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Calguns LEOs LEOs; chat, kibitz and relax. Non-LEOs; have a questions for a cop? Ask it here, in a CIVIL manner. |
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My brother got hired on with Stockton PD, gift ideas?
I'm very proud to announce my brother has been given a hire date, after a ton of paperwork, interviews etc. Great news for him!
He is also retired from the ARMY, he was deployed once to Afghanistan. But army life was not suitable he and his family. My question is, what would be a good congratulatory gift? He's been talking about getting an XDM to use as a carry gun, but I often him buy firearm related items/accessories so it might be good to change it up a little. Budget is under $1000, and I'd like a gift he might be able to use in the field. Thanks guys |
#2
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Find out what backup guns they can carry, or what equipment they issue and fill in the gaps.
Congrats to him!
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LASD Retired 1978-2011 NRA Life Member CRPA Life Member NRA Rifle Instructor NRA Shotgun Instructor NRA Range Safety Officer DOJ Certified Instructor |
#4
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#5
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A good flashlight is always good. Maybe a surefire. The new fury lights are impressive.
Maybe make him an active shooter bag. A few mags, blow out kit and spare flashlight. $1000 is kind of high. Maybe a GPS unit that does the turn by turn directions. It's hard to say what is and isn't issued in some departments. Maybe a gift certificate to the local cop shop (Adamsons?) Good luck. |
#6
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A good light. Get him a good quality tac light. I carry four on duty, and I don't even work graves! (Gun light, belt tac light, full size streamlight and rifle light). Speaking of which, I just got the Streamlight SL-20L. Blown away at that thing. The brightest hand held LED light I've ever seen. It says its 350 lumens and nearly a 500 meter throw. After using it, I'd say thats easily the case. http://www.streamlight.com/product/product.aspx?pid=248 If he's authorized and has a rail on his duty gun, a good weapon light is a must. I use the TLR-1S. Great light as well. The newer TLRs are also VERY bright. **Edit to add** I carry on my belt a Klarus XT-11. About $90, runs 600 lumens. Its the size of a compact surefire tac light. It fits comfortably and noticeably on my belt. Uses a rechargeable 18650 battery. The light, charger and battery run you roughly $100. Since its LED, one charge on the battery will easily last a work week. I throw the battery on the charger on my Friday, bring it back to work monday. Never have to buy those expensive surefire batteries. The light will also use two surefire batteries, (CR123). Handy in the field. http://www.batteryjunction.com/klarus-xt11.html
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Urban legends are a poor basis for making public policy. Last edited by IrishJoe3; 07-10-2013 at 9:17 PM.. |
#7
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+1 on getting him a good light. Get him a Fenix, they are well made and use "AAA" batteries to boot.
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#8
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Yes $1000 is kind of high but I would like to get help him get the best gear to do his job safely. Business for me is good right now and he deserves a kick *** gift! I know he will appreciate whatever I get him.
The last flashlight I gave him was a Streamlight Strion, but I guess he could use a bigger light. That SL 20 looks like a beast, the drop in charger looks handy. A knife sounds like it might be a good idea, he used to always take mine when we were younger! I've never really looked at an active shooters bag, a quick google search brings up a few good ideas. |
#9
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I have a Streamlight SL-20 that I bought in 1982. I used it for 29 years on duty and it is still going strong. The original I bought in 1979 got lost when I moved 6 years ago, but it was still working great.
They are durable. I've only replaced the bulb twice and the battery and charger once over the years.
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LASD Retired 1978-2011 NRA Life Member CRPA Life Member NRA Rifle Instructor NRA Shotgun Instructor NRA Range Safety Officer DOJ Certified Instructor |
#10
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hahaha
I agree with an earlier reply and wait and see what he is issued and fill in the gaps. A Tac light is gonna be on that list. |
#11
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http://shivworks.com/ I haven't attended his classes. I read many good things about him and if I were to get a CCW, his class would be on top of the list. Intense training: http://tinyurl.com/kmv5kht (Youtube videos of classes) |
#13
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A good full size flashlight is a great gift. I have carried both the Streamlight SL-20 and and more recently, the Pelican 8060. I love my Pelican 8060. Great illumination device, and enough weight behind it to "Whack-A-Mole" if need be.
