Gunfight Analysis: The Richard Mendoza Incident Update

Update:  Officer Miguel Alarcon contacted me several years after the incident discussed below.  He expressed amazement at how accurate the "play by play" description of the incident was with only the video to analyze. My analysis of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) videos: Click here to view the video

Los Angeles: With only 9 months left on probation, Richard Mendoza was not going back to prison. When the the female officer told him to get out of the car, he knew the police would discover his pistol. Mendoza also knew that surprise was on his side so he decided to take the chance.

The LAPD released video of an officer-involved shooting that left the suspect Richard Mendoza dead and one officer wounded in the leg. The shooting happened during a traffic stop in North Hills, California, on the night of July 27, 2018. The video shows a female officer speaking to Mendoza who appears to be cooperating and following her instructions when she tells him to step out of the car. 

Video then shows Mendoza pulling out a pistol and shooting her in the leg. He then turns to shoot at her partner, Officer Miguel Alarcon, over the car.  However, Officer Alarcon quickly fires striking Mendoza in the head and torso. Mendoza later died at a hospital. Police records show that Mendoza was a gang member and had previous convictions on drug and weapons charges. Mendoza indicated during the verbal exchange with the female officer that he had nine months left on probation at the time of the shooting. Mendoza likely attacked the officers hoping to escape rather than be arrested and returned to prison for charges of a felon in possession of a firearm.

In the video you can see Mendoza glancing at Officer Alarcon out of the corner of his eye just before he exits the car and shoots the female officer. Mendoza was likely trying to confirm the male officer’s position in preparation for engaging that officer. You can see Mendoza’s pistol on Officer Alarcon’s body cam video as Mendoza exits the vehicle. The female officer’s body cam shows Alarcon glancing away at just that moment—understandable if unfortunate. Officer Alarcon was simply maintaining situational awareness of their surroundings.

From the time the female officer could have seen Mendoza’s pistol until he shot her was approximately 0.86 seconds—far too short a time for her to react. Officer Alarcon clearly reacted an instant before Mendoza fired at the female officer and before Mendoza turned to fire at him. It is not clear from the various videos whether Officer Alarcon was reacting to Mendoza’s aggressive move toward the female officer or whether he glanced into the car just in time to see Mendoza’s pistol as Mendoza was exiting his car.*
 

I believe it was the latter. Officer Alarcon fired his first shot in 0.72 seconds after Mendoza’s shot which leads me to believe that he saw and reacted to Mendoza’s pistol. The car dashcam video shows Alarcon dip his shoulder in a manner indicative of drawing his pistol an instant before Mendoza shoots the female officer. The dashcam and Officer Alarcon’s body cam both show that he had started lateral movement to his left at the instant of Mendoza’s shot.

After he shoots the female officer, Mendoza turns and aims his pistol where he likely believed Alarcon was still standing; however, Alarcon had moved.  Video analysis does not show Mendoza firing a second shot and I believe not seeing Alarcon where he expected to see him caused momentary hesitation.  In any event, it is likely that Officer Alarcon’s first shot strikes Mendoza before he can fire. The video shows Mendoza beginning to fall 0.5 seconds after Alarcon’s first shot and Mendoza continues falling until he hits the pavement. Alarcon’s second shot ricochets off the top of the car and may not have hit Mendoza.

Officer Alarcon is positioned over the car trunk at this point, likely out of Mendoza’s immediate line of fire. Alarcon’s 3rd and 4th shots go through the car’s rear window. His 3rd shot may have struck Mendoza, his 4th shot probably did not because Mendoza had fallen out of his line of sight by this time. Officer Alarcon fires four shots in 0.90 seconds or a rate of fire of 0.30 seconds between shots. Studies show that Alarcon’s rate of fire would fall within the range of a typical police officer of 0.25 – 0.30 seconds between shots.**

What can we learn from this incident? The person who takes the initiative gets to start the fight—all they require is decisiveness, marksmanship, and the will to win. Mendoza had the initiative in this fight and his surprise attack immediately dropped the female officer.

