Trainer Talk — Mike Dice

Command presence is a personal demeanor that conveys leadership and authority, and engenders trust and respect. It is manifested through physical presence, appearance and posture, alertness, awareness of surroundings, quality of communication and general confidence.

While the police officer must adhere to training and department policy when attacked, the Bad Guy has no such limitations—the criminal is limited only by imagination, motivation (or level of desperation) and experience with violence. Departmental training programs and opportunities are limited, and can rarely train officers to a skill level that allows them to counter every possible attack combination. However, there is a simple skill—Cover Technique—that provides a reliable, basic level of defense against a sudden attack.

Every officer knows that a duty flashlight is for much more than looking into cars (though that’s a critically important purpose). A high-performance flashlight also affords a significant advantage during an encounter with a subject in a dark environment — this is known as defensive illumination. While light clearly cannot fully control a subject, a flashlight with a high-intensity central beam can create a protective “wall of light,” giving the officer a tactical edge.

The classic friction lock baton is simple and incredibly reliable—that’s why so many officers have depended on it for so many years. But its main drawback is that not all situations or environments provide suitable opportunities to execute the dynamic techniques required to open or close the baton.