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As you can probably tell by our "whenever we can get to it" newsletter, we have been busy. Nice weather means that lead needs to be sent down range. For a while I was a bit concerned that our ammo "reserves" would be spent and we wouldn't be able to replace it. For a while we had a hard time getting weapons, ammo, and reloading components. Now, things have seemed to loosen up quite a bit. The people "hording" all of these things have spent all of their money and the supply is starting to catch up. Now that we are able to replace necessary ammunition, we are back at the range working on and testing various drills which I'll be sure to include, some of, in future newsletters. We are also getting ready to hit the road. We used to make due with whatever barricades, targets, target stands, etc. were available at the locations that we were training, but that didn't allow us to provide the level of training that we felt our students deserved. So now, we carry everything with us!  Train HARD or don't train at all! Stay Safe, Wade A. Deuter |
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Additional Information May Be Found On The Degrata Tactical Website
On Tuesday, April 21, 2009, the Supreme Court decided the case of Arizona v. Gant dealing with the circumstances permitting the search of a vehicle incident to the arrest of an occupant. Below is the FLETC LGD review of the decision and its practical impact on law enforcement, authored by Jenna Solari, Senior Instructor.
Case Note – Police may search the passenger compartment of a vehicle incident to arrest of an occupant or recent occupant only if it is reasonable to believe that the arrestee might access the vehicle at the time of the search or that the vehicle contains evidence of the offense of arrest.
FACTS: Gant was arrested for driving on a suspended license. Gant was handcuffed and locked in a patrol car before officers searched the passenger compartment of his car and found a firearm and cocaine. In his motion to suppress the evidence, Gant argued that it was not possible for him to access the vehicle to gain control of a weapon or evidence, and therefore the search of his vehicle was not a reasonable “search incident to arrest.”
HELD: Police are authorized to search the passenger compartment of a vehicle incident to arrest of an occupant or recent occupant only when the arrestee is unsecured and within reaching distance of the passenger compartment at the time of the search. Additionally, officers may search the passenger compartment following the arrest of a recent occupant when it is reasonable to believe that evidence relevant to the crime of arrest might be found in the vehicle.
DISCUSSION:
Prior case law: Chimel, Belton, and Thornton. The Supreme Court first established the search incident to arrest (“SIA”) exception to the Fourth Amendment’s warrant requirement in Chimel v. California, 395 U.S. 752 (1969). Chimel held that police may, incident to arrest, search the arrestee’s “lunging area,” which is defined as the area from within which the arrestee might gain possession of a weapon or destructible evidence. The purposes of this exception are to protect arresting officers and safeguard evidence of the offense that an arrestee might conceal or destroy. The Court was asked to define the scope of a vehicle SIA in New York v. Belton, 453 U.S. 454 (1981). In Belton, the Court held that when an SIA of a vehicle is justified, the entire compartment and any containers therein may be searched. In Thornton v. U.S., 541 U.S. 615 (2004), the Court added that an SIA of a vehicle may be justified even if an occupant has gotten out of the vehicle, closed the door, and walked a short distance away before being arrested. The question remaining, however, was whether the Belton and Thornton rules authorized an SIA of the vehicle regardless of the arrestee’s ability to access the passenger compartment following the arrest.
Clarification: arrestee within reaching distance. The majority opinion in Arizona v. Gant has answered that question, holding that prior case law authorizes police to search a vehicle incident to arrest when the arrestee is unsecured and within reaching distance of the passenger compartment at the time of the search. The Court noted that “it will be the rare case in which an officer is unable to fully effectuate an arrest so that a real possibility of access to the arrestee’s vehicle remains.” In such a rare case, however, an SIA of the passenger compartment would be reasonable under the Fourth Amendment.
An additional justification: offense-related evidence. Even if the arrestee can no longer access the vehicle’s passenger compartment, the Court held that an SIA will also be permitted “when it is reasonable to believe evidence relevant to the crime of arrest might be found in the vehicle.” In many cases, such as arrests for traffic violations, there will be no reasonable basis to believe that the vehicle contains relevant evidence. In other cases, however, such as arrests for possession of controlled substances, the basis of the arrest will supply an acceptable rationale for searching the arrestee’s passenger compartment and any containers inside.