Officer Alarcon in this incident faced a reactive event where the bad guy was already preparing to shoot him. Studies and countless officer involved shooting videos have shown that the initial reaction of many officers (and private citizens for that matter) who are facing a deadly threat is to stand flat-footed, draw, and try to return fire—this is how most departments train their officers—stand and deliver. That is also what square range practice and many “shooting courses” typically teach.

However, Officer Alarcon did not employ the typical stand and deliver tactic, but rather he dynamically moved off the “X”, drew his pistol, and fired before Mendoza could fire at him thereby ending the gunfight.

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* The Los Angeles Police have not released any accounts of the incident from the officer’s perspective; so some of my analysis is educated guess. 

** Police Officer Reaction Time to Start and Stop Shooting: The Influence of Decision-Making and Pattern Recognition, William J. Lewinski, PhD; et al.; Law Enforcement Executive Forum, Vol. 14, No. 2 • June 2014

Wednesday Wisdom – 5 November 2025

A weekly compilation of valuable information and insights for the citizen defender. These posts will contain links to my writing as well as posts that I believe are worth the time and trouble to read. They will cover the entire gamut of personal security, electronic security, self defense, firearms, equipment, and more.

Black Gun Owners in Chicago Charged with Felonies Despite Valid Firearms Owner Identification (FOID), Concealed Carry Licenses

You can jump through all the hoops in an anti-gun gun state or city and still be charged with felony firearms possession. 

Seeing Inside a Suppressed Gun Barrel! Outlier’s BackDraft Technology

Suppressors and barrels get hot. New carbon fiber heat reduction technology may help mitigate the heat buildup. The BackDraft Barrel and a suppressor working in tandem reduce suppressor heat by up to 40% and accelerate cooling times by up to 40%. An interesting video exploring how this technology works.

The FBI Ammunition Testing Protocol

More than you might ever want to know about the FBI ammunition testing protocol.

"The Moral is to the Physical..."

 

So the test is about that- what do you think makes a good team? A good team member? What purpose does the team serve? For the agency? For the community?

10 Myths About Knives & Knife Defense

A look at myths associated with defending against the knife.

Get Training and Carry Your Guns 

Worship services — particularly of the Christian variety — have become the soft target of choice for the critters during the current cycle of violence. A “Soft target of choice” because a good many Christian churches have chosen to forget some of Christ’s more … sticky … lessons, and have either forbidden the carry of the least of our weapons in their houses of worship, or have declared that only chosen “Security Teams” may carry.

I personally provided Texas License to Carry and firearms training to over forty members of a church just down the road from the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas that was the site of a horrendous massacre at the hands of a deranged lunatic. Had he chosen a different church, the result may have been very different.

Bag of Chips Mistaken for Gun by Maryland High School AI Security System

Kenwood High School's AI security system mistakenly flagged a student's Doritos bag as a firearm. Miscommunication among administrators following the alert led to a student being handcuffed.

The "TAP" In Tap Rack, and Why It’s Important

I do not agree with many of the thing Gabe Suarez says; however, he makes several good points concerning eliminating the “tap,” in the tap/rack malfunction clearing sequence.

Why You Should Take a Firearm Training Course

There are three types of people who should consider a firearm training course: anyone who owns a gun; anyone with access to a gun; either of the first two who have already received firearm training, but it has been a long time since their last training class and/or it has been a long time since they handled a gun. Firearm training and practice is like bathing. The more you do it, the better it is for everyone.

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How Fast? The Elijah Wilks Incident

Milwaukee Police released a video on October 9, 2025 of an off-duty officer involved shooting with Milwaukee resident Elijah Wilks. The officer’s personally owned dash camera captured a video of much of the incident.

