Tactically Focused – Edged Weapon Attacks
Tactically Focused – Edged Weapon Attacks
By Glenn Norling, TBR Consulting, LLC
Published On: December 13th, 2022
American Cop Magazine https://americancop.com/
This article was recently published in American Cop magazine. I invite you to read the full article online at: https://americancop.com/tactically-focused-edged-weapon-attacks/
I would be surprised if the phrase ‘active shooter’ is not already in the urban dictionary. Well, that’s certainly not the complete picture. How many single- or multi-casualty incidents do not involve firearms? What about vehicles used as battering rams? Perhaps our terminology would be more accurately “Active Assailant.”
Certainly, the ability of virtually anyone to acquire an edged weapon legally or casually is almost without restriction, save for those incarcerated – although that does not deter creative and motivated minds from making a shiv out of basically anything.
We have all heard the “21-Foot Rule.” Unfortunately, this reasonable attempt to quantify a threat somehow got distorted into an absolute. It is more of an illustration of action vs. reaction, or a graphic demonstration of how quickly things can go downhill.
Propaganda from several terrorist organizations has also encouraged the use of readily available edged weapons.
Also, remember it’s not only firearms that can be used in ambushes – always be mindful of scene security. The red truck in the photo was driven by the suspect in a domestic violence call who left earlier, but then returned while Deputies were interviewing the victim.
Glenn Norling, Train Be Ready FBI, Retired
Glenn Norling is a retired FBI Special Agent, and the Owner and Principal Consultant at TBR Consulting LLC, founded in 2020, providing world-class emergency planning, crisis management, and active shooter preparation consultation services and training.
Glenn is a certified FBI crisis manager, an FBI instructor, and FBI adjunct faculty. Throughout his 20-year career, he worked as a field investigator, a field supervisory special agent, as well as a supervisory special agent at the FBI’s Critical Incident Response Group in Quantico, Virginia.