Dave on Life Choices: Convenience, Cool or Prepared.
June/01/12 04:32 PM
My first experience with the ankle holster was the 1971 Academy Award-winning movie: The French Connection. I was in high school and hadn’t even thought about a law enforcement career. My life’s total focus was two things:
My first experience with the ankle holster was the 1971 Academy Award-winning movie The French Connection. I was in high school and hadn’t even thought about a law enforcement career. My life’s total focus was two things: girls and sports, in that order. I saw the movie at the drive-in and was immediately taken by the concept of strapping a gun to one’s leg. It was so cool looking!
When I graduated from the police academy, one of the first things I did was buy a snubby revolver and an ankle holster. Carrying the gun was convenient as the pants style of the time was large bell-bottoms. I fantasized about confront¬ing armed robbers and being able to swiftly draw my gun from my leg while saving every damsel in distress but once it happened, I realized that relying on an ankle gun for primary carry was a huge, almost fatal, mistake.
Like many young police officers trying to make ends meet, I took a number of off-duty security jobs. One was at a local hotel along the interstate at the southern end of my county. Known as an upscale location, the hotel in question had indoor and outdoor pools, a fine-dining restaurant and a night club that stayed open late. With the exception of a few vehicle break-ins, this business was considered a low-crime area. The thought of not carrying a gun while working these off-duty jobs was out of the question. And let’s be honest, that’s why these businesses hire off-duty cops. But carrying a concealed weapon can be a hassle, especially when nothing ever hap¬pened so I used an ankle holster and a Smith & Wesson Model 60. Then reality struck…
I’d just reported for work and walked back to the office behind the front desk to punch my time card. I took off my glasses and was cleaning them as I walked around the corner to talk with the desk clerks and noticed their hands in the air. I looked into the muzzle of a .38 caliber revolver and noticed it had a cheap-looking Colt Python-like rib on the barrel. It’s interest¬ing what you notice at the strangest times. The robber told me to raise my hands and it was at that moment reality hit…I was facing a gun with my hands in the air. Not only could I not see clearly, my hands were at the opposite end of my body from my holstered firearm. I couldn’t protect the hotel, staff or myself. I’ve never felt so helpless. I might die and there was nothing I could do about it.
Fortunately, the suspect decided not to shoot anyone, took the cash and fled out of the front door. I immediately went into super hero mode as I put my glasses on and attempted to leap over the counter to give pursuit. Unfortunately, my left foot got stuck in a brochure rack on the front desk, and I slammed face first into the floor. Not to be deterred, I got up and ran to the doors the suspect exited. This was a double door with a carpeted mat in between and as I opened it I thought it wise to draw my gun. As I tried to both run and draw from my ankle rig, I slipped on the mat going face down for the second time in a minute.
I finally cleared the gun from the holster and exited the second set of doors, looking left and right but not seeing the suspect. I went to my right because it offered the quick¬est path out of my field of view and as I rounded the corner I saw the suspect in the distance just as he fired a round at me. I tried to crawl into a crack in the pavement but realized this wasn’t a good idea.
The suspect made a successful getaway…hard to believe, isn’t it? I became a training “junkie” as a never-again attitude enveloped me. No more ankle holsters and only a “hand full of gun” would be mounted on my belt. I was fitted for contact lenses and committed to an awareness lifestyle. Looking back, it’s a humorous story but one that changed my life. Don’t take your security for granted as bad things happen to good people in nice places. Don’t let it be you…
When I graduated from the police academy, one of the first things I did was buy a snubby revolver and an ankle holster. Carrying the gun was convenient as the pants style of the time was large bell-bottoms. I fantasized about confront¬ing armed robbers and being able to swiftly draw my gun from my leg while saving every damsel in distress but once it happened, I realized that relying on an ankle gun for primary carry was a huge, almost fatal, mistake.
Like many young police officers trying to make ends meet, I took a number of off-duty security jobs. One was at a local hotel along the interstate at the southern end of my county. Known as an upscale location, the hotel in question had indoor and outdoor pools, a fine-dining restaurant and a night club that stayed open late. With the exception of a few vehicle break-ins, this business was considered a low-crime area. The thought of not carrying a gun while working these off-duty jobs was out of the question. And let’s be honest, that’s why these businesses hire off-duty cops. But carrying a concealed weapon can be a hassle, especially when nothing ever hap¬pened so I used an ankle holster and a Smith & Wesson Model 60. Then reality struck…
I’d just reported for work and walked back to the office behind the front desk to punch my time card. I took off my glasses and was cleaning them as I walked around the corner to talk with the desk clerks and noticed their hands in the air. I looked into the muzzle of a .38 caliber revolver and noticed it had a cheap-looking Colt Python-like rib on the barrel. It’s interest¬ing what you notice at the strangest times. The robber told me to raise my hands and it was at that moment reality hit…I was facing a gun with my hands in the air. Not only could I not see clearly, my hands were at the opposite end of my body from my holstered firearm. I couldn’t protect the hotel, staff or myself. I’ve never felt so helpless. I might die and there was nothing I could do about it.
Fortunately, the suspect decided not to shoot anyone, took the cash and fled out of the front door. I immediately went into super hero mode as I put my glasses on and attempted to leap over the counter to give pursuit. Unfortunately, my left foot got stuck in a brochure rack on the front desk, and I slammed face first into the floor. Not to be deterred, I got up and ran to the doors the suspect exited. This was a double door with a carpeted mat in between and as I opened it I thought it wise to draw my gun. As I tried to both run and draw from my ankle rig, I slipped on the mat going face down for the second time in a minute.
I finally cleared the gun from the holster and exited the second set of doors, looking left and right but not seeing the suspect. I went to my right because it offered the quick¬est path out of my field of view and as I rounded the corner I saw the suspect in the distance just as he fired a round at me. I tried to crawl into a crack in the pavement but realized this wasn’t a good idea.
The suspect made a successful getaway…hard to believe, isn’t it? I became a training “junkie” as a never-again attitude enveloped me. No more ankle holsters and only a “hand full of gun” would be mounted on my belt. I was fitted for contact lenses and committed to an awareness lifestyle. Looking back, it’s a humorous story but one that changed my life. Don’t take your security for granted as bad things happen to good people in nice places. Don’t let it be you…