Other vehicle search exceptions remain available. The Court noted that other established exceptions to the search warrant requirement remain available to safeguard evidence and protect the safety of officers. If an officer has a reasonable suspicion that a passenger or recent occupant of a vehicle – whether arrested or not – is dangerous and may gain access to a weapon, he may frisk the passenger compartment for weapons. (This exception is known as a Terry frisk of the vehicle.) If the officer has probable cause that the vehicle contains evidence of criminal activity, the officer may conduct a thorough search of any area of the vehicle in which the evidence might be found. (This exception is called the “mobile conveyance exception” or the Carroll Doctrine.) Finally, if an officer conducting an arrest reasonably suspects that a dangerous person is hiding in a nearby vehicle, he may conduct a protective sweep of the vehicle by looking in places where such a person might be concealed. Although not specifically mentioned by the Court, and not a criminal search tool, an inventory of a vehicle’s contents following a lawful impound is another exception to the search warrant requirement. This administrative exception, however, may not be used as a pretext for a criminal search. Consent remains a viable option as well.
The bottom line. To justify a search incident to arrest of a vehicle’s passenger compartment, an officer must articulate that either (1) the officer was unable to sufficiently restrain the arrestee during the search, so that it was reasonable to believe the arrestee might have been able to access the vehicle, or (2) there was a reasonable basis to believe that evidence of the crime for which the occupant of the vehicle was arrested might be found in the passenger compartment at the time of the search.
APPLICATION TO FIELD OFFICERS AND AGENTS:
Prepare to articulate! The Court noted that “[w]hen asked at the suppression hearing why the search was conducted, [the officer in this case] responded, ‘Because the law says we can do it.’” That answer did not – and will not – meet the government’s burden. While searches of vehicles incident to arrest have been considered “automatic” for 28 years, the holding of Gant states that more is required. Officers must be prepared to articulate facts establishing one of the permitted justifications. Don’t look for the loophole; it’s already closed. Some may suggest the holding in Gant encourages an unsafe practice of leaving arrestees unsecured in a nearby area to justify a search incident to arrest. Justice Scalia, however, in his concurring opinion in Thornton v. U.S., has already anticipated and answered that argument. He wrote, “if an officer leaves a suspect unrestrained nearby just to manufacture authority to search, one could argue that the search is unreasonable precisely because the dangerous conditions justifying it existed only by virtue of the officer’s failure to follow sensible procedures.”
Unanswered questions:
The Court held that an SIA will also be permitted “when it is reasonable to believe evidence relevant to the crime of arrest might be found in the vehicle.” Is this a lower standard than probable cause applicable only to evidence of the crime of arrest? Can an officer SIA a vehicle when persons other than the already secured arrestee are in the area who might gain access to the vehicle? Does this ruling, reemphasizing the original Chimel basis for SIA, extend beyond the context of SIA of a vehicle to apply to all SIA of “lunging areas?"
By Seth Thompson
Some people say I have a flashlight problem.
Maybe I do. Even as I sit here typing this, there are at least three flashlights on my person. I have one on my belt, one attached to my pistol, and one in my pocket of my 5.11 Tactical Pants, just in case (We’ll talk about my “tactical pants problem” some other time). My car has at least three or four others in it. I’m not sure how many I own total. Probably more than twenty. Or thirty. But who’s counting?
Now, having a flashlight handy does make sense- my job takes me to some dark places. Not dark in a metaphorical-darkness-of-the-human-soul way, but in a fall-down-the-basement-steps-of-somebody’s-house-while-investigating-suspicious-noises way. And having a spare ready when the batteries die or the bulb burns out is a very good thing. But lately, when it comes to me and flashlights, the word “addiction” has been rearing its ugly head.
