The cop used his “get-off-of-me” knife. From January 17, 2013.
Tulsa Police Officer Stabs Suspect Trying To Grab His Gun
Advice from Bob Owen at Bearing Arms
(Bearing Arms)
Small fixed-blade knives (SFBs) still aren’t standard equipment for most officers, but they are becoming much more common. They’re typically worn on the front of the body in a position where they can be drawn either hand, but are generally optimized for off-hand access.
The theory behind the carry of these knives is that they can be drawn by the officer’s off-hand if there is a struggle over the officer’s gun, and used to slash or filet the offender’s arm attempting to grab the officer’s gun, thus ending the grab attempt.
Because these knives are “get off me” knives primarily designed to change a suspect’s behavior the blades are typically compact. The Ka Bar TDI line of law enforcement knives is very popular for this purpose, and are becoming popular with concealed carriers for the same reason.
I’m not yet carrying a SBF, but as weapon grabs do happen, and deploying a folding knife often fails in both real world and in training scenarios, I’m seriously considering it. I’ve looked at the TDIs, and I’ve considered karambits, but they require more training to get the best use out of them than I can commit to obtaining right now.
Another SFB knife that I’m seeing quite a bit is the clinch pick. It’s a more aggressive design from Craig Douglas of Shivworks, which seems to designed for being “sewing machined” into soft lower vital areas, then ripped upwards to eviscerate bad guys. Yikes.
Which SFB knife will I end up adding to my every day carry? I don’t yet know. What I do know is that blades don’t jam, and a dedicated fixed blade is something that makes a lot of sense as a backup weapon, especially if you end up in an entangled ground fight struggling for control of a primary weapon.
This Tulsa officer used a SFB knife to stop an attempted gun take-away that likely would have ended in either the suspect or the officer being shot to death. He prepared himself to have other options at his disposal, and giving yourself more options in a self-defense context is almost always better.
I actually carry that kabar knife and it is very useful in close quarters to rip and/or slice if the gun draw is not available .
It is purely a backup in case someone or something causes me not to get my pistol right away. I drill the slashing/rising backhand to a posted position so I can draw.