The recent mass shootings put the focus on first responders more than ever before.
But it isn’t just those rare, horrible attacks that cops, SWAT and tactical officers, and medical personnel deal with every day.
Every day, police officers deal with life-and-death situations requiring the use of force.
Whether it’s domestic disputes…
…assaults, street fights, and property crimes…
…or murders and gunfights…
…every cop relies on the gear he carries every day to survive while doing his job.
In other words, a cop’s EDC gear isn’t just the tools he or she uses to do the job.
It’s their no sh*t survival kit!
In fact, it’s one of the most constantly field-tested survival kits there is – with the purpose of getting them safe and sound back to their home… to those they love… alive!
Don’t YOU have that same goal as you face the world each day?
Of course you do – so let’s take a minute to talk about…
Police Gear EVERY “Protector” Should EDC
Every survivalist, prepper, CCW-holder, and prepared citizen carries EDC gear (aka. “everyday carry” gear) – even if that’s a just a simple pocket knife for general tasks, or for personal defense.
The fact is, in an emergency, the gear you have on your person and in your pockets might be the ONLY stuff you have to deal with the problem.
Whether it’s sudden street violence… a collapse, an “active shooter” situation… or a sudden riot… your EDC tools — like the stuff on a cop’s duty belt — are all you’ve got when it counts.
Cops already know this.
Unfortunately, most civilians don’t think beyond their gun or knife at what they CAN carry – and why they should.
Now, I get it…
You probably can’t carry a baton (a “nightstick”).
You might not want to cart around a taser.
You might not even be able to carry a firearm, which every police officer has on his or her belt.
But there are OTHER pieces of EDC gear — perfectly LEGAL gear for civilians — that can save your life in a real attack!
Consider these additions to your own EDC arsenal…
1. Handcuff Key
Every cop carries handcuffs, and every cop carries handcuff keys.
These are universal and there are TONS of handcuff keys you can buy.
Some are so small and light that you can clip them to the inside of your belt and forget all about them.
If you find yourself in a kidnapping or hostage situation, you might be handcuffed because cuffs are a fast way to immobilize a prisoner.
If you have a handcuff key hidden on you, getting free so you can escape and evade is that much easier.
There have been several high-profile hostage situations when mass shooters held people prisoner before shooting them one by one.
Even if you NEVER use it, a hidden handcuff key is cheap insurance you’ll never notice you’re carrying.
2. Flashlight
Flashlights are so bright and so cheap these days that it should be a crime not to carry one.
Yet too many people just don’t bother to drop one of these into their pocket each morning.
It takes just a few dollars to get a high-quality aluminum LED unit.
They’re small.
They’re bright.
They can be used as striking tools.
But most importantly, they enable you to identify your target in low light so you don’t shoot or stab the wrong person.
On top of all that, an EDC flashlight is great for utility purposes, including walking at night and alerting cars to your presence.
If you don’t have one, you NEED to get one and carry it, just like cops do.
3. “Rubber” Gloves
In any emergency, shooting, or other violent or traumatic event, there’s going to be blood.
NOBODY wants contact with other people’s blood these days.
A pair of surgical gloves is something anybody can tuck away.
They take up almost no room and weigh nothing.
Cops carry them as necessary protection when responding in life-or-death emergencies.
You can too.
With your gloves at the ready, you’ll be able to protect yourself while rendering first aid and other medical assistance in an emergency.
4. Pepper Spray
Finally, you need to be carrying pepper spray, even though most people don’t bother.
Cops carry pepper spray (and tasers) so they have “less lethal” options for subduing a suspect.
You should be carrying it so that lethal force isn’t your ONLY option in a fight.
This protects you legally, because if you defend yourself, you can only use the amount of force needed to stop the attack — and no more!
A judge and jury will cut you a LOT more slack if you only pepper spray a guy who’s coming at you, but who isn’t quite a murderous threat.
If you shoot that guy, it’s YOU going to jail…
…but if you pepper spray him to subdue him, that’s an appropriate use of force.
If all you’re carrying is a gun, your ONLY option is to KILL someone (at least potentially, which is how courts look at lethal force).
In other words, you have to carry pepper spray so that you can take your response to a “less lethal” level BEFORE you use potentially lethal force – when called for.
After all, “if the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.”
(Make that mistake in a real street altercation and you could end up in prison.)
Plus, pepper spray is very often legal, even in states that are fairly anti-gun.
Don’t reinvent the wheel when it comes to EDC survival gear.
Learn from what the police carry to protect themselves and others.
Copy their EDC choices and you’ll be better equipped every single day.
