Found the article though it relates more to off-duty carry/CCW. Also, revolvers are great for women and anyone not investing a substantial time in training. If one cylinder doesn't go bang pull the trigger again until you have had 5-7 trigger pulls then reload.
"Off Duty Carry by Scott Reitz
I spent thirty years on LAPD. Over twenty six of those were in Metropolitan Division and ten of those were in SWAT. I ran in service classes for divisions and specialized units throughout the department during my last fifteen years or so on the department. Thirty years of being intimately involved in the teaching and application and subsequent defense of deadly force issues, teaches one many lessons. The subject of off duty carry is often disregarded to the detriment of many who have found themselves in such critical situations.
There have been many off duty deadly force encounters that I am aware of. Very few of these entailed the proverbial, ‘White Knight’ riding to the rescue. Most of the encounters have been self defense in nature. They have been officers who have found it necessary to defend either themselves or their immediate family. Few of these encounters afforded the officer any other option other than deadly force when reviewed from a reasonable perspective.
This fact alone, should raise the question of just why and how an officer should carry off duty. There have been officers that I am aware of who do not carry weapons in an off duty status. This is entirely a personal choice that one may regret. Their response when queried as to why they don’t carry off duty is that, ‘they aren’t looking for trouble.” Neither is any sane individual but most officers that find themselves in critical situations never envisioned that they would be there in the first place and almost all of these encounters are as a direct result of the suspect’s actions not theirs! These are officers who are going about their lives and suddenly find themselves confronted by the unpredictability of life.
We have had officers who have had to run to save their lives from knife wielding suspects, Officers forced to the prone in banks with guns to their heads who were completely at the suspect’s mercy etc. None of these are very heartening experiences. The decision to carry should be weighed with the simple fact in mind that life and all that comes with it is unpredictable and that deadly force can come at you from any corner at any moment. This does not mean by the way, that the Officer is paranoid or seeking out such encounters but rather that he is aware that this can occur and he may want to comport himself accordingly. Officers frequently carry much smaller side arms off duty than they would on while on duty. This comes at a price. Those of you that have been through my training are familiar with the realistic drills and targets that we present during these evolutions.
Moving targets, partial targets, low level light scenarios, speed reloads, malfunction clearances etc. are all thrown at you at a realistic pace and within a realistic framework. Imagine trying to accomplish the same result that you are pushed with when using your standard side arm but now you are using a two inch, five shot revolver or a very compressed semi-automatic and is no longer a drill but a very real life and death encounter. It would be that much harder to accomplish and you may have not have even considered the following. Traditionally, Officers train much more with the standard fire arm than they ever will with the smaller off duty carry pistol. As a point of fact, I would imagine that Officers probably will put less than 200 rounds through these smaller pistols during their entire career and almost none of these rounds will be fired in realistic training scenarios. Smaller pistols are harder to control, harder to manipulate and have a shorter sight radius that lends to more potential error in sight alignment by the shooter.
Consider the following. If you are off duty you have no body armor, no shotgun, no rifle, no communication, and no police vehicle with ballistic side panels, no immediate access to air support and no partner. In point of fact those with you may be more of a tactical detriment than an asset. If there was any time when you needed a pistol that you are intimately familiar with, that you have shot extensively and ultimately depend on for its unfailing reliability this is it! This would not be the time to sport a two inch five shot that you have trouble attaining hits with at seven yards. The mid sized pistols that are just a step below full size would be the best compromise if that is your choice. Personally, I carry a full sized pistol that I know works when I want it to, that is accurate and dependable and one that I have practiced with through the years. There is nothing that I have to adapt to on the spur of the moment. I know the pistol and what I can accomplish with it and that is security enough. In all my years I was never involved in a single off duty incident. That doesn’t mean that it can’t happen tomorrow though. Trying to guess when or where, or if it will come, is a fairly difficult proposition. Murphy’s Law seems to be prevalent in most off duty situations. When I ask Officers who were involved in such shootings whether they expected it, the overwhelming majority responded “no”.
Since we have had shootings in churches, in driveways, on the beach, on family trips, in their neighbor’s yards etc. this is not an altogether unrealistic response. One simply doesn’t know what life may throw at you. Whether you choose to carry off duty and if you do, what you choose to carry may very well mean the difference of living to enjoy all that you have sought to accomplish.
Note: I’d be interested to know how many of you carry off duty. Please send me your comments & thoughts."