semperverus – Page 11

Lessons in Situational Awareness from Columbo

Columbo was an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. The show aired on NBC from 1971 to 1978 and on ABC from 1989 to 2003.

[ Read SemperVerus articles on the subject of Situational Awareness ]

In the series, Columbo is a seemingly every-day homicide detective who wears a rumpled beige raincoat and projects a casual, polite, warm, charming, respectful, humble, deferential, patient, soft-spoken, and unassuming demeanor, all of which are a disguise for extremely shrewd and intelligent situational awareness. He often leaves a room only to return with the catchphrase, “Just one more thing” to ask a critical question.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Gentle Response De-Escalation Training for Church Security Teams ]

Along with another keenly observant detective—Sherlock Holmes—Columbo embodies an innate, probing, and continuous curiosity about his surroundings. He is an excellent model for us to emulate in how to be unceasingly alert when we are in public.

Gentle Response De-Escalation Training for Church Security Teams

Gentle Response is the organization founded by John Riley, a retired police officer and certified crisis intervention specialist with the National Anger Management Association. He and his team travel all over the United States conducting Conflict De-escalation Training seminars.

SemperVerus attended this excellent seminar, held in Immanuel Church, Holland, Michigan, May 14, 2023. With Mr. Riley’s permission, here are notes we took during that seminar and scenario training:

• “A gentle response defuses anger” Proverbs 15:1 (MSG)

• Conflict de-escalation: lowering the intensity of an agitated person to minimize a potentially volatile situation from becoming a critical violent incident.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, A Prayer for Church Security Team Members ]

• Peacemaking and de-escalating people’s anger is the goal, while staying alert to your own personal and public safety. When overwhelmed, stay safe and be an expert witness.

• Mindset Priority: Each church security team member must have a “ministry mindset” — Every contact (even eye contact) is a ministry opportunity to represent the mission of the church. Don’t let your actions be heavy-handed and damage that mission.

Nebraska Is Now the 27th USA State That Allows Permitless Carrying of Concealed Firearms

A second state has now been added to the majority of states in the USA which allow the concealed carry of firearms without the need for a permit or license from the government.

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen signed Bill LB 77 into law April 25, 2023, enacting permitless carry in the Cornhusker State making Nebraska the 27th state to enact such legislation. The new law provides for carrying of concealed handguns without a permit, changes provisions relating to concealed weapons, and prohibits certain regulation of weapons by cities, villages, and counties.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Florida Is Now the 26th USA State That Allows Permitless Carrying of Concealed Firearms ]

Under the new law, which will take effect 3 months after the legislative session ends, Nebraskans and non-residents 21 and older will no longer need a license to carry concealed, though individuals must still be legally eligible to possess handguns. Carry licenses will still be available to eligible individuals who wish to acquire one for various purposes, such as compliance with federal law prohibiting firearm possession in school zones (see the US Code of Federal Gun Laws 18 U.S.C. § 922(q)(2)) and reciprocity with other states.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, USA State Constitutions Providing for Armed Self-Defense ]

The 27 Constitutional Carry states now are

Alabama
Alaska
Arkansas
Arizona
Florida
Georgia
Idaho
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Maine
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
New Hampshire
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
West Virginia
Wyoming.

[ Read articles in the SemperVerus category of the 2nd Amendment ]

Invite SemperVerus^® to present its 5 life-changing success-generating components—prepare, aware, be, know, do—to your organization to inspire and motivate your members.

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Why 21 Feet Is Not a ‘Safe’ Distance

An article published on Police1.com reports research that confirms 21 feet is not necessarily the magic distance to successfully ward off every deadly threat and that more distance could be more apparently required. While this article contains useful information, it unfortunately includes mischaracterizations that need clarification.

First, it erroneously begins: The 21-foot rule has been a topic of conversation in law enforcement since the 1980s when Salt Lake City Police Department Lieutenant Dennis Tueller developed a training drill for his fellow officers. But it is NOT a “rule” and should never be considered a “rule.” It is a training drill intended to be used as a general standard in practice to hone defensive skills.

Second, it states: In this drill, an officer played the role of a suspect with an edged weapon who would charge another officer who was standing about 21 feet away with a holstered weapon. Properly understood, The Tueller Drill does NOT restrict the threat to only an edged weapon.

Appearing in the March 1983 issue of SWAT magazine, How Close Is Too Close? by Dennis Tueller is the original article credited with first establishing the importance of maintaining a “reactionary gap” in defensive force incidents. It begins with the very clear threat scenario description: The “good guy” with the gun against the “bad guy” with the knife (or machete, axe, club, tire-iron, etc.). You’ll notice police trainer Lt. Tueller did NOT limit the threat to only knives or other edged weapons; he included ANY striking weapon (“club, tire-iron, etc.”) used in a person’s hand that is capable of causing death or great bodily harm. The original article illustration itself shows the threat using a club, not a knife.