Student shot outside North Quincy High

As North Quincy High School students cheered on their basketball team yesterday afternoon, chaos erupted outside the school, when a fight between two students escalated, leaving a 17-year-old with a gunshot wound to his leg, authorities said.

Unpredictable, unexpected time, uncertain conditions, unknown reasons yet violence happens. Looks like a rapid tactical response brought a quick end to this situation. ~Fred

Soka U. Student Barricades Self in Dorm, Vandalizes Property

An 18-year-old student at Soka University of America has been coaxed out of his dorm room after hurtling furniture out a 4th-floor window and barricaded himself in the room for nearly four hours, sheriff's officials said.

SWAT officers and crisis negotiators were stationed outside the teenager's dorm after he locked himself inside and refused to speak to anyone. The teenager eventually gave up to deputies just after 8 p.m., said Orange County Sheriff's Department spokesman.

Ended peacefully, now to monitor even after intervention and form collaborative groups within the school to discuss options for the future. It isn't over till it’s over to include after arrest and post mental health care. An honest assessment must be made, is this a evolving threat or has intervention in this case started some starting point to resolution? to early to tell yet, so keep your eye on the ball! ~Fred 

Using a drag strap for downed officer extraction

Chief Jeff Chudwin of the Olympia Fields (Ill.) Police Department, who also serves as President of the Illinois Tactical Officers Association, recommends a simple piece of equipment — the drag strap — to be included in every officer’s gear. A drag strap can be easily rolled up and placed into an officer’s pocket and used to remove a downed officer or an injured civilian from the field of fire.

This is an innovative idea and method for rescuing a downed officer. The drag strap makes removing a downed officer from harms way quickly and with less risk. Check out the video. ~Fred

Why Police Use Locks: Reinforcing Internal Barriers For Officer Safety

Just like the locks, these elements won’t stop all the bad guys from assaulting officers. But they do reinforce the internal barriers that will stop those people looking for targets of opportunity and they are an important part of an overall strategy of officer safety.

Great article from Spartan Cops on your awareness and command presence as a tactical tool in officer safety. ~Fred 

Use of Twitter, Facebook rising among gang members

Tech-savvy gangsters have long been at home in chatrooms and on Web sites like MySpace, but they appear to be gravitating toward Twitter and Facebook, where they can make threats, boast about crimes, share intelligence on rivals and network with people across the country.

Adversarial and friendly adaptation. Interesting and informative article. ~Fred