In the video, Wilks (in the right lane) attempted to speed pass the officer  (who was in the left lane) on the officer’s right as both approached an area where the right lane was closed. In doing so, Wilks’s vehicle clipped the officer’s front right fender. Both individuals pulled over and stopped a moment later. Wilks exited his vehicle with his right hand in his hoodie pocket and verbally berated the officer as he was exiting his vehicle. It is unlikely that Wilks knew he was confronting a police officer. The officer walked in front of his vehicle and stepped up on the curb as Wilks followed.

Wilks suddenly drew a pistol from his hoodie pocket and struck the police officer in the face with the pistol (see lead picture above). Wilks then stepped away from the curb into the street between the vehicles as the officer begins to draw his pistol. From time Wilks withdraws his pistol from his hoodie until he strikes the officer is 0.400 secs; the officer’s draw takes 2.750 seconds from the time he is struck until the exchange of gunfire begins.

Wilks retreats to cover behind his car and fires the first shot at the off-duty officer who returns fire with his first shot 0.070 seconds later. Wilks fires his second shot in 0.220 seconds followed by the officer’s second shot 0.110 seconds later. Wilks trips and falls behind his car and the officer fires four additional shots while Wilks is out of the officer’s line of sight – one of which strikes Wilks’s car. 

Wilks reappears at the front passenger fender seven seconds later appearing to use the car for cover. As Wilks rolls out from behind his car, the officer fires six additional shots at Wilks. The video’s resolution makes it difficult to determine precisely what Wilks has in his hand as he rolls out from behind his car; however, he does raise one hand toward the officer. Wilks then retreats behind the front of his vehicle as the officer begins giving commands for Wilks to stay on the ground, etc.

Whether Wilks was attempting to use his car for cover to continue firing or was trying to maneuver on the officer is unclear. However, anyone (police officer or private citizen) with training in defensive firearms use would reasonably conclude that Wilks was continuing the gunfight as he rolled out from behind his vehicle. The police officer’s six shots were fired at approximately 0.250 second intervals and he fired the sixth shot after Wilks retreated behind the front of his vehicle. The officer ceased firing after the sixth shot once Wilks was no longer a visible threat.

When Wilks withdrew his firearm, struck the officer in the face, and then stepped back out of reach, the officer could have reasonably believed that Wilks was about to fire on him. Defensive striking and then stepping out of reach is a tactic taught in many firearms training classes. Obviously, a subject can use this tactic offensively as well. Additionally, when Wilks struck the officer, at one point during the strike Wilks’s pistol was pointed directly at the officer’s face (Wilks’s finger was not on the trigger).

When the officer stepped up onto the curb, he looked down and away from Wilks who chose that moment to execute a surprise strike to the officer’s face. If the officer had continued looking at Wilks as he moved to the curb he would have been better prepared to react to Wilks’s attack. Wilks did not discernibly telegraph his intent to attack – he was laser focused on the officer until the moment he executed his movement.

Craig Douglas teaches a course titled Managing Unknown Contacts (or MUC) which outlines a strategy for – as you might imagine from the title, is about dealing with situation like the one discussed above. In an undercover capacity, he was robbed nine times and survived them all intact. Some of those experiences turned out Ok, and some not so much; however, it gave him a unique view into criminal tactics and how to deal with them successfully.

Many instructors teach a variation of his techniques. MUC represents a body of work and lessons learned during Craig’s 21-year law enforcement career and 23 years instructing under the brand Shivworks. You can find more information by clicking here.

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If you have read this far, I would appreciate some feedback in the form of a comment as well. Although Blogger reports thousands of views and, from what I can tell, 99.9% of these views are humans accessing an article. However, I receive very little actual feedback. A thumbs up (or down for that matter) will suffice.

Wednesday Wisdom - 29 October 2025

 

A compilation of valuable information and insights for the citizen defender that I plan to update weekly. These posts will contain links to my writing as well as posts that I believe are worth the time and trouble to read. They will cover the entire gamut of personal security, electronic security, self defense, firearms, equipment, and more.

