Month: October 2015

Domestic Violence cases are difficult to deal with from the start to the conclusion because nobody wins in the end.
They are some of the most dangerous calls for patrol officers and deputies due to the nature of these types of cases because it usually involves families or intimate relationships.
October is Domestic Violence  Awareness Month. The most common misdemeanor trials that go on in my courtroom are a close tie between Domestic Violence and Driving Under the Influence of alcohol or drugs. So I’ve seen a lot of these cases come through. There is absolutely no excuse for Domestic Violence. I know it sounds cliche since that’s been said over and over again and is on LAPD cruiser’s bumpers but it’s true: Domestic Violence is wrong and should never be tolerated.
The cases are usually hard for prosecutors because the witnesses and or victims to DV cases usually do not want to testify for a number of reasons: they are embarrassed at the circumstances, they are afraid of the defendant, they don’t want the defendant to get into more trouble, and so on. It’s not uncommon to hear stories changing on the witness stand, making it difficult for a jury to figure out what exactly happened in each case.
Families are utterly destroyed by these cases, and the people who suffer the most are children, especially if they witnessed the event and have to testify.
Victims sometimes blame themselves for what happened. The only fault in the majority of DV cases is that of the defendant, who lost control of themselves during the time of the incident. Each and every case is obviously different, but the common factor in all of them is that law enforcement got involved. Either a victim or witness calls 911 or neighbors and bystanders do.
It’s natural for families or couples to get into arguments, however when it gets out of control and the police have to get involved, it’s a law enforcement problem.
Sadly in some cases, it is a recurring DV case where the victims will stay with the defendant, who continues to not change their behavior. They call it batterers syndrome and I see it often. These victims are stuck in a very tough spot and have gotten used to a life of abuse and feel like that it is normal. It really takes a friend or family member to notice the clues and intervene to pull them out of that abusive relationship. It’s very difficult to convince someone who believes that what is happening is okay because they’ve been living that life for so long that they no longer know or believe that life could be any better.
Those that survive and escape these abusive relationships and move on are probably the strongest people out there.
If you’re in a position to help out a friend or family member, do it because sometimes it’s nearly impossible for them to do it alone.
This post is dedicated to each and every survivor (I do not like to use the word victim in this case) that have made the courageous steps to get out and move on with their lives.

There is not a lot of information out there on Surefire’s highly anticipated Warden. I know because I’ve been searching for any information on it since it was shown at the 2015 SHOT show.

What is the Warden? It is a blast regulator designed to attach to Surefire SOCOM Muzzlebrakes to take all of the concussion and side blast and channel it forward in front of the barrel. For those who don’t know what a muzzlebrake is or how it works; it isn’t pleasant to be near someone shooting one because you’ll be blasted with an obnoxious amount of concussion coming from it. The purpose of a muzzlebrake is to reduce and eliminate muzzle rise and recoil, allowing for better accuracy and quicker follow up shots. Some public ranges, especially indoor ranger, will not allow rifles equipped with a muzzlebrake.

There are many similar devices out there: Ferfrans CRD (Concussion Reduction Device) and Griffin Armament QD Blast Shield. Both of those devices work well according to friends who have them. Those devices are proprietary and will work with their specific muzzlebrakes.
The Warden is highly anticipated because a lot of people run Surefire’s muzzlebrake on their rifles. They showed one off at the 2015 SHOT show and since then there hasn’t been much information on it. I called Surefire and was able to preorder one back in early June and was told it would ship at the end of July. July, came and went then it was end of August, then it was the third week of September. I finally got mine last week. I was patient and with all new products, I understood that it takes time to get a new product out in the market.
I got my Warden in FDE to match most of my rifles’ furniture. The very nice feature of the Warden is that it is Multi- Caliber compatible so it works on both my AR and my SCAR 17. I have the Surefire Warcomp on my SCAR 17 and it attaches quickly, you just line it up with the notch on the muzzle device and then twist the ring until it ratchets on all the way.

I found out that my Surefire muzzlebrake on my LWRC M6A2 was a legacy brake (MB556K) and not a SOCOM brake since it didn’t have the notch. I was still able to attach it and once it was on, it was solid.

I was able to test it out at the range. I first shot the M6A2 with just the muzzlebrake. There was hardly any felt recoil at all and no muzzle rise. I then cleared the weapon and attached the Warden, checking to make sure it was aligned then shot a single round to make sure it stayed on and didn’t shift. I cleared it again to check on alignment. It was good so between me and my friends, we unleashed about a hundred rounds through it.

