Page 17 - Argyle Police Officer Field Training Tips

Officer Safety

We’ve all heard that we go home at end of our shift. That’s correct, but it’s not so simple and requires a
conscious effort in this line of work. If you follow your training, pay attention, and approach every scene
with caution, you will not only greatly improve the chances of going home at the end of every shift, but
even increase your chances of having a long satisfying career. Most people are decent humans, but
there will always be some that aren’t so good. We aren’t here to judge, but it’s imperative that we
remember some people are very capable of intentionally hurting us. It’s not even personal for them,
most of the time it’s just the fact that you are in uniform and represent a threat to them. With that in
mind, I’ve listed some tips below to help you go home at the end of every shift.
Officer safety begins before you leave your home. Take a minute or two to mentally prepare yourself for
each shift. Some officers recommend a short routine for this before each shift. Verify that you have
everything you need before leaving for work. This includes simple items such as your badge, ID card,
wallet, phone, etc.

Do not wear your uniform shirt into work. It’s fine to wear your pants, boots, and undershirt because
those items don’t necessarily advertise the fact you are a police officer, but do not wear your uniform
shirt into work.

When getting dressed to start your shift, again verify you have everything you need. Also, make sure you
don’t have anything on that rattles, creaks, or jingles when you walk. Don’t wear shiny objects that
reflect light either. Sounds and light reflections like that will give your location away in a building search.
Press check your firearm, spark test your Taser, and check your radio battery at the beginning of every
shift.

Always wear your body armor while in uniform and in public. The day you don’t might be the day you
need it.

Get in the habit of keeping your gun hand empty. This will take practice, but it can be done. Speaking of
practice, if you are deficient in a skill such as marksmanship, set time aside to practice multiple times a
week. Some people think you can only work on marksmanship at a range with live fire, but that’s just
not true. You can safely practice marksmanship in your home by dryfiring your weapon. Dryfiring at
home requires that you follow a series of safety steps to prepare for it, but they don’t take very long. If
you lack motivation, remember this: Somewhere a suspect is training and if you are not, one day you might
meet and if you do, there’s a good chance you’ll lose.

You are either the contact officer or the cover officer, but never both. The contact officer is just that, the
one making contact. This is the officer that asks the questions, performs the investigation, etc. The cover
officer watches the whole scene from a short distance away and is not involved in the investigation. The
cover officer is not involved in searches, questioning, or anything else. Their sole purpose is ensuring the
contact officer remains safe from threats. Stay off the phone while on calls for service.

Tactically park on every call. Yes, even the dog complaint. You never know if the call is real or a set up
for an ambush. If you’re parking on the street and things go south while parking, all you have to do is go
forward. However, if you’re parked in the driveway, you can’t do that.
If you work in a rural area, it’s often a good idea to leave your cruise lights on when you park when
responding to what is believed to be a non-hazardous call. The reason for this is you don’t want a

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