157: Use it or Lose it: The Essence of Officer Discretion
Release Date: 03/15/2024
Tactical Tangents
Situational awareness demands focus and selective attention. Sometimes playing on your phone can help, and sometimes it can kill you. Most people can’t multitask as well as they think, but Mike and Jim will give you strategies to outmatch your enemy and avoid becoming a LUMP. FAA Task Management White Paper: Aviation Week article on Compartmentalization: Wiki Page Eastern Flight 401: The Invisible Gorilla: How Our Intuitions Deceive Us by Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons: The Invisible Gorilla video: Find us on social media (Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/YouTube)...
info_outline 160: Lights in the Sky: Aliens or Drones? Jim Spills the Beans on UFOsTactical Tangents
Just because it's not aliens doesn't mean we can ignore it. Let's develop a comprehensive air defense and counter drone plan in the wake of Ukraine, Syria, and Gaza. We investigate Unidentified Flying Objects, UAVs, aliens, killer drones, spy satellites, Chinese balloons, and Foo Fighters. : https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/2314065/establishment-of-unidentified-aerial-phenomena-task-force/ : https://www.intelligence.gov/index.php/publics-daily-brief/public-s-daily-brief-articles/1077-unidentified-aerial-phenomena-preliminary-intelligence-assessment Find us...
info_outline 159: What’s up with the beards? Setting and Enforcing StandardsTactical Tangents
Green Berets have to work with a different rule book than the troops guarding nuclear weapons—and for good reasons. We explore the balance between strict adherence to rules and the often necessary flexibility to go off-script in tactical operations and your organization’s culture. Find us on social media (Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/YouTube) @TacTangents You can join the conversation in our . Find all of our episodes, articles, some reading list ideas, and more on our website Like what we’re doing? Head over to and give us a buck for each new episode. You can...
info_outline 158: “Your Children Are Not Safe”: DC Beltway SnipersTactical Tangents
In October 2002, a 17 and 41 year old carried out a series of serial murders, killing 10 and wounding 3 others in what were described as random attacks against people doing every day tasks like pumping gas and mowing their lawn. We cover lessons from this large scale, multi-agency investigation with takeaways for individual cops and police leaders related to public relations, investigative rigor, and interagency cooperation. Find us on social media (Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/YouTube) @TacTangents You can join the conversation in our . Find all of our episodes, articles, some...
info_outline 157: Use it or Lose it: The Essence of Officer DiscretionTactical Tangents
There are over 18,000 police Chiefs and Sheriffs in the United States, and every one of them has their own version of what right and wrong looks like. But unless they plan on showing up at every traffic stop, they are going to have to trust that their Officers and Deputies on the front lines are doing the best they can. Empowering law enforcement officers with discretion to use their best judgment is a necessary part of policing, but there are some serious gotchas that we have to watch out for to maintain that responsibility and the trust of the people we serve. Find us on social media...
info_outline 156: I AM THAT B*TCH! Erica Gaines of TacMobilityTactical Tangents
Erica is the founder of TacMobility, a wellness training company and online resource with a ton of free material for public safety. TacMobility is implementing a blend of mobility training and mental health support by working its way past the tough “sheepdog” exterior. Through eye-opening surveys, TacMobility highlights the not-so-funny truths about depression and the dusty corners where wellness programs sit unused. Advocating for a mix of low-effort, big-impact wellness habits, TacMobility proves you can indeed teach old dogs new tricks and balance the badge with a bit of brain and body...
info_outline 155: Say What You Mean, Mean What You SayTactical Tangents
Here’s the thing about plane crashes: We all die at the same time. Inefficient and ambiguous communication has serious tactical implications when managing a crisis as a team. Sometimes, we water down what we need to say because we don’t want to step on toes or piss anyone off, especially when talking to authority figures. This is called mitigated speech, and it is something leaders and team members need to be aware of when it comes to problem solving and decision making in groups. Episode 48: Outliers by Malcom Gladwell: Find us on social media...
info_outline 154: Get with the times: Pistol Optics are the way of the presentTactical Tangents
For some reason there are a lot of people out there who still feel like putting an optic on your pistol isn’t reliable or practical, and our handsome hand model in the photo John Correia calls those people the Gun Amish. We agree with that title, because it’s 2024 and pistol mounted optics are a game changer. Mike and Jim talk about some of the challenges switching to a red dot sight on a handgun and some tips on how to overcome them. Find us on social media (Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/YouTube) @TacTangents You can join the conversation in our . Find all of our episodes,...
info_outline 153: Guns n’ Guitars: Go learn something newTactical Tangents
There is an art and science to learning a new skill. Whether you are picking up new hobbies and trying to improve performance at essential job tasks, there are some tricks and concepts to understand to break plateaus and keep training fun. We cover crawl walk run, the balance between simple and technical, developing a growth mindset, and embracing the suck. Find us on social media (Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/YouTube) @TacTangents You can join the conversation in our . Find all of our episodes, articles, some reading list ideas, and more on our website Like what we’re...
info_outline 152: Do you trust me? Selflessness in TeamworkTactical Tangents
We say that we should put Service before Self, but it's more than just a mantra. Where the rubber meets the road is all in how we develop implicit trust among teammates so that we know where each other is going to be and what they are going to do when the going gets tough. We can accomplish this with the intentional application of Standards, Contracts, and good Debriefs. It's one thing that we all get along, but real trust isn't something that can be assumed as a given--we've got to earn it. Building trust in teams has a lot to do with the often unwritten social contracts that help us...
info_outlineThere are over 18,000 police Chiefs and Sheriffs in the United States, and every one of them has their own version of what right and wrong looks like. But unless they plan on showing up at every traffic stop, they are going to have to trust that their Officers and Deputies on the front lines are doing the best they can.
Empowering law enforcement officers with discretion to use their best judgment is a necessary part of policing, but there are some serious gotchas that we have to watch out for to maintain that responsibility and the trust of the people we serve.
Find us on social media (Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/YouTube) @TacTangents
You can join the conversation in our Facebook Discussion Group.
Find all of our episodes, articles, some reading list ideas, and more on our website www.tacticaltangents.com
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Intro music credit Bensound.com