Officers, LEO's...How many times a day do you draw your weapon?

[Smoke Screen]

Officers, how many times do you draw your weapon each day? I realize that this might vary greatly; area of service, types of calls responded to each day, position in the dept, etc...but just curious as to how often on average you need to draw your weapon each day. 0? Once? Once a week? I think the answer might surprise the rest of us! If a LEO and responding, please include the number and your area of service (Ie...vice beat, Oklahoma City, OK. or detective, Smallsville, ND)

 

[Glenn Dee]

Hey Smoke Screen...

I'll answer your question based on my own experiences working as a police officer. First off I commend you as you have partially answered yourself. To a great degree the frequency I drew my firearm depended on my assignment.

During my career I was fortunate to enjoy a wide variety of assignments. I'll denote the assignment, and estimate how often I unholstered.

Rookie on patrol in a medium crime area... about once or twice per month.

On patrol in a high crime area... About two or three times a month.

On plain clothes anti-crime duty in a high crime area... about twice a day.

While assigned to city wide task force, and depending on the area about three or four times a day.

While working patrol in a very high crime, very violent area... Many times a day.

While working in a SNEU (street narcotics enforcement unit) about four, or five times a month.

While on patrol as plain clothed anti-crime about once per day.


While working as a detective investigator almost never.

While working as an investigator of firearms related crime I drew my firearm about five or six times every night.

Again the frequency an officer unholsters his firearm depends on the assignment, and the individual officer. There are officers who do 20 years of service, and brag that they never had to draw their weapon. Again... it depends on where the officer works.

Now the contraversial part. This is my own opinion. Every active cop I have ever met agree's with it though. In most (not all) police departments of over 100 sworn personel. 90% of all policing, (arrests, enforcement, agressive patrol) is done by about 10% of the sworn officers in that department.

I hope that to some degree this answer's your question.

Glenn D.

 

[WC145]

I work in a very rural area on the coast doing mostly marine conservation enforcement and harbormaster duties. It's very seldom that I draw my gun "in the line of duty", in fact, there's only been a couple of times in the almost 7 years I've been doing this.
There are other times, however, that did not involve "customers", that I've had to draw or use my gun - to put down a couple of deer that had been hit by cars, shoot some feral cats, shoot at a couple of big dogs that attacked me, occasional pot shots at coyotes, and once I had to dispatch a sick, nuisance beaver. Ah, the rigors of rural law enforcement.

 

[Deputy Dog]

Three times on the force city wide Impact unit,
Three times while at an armored car company
Twice while performing VIP detail
Four times while out and about doing errands
And 6 or 7 times while serving warrants as a Constable

Not a single one of them ended in gunfire thank god. I have had 30 year veterans tell me that, that is excessive and they have never had to draw their weapon once. I simply responded with I have been in the right place in the wrong time". Luckily I shoot on a regular bassis on a practical level. At least 4-500 rounds a month - month and half.

DD

 

[Brian Pfleuger]

I'm not a LEO and I don't play one on the internet, but earlier this year, about April, a LEO friend of mine mentioned in casual conversation that he had drawn his gun more times this year than he had all of the previous year - 8 times. This is mostly rural Central NY. So, I would guess that a lot of it varies with "luck". 8 times in one year, 8 times by the end of April the next year.

 

[twobit]

Varies greatly depending on the call or assignment. : (some examples)

• clearing a unsecured business at night
• clearing an unsecured residence during day (alarm call)
• hold up alarm
• felony traffic stop
• some domestics
• shots fired call
• person with weapon call
• assist officer in distress call
• warrant service (varies by circumstances)

All the above could be several times a shift or weeks/months/years between these occuring.
These are just few that come to mind. Key indicators are officer safety, safety of another, what is known about the scene, what is not known, area of town, time of occurence, what is the perceived threat, are you alone or with backup. My experience is that night shift patrol was my highest frequency of drawing a weapon.

