A police officer or firefighter is responsible to "go in harm's way" within his/her area of expertise. Where I, a 30-year firefighter, go, nearly without worrying about it (burning buildings), would be a foolhardy place for a police officer to go. Conversely, while I am quite comfortable around firearms, I am not trained or equipped to deal with armed bad guys.
I don't have any training or certifications in that area, I'm not wearing Kevlar, my protective apparel is specifically intended to be HIGH visibility, and my "continuum of force" starts with an 8-lb axe and continues all the way to 30,000 pounds of hydraulic force.
As a firefighter, my employer is responsible for everything I do. They don't want to be responsible for me shooting somebody. That's why they have cops.
I can remember only two incidents in my career during which I might have drawn a weapon; fortunately there were cops present to do that for us.
We firefighter types do a pretty good job of avoiding situations in which there might be gun play. That's why it's SO news worthy when one of us gets shot at work - it's exceedingly rare.
Cops die of gunshot and stab wounds because their job involves tangling with people who are using weapons illegally. Mine doesn't.
Stay safe -
Phil
I don't have any training or certifications in that area, I'm not wearing Kevlar, my protective apparel is specifically intended to be HIGH visibility, and my "continuum of force" starts with an 8-lb axe and continues all the way to 30,000 pounds of hydraulic force.
As a firefighter, my employer is responsible for everything I do. They don't want to be responsible for me shooting somebody. That's why they have cops.
I can remember only two incidents in my career during which I might have drawn a weapon; fortunately there were cops present to do that for us.
We firefighter types do a pretty good job of avoiding situations in which there might be gun play. That's why it's SO news worthy when one of us gets shot at work - it's exceedingly rare.
Cops die of gunshot and stab wounds because their job involves tangling with people who are using weapons illegally. Mine doesn't.
Stay safe -
Phil
