Blue Sheepdog

The SHOT Show produced some interesting new products for the law enforcement community, and the Xtreme Alternative Defense Systems (XADS) Light Shield was one of those items. XADS is based out of Anderson, Indiana, and has been producing life-saving less lethal and anti-material directed energy weapons since 2002. XADS has two retired Lt. Generals and a retired Indiana SWAT commander on its advisory board to ensure their products meet real-life operator needs.

XADS has already produced the Threat Assessment Laser Illuminator (TALI) which is focused green laser technology designed to temporarily incapacitate suspects. The TALI has helped stop vehicles at military checkpoints, and disorient suspects on high risk police incidents. A similar technology is the TR3 long range laser illuminator that was designed to prevent pirates from successfully engaging merchant ships. Another technology of XADS is XAP, which is a confidential mi

Prior to a large event, we receive a hard-drive-punishing flow of emailed product press releases.  My interest was piqued by a bullet resistant vest company that promised what I thought was a typographical error for their MSRP.  I would definitely be paying a visit to the BulletSafe booth at SHOT Show 2014.

At the Show, I met Tom Nardone, BulletSafe’s company president, in their small space at an off-the-main-floor Law Enfo

Hey Bluesheepdog fans and Blue Crew members, did you think we had fallen into the dark abyss of the world wide web? Things have been very busy over the last several months, and 2014 only looks to get busier. However, we’re still here, and there are many articles in the process so don’t go far.

The BSD Crew was at SHOT Show this year soaking up as much information as we could on the latest law enforcement equipment and gear. This year set another attendance record, with over 67,000 visitors and 1600 vendors spread out over 13 acres worth of property. Just last year the record was set with 62,000 visitors. Next year will likely set new records as the industry keeps growing.

There were a lot of the familiar vendors and a few new ones as well. We’ll try to provide a variety of posts to give you a feel for what the Show floor presented. In addition to the main floor where most of the big names in the firearms and hunting industry display, there are several small conference rooms full of law enforcement specific vendors.

This looks like a good product.  Your thoughts?

One of the bigger challenges faced by a law enforcement firearms instructor is creating an element of realism in the training environment.

Without this vital quality, a day at the range is just another administrative hoop to jump through as officers fail to make the connection between the exercises performed and the harsh reality of applying deadly force.

Sadly, a great many agencies merely have their officers qualify for the record and the training value of many drills designed to assess officer proficiency is questionable at best. The focus has become administrative survival rather than the acquisition and maintenance of skills to better prepare the officer for the street. Often, this seed is planted at the academy where officers are denied the opportunity to take their skills to the next level and become truly proficient. Standards are “dumbed down” and, as long as trainees can meet the minimum marksmanship level, there is no need to push any harder.

There are, of course, progressive instructors who are not willing to accept mediocrity. They have created challenging course

Recently in Maryland v. King (U.S. 6-32013), the United States Supreme Court said, “Yes!”

According to the Court, the DNA identification of an arrestee “is a reasonable search that can be considered part of a routine booking procedure. When officers make an arrest supported by probable cause to hold for a serious offense and they bring the suspect to the station to be detained in custody, taking and analyzing a cheek swab of the arrestee’s DNA is, like fingerprinting and photographing, a legitimate police booking procedure that is reasonable under the Fourth Amendment.”

Defendant Alonzo King “was arrested in Wicomico County, Maryland, and charged with first and second-degree assault for menacing a group of people with a shotgun. As part of a routine booking procedure for serious offenses, his DNA sample was taken by applying a cotton swab or filter paper – known as a buccal swab – to the inside of his cheeks.” The DNA matched the DNA taken from a Salisbury, Maryland, woman who was raped in 20

The National Tactical Officer’s Association National Conference has concluded in Kansas City.  One of the courses I was able to attend was a 4-hour session covering lessons learned on barricaded subject calls.  Although tailored for tactical officers, the training brings light to difficult situations faced by patrol officers as well.  This will be the first in a series on the class.

A barricaded subject can be defined as a person or persons in a location that provides a means of spatial separation that assists them in avoiding apprehension from law enforcement.  In short, a barricaded subject is in a position that inhibits law enforcement from easily taking them into custody.

Typically a barricaded subject is armed or has the means to cause harm to others before they are classified as a barricaded subject.  Joe Drunk who pissed his neighbors off with noise and profanity would not be a barricaded subject just because he refused to answer his door for responding patrol officers.

A barricaded subject does not necessarily mean the person has boarded themselves i

The Ruger LC380 (Light Carry) handgun is chambered in .380ACP and is made for deep concealment or pocket carry, as is its predecessor, the Ruger LC9 in 9x19mm (introduced in 2011). A side-by-side comparison shows the two, the LC9 and the LC380, to be identical. From the accompanying insert to the owner’s manual: “…the Ruger LC380 has the same basic operational characteristics as the LC9 pistol.” This is correct – to a point.

Five changes were made to accommodate the new caliber: the slide, the barrel, a complete magazine and the pistol’s two recoil springs which I think (not having an LC9 on hand) are of lesser strength than that used for the 9x19mm cartridge. These parts are listed as factory installation only. (I also don’t foresee Ruger offering any sort of conversion service to change calibers from one to the other with either model.)

The new LC380 is semiauto and double-action-only. It has a blued, through hardened (fully heat treated) slide and uses a linkless barrel locking/ unlocking system. Its outer frame is black colored, glass filled nylon (aka p