Training

Often times when I am talking with police officers about the role of situational awareness and casualty incidents, especially the ones that have recently occurred, they share with me their opinions and frustrations about the performance of the police officers and the decisions made by command staff. If I have learned anything, it’s that police officers are very opinionated and, in…

We know from previous articles that situational awareness is the ability to perceive and understand what is happening around you while being mindful of time passing, and then being able to accurately predict future events in time to avoid bad outcomes. This is very important when it comes to conflict management and de-escalation as well.  As a young-police officer I didn’t…

Developing and maintaining situational awareness at an emergency scene can be a very challenging task. Scenes are often stressful, complex, time-compressed, and complicated with rapidly-changing conditions. Police officers have lots of information to process and many tasks to perform. And, sadly, situational awareness isn’t always front-of-mind. Under such conditions, meta awareness may help. Awareness About Awareness Meta awareness is a term…

Curiosity killed the cat, but it’s not curiosity that is killing police officers, it’s complacency contributing to flawed situational awareness. What does it mean to be complacent? I could offer you the Webster’s dictionary definition, instead, I’d like to offer you a definition based on my observations of those who suffer from the affliction. Complacent To believe that bad things only…

My days at the police academy were a lot of fun. I can remember the first day like it was yesterday.  We all showed up eager to learn, got our room assignments, did our physical tests and greeted each other in the gymnasium.  Most of the cadets knew each other and were from the same school.  I was the only one…

ACTIVE SHOOTER TRAINING FOR CITIZENS If you find yourself at work, school, church, etc., when an active shooter event unfolds there are a few things you should know and practice.  First, if you can safely do so, RUN!  Get out of the situation as fast as possible.  You will improve your chances of knowing where to run if, in advance, you…

When I was in the police academy and went through Active Shooter training it was designed solely for police officers. There was never a mention of EMS or fire department response and how they could assist in these situations.  It took approximately 8 years into my career until I went to a training that involved the assistance of EMS and firefighters. …

My students often ask me, “Mr. Moldenhauer, what’s the worst call cops could ever go on?”  My response is always the same, an active shooter call.  I have had my share of terrible calls in my career that will stay with me forever (i.e.  suicides, child deaths, and fatal car accidents just to name a few). However, I don’t feel any…

I’ll never forget the day I was issued the newest Electronic Control Weapon (ECW), commonly referred to as a Taser.  As a department we were all very excited, yet, nervous to see the ECW’s and we were ready to test them out on training day.  ECW’s are a critical piece of equipment that allows law enforcement to use a less lethal…

Drew W. Moldenhauer, M.S, has 15 years of Law Enforcement experience with two police organizations in Minnesota. Some of the titles he has held in his tenure are Active Shooter Instructor, Use of Force Instructor, Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Instructor and Field Training Officer. He is currently a full-time licensed police officer that works part-time with the City of Osseo Police…