FEBRUARY 09, 2009
Thank you all for your support in 2008. A lot has happened to Degrata Tactical Inc. in the last year and it appears that 2009 will be equally as exciting. We were told a few times, by people that we trust, that there are a lot of companies that offer training and sales, but very few of them were really good at both. So, even though we believed that we were good at both, we also felt that if our sole business was training, we could be that much better at it. So, we sold our Retail Division in September of 2008 and have been focusing solely on training since. We have increased our travel abilities and are now able to travel further to bring advanced training to more people that didn't have access to it before. We are continually honing our current courses and are developing some new ones for the future. Our training focus will continue to be CounterTerrorism. We train for combat, not competition. All in all, our mission is to save lives. We do our best to test all principles, tactics, and techniques in as close to real combat as possible by utilizing force on force training. We still have Airsoft pistols for use in restricted environments, but acquired multiple Simunition F/X weapon systems in 2008 and have been utilizing them as much as possible. We feel that they allow us to create the most realistic scenarios possible and one of the goals of our training is to create an innoculation to combat. We always appreciate any comments, concerns, and suggestions. Email them to training@degrata.com. We hope to train with you in 2009! Stay Safe, Wade A. Deuter
Myths which are believed in, tend to become true. - George Orwell
ADDITIONAL TRAINING DATES - Additional Information Will Be Posted On The Degrata Tactical Website Soon!
JULY 13, 14, 15 SEPTEMBER 14-18	PATROL RIFLE INSTRUCTOR COURSE TACTICAL PISTOL	STURGIS, SD STURGIS, SD	$495 $695
No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms. - Thomas Jefferson
SPECIAL THANKS - David Spade is one Hollywood star who still remembers that the holidays are really all about the spirit of giving. And with that spirit in mind, after hearing that some local cops had to pay for their guns out of their own pockets, the Rules of Engagement star opened up his wallet and donated $100,000 to the Phoenix Police Department to go toward the purchase of about 50 AR-15 rifles. “These guys need to be able to do their jobs, and I am just happy I could help,” David, who grew up in Scottsdale and graduated from Arizona State University, said in a statement Monday. A police spokesman said the department was very grateful for the helping hand.
OF INTEREST - When police mistakes leading to an unlawful search are the result of isolated negligence attenuated from the search, rather than systemic error or reckless disregard of constitutional requirements, the exclusionary rule does not apply. The United States Supreme Court summarized the facts in United States v. Herring as follows: “On July 7, 2004, Investigator Mark Anderson learned that Bennie Dean Herring had driven to the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department to retrieve something from his impounded truck. Herring was no stranger to law enforcement, and Anderson asked the county’s warrant clerk, Sandy Pope, to check for any outstanding warrants for Herring’s arrest. When she found none, Anderson asked Pope to check with Sharon Morgan, her counterpart in neighboring Dale County. After checking Dale County’s computer database, Morgan replied that there was an active arrest warrant for Herring’s failure to appear on a felony charge. Pope relayed the information to Anderson and asked Morgan to fax over a copy of the warrant as confirmation. Anderson and a deputy followed Herring as he left the impound lot, pulled him over, and arrested him. A search incident to the arrest revealed methamphetamine in Herring’s pocket, and a pistol (which as a felon he could not possess) in his vehicle. There had, however, been a mistake about the warrant. The Dale County sheriff’s computer records are supposed to correspond to actual arrest warrants, which the office also maintains. But when Morgan went to the files to retrieve the actual warrant to fax to Pope, Morgan was unable to find it. She called a court clerk and learned that the warrant had been recalled five months earlier. Normally when a warrant is recalled the court clerk’s office or a judge’s chambers calls Morgan, who enters the information in the sheriff’s computer database and disposes of the physical copy. For whatever reason, the information about the recall of the warrant for Herring did not appear in the database. Morgan immediately called Pope to alert her to the mix up, and Pope contacted Anderson over a secure radio. This all unfolded in 10 to 15 minutes, but Herring had already been arrested and found with the gun and drugs, just a few hundred yards from the sheriff’s office.” The issue in the case was whether or not the evidence, the gun and drugs, should be suppressed as the fruit of a bad arrest. Herring’s argument was that since the arrest was in error, the evidence which resulted from the search incident to arrest should not be used against him. Chief Justice Roberts delivered the 5-4 decision of the Court holding that the evidence in this case need not be suppressed because the mistake was merely negligence. At the outset, Justice Roberts wrote: “When a probable-cause determination was based on reasonable but mistaken assumptions, the person subjected to a search or seizure has not necessarily been the victim of a constitutional violation.” He then noted that since the parties to the case had agreed that a constitutional violation had occurred, the Court would assume that there was a violation of the Constitution for purposes of their decision. In rejecting Herring’s argument the majority pointed out that the exclusionary rule is not a constitutional right but rather a Court created rule to deter law enforcement misconduct. The Court said that the rule should be used as a last resort and not as a first impulse. The majority noted that the Court had previously decided in Arizona v. Evans,i the Court had “applied [the] good-faith rule to police who reasonably relied on mistaken information in a court’s database that an arrest warrant was outstanding. We held that a mistake made by a judicial employee could not give rise to exclusion for three reasons: The exclusionary rule was crafted to curb