Law Enforcement Firearm Training

[AustinBoy]

Can someone please explain to me what type of training LEOs get in regards to firearms?

I keep hearing that it is OK if a LEO has a gun because he/she is trained.

What does that training entail?

I shoot regularly and do IDPA matches. What do they do?

This is NOT to question their training and skill with a gun. I just dont know what they have to go through.

Thanks
AB

[Chris]

From the practical to the ridiculous. Some departments only do enough to qualify, and others do a lot of training. Where I worked, we did a lot. We shot in every conceivable position, under every condition imaginable, and we also shot through various types of materials, and things like that. Learned some pretty dumb techniques too. Having said that, there are plenty of people on this forum that are more capable with a firearm than people I worked with. Not all cops are 'gun people'. Plenty didn't care at all about guns; just something else to add onto the belt. For some of us, range day was what we lived for.

For cops, your job depends on your ability to use a firearm. If you fail to qualify, you can't carry, and if you can't carry, how do you do your job? Even if they don't like guns, they still have to be proficient with them. As far as civilians go, I don't think that just because someone has police experience automatically qualifies them as an expert, nor do I believe it should elevate them above a regular Joe. The people who fought and died for this country were regular folks, and I don't think regular people of today would hesitate to do the same; police experience or not. It denigrates the argument of CCW when people have to qualify it with police or military experience.

[gigag04]

What you see coming from Costa, Halley, Vickers, etc should give you a good idea of the skills and drills most decent agencies teach.

[texanjoker]

Can someone please explain to me what type of training LEOs get in regards to firearms?

I keep hearing that it is OK if a LEO has a gun because he/she is trained.

What does that training entail?

I shoot regularly and do IDPA matches. What do they do?

This is NOT to question their training and skill with a gun. I just dont know what they have to go through.

Thanks
AB

Many hours of tactical, practical training in the academy. If you can't pass, you don't graduate. I saw a female not graduate during my academy. She had good grades, ect, but couldn't get by the shot gun. If you can't handle a paper target, how can you handle a person in the real world? On going training. Minimum yearly qual shoot per TX Tcleose. In CA we qualified quarterly. If you don't pass you loose your police commission aka get fired. (there is a process of remediation first.) Ongoing tactical/practical training during various training venues. Not all cops are gun people, but to graduate they did complete way more training then what is required for a CHL. I find it scary that there are many in both the LE and CHL world that only do the minimum. Even shooting once every year IMO is not enough, let along once every 5, yet we all know they are out there.

Side thought: It all comes down to liability like everything else. While one may shoot IDPA or whatever and be the best shot there is, there is no paper trail saying they have been taught the basic fundamentals like a police officer has.

[xb12s]

I'm also curious about this. I've seen groups of officers at one of the gun ranges I frequent that looked like TERRIBLE shooters. The paper target was peppered all over with no accuracy at all. It seemed like they were there for some kind of qualification (usually a guy with a badge on a chain around his neck walking around behind them watching and maybe scoring or giving instruction). Usually there are one or two good shooters in a bunch of 5 or 6. My sample size is quite small, only witnessing this about once every other month or so. However, the father of a friend at work (my shooting buddy actually) was DPS and had told him numerous times that he didn't trust half the officers in a fire fight and would like to make sure they were all in front of him or way off to one side.

I'm guessing the training varies by locality, specific job, interest etc. I think the statements made by officers above regarding having some police officers who aren't gun people are accurate also. I'm betting SWAT type guys get lots of training.

I guess it's hard for a pro-gun citizen to wrap his head around the idea that some police officers wouldn't be as active or interested as we are. I've got to wonder (or hope) if some of the people at the gun range that I have witnessed are not beat cops or otherwise do not engage the public and need to rely on their weapons.

[srothstein]

To see exactly what the minimum for every officer is, look at the TCLEOSE guidelines. They are available here: http://www.tcleose.state.tx.us/content/ ... ources.cfm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

You need to read the section on firearms. Also read the sections on use of force, arrest search and seizure, and law. All of these combine to cover the use of firearms in various parts. Most agencies also have tactics sections, and will enhance the other sections further than these minimums.

For an interesting read, also look at the firearms instructor certification course. The instructors can not be held responsible for teaching subjects they are not required to know.