In today's world hearing an officer say he never draws his weapon is not good practice if talking about a patrol officer that is exposed to the above type calls. Some of the above examples dictate the primary officer drawing his handgun and secondary officers covering with either shotgun or patrol rifle. It is standard training that with certain types of calls, your weapon should be in your hand. If it is not, then training is needed to correct the problem.

I began my career in the mid eighties in a large metropolitan area and on night shift patrol. There were nights that the frequency was 6 or more. Now I am in a rural area as an administrator and can go a year or more without reaching that per shift number or even half of it. The concern is to stay sharp with training when the day to day job doesn't expose you to the frequency of the dangers once faced.

 

[Doyle]

My grandfather spent 32 years as a police officer in a relatively small SW GA town. He eventually retired as Chief in 1975. In 32 years, he never had to draw his weapon a single time. He did, however, frequently come back with a bloody blackjack after breaking up fights and hauling in drunks.

 

[Long Path]

Also, there's "drawing down on someone" (pointing at a suspect or in their general direction), and just unholstering.

During alarm calls, clearing houses with open doors, investigations of suspicious activities, or just hinkey traffic stops that make me think that I'd rather have a gun in my hand from the start than have to catch up later-- I'll carry my pistol alongside my leg, out of the way.

I've actually pointed my gun at people on duty so few times, that I believe that I could count them on my fingers and toes in the last decade. I have a deep sense of dread when I do so. The first time I did so, I covered a drunk driver that was so erratic, the trooper thought that he was trying to evade (no, he was just that drunk). After we had him in cuffs, I put away my Colt 1911, and became aware of a soreness on the top of my right thumb. It was from pressing the safety UP into the Safe position, as hard as I could, the whole time that I was covering the suspect!

 

[twobit]

my post was referencing "unholstering"

 

[5whiskey]

my post was referencing "unholstering"

In that case, usually once per shift on average.

 

[Mr. James]

Fascinating responses, especially Glenn Dee's. I guess I shouldn't be, but I was surprised you had to unholster a weapon that frequently. But with your post, it all makes sense.

I guess laymen don't really consider how many types of calls make drawing a weapon advisable. As Long Path so pithily said, "I'd rather have a gun in my hand from the start than have to catch up later."

Thanks, gentlemen, and thank you for your service.

Bob James

 

[Capt. Charlie]

my post was referencing "unholstering"

Thanks for that distinction, as there's a HUGE difference between unholstering, or coming to the low ready, and actually assuming a point/aim stance at a suspect.

Our SOP only requires noting the low ready in the narrative of the report. A point/aim, however, is considered a use of force and the appropriate (too) long forms have to be filed.

When that became policy, it's amazing how many guys centered their practice on going from the low ready to point/aim. What some guys will do to avoid paperwork.

As to the OP's question, we're a department of 50 sworn officers serving a city of roughly 23,000. Coming up with an "average" is hard to do. I've had weeks of "ho-hum" time where a gun was never touched, and then a day comes along where unholstering might happen four or five times in one shift.

 

[Hook686]

I think things have changed over the years. 'The Newhall Incident' in California had a lot to do with how officers approach a situation. The old days are long gone.


http://www.chp.ca.gov/memorial/newhall.html

As I recall, Officer Gore approached (felony stop) with his shotgun butt resting on his hip. The bad guy noted this and decided he could take the cop. The rest is history.

 

[Sefner]

As has been alluded to in some posts, it is now common for police officers to unholster their weapons when there exists a possibility of an armed conflict. This is a result of the "21-foot rule" studies done in the 80s and 90s. Many times you will see officers unholster their weapon and just hold it down at their side while investigating residences or close spaces. Just a thought when you ask for statistics and numbers like this

 

[silvercorvette]

The last time I read up on it the average LEO never had to fire his gun in his entire career.

In my 20 years I unsnapped the retaining strap fairly often and rested my hand on the gun. But during that time period NY city cops could get in trouble for even resting their hand on their gun. My department was about 40 miles east on NY city on Long Island. I have been retired for 20 years so I don't reacall how often I took out my gun but it was not very often.

