Orlandao, FL —The SHOT SHOW is the largest gun related trade show in the world. This year it’s being held in gator country. I can’t be there this year but attending and blogging every day is the prolific gun writer, Massad Ayoob . He is my eyes and ears this time and he can be yours too. Anyone attending the show should pay a visit to the Eagle Grips booth for the world’s best gun grips. Next year the show returns to Las Vegas and I will be there. Read Ayoob’s blog right here!

Oakland, CA —The New Year’s shooting that took the life of Oscar Grant was tragic for sure. I don’t buy that event as an intentional shooting. No cop would intentionally shoot a helpless man in the back in front of scores of witnesses under the conditions made clear by the cell-phone captured videos. Before this is over it may destroy the life of a second man, Johannes Mehserle , 27, the cop who pulled the trigger. The duty or service weapon for BART police officers is the Sig -Saur .40 caliber semi-automatic . It has a 12 pound+ trigger pull. This is an ideal police sidearm. What then caused the event? I won’t rule out some form of negligence but there were serious distractions that most certainly contributed to the killing. Police officers are trained to fight off tunnel vision . That is our natural instinct to focus on what’s happening or the threat in front of us. Police are taught to pay attention to all 360 degrees around their positions. The answer to the questions about was go...

Chicago, IL —Most of my readers did not know our Blagoman shill, about to be sworn in as the new Illinois junior Senator was a movie star in a past life. Ok folks! Tell me what major motion picture showed this image of Roland Burris ? Go ahead and make your guesses in the comments section and I will verify the right answer. A hint: Chicago coppers should figure this out in about 1 second. The answer is posted with comments...

Minden, NV—Bay Area Rapid Transit cop, Johannes Mehserle , 27, of Lafayette, CA surrendered here on a California arrest warrant from Alameda County, CA. Mehserle was recorded on several cell phone video cameras shooting 22 year-old Oscar Grant who was face down in a prone position. Grant died from his wound. The videos show Mehserle trying to put cuffs on Grant, and Grant appears to be struggling, when Mehserle suddenly pulls his service weapon from his holster and fires one shot into Grant's back. This event polarized Oakland and has lots of very ugly anger spilling over. Small riots have broken out bringing about ove1 100 arrests in Oakland since the shooting. That anger caused Mehserle who had been getting death threats sought safety and refuge in Nevada. The biggest question that remains unanswered if whether or not the act was deliberate or an accident. That question may be answered by a jury of Oakland residents. Nobody said being a cop was easy.

Click on picture to enlarge. Chicago, IL— There is little information provided to Chicago police officers about the department and its rich history. For example many officers don’t know the names of or the philosophy of the past police superintendents and before that, police chiefs. I’m sure in the Graphic Arts unit there are many old photographs. There are decades of old Star Magazine issues that should be digitized and made available. If I had about a month and the full cooperation of the department I put up a historical website with the highlights of the department’s good and bad times. I’d love nothing more than to put up the stories and pictures behind each year’s winner of the coveted Police Medal. The story of these heroes and their moments of bravery are inspiring. Going through old Police Board files and publishing some of the more notable discipline cases would show how human failings distracted officers from their missions. The influence of corrupt politicians has left it...

PROTECTING MOM WITH THE GRANDMACAM! We’ve all heard horror stories of the rape, beatings along with the neglect of incapacitated and elderly people confined to some care facilities. Sex offenders, sadists and other criminals sometimes find employment in these places. The victims of these kinds of crimes are too often unable to resist or even complain about that kind of treatment. In addition to investigating abuse allegations my investigation agency has taken on care facility security audits and dealing with efforts to prevent abuse. I’d much rather make these crimes impossible than investigate them after the fact. With technology there is a cure. People will always behave themselves if they know they are being watched. Families will never have to worry about loved ones who need protection again. The care facilities can offer a secure video link to families that will be able to watch their loved one in real time from anywhere in the world on a computer with an Internet connection. The ...

Los Angeles, CA —I noticed that the uniform pockets of most local L.A. area police uniforms had sap pockets. I asked some of the coppers if they carried saps. They all did not even know what a sap or a blackjack was. I felt like a real dinosaur knowing I was old enough to be the father of these grown officers. They carried other items in the sap pockets like flashlights or collapsible ASP batons. Blackjacks are round and saps are flat. They are impact weapons designed for close up and personal combat. The bigger blackjacks will smash skulls and break bones. The idea is a person can be subdued with these impact weapons in short order. I own five of these law enforcement relics in good condition. The two best I have are the Convoy blackjack and the Texan sap. I also have a great pair of deerskin gloves with six ounces of powered lead protecting each fist. Saps were great to use for plain clothes assignments because regulation police batons are too difficult to conceal. These weapons are ...