police rather than judicial misconduct; court employees were unlikely to try to subvert the Fourth Amendment; and “most important, there [was] no basis for believing that application of the exclusionary rule in [those] circumstances” would have any significant effect in deterring the errors.” Evans left open the issue which occurred here, what if the mistake was made by someone in law enforcement, but not the arresting officer? The Court then turned to a culpability type of analysis. In other words, how flagrant and how intentional was the violation? The opinion pointed out that the early exclusionary rule cases involved intentional conduct by law enforcement that was patently unconstitutional, thus the Court’s need to deter that conduct. The majority held: “To trigger the exclusionary rule, police conduct must be sufficiently deliberate that exclusion can meaningfully deter it, and sufficiently culpable that such deterrence is worth the price paid by the justice system. As laid out in our cases, the exclusionary rule serves to deter deliberate, reckless, or grossly negligent conduct, or in some circumstances recurring or systemic negligence. The error in this case does not rise to that level.” The Court warned: “We do not suggest that all record keeping errors by the police are immune from the exclusionary rule. In this case, however, the conduct at issue was not so objectively culpable as to require exclusion… If the police have been shown to be reckless in maintaining a warrant system, or to have knowingly made false entries to lay the groundwork for future false arrests, exclusion would certainly be justified under our cases should such misconduct cause a Fourth Amendment violation.” The Court concluded: “Petitioner’s claim that police negligence automatically triggers suppression cannot be squared with the principles underlying the exclusionary rule, as they have been explained in our cases. In light of our repeated holdings that the deterrent effect of suppression must be substantial and outweigh any harm to the justice system, we conclude that when police mistakes are the result of negligence such as that described here, rather than systemic error or reckless disregard of constitutional requirements, any marginal deterrence does not pay its way. In such a case, the criminal should not go free because the constable has blundered.” The Bottom-Line: Where an officer relies upon the validity of a warrant from another law enforcement agency and makes an arrest, evidence seized incident to that arrest is admissible even if it turns out that due to a negligent omission by the agency holding the warrant that the warrant was not valid. If the mistake is the result of deliberate, reckless, or grossly negligent conduct or the result of systemic problems (pattern of repeated mistakes on validity of warrants) the exclusionary rule may apply to evidence seized incident to arrest on a bad warrant. Jack Ryan, J.D., Public Agency Training Council, Legal & Liability Risk Management Institute 1/15/2009
TESTING - We are currently building several new AR-15's. They include CMMG AR-15 Lower Receivers, DPMS Lower Receiver Parts Kits, a Mag-Pul MIAD Grip, Mag-Pul Magazines, a Mag-Pul UBR stock, and some CAA Stocks. We'll let you know what we think.
RANGE STATUS - The building of our training facility is, very much, still in progress. We are trying to determine whether, and how much, we should build our ranges to Military Specifications in order to accommodate the United States Military. If we did, it would give the Military Units in the South Dakota area a common place for training. With houses encroaching upon most of our current training areas, training options are becoming more and more limited.
FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS AS OF 14 OCTOBER 2008 Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) are foreign organizations that are designated by the Secretary of State in accordance with section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), as amended. FTO designations play a critical role in our fight against terrorism and are an effective means of curtailing support for terrorist activities and pressuring groups to get out of the terrorism business. Current List of Designated Foreign Terrorist Orgarganizations 1. Abu Nidal Organization (ANO) 2. Abu Sayyaf Group 3. Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade 4. Al-Shabaab 5. Ansar al-Islam 6. Armed Islamic Group (GIA) 7. Asbat al-Ansar 8. Aum Shinrikyo 9. Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) 10. Communist Party of the Philippines/New People’s Army (CPP/NPA) 11. Continuity Irish Republican Army 12. Gama‘a al-Islamiyya (Islamic Group) 13. HAMAS (Islamic Resistance Movement) 14. Harakat ul-Jihad-i-Islami/Bangladesh (HUJI-B) 15. Harakat ul-Mujahidin (HUM) 16. Hizballah (Party of God) 17. Islamic Jihad Group 18. Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) 19. Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM) (Army of Mohammed) 20. Jemaah Islamiya Organization (JI) 21. Al-Jihad (Egyptian Islamic Jihad) 22. Kahane Chai (Kach) 23. Kongra-Gel (KGK, formerly Kurdistan Workers’ Party, PKK, KADEK) 24. Lashkar-e Tayyiba (LT) (Army of the Righteous) 25. Lashkar i Jhangvi 26. Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) 27. Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) 28. Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group (GICM) 29. Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK) 30. National Liberation Army (ELN) 31. Palestine Liberation Front (PLF) 32. Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) 33. Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)
HUMOR (AUTHOR UNKNOWN) "YOU MAY BE A TALIBAN IF...." 1. You refine heroin for a living, but you have a moral objection to beer. 2. You own a $3,000 machine gun and $5,000 rocket launcher, but you can't afford shoes. 3. You have more wives than teeth. 4. You wipe your butt with your bare left hand, but consider bacon "unclean." 5. You think vests come in two styles: bullet-proof and suicide. 6. You can't think of anyone you haven't declared Jihad against. 7. You consider television dangerous, but routinely carry explosives in your clothing. 8. You were amazed to discover that cell phones have uses other than setting off roadside bombs. 9. You have nothing against women and think every man should own at least two. 10. You've always had a crush on your neighbor's goat.