 

[Glenn Dee]

I began my career in policing in NYC in 1973. I dont ever recall any prohibition to placing ones hand on the firearm. In fact the PAFTS (Police academy firearms and tactics section) developed, and taught a tactic called "covering from the loaded position". Where the Officer is encouraged unloose his pistol/revolver from his holster, and cover a subject/scene/situation without actually fully drawing. I believe that this was an alternative to a full draw and displaying the gun. The NYPD has never in my time or after directed any officer to not put his own safety first.

However the NYPD has a very efficient program for civilians to make complaints about the police. It is possible that an individual or group of officers drew down on someone and that person or another made a complaint. And the officers may have been instructed to be more judicious when drawing their firearms. But then some civilians tend to complain about some weird things... I know an officer who recieved a CC (civilian complaint) for using the word "but" too often. I myself recieved a complaint for saying "a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do"...

Glenn Dee

 

[Deputy Dog]

It is amazing how many people think that if you draw your weapon, the BG is going to just throw his hands up in the air and surrender. One night on patrol my partner and I came into a park that is known for trafficing. Four subjects in the vehicle, windows slightly open and mj smoke coming out. We approached the vehicle with caution, the trespassing and 94 c gave us PC to search vehicle, ordered everyone out of vehicle, driver refused, back up was on the way, at that point one of passengers states that the driver has a handgun, back up arrives, driver then reached under the seat, he had four guns drawn on him in about 1.5 seconds and ordered to stop or we will shoot. He showed us his hands and came up empty handed, we yank him from the car, cauteously search the vehicle and found a pellet gun that looked exactly identical to the service pistol we switched from, with the knob on the bottum of the grip cut off. We almost lit this kid up for his own stupididty. We were all hoping we would not half to shoot, but we were going home to our loved ones at the end of our shifts. I had my gun drawn and hidden behind my leg because one of the subjects I delt with had priors for A&B on a police officer, and I was the back on that call so I recognized him. And with four of them and two of us, no chances...

DD

 

[Erik]

"Officers, LEO's...How many times a day do you draw your weapon?"

I don't draw my draw a weapon daily, but if I fell the need to do so, I do so, and usually bring it on target. No cue to fire? When I'm satisfied, I return it to the holster.

 

[Jt1971]

The amount of times an officer draws their weapon each year is directly proportional to the amount of burglar alarms in the area they patrol. Even if no actual burglaries occur in the area, alarms go off for no reason all the time. When an alarm does go off, then someone has to go investigate it and go into the house or business to make sure no one is there. The person going into the building is not going to go in with a holstered weapon. As a precaution, they will unholster their pistol and have it at the ready just in case. If you listen to a police radio in an urban area, the number 1 call (besides domestic violence) is usually to go investigate the alarm that has gone off.

In a rural area, police probably rarely if ever unholster their weapon. Around here, the last time I saw an officer unholster their weapon was many years ago when the decision was made to put down a wild dog that was run over by a vehicle. However, when I lived in Los Angeles, unholstering the weapon was a common affair.

Other factors are such things as gang activity. If an officer pulls you over and has reason to suspect you are involved in a gang, then more then likely another officer will have an unholstered weapon standing off to the side. In the city of Long Beach in California, on Atlantic Blvd, they would operate two man cars. When they made a traffic stop and suspected you might be involved in a gang, then one officer would stand over to the side with a shotgun at the ready. That was an especially risky area though. There was a guy who came back from Iraq after serving during the initial invasion. He was at a Christmas party in Long Beach and got hit by some rounds. So in an area like that, you have more reason to have your sidearm at the ready where as in a rural town where not much happens there really is not much of a reason.

 

[Silvanus]

Working in a quiet part (mostly banks, lawyer's offices, schools and a couple of European instututions) of Luxembourg city... About once every couple of months. I do walk around with an MP5 for some tasks, but that's not the same as drawing a weapon for me.