As a kid growing up, the only flashlights I had access to were made of tin or Tupperware and tended to give off a weak, yellowish light that was mostly good for seeing just enough of the basement stairs to fall down them anyway. Then, it happened. As an impressionable teenager, I was given an AA-battery-powered Mini-Maglite. It was so much better than the crappy throwaway ones I got as a kid. This was the first light I’d ever seen that didn’t automatically disassemble itself into ten parts when you dropped it on the ground. It was machined from aluminum. It was tough. It was bright. It was… Tactically Cool.
Over the years, the addiction began to escalate. I got my hands on bigger lights with two, three, four, even six fat D-cell batteries in them. Once you held a six-cell D-battery light, you knew that was a real flashlight! It made a beam brighter than some car headlights. People flinched and muttered nasty things under their breath when you shined it at them. It was hefty piece of work. You could whack a vicious dog or a drunken malcontent with it if you needed to. This was great progress from the tin and Tupperware lights of childhood.
For a long time, the Maglite was the top of the flashlight heap around the Thompson Ranch. Then one day, something really bad happened. I discovered the Surefire light- a brand of “tactical” flashlight that caused my slide into full flashlight mania to speed up dramatically. These new lights were small, precise, and complicated. They were built with aerospace-quality hardware and used expensive lithium camera batteries. They were hellishly bright (and expensive).While carrying one of these lights, you might still fall down the basement steps, but you looked so…Tactically Cool… while you were falling down them.
At what point can you look back at yourself and say you’ve gone around the flashlight bend? Was it buying a flashlight that was worth a day’s pay? Was it buying a flashlight that was so bright it could be seen through closed eye lids? How about the acquisition of a light that came with a warning that it could induce epilepsy in certain people? Not that I know anyone that’s done those things, mind you.
In my case, it may have been the time I temporarily lost the flashlight that usually rode in my pants pocket. It ended up somewhere on the playground of my wife’s old school in another state. When I was lamenting the loss of the light, she innocently asked if it would be worth paying a five dollar reward to the school kids to find it. She made a very strange face when I told her it would definitely be worth that, as the light had cost something like seventy-five dollars. I know now that look was not caused by indigestion.
Like they say, admitting you have a problem is the first step to overcoming it. Is there a local support group to help me come to grips with this flashlight problem? I’d better find out before it’s too late, or my wife may be giving me that look again. I can picture the conversation now:
My Wife: “Honey, NASA called again today. They said to stop shining your eighteen-battery M1000X Super Tactical Dominator light at the International Space Station. It’s making the crew dizzy. Isn’t that light just a little…too bright?”
Me: “Hey, I can quit any time I want. Besides, it looks so…Tactically…Cool!”
SUPPRESSORS
We've recently purchased a Gemtech M4-02 from Four Horseman Arms (http://www.fharms.com/). Four Horseman Arms treated us very well. Check them out.
As for the M4-02, EXCELLENT! We're still going to hit the range soon with our Surefire Rep. I want to compare the M4-02 to a Surefire suppressor. The M4-02 will definitely work for all of our CQB operations, but I'm still curious.
If you don't currently use suppressors on your entry carbines/sub-guns, you should definitely call your local rep for a test shoot. I consider suppressors a necessity for any entry weapon. I see multiple agencies arming their entry teams with carbines or sub-guns, but very few are suppressed.
My questions are these: Do agencies truly believe that somebody might fire their weapon during an entry? If they do, then do they train, with live-fire in close proximity of each other, in their entry gear? If they did, I think that they would realize the huge potential for hearing loss or the loss of night vision from muzzle flash, both which can add to the possibility of operational failure and FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION.
COMMON SHOOTING ERRORS CHART - Degrata Tactical Inc.
Find It Here -> http://www.degrata.com/pdf/commonshootingerrors.pdf
From 20 feet, using 8" circles, or paper plates as targets.
Perform each drill twice, for a total of 30 rounds fired.
1- From ready, 1 round on 1 target. Par 0.8 sec.
2- On target, 2 rounds on 1 target. Par .5 sec.