CAPTURED OR KILLED Aafia Siddiqui Siddiqui, charged with attempting to kill US officers and employees, was arrested in Afghanistan on 17 July 2008 for suspicious behavior. On 18 July, she attempted to shoot a US military officer. She was transported to the United States in August. Abu Khabab al-Masri Abu Khabab, whose real name was Midhat Mursi al-Sayid Umar and who was an explosives and poisons expert working on behalf of al-Qa‘ida, was killed in a blast in Pakistan in July 2008. ‘Imad Mughniyah Senior Hizballah official, possible head of group’s intelligence section and indicted for role in 1985 hijacking and murder, was killed by a vehicle bomb detonated by unknown persons in Damascus in February 2008. Abu Layth al-Libi Al-Qa‘ida military commander and spokesman was killed in January 2008. Abu Solaiman Senior member of Abu Sayyaf Group, responsible for planning attacks against US and other foreign nationals in the Philippines, was killed in January 2007. ‘Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi Al-Qa‘ida No. 3 and chief of external operations, was detained in late 2006. Dhiren Barot Al-Qa‘ida operative, also known as Issa al-Hindi, was sentenced to life imprisonment in November 2006 for providing al-Qa‘ida detailed reconnaissance and plans for attacks on the Prudential Building in New Jersey, the International Monetary Fund headquarters in Washington, D.C., and the New York Stock Exchange and Citigroup building in New York City. Khadafi Janjalani Head of Abu Sayyaf Group, was killed in September 2006 clash with Philippine security forces. Abu Mus‘ab al-Zarqawi Head of al-Qa‘ida in Iraq, responsible for hundreds of deaths; was killed in June 2006 in Iraq. Muhsin Musa Matwalli Atwah Extremist charged with participation in attack on US embassies in Africa in 1998, was killed in April 2006 in Pakistan.
FROM LINE OF DUTY - A Yarmouth police officer’s use of force in an alleged drunken driving case was admonished by a judge in open court Tuesday morning. But Yarmouth police defended the actions of Patrolman Christopher Van Ness today, saying his decision to pull his gun in the incident last summer was justified. The incident – the subject of a motion-to-suppress hearing in Barnstable District Court – occurred in the early morning hours of July 6, 2008, when Van Ness pulled over a car in West Yarmouth after he allegedly noticed that a license plate light was broken and then saw the car accelerate with its headlights off. In his police report, Van Ness describes drawing his service weapon and ordering the operator to show his or her hands. In court Tuesday, he said he put his gun back in its holster before talking to the driver, Nicole Silva. “This is a motorist. It’s not an appropriate use of deadly force,” Judge W. James O’Neill said during the hearing. “As a citizen, I’m scared of what behaviors I saw from this officer here.” Three weeks after his run-in with Silva, Van Ness shot and killed André Luiz DeCastro Martins after a brief, high-speed chase, an occurrence that was heavily publicized and scrutinized. In September, the Cape & Islands District Attorney’s Office ruled the shooting were justified. The Yarmouth Police Department today said Van Ness has never had any official complaints filed against him and has no disciplinary history in the town. “Patrol Officer Van Ness followed all proper procedures,” Yarmouth Lt. Steven Xiarhos wrote in an e-mail. “Judge O’Neill’s comments regarding the Officer Survival Tactics used by Officer Van Ness were in our opinion directly contrary to professional Officer Survival Training.” On the stand Tuesday, Silva told the judge that Van Ness pointed the gun in her face and yelled obscenely for her to put up her hands. “He had a gun pulled out, I was scared,” Silva said on the stand. “I wanted to do exactly what he said. I was terrified, my heart was pounding through my chest.” Silva was charged with operating under the influence of alcohol and possession of a Class D substance.
