by I just read an interesting article from BlueSheepdog.com. They are a site dedicated to law enforcement officer training and safety. The article I read was by Lt. Jim Glennon and discussed the indicators or tells that someone is about to attack. While it is written with the law enforcement community in mind, I think much of it applies to the rest of us.
Glennon identified a number of pre-attack signs including targeted glances, clenching of hands or teeth, and eye blinks.
The whole article can be found here. Of course, no amount of knowledge about indicators is worth anything if you are oblivious to what is going on around you.
I can picture an absolutely innocent conversation between a trained non-LEO and an LEO appearing from the outside like a confrontation simply because both will automatically blade themselves toward each other, maintain distance, keep their heads on a swivel, and such.
Similar inadvertency to the mass move toward the chair with the back to the wall and best unobstructed view of the front door you see when a bunch of gunnies go to sit down at a restaurant table. =)
I probably demonstrate some of these behaviors, and I would never attack cop.
1) Target glance: Being a student/enthusiast of sidearms I will look at the cop's gun, if for no other reason than curiosity as to what the agency carries.
2) Clenching: Having had chronic pain from facet arthropathy since the late 70's I have clenched my jaw to the point of destroying my teeth.
3) Eye blinks: If my contact lenses are dry I will blink more often than 20 times/min.
4) Hesitation in response: I probably don't want to answer ANY questions, and hesitation is likely deciding whether I will answer at all.
_Revjen45
Yeh – Ive never attacked a cop nor have had any urges to. But because of this article, my gun "fancy" -staring at the guns- and my 365 allergies (red eyes, blinking, etc.) would be a FALSE FLAG for a supposed "trained" cop per this article – while the REAL criminals could be walking just behind me getting ready to TAKE HIM DOWN for REAL. In other words – I am, and have typically in the past served as a dangerous "distraction" for idiots who beleive all this stuff. ONE CANNOT TELL WHAT IT IS IN THE HEARTS & MINDS OF THE CRIMINAL MIND. ONE CAN ONLY WATCH THEIR HANDS – REGARDLESS OF ALL THIS PSYCHOLOGICAL MUMBO-CRAP. AND BE READY TO ACT 'AHEAD' OF THE CRIMINAL(s). Just a fact!