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Every unsolicited interaction with law enforcement rests on one simple principle.  It is the singular foundation for all law enforcement officer (LEO) training and field work.  It is the deciding factor in whether a person will live or die.  It is an amazingly complex and intricate concept to master, and yet unbelievably simple to put into words.  For some LEOs, it can be a daily struggle, and for others, an intuitive understanding without a conscious recognition.  The principle is human free will, and the purpose and intention of a LEO is to break it.  Submit.  Comply.  Behave. It begins with the recognition of authority.  A LEO’s authority is recognized in law, and represented by a uniform and a weapon.  We are all indoctrinated from a very early age to understand this taxpayer-funded authority.  “Policeman” is one of the first occupations a child is taught to recognize.  80% of all TV shows and movies feature LEOs prominentl...

  Picture yourself in Washington DC on a rainy fall evening in 1941.  As you stand under an awning, trench coat and fedora soaked from the rain, a similarly outfitted man approaches.  “Is it ready?  Do you have it with you?” he asks in a British accent.  “We’re out of time.”  You nod and jiggle the leather valise in your hand.  He lets out a sigh of relief.  “You may have just saved Britain,” he says as you hand him the briefcase.  Inside, a map detailing Nazi Germany’s plans to invade South America has begun its journey into the hands of US President Franklin Roosevelt.  Two days later, FDR will address the nation at the Mayflower hotel.  The following part is real, by the way. “I have in my possession a secret map made by Hitler’s government. It is a map of South America and part of Central America, as Hitler proposes to reorganize it,” FDR will tell the crowd.  With American approval for involvement in a war in Europe ho...

  Wednesday night, August 28, 1968, Chicago Illinois.   Inside the International Amphitheater, the Democratic National Convention was nearing its conclusion.  Fights had broken out on the convention floor between supporters of Vice President Hubert Humphrey and those of Senators Eugene McCarthy and George McGovern, as well as supporters of civil rights-focused candidates Julian Bond and Channing Phillips.  Security guards shoved CBS reporter Dan Rather to the ground while he was attempting to interview delegates live on the air.   Outside, in nearby Grant Park, the Battle of Michigan Avenue was raging.  An absolutely astonishing amount of law enforcement gathered to confront a menagerie of loosely aligned protest groups.  In total, 12,000 Chicago cops and 15,000 Army service members and National Guard troops arrived in downtown Chicago to confront protestors with overwhelming force.  The mayhem was captured on film by reporters from nearly eve...

On January 20, 1981, Ronald Reagan gave his inaugural address after being sworn in as President of the United States and made his way to a celebratory lunch. At the same time, almost to the minute, the 52 hostages held in Iran after the seizing of the US embassy in Tehran over a year earlier, were released from captivity. The timing of the release was suspiciously advantageous to Reagan’s campaign and may have carried him in the election over Jimmy Carter. While this is a fascinating tale, it’s not really what this blog post is about, though, so let’s skip ahead a few months. On March 29 of that same year, John Hinckley, Jr. arrived in Washington DC on a Greyhound bus. The next day, he waited in the crowd outside the Hilton Hotel where President Reagan had given a speech. Around 2:30pm, as Reagan was exiting the hotel, Hinckley leapt from the crowd and emptied his revolver. He missed Reagan with all six shots, but managed to wound Reagan nonetheless when the final shot ricochet...