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Push/Pull Drill: How to Use Your Out-of-Battery Sidearm as an Impact Weapon to End a Gun Grab

NCJ Number
213197
Journal
Police: The Law Enforcement Magazine Volume: 30 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2006 Pages: 60,62,63
Author(s)
Michael T. Rayburn
Date Published
January 2006
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article describes a technique to regain control during a gun grab fight when your police firearm has been taken out of battery and will not fire.
Abstract
All physical encounters with suspects involve pushing and pulling; the suspect pushes or pulls an officer to get away or to grab their gun while officers push or pull suspects to regain control. During all this pushing and pulling, it is easy for the slide of a firearm to get pushed back just far enough to be taken out of battery and not fire. The author cautions that when a suspect attempts to grab a police officer’s firearm, that suspect has attempted to kill the officer. As such, it is important to regain control of the suspect as quickly as possible. Given the fact that the officer’s firearm will not fire, the firearm can be used as an impact weapon to regain control of the suspect. The author recommends using the firearm to break the suspect’s ribs, which will give the officer enough time to slide the firearm back into battery, allowing it to fire if necessary. The article describes how to practice these maneuvers using a partner and replica gun, as well as how to practice on a firing range with live fire. Exhibits