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Don't Get Shot: Dealing With Police During a Traffic Stop

 Something people often misunderstand is that the law does not require us to make perfect decisions in a self-defense incident nor does it demand that the threat against which we defend ourselves be an actual threat. The law demands that you must have a reasonably objective belief that you are responding to an imminent deadly threat. 

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 “Priority of Scan” – An Officer Survival Necessity

The priorities of scan discussed in this article apply equally to the citizen defender who is dealing with an unknown contact. 

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Useless OPSEC Measure: Vary Your Routes

As the author points out, unless you live in a high terrorist threat environment, it is extremely doubtful that the benefit conferred from varying your routes is an increase in security, and certainly not an increase in security that is equal to or greater than the effort expended. 

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How to Make Sure You’re Not Accidentally Sharing Your Location

Your devices and the apps on them really want to know where you are—whether it's to update you on traffic issues, recommend some a place to get new tires, or to target you for advertising. Even if you think you have turned off all location sharing, your device or apps still might be able to track you. Worse yet, if an ex-turned stalker has ever had access to your device, it may be providing them the history of all your movements. This article discusses how to make sure you are only sharing your location with entities you intend to share it with. 

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How (and Why) To Degoogle Your Life and Protect Your Privacy

Speaking of sharing your location. THE GOOGLE is collecting every bit of data about you that it can. Understandable since selling your information to advertisers is their business model. Google tracks your search queries, monitors your interactions with online products and services, and even keeps tabs on your physical movements while using Google Maps. Each data point adds to your user profile, which Google then uses to strategically present ads. Google is free because YOU are the product. 

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Doubts Raised About Certain Reaction-Time Police Training Exercises

I always ensure that students in my firearms training classes walk away from class with some type of positive success. However, you do students a disservice when you slow down an exercise to allow them to build artificial self confidence. 

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Threatening Deadly Force: Musings on Brandishing and Warning Shots

A good summary busting many Internet myths floating around concerning brandishing and warning shots.

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Something Wicked This Way Comes

I think it has well and truly arrived. In the last four years, the United States changed more than I would have ever believed was possible in my lifetime—much less in a short four years. The Universities are always a good meter to measure against how society is going. And as a man was being assaulted and his constitutional rights clearly being violated America has laughed at it.

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The Mother of All Muzzleloaders

If exploding a nuclear bomb in a hole was cool, then turning it into a big honking gun would be even cooler. Yeah, but can you carry it AIW?

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If you enjoy reading these please subscribe. The link is on the upper right side of the page. Your information will never be distributed.

If you have read this far, I would appreciate some feedback in the form of a comment as well. Although Blogger reports thousands of views and, from what I can tell, 99.9% of these views are humans accessing an article. However, I receive very little actual feedback. A thumbs up or a “!” will suffice.

 

How Fast Does It Happen? The Joshua Coffey Incident

Joshua Coffey couldn’t believe his bad luck. On Monday, 7 July 2025, he was likely checking out a potential target for his chosen profession of burglary when a Berrien County Sheriff's Deputy stopped to check Coffey’s parked vehicle that had a broken window. As Coffey and an accompanying woman exited the private property Coffey was exploring, the Deputy asked Coffey for his identification. Coffey told the deputy that it might be inside the parked vehicle. As Coffey walked toward the vehicle, he undoubtedly realized that he faced a “felon possessing a firearm” felony charge so he suddenly took off running.

Body worn camera video shows Berrien County Sheriff's Deputy Landon pursue Coffey while holding a Taser. Coffey realized he was not going to outrun Deputy Landon so he stopped in a nearby park. Despite Deputy Landon’s repeated commands to show both hands and get on the ground, Coffey turned and raised his left hand exclaiming “no, no, no . . .” while blading his body and shielding his right hand from view. Coffey suddenly dropped to one knee, drew a pistol, and fired at the deputy. 