3- On target, 1 round each on 2 targets. Par 1.0 sec.
4- On target, 1 round, reload, 1 round, in 1 target. Par 3.0 sec.
5- From concealment, 1 round on 1 target. Par 1.5 sec.
6- From concealment, 1 round each, on 3 targets. Par 2.8 sec.
7- From concealment, sidestep, 2 rounds on 1 target. Par 2.0 sec.
8- From concealment, kneel, 2 rounds on 1 target. Par 2.0 sec.
When able to perform easily, reduce target size.
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Israel is considered number one in “human intelligence” in the Middle East and perhaps the entire world, according to “Secret War in Iran” author Dr. Ronen Bergman. In an interview with Israel National News TV, the widely-known author said that although the United States “has the upper hand in electronics” to gather intelligence, Israel has the advantage in recruiting agents in the field.
He revealed that the Mossad was not necessarily behind the recent spies arrested in Lebanon. Hizbullah has charged that the Mossad deployed up to 25 people, including senior members of the Lebanese army, who were arrested for allegedly spying for Israel. “I do not know if the Mossad was involved, but it works primarily overseas,” Dr. Bergman said. He said that the government has other units that work from Israel.
Dr. Bergman explained that “human intelligence” is necessary despite advances in technology “because adversaries know that communication can be deciphered electronically.”
The main motivation of Arab spies is material benefits, and only “in rare cases are we talking about ideology,” said the intelligence expert. Other motives are personal advancement or ruining the careers of others.
In an article published in the weekend edition of the Wall Street Journal, Dr. Bergman wrote that the Mossad has succeeded in slowing down the Iranian nuclear program. He noted that an Iranian nuclear scientist has disappeared and that two cargo planes crashed while they were hauling material for the nuclear project. In other incidents, two laboratories burst into flames.
“The Israeli intelligence community has penetrated enemies like Syria, Iran, Lebanon, Hizbullah and Hamas,” he wrote. However, “The bottom line is that excellent intelligence is very important, but it can only take you so far. In the end, it’s the tough diplomatic and military decisions made by Israeli leaders that ensure the security of the state.”
by Maayana Miskin
(IsraelNN.com) Police announced Monday that searchers had located the body of Dana Bennet of Tiberias who went missing almost six years ago at the age of 17. Investigators are now looking into the circumstances of her death.
Police did not say where the body was found. A Nazareth court has imposed a gag order on all other details of the case.
Bennet was last seen walking to a relative's house in Tiberias late at night on July 31, 2003. Police and volunteers began searching for her less than 24 hours after her disappearance, but without success.
Dana Bennet was born in the United States and lived there until her teenage years. Due to her American citizenship, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) assisted in the Israel-based search as well.
Over the years, an Israel-Arab terrorist group calling itself the Free Galilee Brigades repeatedly claimed credit for the disappearance, saying its members had kidnapped Dana and were holding her hostage. The group demanded that Israel release 1,000 terrorist prisoners in exchange for information on Bennet's whereabouts.
The group has falsely claimed credit for several attacks, and its claims were viewed with skepticism.
Tiberias Mayor Zohar Oved expressed his sorrow for Dana's death, saying, “We tried to help with the search in any way we could, and we hoped for a different ending. Unfortunately, the search ended in tragedy.”
NEW ORLEANS -- A federal jury in New Orleans convicts a 56-year-old man of killing a sheriff's deputy in a shootout during a failed bank robbery five years ago in Algiers.
Jurors must now decide whether John Wayne Johnson should die for killing Lt. Sidney Zaffuto, who was shot Jan. 8, 2004. He was convicted of conspiracy to commit bank robbery, attempted bank robbery and causing a death because of that crime.
Jurors watched surveillance video of Zafutto being shot and Johnson using the wounded deputy as a shield.
Prosecutors said he fired a .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol six times at Zaffuto.
Johnson's attorneys argued that the bullet ricocheted off a gun in Zaffuto's hand and into his chest.
