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I want to
tell you two about an incident we had in which we used some of the
low-light strategies/techniques to not only protect ourselves, but
it kept us from having to shoot a mentally ill person who had several
edged weapons as well as a lighter and an aerosol can.
Tony Larosa,
another officer and myself responded to this call. We were told
ahead of time that a 21 year old man with a history of mental illness
had a knife and had tried to barricade himself in a room after telling
family members he was going to kill himself. This man has attempted
suicide in the past as is known to be violent with everyone he comes
into contact with, especially police.
Tony,
John Higgins and I have had plenty of opportunity to practice and
implement many of the low-light techniques and strategies we have
learned through many building searches, force-on-force scenarios
and our active shooter training. John Higgins and I also attended
Strategos' Active Shooter instructor class in 2008 and we have emphasized
flashlight work in that training as well. After any of the 3 of
use our low-light training we usually talk with the other 2 and
compare notes. But, this is the first time any of us have used it
such a violent setting.
Tony posted
at the doorway with his pistol while the subject was sitting on
a bed and waving a knife. The subject had tried to barricade the
door with clothes, blankets, pillows and several drawers from his
dressers. We could only get the door open a few inches. The subject
was also throwing objects at Tony.
Since
the subject was stationary and not coming at Tony, Tony put his
pistol light on strobe to disorient the subject while he sprayed
OC in the subject's face. We don't have Tasers or similar devices
so our less-lethal choices are limited, especially at a distance.
As is
common with OC, the spray did not take affect right away and the
subject still did not comply. The subject dropped the knife and
then picked up an aerosol can and lighter. He tried several times
to create a pseudo-flamethrower and spray it in Tony's direction.
Were very
concerned about being burned or the subject setting the room/house
on fire. I pushed on the door some more and since Tony had been
using the strobe on his light, I chose to keep my light on constantly
in his eyes and shot more OC into his eyes/face.
The OC
finally took affect enough to cause the subject to drop all of his
weapons and we safely secured him.
Thank
you for what Strategos teaches and the positive impact that it has
on law enforcement. We hope to train with you all again in the future.
Be safe and we pray that Strategos continues to do well.
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“I loved
everything about the training. Very well planned, well laid out,
great curriculum. I would love to have other officers I work with
participate in this training. Everybody could benefit from this
training.”
Jason Courson,
Police Officer,
Creve Coeur, Missouri |
“Todd,
thank you for your hard work and dedication! You have honed your
craft and have a special way of instruction that commands attention
and respect yet still remains a fun and exciting environment to
learn. Looking forward to future instruction.”
Terry Cavaness,
Firefighter-Paramedic,
Florissant Valley FPD, Missouri |
“The
multimedia was just enough, the curriculum and presentation were
great, you met all of the training objectives. You must keep the
practical exercises, they are a great learning experience for all
students and role-players.”
Nathaniel Looper,
Medical Operations Officer,
7th WMD CST, Missouri. |
“Fantastic
information and great delivery. The practical exercises could not
have been better. This is a course that every agency [with a working
dog] should attend.”
Glenn Craig,
Firefighter-Paramedic, K9 SAR
Florissant Valley FPD, Missouri |
The class you taught on 7/14/05 was fantastic. I realy learned alot about low level shooting. The hour you spent with me on flashlight tactics was awsome. Thank you. I never thought I could shoot a shotgun with my left side.
Thank you,
Deputy John E Swistak
Palm Beach County Sheriff Dept. |
Todd,
First off, I want to thank you for a great week of training! This was the first time that I had been to a training of this level since I left the military. The tone for the week was set early and the professionalism never dropped. It was rewarding and refreshing to train with the quality of the individuals involved with this class.
When my department had asked me to become a firearms instructor, I didn't even consider some of the aspects that were taught in the Strategos course. But now I have the tools and knowledge to "twist the arm" of my administration to create realistic, valid, and SAFE firearms training.
Thanks again and you can be sure that I will include the Strategos name in all of my classes.
Aaron Mach
Strategos Certified
Tactical Firearms Instructor |
Todd
I just want to thank you for Coaching such a GREAT CLASS, I fell I'm a better Police Officer for taking it, I had a great time and I hope I can help you in future classes because this will only help me to be a better Firearms Coach, keep up the great work and THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!, Please tell Todd and Paul it was an honor to having them on the range.
Vernon "Dutch" Becker |
Todd,
I just wanted to drop you a line or two to offer again my sincerest thanks for an educational experience like none other in my career.
Last Tactical Firearms Instructor's Course was truly a life saving experience, not just for me and the other members of the class, but for those we will pass our knowledge and experiences off to. I have not received training in such a high paced, well thought out and planned, organized and effective manner. The days were long, but each second was worth the time and effort. I can't thank you enough for bringing these skills to us. Your organization is definitely saving lives one round at a time. Keep up the good work, I look forward to your next seminar in my area.