Joshua Coffey had a long criminal history with an arrest for felony theft in 2008, two arrests in 2019 for possession of methamphetamine, resisting law enforcement, drawing or using a deadly weapon, and a warrant from another agency. He continued his efforts in in late 2021 and 2022 with four arrests for burglary, resisting law enforcement, driving while suspended, and yet another warrant from another agency. In 2024 police arrested Coffey two times for burglary and resisting law enforcement. Given the timing of these arrests, Coffey must have spent little to no time in jail.

So how much time did it take for Coffey to draw and fire his pistol? His draw from the time he initiated the movement to the moment he fired at Deputy Landon was approximately 1.000 seconds. Coffey fired a second shot at Deputy Landon 0.570 seconds later. In the picture below, Coffey is blading to cover his draw.  On the right, is the first moment Coffey's pistol was visible to Deputy Landon (red circle). Deputy Landon still has his Taser in his left hand.

Coffey Blading to Cover his Draw                   Coffey's Pistol is Visible           

Multiple studies have shown that it takes an average of 0.335 to over 0.500 seconds to respond to a visual stimulus depending upon the circumstances.(1) From the moment the Landon could have first seen Coffey’s pistol until Coffey fired the first shot was 0.334 seconds (see picture below).

Coffey Fires His First Shot 

Deputy Landon drew and fired his service pistol in a very respectable 1.300 seconds given that he was likely drawing from a level three retention holster. Deputy Landon fired a second shot in 0.300 seconds and a third as he was falling backward in 0.270 seconds. Deputy Landon fired a fourth shot from the seated position approximately 0.260 seconds later as he rolled onto his back without shooting his legs or feet (below).

Coffey stood as Deputy Landon began returning fire. Coffey fired a third shot while Deputy Landon was lying on his back after he fell. As Deputy Landon was recovering from his fall, it appears that he cleared a pistol malfunction and then fired a fifth and final shot 0.95 seconds later while seated. 

The Berrien County Sheriff’s Office has not released the distances involved in this gunfight. My rough estimate based upon a fence height of six feet is that during the initial exchange of gunfire, Coffey and Langdon were from six to eight feet apart. When Deputy Langdon fired his fifth shot, I estimate that he and Coffey were fifteen to twenty feet apart. I believe that Deputy Langdon’s first and fifth shots struck Coffey based upon Coffey’s movements during the exchange; however, these are my estimates and may not be accurate. In any event, responding paramedics determined Coffey was dead at the scene with the pistol in his hand and finger on the trigger.

The Berrien County Sheriff Chuck Heit provided a statement concerning Deputy Landon’s actions during this incident: "I'm amazed how well Deputy Landon performed under extremely stressful and dangerous circumstances, Deputy Landon's ability to quickly transition from his taser to his firearm allowed him to neutralize the threat to his life and others."

I wholeheartedly agree with Sheriff Heit. A 1.300 second draw from recognition to first shot is outstanding and reflects what you would expect to see from a skilled IDPA competitor.(2) It is very common to fall backward if you try to retreat straight back. However, there are tactics to “get off the x” and preclude falling backward that go beyond the scope of this article.(3)

If you enjoy reading these please subscribe. The link is on the upper right side of the page. Your information will never be distributed.

If you have read this far, I would appreciate some feedback in the form of a comment as well. Although Blogger reports thousands of views and, from what I can tell, 99.9% of these views are humans accessing an article. However, I receive very little actual feedback. A thumbs up or a “!” will suffice.

