6 The Firearms Instructor Issue 50 Developing Combat Speed and Accuracy O ver the years, law enforcement firearms training has evolved and become more realistic and task ori- ented. In the not-so-distant past, most fire- arms training was conducted “on the line” under strict control and command of the Rangemaster. As time went on, some of our more progressive agencies started utilizing wooden barricades or plastic barrels to simu- late cover. Enterprising instructors began to develop courses of fire that were more practi- cal and based on law enforcement shooting incidents. Law enforcement firearms training began evolving from qualification to combat preparation. These innovative instructors began search- ing for information. They wanted to know when law enforcement gunfights occur, the types of calls involved, suspect demo- graphics, and the timeframes and distances involved so they could tailor their training curriculum to reflect the reality of deadly force confrontations. What they found was disturbing. There was very little information available. Quest for Knowledge In 1970, the New York Police Department began gathering data on officer involved shootings. NYPD SOP 9 was the first attempt at documenting all gunshots fired by officers. In 1972, the Federal Bureau of Investigation began publishing the Law Enforcement Officers Killed Summary and the Analysis of Assaults on Federal Officers. These two documents are now combined into the annu- al publication, Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted. The information contained in these docu- ments represented the foundation for chang- ing firearms training curriculum. Firearms instructors discovered that most law enforce- ment gunfights occur within 0 - 10 feet and are generally over in a matter of seconds. Armed with this information, law enforce- ment firearms instructors identified a need to change the current training paradigm from one of training for qualification to training for combat speed and accuracy. Changing curriculum is fairly easy; however, changing expectations is very difficult. Instilling the Passion to Train Problem shooters struggle with acquiring and maintaining even basic marksmanship proficiency. As instructors, this is partially our fault. All too often, I hear Firearms Instructors complain about officers who refuse to practice firearms skills on their by Todd Fletcher