Under the stress of a potentially violent encounter, police officers can lose the ability to perform fine motor skills, their heart rate skyrockets. The recognition of this fact has driven a revolutionary change in defensive tactics training over the past 40 years. Police academy and in-service training has evolved to include scenario training which now provide officers with the mental tools they need to respond quickly and correctly to the situation at hand.  These techniques work in a variety of situations and are easily repeatable by the average officer.

We have learned that shooters may unconsciously place their finger on the trigger. The amygdala is a primitive part of the lower brain which reacts to threats. There is one of these almond shaped organs on each side of the brain. It is the source of the startle flinch reaction, the fastest way a human can move. Recognizing dangerous patterns, the amygdala enable us to fight, freeze, or escape.

The amygdala triggers your responses faster than your conscious awareness. The amygdala react to negative events in many ways, including activation of your sympathetic nervous system. The primary mission of the amygdala is to detect and respond to subliminal signals of danger. While it takes around 300 milliseconds for you to become percieve a threat, the amygdala can react to it within 20 milliseconds. The amygdada can put your finger on the trigger and pull it.
While scenario training is a vast improvement over old technique based training, inert plastic training guns used by most institutions don’t provide feedback to shooters or trainers. Designed to replicate the feel of an actual firearm, red and blue guns don’t react when the trigger is pulled. Under stress, shooters will unconsciously put their finger on the trigger.  Some programs teach officers to point guns at suspects who are not a threat.  This deep cultural conditioning needs to be unlearned for the real world. But unlearning doesn’t come easily. The law of primacy dictates that what we learn first is what we retain best, and we revert to it in times of duress and high heart rate.

Repetition is the only way to unlearn these undesired behaviors. With a normal 15/1 student / instructor ratio, the task of identifying these behaviors during drills is nearly impossible and there is no time to correct them. Smart Firearms Training Devices emit warning sounds whenever a student’s finger goes inside the trigger guard. This allows instructors to recognize this habit in a student. The student can also begin to self-correct and move forward with proper handling as their default function.

“BANG, BANG, BANG!” That is the way cops were taught to verbalize in training to indicate a discharge. But it verbalizes what should be an action. With the old inert plastic training guns, which don’t have a working trigger or a sound to indicate a shot, it’s the only option – the only way to let instructors and training partners know that a shop has been fired.

Real police gun fights have been initiated with “BANG, BANG, BANG!” This is due to the law of primacy. When we are under stress, we revert to what we learned first.  A training gun with a working trigger that discourages bad habits is crucial. Smart Firearms gives shooters and trainers the tool they need.