taste in my mouth.

Today, I teach and train those that want to learn, those that want to understand, those that are aware and most importantly, those that know complacency can kill.

This article specially written for Law Enforcement Today is dedicated to first responders. Together we will remember.

(click on this link to view a short video) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pcYL7S_JC8 

Article by Marc Kahlberg: CEO MK ISC

Tel:  +972 506 308760

Fax: +972 779 308760

Email: marc@mkisc.com | marc@mksecurityconsulting.com

I knew this day would come. When I got the e-mail from the Chief telling me to come in to see him, I knew it was not good news.  He had already mentioned ending the chaplain program as part of moving the department “forward“.

When I was told that Thursday was my last day as police chaplain, the chief said it was part of moving the police department away from “mental health issues” and back to police work.

Many police chiefs regard an officer’s spiritual health just as important as their mental health. When I speak to officers, they know they are speaking to someone who will neither judge them nor ridicule them because they are feeling human, Feeling scared and the tears that are shed when there was a loss of a loved one or a traffic fatality involving a child is part of the human condition.  They ask that all too common question that I have to answer… “Where was God at when this happened?”

Most police departments see police chaplaincy and mental health issues as being important components to keeping officers grounded and centered, not only in police work but also in our everyday lives as well. I would speak to the officers in groups or when i was patrolling with them.

I talked to suicidal students, to barricaded subjects, and have taken kids to McDonalds before taking them to the shelter because they haven’t had a meal in days. Mommy and daddy were cooking meth in the kitchen, you see.  All that came out of pocket and it always happened when i was about to go home and eat.

I will miss the part of being the spiritual “EMT” so to speak but everything must end as the song says. So, here are just a few of the things that I will not have to deal with:

No more suicide calls, no more death notifications, no more doing funerals but at the same time not to be there for the births of fellow officers families. No shoulder to cry on, no giving of last rites to a traffic fatality.

After 17 years of being there for people I have to remind myself that a police chaplain program is at the discretion of the chief and can end at any time and without notice.

Since I am a reserve officer, all that I am required to do now is a minimum amount of hours a month as opposed to being away for long hours at a time.

I have no regrets!

I had a blast!