When the Pursuit heads your way is when many officers start thinking of a good deployment location. The practice of waiting until this moment, and then setting up on a moments notice, is what I call the “Anytime Anywhere” concept, a shortcut for an early pursuit disaster. Years past, the concept had you set up your patrol car in one lane then deploy in another lane, while in training today, we have got pass that in reality, deployments today are very often, not much safer.
Most often officers do not have protective cover, or do not use it. Poor concealment means a high visibility deployment, which might provoke an adverse reaction from the driver of the target vehicle. In 1993, officers started deploying outside of cover, today many still are, and this is why we still see serious incidents with the deployment of tire deflation devices.
Deployment outside of cover and at point Blank deployment is the number one risk to officers today. I often hear, if we can find a bridge or protection we use it, i hear we train around that, but the incidents tell another story.
Marketing of Spike-Strips has promised us safety and effectiveness when in reality the antique Spikes of years past had many uses and a proven track record. A point one might argue is that the newer systems promised more opportunity to use the devices, or lighter weight means a more effective deployment, or self righting means better effectiveness. The reality is most features marketed today, are great in situations where when you need that feature is probably not when or how you should be deploying a spike strip. In other words they are features, which often might get you in to trouble and give you a false sense of security.
The Antique Spikes of yesterday are effective, and I can not think from an operational standpoint the limits they have. I get that they take up trunk space, a small person might not be able to handle them, etc.. however once on the road any officer can deploy them and be safe.
Most of the Tire deflation devices of yesterday and on the road today, were designed and sold by law Enforcement officers, but today marketed by companies.All had some good points and all can be safely and effectively used by a well trained officer. If you are here as a user of another brand, we welcome you and we are here to say you can learn from all brands, just like I have learned.
In these tabs we are going to show you the product features, benefits, and training I recommend based on thousands of deployment reports I have looked at in the last 30 years and also training classes I have participated in all over the world. I’m going to give you a history on simple product and simple use, and define the dangerous practices along the way.