(1) Time to Stop: Firearm Simulation Dynamics; Lon D. Bartel, Nicole M. Florisi, Von Kliem, Tom Cameron, Miranda Fuller and Jeff Knaup; Walsh Medical Media, Research Article - (2025) Volume 16, Issue 1; retrieved Oct 25, https://www.walshmedicalmedia.com/open-access/time-to-stop-firearm-simulation-dynamics-133483.html#1

(2) Get Your Hand on the Pistol: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMbGWQB-QF0

(3) Angles of Movement in Gunfighting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FzQSewM3ps

The Texas Department of Public Safety Qualification Target

I recently attended a Texas Department of Public Safety (Texas state police or DPS) three-day class. During the class, we used qualification target that the Troopers teaching the class described as their “new” qualification target. You can see the target in the picture on the right and below.

The new TXDPS target has two distinct areas, cardboard brown inner scoring area which earns two points and a dark green outer silhouette area that earns zero points (i.e. anything outside of the inner area is a miss). The inner bottle provides a reasonably generous approximately 238 square inches of scoring area and shots that cut the bottle's outer border are scored with two points.

The target also has an area in the head that approximates the eye box and another area in the chest that approximates the heart’s location. These boxes measure 3x2 inches and 4x3 inches respectively. I asked one of the instructors if the DPS used these boxes in any of their qualifications and he replied that they do not—the boxes are just for reference.

The target you see in the upper right picture is my results from shooting the DPS low light qualification. Distances from fifteen to three yards with 50 rounds in the course of fire. DPS requires their trooper recruits to score 80% and their instructors to score 90% on their low light qualification. Out of twelve instructors in my class, only two scored 100% (myself and another gentleman). Most failed to score the required 90% and some scored considerably lower.

A challenge most shooters have outside of the military or a law enforcement agency is the scarcity of locations where you can train under low or no light conditions. The fifty-round DPS course of fire requires shooters to fire eighteen of those rounds at seven yards using ambient light only. Shooters fired six rounds with both hands, six rounds right hand only, fired six rounds left hand only. We had very little ambient light that evening and target acquisition was difficult. Most shooters (and I suspect instructors) find point shooting at seven yards a demanding task in daylight and I imagine that this stage is where most shooters failed to earn points.

I believe it is a shame that the DPS does not use the center chest box during their qualifications. Having been there and done that through literally hundreds of qualifications, I suspect the smart recruits and troopers quickly learn to aim for the area on the target that provides the largest scoring area. On 6”2” tall me, the center of that area lands roughly four inches above my navel. 

If we look at shots one and two on the target below, these shots likely would have a very high probability of stopping the threat, whereas shot number three might just hit a fat roll. Yet they are scored the same. This scoring ignores the location of vital zones where a bullet strike will likely lead to rapid incapacitation and is not optimal for stopping someone threatening or using unlawful deadly force.*

 

The Texas Department of Public Safety instructors that taught the class were consummate professionals and clearly passionate about their work. I believe Texas is fortunate to have these dedicated troopers protecting our citizens.

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* For more information on tactical anatomy and shooting to stop, see the following link: https://www.sensibleselfdefenseblog.com/2024/06/tactical-anatomys-shooting-with-x-ray.html

Do Steel Challenge Matches Improve Your Tactical Shooting Skills?

Does participating in Steel Challenge competitions improve your tactical shooting skills? I believe it does. The Steel Challenge is a speed shooting competition that currently consists of eight standardized stages. Steel Challenge scores competitors solely by the time it takes them to complete each stage and the match winner is the competitor with the lowest overall time.

Webster’s dictionary defines tactics as: “the art or skill of employing available means to accomplish an end.” Shooting “tactics” are simply procedures designed to position you to make an effective shot. Your tactics can be outstanding; however, they are wasted if you cannot quickly and accurately hit your target when you get in position.

So how does Steel Challenge improve tactical performance? If you are going to do well in Steel Challenge, you must be able to rapidly perform several critical shooting skills. Among these are:

    -- Maintain your sight alignment. Steel Challenge uses three targets: a 10-inch plate, a 12-inch plate, and a 24 x 36-inch square or gong. These targets are placed at distances ranging from seven to thirty-five yards. As a result, you absolutely must be able to maintain sight alignment as you fire the shot or you will miss the target.