One co-defendant pleaded guilty died about a month ago; another is scheduled for trial in August.
By E. EDUARDO CASTILLO, The Associated Press
An anti air-craft machine gun, the first weapon of its kind seized in Mexico, is displayed to the media at a police base in Mexico City, Tuesday, April 14, 2009. Police on a routine patrol detained a 20-year-old woman guarding an arsenal, allegedly belonged to a group linked to the powerful Beltran Leyva drug cartel, at a house in northern Sonora state.(AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo) - AP
MEXICO CITY ? Mexican authorities arrested a woman guarding an arsenal that included the first anti-aircraft machine gun seized in Mexico, police said Tuesday, as the army announced the capture of an alleged top drug cartel lieutenant.
The arsenal belonged to a group linked to the powerful Beltran-Leyva drug cartel, federal police coordinator Gen. Rodolfo Cruz said. It also included ammunition, five rifles, a grenade and part of a grenade launcher.
Mexican drug cartels, battling a fierce crackdown by soldiers and federal police, have increasingly gotten hold of higher-powered weapons, even military-grade arms such as grenades and machine guns. That has left police ? particularly state and municipal forces ? grossly outgunned, and many officers have quit following attacks.
Cruz said the confiscated .50-caliber, anti-aircraft machine gun can fire 800 rounds per minute and is capable of penetrating armor from more than 5,000 feet (1,500 meters). Police on a routine patrol Monday found the gun fitted atop an SUV at a house in northern Sonora state.
Authorities did not release any other details about the gun, including its make, where it was manufactured or where it was sold.
The arrested suspect, Anahi Beltran Cabrera, apparently is not related to the Beltran-Leyva clan, Cruz said.
The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has traced many guns seized at scenes of drug violence in Mexico to U.S. commercial sources. But determining the source of military-grade weapons such as grenades and fully automatic machine guns is more complicated.
The ATF says the grenades are mostly smuggled in through Central America, and have been traced back to the militaries of many countries, from South Korea to Spain and Israel. Some may be leftovers from the Central American civil wars.
Assailants have fired on government aircraft performing anti-drug missions in Mexico in the past, but apparently never with the caliber of weapon found Monday.
In 2006, a helicopter on a federal drug-eradication mission crashed while trying to escape ground fire, and a second helicopter was damaged by gunfire in the Pacific coast state of Guerrero.
Mexico is upgrading its northern and southern border checkpoints in an effort to detect and seize more guns and other contraband, installing equipment that will weigh and photograph each car and truck coming into the country.
President Barack Obama has promised to do more to stop gun trafficking from the United States to Mexico. He has pledged to dispatch nearly 500 more federal agents to the border, along with X-ray machines and drug-sniffing dogs.
Also Tuesday, the Mexican army announced the capture of Ruben Granados Vargas, an alleged lieutenant for the Beltran-Leyva drug cartel in the Pacific coast state of Guerrero.
Gen. Luis Arturo Oliver said soldiers caught Granados Vargas and two other suspects with four rifles and 2.6 pounds (1.2 kilograms) of opium on Monday.
Granados Vargas allegedly ran the cartel's drug planting, harvesting and trafficking operations on the coast west of the resort of Acapulco.
He is implicated in a number of kidnappings and killings in the region, including attacks as part of a turf war with an alleged Sinaloa cartel rival that left 17 people dead last year, organized crime prosecutor Marisela Morales said.
Granados Vargas' wife, sister-in-law and two sons were later killed in retaliation, according to prosecutors.
Mexico's drug violence has claimed more than 10,650 lives since President Felipe Calderon launched a military-led offensive against trafficking cartels in December 2006.
In March, the government sent thousands more troops to the northern border to quell escalating violence. The government announced Sunday that drug-related homicides fell 26 percent across the country in the first three months of the year, compared to the same period in 2008.
Late Tuesday, Mexico's Senate authorized the navy to participate in training with the U.S. Navy on how to detect drug smugglers. The two-week exercises in Florida, which start April 20, will also include ships from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, France and Germany.