Loran F. Freeman,
Independence Missouri Police Department
av8tor1134@sbcglobal.net |
I had a great time learning from you while you were in Kansas City teaching at the academy. I am preparing my lesson plan for Monday to teach our team some your drills. I think after I came back from your class and everyone started asking how it was, they are ready to do some training. I haven't been able to stop talking about the drills and the camaraderie that our class grew into. Thanks again for a week of fun safe training. I hope to work and learn with you soon.
Jeff Sargent,
Blue Springs, MO PD |
In my opinion, you run a safe and professional operation and I will definitely pass the good word about you and your company along to any and all who’ll listen. I definitely got a lot of what I needed out of your courses and picked up a few things which I will carry in my “bag of tricks”. Thanks again, good luck and Godspeed to you and your family,
Joe Cruz
New York Police Department |
Todd:
Thank you so much for the wonderful training experience last week. I want you to know that I really learned a lot and I have been practicing with the long guns. I appreciate the attention Charlie was able to give me. You do a wonderful job of training and I have recommended you to several people already. Please be sure to let me know the course schedule ongoing as my husband and several of my instructors want to attend your class. I can tell you I'll be back for more!! I received my certificate and it sure was worth the work. Stay safe and happy shooting!!
Patti
Patricia A. Stoneking
Target Master Shooting Academy, LLC
NRA Certified Training Counselor
P.O.Box 117
Bonner Springs, KS 66012
(913) 667-3044
PAStoneking@kc.rr.com
www.targetmasteracademy.com |
I attended the Tactical Rifle Instructors class Oct 8th to Oct 12th 2007 in Springfield Mo. I have been a firearms instructor with my department for 20 years, a SWAT marksman for 12 years and have attended numerous firearms instructor courses and SWAT schools in my total 23 1/2 years of service. The caliber of instruction I received from Todd Burke of STATEGOS INTERNATIONAL was absolutely top notch. Definitely an A+ course. I recommend this course to all those charged with instruction on the patrol rifle. Be prepared to work very hard and learn a tremendous amount.
Scott Stidman
Fayetteville, AR Police Dept. |
I was lucky to have a friend sign me up for the Strategos active shooter class after he researched Strategos. He made it a quest to get in one of Strategos courses.
I was worried about how much information would be repeated in a five-day school on active shooter. My worries were completely unjustified in this instance. The class was excellent.
I was impressed with the professionalism, and humble attitudes of all the instructors. Mark, Wade, Rod and Steve were very personable and able to articulate their principles very easy. The techniques they taught to back up their principles were also very helpful. Their instruction on communicating with your partner, or team mates while working a hostile environment is a tool that I brought home with me, and hope to pass on to others. Although this instruction stands out to me, the class was packed full of great information.
The down time, or lack of, was also very impressive. While attending the school, our transition from one block of instruction to another was flawless. This group is dedicated to increasing our performance as officers to a higher level for our safety as well as the publics. Their instruction will undoubtedly also increase our ability as officers to prevail in situations that might be less than desirable.
The information that I gleaned from the school will be a huge help in my tactical handbag.
Paul X. Baroni
Tulsa Police Special Operations Team |
For goodness' sake, sign up and take this course. It is worth every single last penny of tuition. Instructor competence is incomparable. And the force-on-force repetitions both on the barricade field and in the "Castle" were dynamic and, oh so good as a teaching tool: I have the bruises to prove it Video replay clearly enhances operator learning.
What really hits home, though, is that the principles of PCR do indeed apply across modalities: Posture, Balance, Movement, and Breathing coupled with Communication between and among Team members, when successfully carried out, puts the team so far ahead of the adversaries in the OODA cycle, that a successful outcome to the encounter is significantly enhanced.
Couldn't have asked for a better host agency than St. Cloud PD, and Chief Kelly and his team. They gave us a great range for live fire, a dedicated barricade field, a training room w/ mats for PCR, and beautiful conference room for lecture and video replay presentations. In addition, because Chief Kelly is so positively connected to the community, we had two schools in which to practice Y-T, 2 man, 3 man and Hall boss entries. While we had to use dummy guns, it was a wake up call, for me at least, to see how extraordinarily complex it is to seek out and neutralize an active shooter or shooters in those environments.
Mark Warren, Steve Decker, Nick Kokot and Rod Shaeffer were our instructors, and, for those of you who have trained before with them, well, hell, I can't add any more superlatives. They are utterly without "ego," willing to experiment, quick to correct errors without humiliating the one who made the mistake. Just really highly competent operators!!
H. Anthony Semone
Ph D. - Police Psychologist |
I went in to this training with the mindset of "Oh God I hope I don't get shot, I'll wait here because this is good cover." On the last night on full mission profiles my mindset was, "I can't wait to find the shooter and stop him." This was by far the most intense, most realistic and most demanding training that I have ever attended. I highly recommend this training to anyone looking for active shooter training.
Barnes
Columbia, MO |
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