Primary & Secondary Article Library
Explore the Primary & Secondary Article Library: practical writing on firearms, defensive training, law enforcement, equipment, tactics, mindset, and the people who contribute to the professional training community. Articles are organized to help readers find durable information, professional perspectives, and useful resources by subject.
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P&S ModCast 460 — Understanding Misconceptions in Law Enforcement
Doug Deaton, John Hearne, and Matt Landfair discuss common practices and misdirected efforts in law enforcement, with a focus on training, judgment, policy, and professional improvement.
Read articleP&S ModCast 458 — Facts vs. Emotional Appeal
Dave Agata, Doug Deaton, and Matt Landfair discuss facts, emotional appeal, media framing, public narratives, source evaluation, and contextual evidence.
Read articleP&S ModCast 451 — Common Core Firearms Training
A discussion of institutional firearms standards, common-core training, qualification, and the development of meaningful baseline competence.
Read articleP&S ModCast 449 — Priority of Life & Emotional Intelligence
P&S ModCast 449 examines priority of life and emotional intelligence across several use-of-force applications. Chris Cypert, Doug Deaton, Erick Gelhaus, Michael V., Claude Werner, and Matt Landfair discuss…
Read articleMinimum Standards vs Professional Development
Minimum training keeps officers qualified; professional development expands judgment, capability, and problem-solving. Both matter, but they are not interchangeable.
Read articleMuzzle Discipline and Judgment in Modern Policing
There is a troubling mindset issue in law enforcement regarding muzzle orientation during room clearing and encounters with unknowns. Officers point guns at people far too often. Pointing…
Read articleQualified Immunity Explained: Law, Limits, and Misconceptions
Qualified immunity is a civil-damages doctrine for individual government officials. Learn its limits, the clearly established law test, and common misconceptions in police use-of-force cases.
Read articlePolice Use of Force and the 4th Amendment
There are some common concerns expressed about the Pretti shooting, one being that it was an “execution.” Additional concerns include officers having no justification in shooting because there…
Read articleUnderstanding LE Use of Sprays
If you have had some form of training with the use of defensive sprays, you know there are tactics used with them as well as specific distances for…
Read articleP&S ModCast 446 – Staying on Message
P&S ModCast 446 — Staying on Message Clear communication matters when firearms, training, public policy, and online conversation overlap. In this ModCast, Matt Landfair and a diverse panel…
Read articleP&S ModCast 440 — On/Off Duty Critical Response
ModCast 440 examines on- and off-duty critical response, including awareness, priorities, judgment, communication, legal responsibilities, coordination, and post-incident considerations.
Read articleP&S ModCast 392 — A Guide to Being Recorded
Doug Deaton and Matt Landfair discuss practical considerations for being recorded by third parties, including communication, professional demeanor, and sound decision-making.
Read articleP&S ModCast 390 — Spray, Fog, Gel, Foam
Chuck Haggard and Matt Landfair discuss defensive sprays, including spray, fog, gel, and foam delivery systems, their practical differences, and the training considerations surrounding their use.
Read articleP&S ModCast 388: Lone Responder
Matt Landfair, James Westerfield, and Warren Wilson discuss lone-officer response to active-shooter incidents, including information, communication, and judgment.
Read articleP&S ModCast 385 — Less Lethal for Law Enforcement
Chuck Haggard, Dave Simerly, and Matt Landfair examine law-enforcement less-lethal options, including OC spray, conducted-energy weapons, impact munitions, policy, and training.
Read articleP&S ModCast 318: Understanding Response to Mass-Casualty Incidents
Ed Monk and Lee Weems discuss active-shooter incidents, police response, incomplete information, coordination, preparation, and mass-casualty outcomes.
Read articleOn School Resource Officers
As I circulate through our profession, I have developed a general impression of the School Resource Officer (SRO) programs we as a community have developed and allowed to…
Read articleActive Shooter, Law Enforcement, and Citizen
This is not a discussion of the tragic event in Texas. This is a generic overview discussion about active shooter incidents, the every day carry citizen, and how…
Read articleA No Knock Editorial
No knock warrants are an interesting animal. In my opinion, they are valid and applicable in only extreme situations where people’s (citizens not responding cops) lives are potentially…
Read articleLawful Use of Force is Deescalation.
The use of lawful and appropriate force by law enforcement is deescalation. Deescalation is a buzzword in popular social circles and the media. It’s over dramatized portrayal as…
Read articleP&S ModCast 284 — Qualified Immunity
Erick Gelhaus, John Hearne, Dave Simerly, James Westerfield, Warren Wilson, and Matt Landfair discuss qualified immunity and the misunderstandings that surround it.
Read articleP&S ModCast 283 — The No Knock Episode
Bill Blowers, John Chapman, Erick Gelhaus, Chuck Pressburg, Jared Reston, Dave Simerly, Warren Wilson, and Matt Landfair discuss no-knock warrants and other commonly misunderstood concepts.
Read articleThe Police Pendulum
The Devolution of Law Enforcement in the 21st Century Every thirty to fifty years, there’s a shift between public-favored lawlessness and an anti-criminal sentiment. The phenomenon of…
Read articleP&S ModCast 254 — Verbal Skills
Darryl Bolke, Varg Freeborn, Chuck Haggard, Doug Tinberg, and Matt Landfair discuss effective communication, conflict management, de-escalation, leadership, and verbal skills.
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