With the Warden attached, there was a slight increase in recoil, but there was no more side blast or concussion. It however did shoot a visible cone shaped flash in front of it, much like that of the Noveske Flaming Pig linear compensator. The flash was not visible to the shooter.

After a few magazine were empty, it was too hot to touch. I noticed that the Warden would rotate around the muzzle when I made quick checks to see if it was still secure. It was still aligned with the barrel and other than a rotating motion, it was still secured. We shot another set of magazines without any issue.
Since it was too hot touch, I wasn’t able to transfer it over to the SCAR 17. I don’t expect it to do anything to improve the performance on the SCAR because the Warcomp is mainly a flash hider with compensator ports at the top. It would probably negate the function of those ports. I will test fire it anyhow at the next time I’m at the range just to know for sure.

The Warden works as advertised and it is a great solution for everyone who runs a Surefire Muzzlebrake and cannot obtain a suppressor. It is not a suppressor and not an NFA regulated item. It makes all rifles equipped with a muzzlebrake much more practical to use for Law Enforcement, home defense and for anyone who wants to shoot it at a public range without irritating everyone around them.

Before I got into the profession of Law Enforcement, even as an Explorer, I thought that all LEO’s were experts with their pistols and knew all there was to know about firearms.
Now that I’ve been on for nearly a decade, what I thought as a teenager was far from reality. The fact is, the majority of LEO’s only have one weapon in their possession: their issued duty weapon. Most are very proficient with it after carrying it everyday. What I quickly learned early on in my career was that the large majority of my partners were not gun people like myself. You don’t need to be to do this job, it’s only one aspect of the job, albeit an important one. LEO’s come from different walks of life and have different interests and hobbies. Are there LEO’s that are firearms experts and enthusiasts? Yes, however that is a very small percentage.
I knew early on in my life what I wanted to do for my career. I was also a firearms enthusiast then and now. My interest in firearms grew as I was getting ready to join the ranks because I knew I’d be carrying one on my hip everyday and that’d proficiency with it would be critical in my survival and that of others. To me, firearms proficiency was one of the most important skills that I needed to have and it still is. I cannot say that my partners have my same set of priorities.
Firearms experts? That’s even more rare to find among LEO’s. I don’t expect everyone to be experts in this field. I spend a lot of my downtime reading about the latest technology and tactics involving firearms. It’s time consuming but I’m personally interested in this field of knowledge so for me, it’s time well spent.
There is nothing wrong with LEO’s who are not gun people. They all signed up to do a job and they do it well. They all have to qualify monthly or quarterly. They’re great officers and know how to operate their duty weapon well enough to take care of most threats. They work with their issued gear and equipment and it works just fine.
I however don’t want to just meet the minimal qualifications, I want to make myself better and prepared for the absolute worst case scenario. This way, I can easily handle any scenario knowing what I’d do without having to think about it when it’s too late.
I wouldn’t call myself an weapons expert. I would say that I’m very knowledgeable on many different weapons systems. It is important to me to have this knowledge about different weapons systems because if my weapon malfunctions or is out of ammunition, I will be able to pick up any weapon and know how to use it. I also know the capabilities of these weapons so if I come facing one, I know how to react to each of them because what you think is cover may not be the case depending on what kind of round is coming at you.
Since most LEO’s aren’t gun people, a lot of them don’t really care about the Second Amendment. A lot of them believe that only they as in LEO’s should have guns. Their beliefs come from the lack of knowledge of firearms and tactics. Please know that I’m not talking about ALL LEO’s, I’m just talking about a percentage. This is why you see a lot of Police Chiefs and Sheriffs stand for more gun control.
The reality is that Police Officers and Deputy Sheriff’s are not and can not be everywhere. They have a response time and they are now stretched thinner than ever due to budget cuts and nowadays lack of staff due to recruiting numbers at an all-time low. Everyone is truly their own first responder when Their lives are threatened that exact moment. Most people are not able to defend themselves and that’s why we have Peace Officers. For those who are able and choose to defend themselves, who is anyone to tell that person how and when they can defend themselves?
Forget the Second Amendment for a minute, every human life is precious and every human being has the natural right to live and defend that life period.
I respect those who choose to defend themselves that are law abiding and I will always be there to defend those who aren’t able to. I don’t see citizens with CCW’s a threat to my safety, I respect the fact that they made a decision to carry a firearm for their safety and went through all of the paperwork to get that permit.
Firearms are an important tool in Law Enforcement, it is rarely used, but it is the best tool available today that can deal with certain deadly force scenarios.
As always stay safe!