After retiring from Delta Force, I’ve spent another decade training Special Operations Forces and Law Enforcement units throughout the U.S. ”You can’t teach experience”, so I still have the privilege of training awesome Americans that protect and serve. “Police Brutality” is an overused term that should only be for a very small percent of individuals that shouldn’t be in uniform. While 99% of LE are doing a great job, there are those few who sneak through by a weak selection process or having quotas due to Political Correctness. It’s easy for the media to judge after an event, but some folks simply handle stress better than others and it’s up to trainers and leadership within those units to identify those not right for the job.
“Where is the Threat?” A suspect running away is not a threat! Not complying with your commands is not an immediate threat that should lead to an execution on the street in Tulsa, OK…or like the Arizona Rancher involved with the Bundy/Wildlife Refuge standoff last winter. The old man had his hands up then he lowered them, only to be executed in waist deep snow…Even if the old dude was reaching for a gun, the agent 30 yards away with a carbine didn’t seem to be in immediate danger. I would have a hard time calling that one a “righteous” kill because I know the average old guy that spent his life ranching couldn’t hit a target at 30 yards with a pistol. And in this business, righteousness means you can sleep at night.
I’ve received my last few traffic violations through the mail, so why can’t we lessen the force? Why not have tougher standards and selection criteria? By trimming the fat, you can pay more and offer incentives that will attract a larger pool to select from and wear the blue uniform to serve the community with honor, respect and professionalism. I remember patrolling the streets of Ramadi and Fallujah where the locals hated me and wanted to kill me despite my efforts to bring peace and security to these dangerous insurgent filled neighborhoods.
Tragically in America today, men and women in blue are experiencing the same trying to bring law and order to rough neighborhoods in the inner-city from Ferguson, MO to Baltimore, Chicago’s South Side to Charlotte, NC. With a world full of growing radical Islam, racial tension and race baiting, why wouldn’t you pick those who protect and serve from the top of the pyramid? We need “Law and Order” now more than ever, to include a leadership who won’t water down standards, hold men and women in uniform accountable and back their decisions to the hilt when they make the right call.
“The phrase Black Lives Matter suggest racial superiority. It excludes the importance of anybody else’s life.” “THAT IS RACISM DEFINED.”
-Sherriff David Clarke
Respectfully, Daryl Holland
Daryl Holland is a retired U.S. Army Sergeant Major with over 20 years of active duty experience, 17 of those years in Special Operations. Five years with the 1st Special Forces Group (SFG) and 12 years in the 1st SFOD-Delta serving as an Assaulter, Sniper, Team Leader, and OTC Instructor.
He has conducted several hundred combat missions in Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia, Philippines, and the Mexican Border. He has conducted combat missions in Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush Mountains as a Sniper and experienced Mountaineer to the streets of Baghdad as an Assault Team Leader.
He has a strong instructor background started as an OTC instructor and since retiring training law abiding civilians, Law Enforcement, U.S. Military, and foreign U.S. allied Special Operations personnel from around the world.
Gunfighter Moment is a weekly feature brought to you by Bravo Company USA. Bravo Company is home of the Gunfighters, and each week they bring us a different trainer to offer some words of wisdom.