MN OFFICERS FATALLY SHOOT DRIVER SPEEDING TOWARDS COP CARS - By David Chanen (Star Tribune) MINNEAPOLIS — Pursued through north Minneapolis by two squad cars, a suspected car thief died early Thursday when he careered into an unrelated police call and was shot after speeding toward four officers standing in the street. The chase began just after midnight near the intersection of W. Broadway and Penn Avenue N. Two blocks away, officers had responded to a "shots fired" call and placed three men in a squad car parked on Morgan Avenue N. near Golden Valley Road. Within minutes, the two incidents had converged. After a short, high-speed pursuit, Ahmed Guled turned down a street and confronted a pair of parked vehicles and the two squads dealing with the shooting suspects. Police video shows that he directed his car at the officers standing in the street and that three of them opened fire, said several sources with knowledge of the shooting. Guled, 23, suffered multiple gunshot wounds, fell out of his car and died at the scene, police said. Although the officers involved haven't given official statements to investigators, Chief Tim Dolan said witness statements will corroborate that "we have a justified shooting." None of the officers was injured. "The officers feared for their lives and needed to protect citizens," said Sgt. Jesse Garcia. "How often does one incident flow into another? Maybe he thought a roadblock had been set up." Police didn't release the name of the six officers involved in the incidents. They have been placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard policy. The incident will be investigated by the department's homicide unit and the results forwarded to the Hennepin County attorney's office. A grand jury is required to hear evidence in any officer-involved death. The department's internal affairs unit will also review the incident. The medical examiner's office ruled Guled's death a homicide. That ruling indicates that other people were involved in his death and doesn't necessarily indicate malfeasance or unprofessional conduct. Guled, of St. Paul, was first spotted by an officer who checked the car's license plate and discovered the vehicle had been reported stolen. The officer called for backup, then started toward the car. Guled drove away at a high speed, Garcia said. Guled had previously been arrested for being a fugitive, according to court records. Guled nearly hit a sport-utility vehicle, Garcia said. The officer didn't turn on his red lights and siren until he saw Guled turn right onto Morgan Avenue N., two blocks away. At the end of the block near Golden Valley Road, two parked cars and two squads involved in the "shots fired" incident left only enough room for one car to pass through, Garcia said. Four officers were standing outside their squad cars, and had three men in custody in one of the squad cars. It appeared Guled wasn't going to slow down, police said. The officers yelled at Guled to "stop, stop, stop," Garcia said. Witnesses in several houses heard the officers' orders, he said. Guled hit the open door of one of the officers' cars, pinning him back as the officer fired shots. All the officers were at close range when they shot at Guled, police said. "He came right at the officers," Garcia said. "He tried to thread his car through the needle." Guled fell out of the car, which traveled another block before smashing into a parked van. Demarcus Washington, one of three men in the squad car, said Guled's body landed right next to the car. Police said Washington had been arrested during a traffic stop, but he said he was in the area because he didn't have a driver's license and was waiting for his aunt to give him a ride. She also saw the shooting. When Washington heard morning news reports about the shooting, he said, he believed police were giving out false information. Washington said it appeared Guled was driving about 20 miles per hour on Morgan Avenue when the officers started firing. "I think this shooting was an execution," he said. "One officer started shooting and then 20 more shots must have been fired by the officers." Officers handcuffed Guled after he was shot, said Washington, who attends school in Moorhead. He said he saw bullet holes in the windshield and driver's side window. "Why didn't they just try and shoot his tires?" he asked. Garcia said officers have only a split second to make a decision to use force. There would have been no guarantee that a bullet shot at a tire would have stopped the car, he said. "Officers need to stop the threat and survive," he said. Copyright 2009 Star Tribune
PLAGUE KILLS TERRORISTS - by Hillel Fendel At least 40 Al Qaeda terrorists were killed earlier this week by a plague called the Black Death. The same disease that devastated Europe in the Middle Ages claimed terrorists training this week in a camp in Algeria. The dead were members of a group called AQLIM (Al Qaeda in the Land of the Islamic Maghreb), the largest and most powerful Al-Qaeda group outside the Middle East. The disease is accompanied by horrific symptoms, causing terrible suffering to its victims. One security source told the British paper The Sun, which broke the story, "This is the deadliest weapon yet in the war against terror. Most of the terrorists do not have the basic medical supplies needed to treat the disease. It spreads quickly and kills within hours. This will be really worrying Al-Qaeda." Al Qaeda also fears that surviving terrorists will give themselves up in order to seek treatment. The Sun reported that the last outbreak of the disease killed 30,000 Londoners in 1665. Deaths nowadays are rare, because the disease can be treated with antibiotics, and it has become virtually unknown in the developed world.
PAKISTANI GUN BAZAAR - Check out the Video: HERE
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