    -- Call your shots. Depending upon where you hit it, Steel Challenge targets typically ring when they are struck. However, if you wait to hear your shot’s “ring” before you move on to the next target, you will never be particularly fast in Steel Challenge stages. You must cultivate your ability to call your shots and see what you need to see as the shot breaks so you can move on.

    -- Rapid and precise transitions between targets. Steel Challenge stages typically require four to fifteen feet transitions between targets. Any over or under transition will eat time as you try to reset for a make-up shot.

Steel Challenge scoring is unforgiving; you either hit the target or you do not. There are no “points down” like in IDPA matches nor are there any points earned for almost hitting the “A” or “B” zone like you find in USPSA scoring. The clock is ticking from the moment the timer starts until you fire the last shot that hits the stop plate.

There were three members of a local police department’s SWAT team on my squad for a recent Steel Challenge match. I always appreciate having police officers in any type of competition match. Their participation demonstrates a commitment to improving marksmanship skills beyond what their agency typically requires. One of SWAT officers remarked before the match that they expected to get “smoked” by a bunch of old guys pushing baby strollers around.* Although they shot fairly well – that was pretty much the case.

The officers all shot the match with their duty pistols in level three retention holsters. Two officers had authorized, personally purchased Staccato P 2011 pistols in 9mm while the other officer used his issue Glock 17 9mm with modifications. All pistols had Trijicon RMR dot optics and lights installed.

I asked the officers why they were participating in the Steel Challenge match.  All responded that they were interested in improving their duty pistols shooting skills because they were preparing for the 2025 Texas Tactical Police Officer's Association SWAT team competition. 

These three SWAT officers did well in the match with one turning in a solid “B” classification for the match and the other two turning in mid-level “C” performances. By way of comparison, B class in Steel Challenge is the general equivalent to a solid high Expert in IDPA and C class would be a very high IDPA Sharpshooter. 

This performance is much better than the typical police officers that I have observed shooting in competition over the years and I suspect well above the average patrol officer’s skill level. Great job guys and I hope you do well in the SWAT team competition.

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* Most regular competitors use collapsible wagons or used Bob jogging strollers (or similar brands) modified to haul their firearms and ammunition between stages during a match.

Maintain Your Carry Pistol

I recently took what is becoming my primary carry pistol (a SIG P365) to the SSD Short Range Match. I periodically use my carry pistols in matches to ensure that they function correctly, that they have maintained zero, and remind myself how carry ammo feels when fired. I had not shot this pistol in a while because we’ve had bad luck with weather cancelling several of the Short Range matches and I have been concentrating on improving my performance in Steel Challenge.

I have been carrying the SIG P365 as my primary every day carry pistol in the very humid south-central Texas summer heat. I always wipe down the pistol to remove perspiration when I take it out of the holster; however, I do not unload it. Instead, I immediately place a trigger guard holster or cover over the trigger guard (I’ll abbreviate it TGH). See more on this topic below.

When I arrived at the match, I proceeded to unload the P365 (all local matches that I am aware of require cold ranges). I was unpleasantly surprised when I discovered that the pistol required considerable force to retract the slide to the rear. As mentioned above, since I do not load/unload the pistol in my normal carry routine I had not noticed that some rust had started to appear inside the pistol slide rails.

A quick lubrication solved the problem and the pistol functioned perfectly during the match. A lesson learned. Even though I was not shooting the pistol, I still needed to periodically check the pistol and ensure that no hidden corrosion was present.

I mentioned that I normally do not unload my EDC pistols when I remove them from the holster for the evening. Administratively loading and unloading your pistol requires periodically rotating your ammunition in the magazine to prevent bullet set-back.

