subscribe features columns departments contacts links advertising search

Anyone who has followed the articles in this magazine for the last two years can easily see we try to inject humor and specifically cop humor in every issue.  Some of the more memorable articles were “Kick ’Em In The Nuts,” “Two Track Policing” and “Loose Sights Academy.” I just found out today the job of finding good cop humor — the slightly sarcastic, sardonic, one-off and ironic stuff we tend to find funny — just got a lot harder. Lieutenant Bill Black of Colorado’s Littleton Police Department, the author of those articles, passed away this morning after a long battle with cancer.

Bill spent 28 years with Littleton PD and was considered by many to be the heart and soul of his department. He grew up in Texas, attended college and earned a master’s degree in speech and theater from Texas State University in San Marcos. Prior to becoming a cop he owned and managed bicycle shops, recorded a comedy album, performed in theater and a traveling comedy show and supervised and trained rural health care teams in problem-solving and group communication.

Bill joined Littleton PD in January 1979 and after moving up through the ranks served as watch commander at the rank of lieutenant for the past eight years. He dedicated his career to training cops focusing on officer safety, firearms and SWAT operations. Bill was a SWAT team member practically his entire career and ultimately the team’s leader.

Bill was an accomplished writer with articles published in a number of nationally recognized magazines on officer safety, active shooter and firearms training. He was also a long-time instructor at Clint Smith’s Thunder Ranch.

All of us at FMG and American COP send our best wishes and deepest condolences to his wife, Guadalupe and niece, Littleton PD dispatcher, Mary Clark. We too will miss him greatly. Bill has left the range, but his smile, wry humor and humanity will always be with us.
  
   
   
   

Let’s start out by saying LAPD has some of the finest working cops I’ve ever met. And that’s a shame because they deserve better than the morons they have running the place. From their ultra-left ACLU-loving racist Mayor, Antonio “Just call me MECha Boy” Villaraigosa to their Chief, William “The Flashlight” Bratton. In typical politician mode, Bratton pushed through a policy prohibiting officers from using their flashlights as weapons except in “emergency situations.” Now that’s really clear direction isn’t it?

Bratton went so far as to commission a new flashlight for issuance to the troops. This way they’d be less likely to use it as a weapon. Heaven knows we don’t want cops running around with a heavy flashlight constructed of a deadly metal like aluminum — like all the other departments around the country. So Bill, let’s see if I have this right; you spend hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars recruiting candidates for the department, you select them mainly for their decision-making ability among other traits, you spend untold sums of money training them, give them a pistol, rifle and shotgun, access to tons of heavy metal in the form of a police cruiser, but you don’t trust them with an aluminum flashlight?

The whole thing smacks of it’s the inanimate object causing the problem not the user — the same reasoning the anti-gun community relies on in their unending attempt to take guns away from law-abiding citizens.

Don’t get me wrong; the light — designed and produced by Pelican Products of Torrance, California — is one hell of a great light.  It’s one of the best LED cop lights available. It’s the only good thing to come out of this situation. I love the light but Bratton’s underlying reason for adopting it is pure unadulterated Toro Caca.

    
 
 
   

A Completely Subjective Look At Things I Like

Pelican Products 7060 LED Patrol Flashlight

Yes, I really do like the light. It — and this makes me choke when thinking about its genesis — is very well thought out and designed. The light puts out 130 lumens from a new generation super-bright Light Emitting Diode (LED) for approximately 90 minutes of continuous runtime. A Lithium-ion rechargeable battery only taking 4 to 5 hours to completely recharge powers it.

There’s an innovative switching system allowing the light to be used in a side activated patrol mode or tail activated tactical mode. Another really good idea is the “castle” lens shroud I don’t know how many times I left my light on and set it down on the lens to find a burn mark on the table.

The light is made well too. It’s hefty in your hand but not too heavy. There’s enough body for tucking it under your arm while writing a cite or writing down info on your field interview pad. And, it’s just substantial enough to smack somebody with it in an emergency situation of course. Just don’t do it in LA and especially don’t tell Bratton.

For More Info: www.pelican.com

MIL-TAC Knives And Tools

I own about 10 variations of the 1911-style pistol and always felt they need checkering on the front strap to keep the gun from squirting out during recoil. Having to regrip during follow-up shots just isn’t a good thing. When I heard about MIL-TAC’s new grips, I thought I’d give them a try and boy, am I glad I did. My favorite commander-sized gun has only vertical serrations on the front strap and they just don’t work. The addition of MIL-TAC’s G10 laminate grips cured the muzzle flip issue most ricki-tic.

The grips are impervious to solvents, heat, sweat, salt water or other types of moisture. They’re available in gray, black, desert tan, flat earth brown and OD. These things will stick to you like an ex-wife — but they’re a lot more fun and don’t cost nearly as much.

MIL-TAC makes other cool stuff as well.  You have to check out their Tactical Defense Pens as well. It’s not only a great writing instrument but a sturdy and stealthy defensive weapon too.

For More Info: www.mil-tac.com

 

  
   
   
 
First published in the Sept/Oct 2007 issue of American COP.
  
Home | Subscribe | Features | Columns | Departments | Contacts | Links | Advertising | Search
© 2005 All Rights Reserved -- Publishers Development Corporation
Site design by SutherlandDesign.com