NCJ Number
210617
Journal
Law and Order Volume: 53 Issue: 6 Dated: June 2005 Pages: 42-44,47,49
Editor(s)
Ed Sanow
Date Published
June 2005
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This article describes a Tactical Duty Knife Course developed by Cutting Edge Training to instruct officers in how to use a duty knife effectively as a "last-ditch" survival tool, as well as how to use the knife so that political and liability ramifications are minimized.
Abstract
The course teaches officers the limited use of the knife and emphasizes that the public's acceptance of its use by officers as a deadly weapon is likely only as a last line of defense against a deadly attack. The course also includes hands-on drills in both handgun retention and defending against a close-range knife attack. The knives used in the training are unsharpened training knives that have the same look, feel, and operation of a tactical folding knife. The course prepares officers to deal with common, but distinctive problems encountered by police. All drills are based on actual police situations in which officers used a duty knife or a knife was used against them. All students are issued the preferred duty knife, Benchmade Griptilian 551-T training knife for use during the course and to take with them afterward. This article's section on knife selection focuses on lock designs and blade materials. Another component of the course is the carrying positions for the duty knife. Although a number of carrying positions are tested in the course, the preferred position is for the knife to be clipped inside the front pocket on the nongun side. Other components of the course pertain to the deployment of the knife for various uses, when and how the knife should be used, and defense tactics against knife-wielding attackers.