If I am unholstering my EDC for the evening, I attach the TGH and then place the pistol on the nightstand. All members of my household are responsible adults so having a loaded pistol on the nightstand is no issue. Your circumstances may be different. If children were present, I would not keep a loaded pistol accessible on my nightstand.

If I am holstering the pistol for carry, I remove the TGH and place the pistol in the holster. Using the TGH is a deliberate act that encourages you to pay closer attention to what you are doing and you are less likely to inadvertently touch the trigger.

A Sampling of Trigger Guard Holsters

I added a glow-in-the-dark paracord lanyard to one of my TGHs (you can buy the paracord online). The glowing paracord enables me to determine the pistol’s location in the dark and it retains enough glow that it is visible throughout the night. In the event that something wakes me and I must grab my pistol, the TGH prevents me from inadvertently touching the trigger. The glowing paracord tells me exactly where the pistol is located and where to grab the cord if I do need to expose the trigger. 

Glow in the Dark Paracord

When placing the TGH on the pistol, always come straight up from the bottom of the trigger guard—never from front to back. Although a properly designed TGH does not touch the trigger, coming straight up when placing it on the pistol makes inadvertently pulling the trigger when placing the TGH almost impossible. When removing the TGH, simply pull straight down. These techniques for placing and removing the TGH also ensure that your hand does not stray in front of the pistol’s muzzle.

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How Fast? The Ernesto Sepulveda Incident

This is another posting in a series where I explore just how fast a criminal attack can happen through analyzing actual video-recorded events. One of the critical challenges both police and private citizens face when confronted with a criminal attack is recognizing what is happening and then reacting fast enough to respond effectively. This is not trivial since the attack is often underway before a defender even realizes that there is a problem. Even if the defender has a planned response, the speed of the attack can often prevent them from effectively responding in time.

On 5 July 2025, uniformed LAPD Gang Enforcement Detail officers observed Ernesto Sepulveda, riding a bicycle north on the sidewalk in 3900 block of South Western Avenue. The officers, believing that Sepulveda possessed a handgun, initiated a pedestrian stop.

When the officers asked Sepulveda if he was carrying a gun, he turned and fled from the officers. As he ran, Sepulveda drew a 9mm pistol from his waistband and fired multiple shots at the officers, grazing one officer’s cheek and striking him in the legs. Sepulveda continued to run and fired an additional round at other officers as they closed on him. Sepulveda’s pistol malfunctioned and he threw the weapon away while continuing to run from police. Pursuing officers eventually caught Sepulveda and took him into custody. The officer Sepulveda shot was treated for the wounds to his cheek and legs and hospitalized in stable condition.

If you are not familiar with COL Boyd’s Observe, Orient, Decide, Act cycle, it is worth reviewing. In a previous article in this series, I discussed the OODA framework and how it applies to armed encounters.*

Sepulveda Starting his draw

So how much time did it take for Sepulveda to draw and fire his pistol? His draw from the time he initiated the movement to the moment he fired at the first officer was 1.360 seconds.

The Moment the Officer Could Have Seen Sepulveda's Pistol

From the moment the officer could have initially seen the pistol until Sepulveda fired the first shot was 0.280 seconds. We can find ourselves in circumstances where there is no possibility of reacting to a deadly threat in time to prevent the assault. The officer is fortunate in that he only received a graze wound to the cheek rather than a hit to the head.

Sepulveda Fires With His Back To The Officer

 

 

Also of note: If we assume the officer could have reacted in time to prevent Sepulveda’s assault, the officer’s shots would have likely struck Sepulveda in the back. The value of body camera videos is apparent in this context since numerous police officers have been charged for shooting suspects in the back. Just because a suspect’s back is turned, it does not mean he is incapable of posing a deadly threat.

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* https://www.sensibleselfdefenseblog.com/2025/05/driveway-assault-how-fast-can-it-happen.html

* For an in-depth discussion of Boyd’s OODA framework: https://www.artofmanliness.com/character/behavior/ooda-loop/