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The Strike Report - October 2011
“A single light can diminish the sum of all the powers of darkness." ~ Strike International
OPERATING IN A LOW LIGHT ENVIRONMENT! Situational Awareness, Training and Fighting to Win! by Jack C. Perritt - Strike International
The Stats
We have all seen the statistics and they are shocking. Over half of all police involved shootings occur under low light conditions. In my discussions with Tom Aveni of PPSC (Police Policy Studies Council) the data actually runs somewhere between seventy-five and eighty percent. And even though the number does seem to fluctuate regionally in the U.S., the percentage remains close to these numbers with some a little more and others a little less.
As training coordinator John Wills states for www.officer.com, "The statistics are profound and critical and unless we are training our officers under similar low light conditions, we are setting them up for problems." He is absolutely correct in that assessment but it even goes further. The potential liability issues an agency would face because they don't conduct low light training would be enormous should one of their officers become involved in a shooting in that type of environment and they had received very little or no training at all.
In the Surefire Institute's low light training program they dedicate a portion of it to the human eye and how it functions in reduced light environment. As far as human sensory perception goes and the information we take in around us, nearly 80% comes from our vision. If you understand this then you know how important it is to officers to be able to use tactical illumination in their job. It help to locate, identify and take on a potential threat.
In a study conducted by the State of California titled "California Peace Officers Killed in the Line of Duty," and written by John Wills, there was convincing data that related the following:
The vast majority of agencies get their people out there on the firing line and have them combine the flashlight with the weapon in some sort of search technique, shoot a couple of rounds, then call it a day. They are satisfied that they have met the requirements for their low light training. Take a moment, read the liability case laws carefully and understand the requirements that the courts have addressed. The training I mentioned above is better than nothing but...it is far, far from what is needed or required.
What Should We Be Doing?
You should be developing an aggressive low light training program for your officers. The program should be educating them to the precepts of operating in that kind of environment, the physiological impact it has on their eyes, the techniques that can be used to counter certain negative low light conditions, flashlight and MSL (Mounted Light Systems) techniques, and low light shooting drills that should and must include the following:
There are more, but these are the essential ones that your officers need to learn and become proficient with in order to operate successfully in a low light environment.
Situational Awareness in Low Light
It is one thing to be able to see in broad daylight where your vision is more acute and even subtle movements are often easily discerned. Now throw in some darkness, some cold weather where people are wearing jackets and the environment is uncomfortable. It now becomes much more interesting and difficult unless you are capable of doing one thing - getting some illumination on the potential threat area and ascertaining if it is indeed a real threat!
Stressors can mount very quickly on an individual in low light conditions. The reasons are as varied as their causes, and they can make an officer who is trying to assess his/her situation very difficult. Here is the protocol to gaining and understanding situational awareness in low light conditions. An officer has got to have a good understanding as well as be able to apply the principles of low light. This is needed because it governs the tactical actions that the officer will make. In addition, they must understand the concept of ATI (Asymmetric Tactical Illumination) which requires that the officer make use of good illumination equipment with skills, combined with tactical thinking by being able to accelerate themselves in the tactical loop - "OODA!" All of these things together can make the officer situationally aware in this normally challenging and negative environment, but it can also make them the winner!
Fighting to Win in Low Light
When it comes to fighting at night or in a reduced light environment, you must be able to see! Good tactical illumination gets you there and it allows you to navigate, locate, identify threats, and use your weapon. The smart tactician will also have redundant systems should their primary weapon lights fail them.
Knowing where you are at and where you are going next in combat situations is critical. The more you train in a reduced light environment the better you become. Your other bodily senses learn to rise to higher levels of sensitivity and awareness. Your hearing becomes sharper and can distinguish the difference in certain sounds. Your ability to touch and feel things are more acute and thus you are able to work through malfunctions or perform combat loads just as easily as you could in daylight hours. Your overall sense of awareness increases and you learn to work the low light environment to your advantage. You become the predator!
Training...it gets you there! Working on shooting skills, team tactics, threat recognition and weapon manipulation skills, are extreme confidence builders, while also strengthening your night fighting abilities. Training your people on night physiology and understanding how to deal with certain negative issues that pertains to night vision can help make them winners!
These are the things agencies must address and work on if they want to succeed in building a viable Low Light training program for patrol officers and the Special Response Team Units.
By:
Jack C. Perritt Executive Director Strike International
Resources:
Surefire Tom Aveni - PPSC Matt Chitwood - Lee County SO, Ft. Meyers John Wills - Training Contributor for Officer.com Dallas Police Department - FTC Strike International
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AFTER ACTION REPORT
TACTICAL LOW LIGHT INSTRUCTOR CLASS CARROLLTON P.D. - FARMERS BRANCH P.D.
DATE AND LOCATION: Wednesday~Friday - September 14-16, 2011 at the Carrollton Police Department firing range
TRAINING COURSE: Low Light Instructor Course
NUMBER OF STUDENTS: 10
TRAINING TIME: 2100-0500
WX: The weather conditions varied on us / clear visibility / light winds - to windy conditions with thunderstorms and rain
AAR NARRATIVE: Class began with standard administrative paperwork and safety protocols being given. There was a brief discussion on instructor standard and mission responsibility / student performance and expectations / orientation to student manual. The class was divided into Alpha and Bravo Teams.
The training was agency specific for Carrollton and Farmers Branch Police Departments only. All students that participated in this training were experienced, certified firearms instructors.
CLASSROOM: The classroom portion of the course began with national and local statistical information on low light shooting incidents and then proceeded on to other topics such as: low light concepts, search techniques, ITR techniques, SDF, NV physiology, flashlight and mounted light systems, and liability and training issues.
DRY-FIRE / LIVE-FIRE: The range work consisted of first introducing flashlight techniques for search methods / ITR techniques / SDF techniques / and SSM (Strong Side Manipulation). These techniques involved both the Combined Use concept and Separate Use concept. Those officers with MLS's then worked with them. The course moved on to light discipline drills, shooting and moving drills, multiple targets, CBAS (Counter Body Armor Shots) and working up to a Low Light pistol qualification.
Additionally, the officers also worked with patrol rifles or tactical M4's with their MLS's or using a substitute flashlight mount technique and repeating many of the same drills with their rifles. Officers also had to shoot a low light rifle course from 50 yards and in. The shoulder weapon course concluded with officers switching over to shotguns.
As with any of our SI instructor schools the students have to take an active part by giving a classroom presentation and then conducting a live-fire drill for the other class members. The maturity of this class reflected a high degree of professionalism, knowledge, and tactical skill level.
For an instructor, it doesn't get any better. To the Carrollton and Farmers Branch Police Departments, I want to thank all those who participated and for staying focused on safety.
TOP SHOOTERS FOR THE LOW LIGHT INSTRUCTOR COURSE 1st Chris Henderson - Farmers Branch PD 2nd Caleb West - Carrollton PD 3rd Todd Eubanks - Carrollton PD
Low Light Instructor Class Photo
Jack C. Perritt Executive Director Strike International (903) 396-7698
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