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#16
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Nope. They look nice, but are uncomfortable when filling out paperwork. Get something with padding, and cheap. You'll go through them like crazy while on training.
Most Depts will provide lawyers for civil suits. As long as the Dept found you within policy, and justified in your actions.
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#17
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A good rechargeable flashlight, something from Stream light or Surefire. A backup gun, there's tons of options there. Or a nice "war bag". I've been using a saddleback leather bag for the last five years. If he doesn't get issued a lap top, that'll come in handy for reports. Oh and can't go wrong with a Zero Tolerance Knife.
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#18
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I agree with others, see what gear he is issued first. The things I would consider are (in no particular order of importance/preference): Level 3 or 4 plates/plate carrier (if not provided) possibly in place of a war bag (think of it like a "war vest" with MOLLE, etc), knife, extra set or two of cuffs engraved with badge #, hobble, good light/backup light, backup gun and a holster or two, and maybe something for an off-duty hobby of his. He needs to realize (if he doesn't already) that life SHOULDN'T only revolve around being a cop. He needs to keep doing the other things that he enjoys.
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#19
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Welcome to Stockton. California's Sunrise Seaport. Where hopes and dreams come to be car jacked and murdered.
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My friends and family disavow all knowledge of my existence, let alone my opinions. |
#20
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I vote for taking him and his family out to a nice dinner with you and your family before the academy and then getting him something nice for Graduation. For 1k you can get him quite a few nice things!
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#22
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If the agency does not support you, you are on your own. This is rare but it has happened where cops have lost everything. The problem with cities like Stockton is they are bankrupt and may choose not to pay your portion. Pretty rare as plaintiffs go for the biggest pocket, however, as stated, if you're outside of policy and there is gross negligence or a blatant violation of Federal civil rights laws, you will lose your job first and possible your home and toys second. Civil rights attorneys make a living off this stuff and Stockton is a supermarket for these cases. Best tool as a gift? A good digital tape recorder! |
#23
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How about some Mental Health Therapy insurance!
I'm not kidding. For obvious reasons plowing through the misery of the Hell on Earth of a place like Stockton can be dangerous to anyone's mental health. I'm no expert but I hear it is one of those things that effect some more than others without a whole lot of rhyme or reason and doesn't seem to matter how "tough" or 'sane' you seem to be going in. Like any other "medical" treatment you want to be able to have YOUR OWN options if at all possible and not be totally stuck with what the bean counters running some 'plan' have decided is "good enough for you". You also might want something that isn't so hooked up to the PD, because we all know there is no such thing as "medical privacy". And I'm saying all this as a 98% disbeliever in "shrinks". But as far as "gear", I did see a Palo Alto cop wearing what appeared to be a body armor vest that carried all his gun and other gear, but wasn't a military style "mollie" or whatever vest, but had a more 'polished' low key look. Probably nicer for sitting in car and using seatbelts, etc. I almost was going to ask him but couldn't just jump out of my car. He was young tallish Asian guy. I havent found any similar online. I've always thought that for certain "cop type" situations like 'entry' or 'felony stop' I could make sense to have more full face/neck body armor (in addition to helmet), because you aren't gonna be hiking for 8 miles in it, or spending hours a day in it, so who cares if its a little heavy and quite uncomfortable. I've also wondered why everyone uses the same helmet for Low Risk time frames as for Very High Risk. Shouldn't there be a special extra heavy duty helmet where it is fairly certain you might be taking heavy fire, and when you are only going to need it for short time? I've seen regular 44mag blow the crap out of an old "K-pot". |
#24
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Buy him a 29" diamond wood baton. It has to be the black ash color. either 1" or 1-1/8" diameter. I prefer the 1". It is authorized for use there. His issued one is going to be garbage.
Last edited by SquareLite; 07-11-2013 at 5:23 PM.. |
#27
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#28
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There is so much good advice in here, I'm blown away at the amount of response!
Flashlight seems like a must, a gear bag sounds like something useful but I'd need to check and see what he's using as a range bag right now. I always thought the laptops were issued, only because of the security risk. There must be a lot of data accessible to LEO's via laptop and I don't know if it would be a good idea to use a personal laptop. Body armor sounds like a great idea, I know he has the bulky military style level 3 plates. But I don't think that is the type of armor commonly used. This weekend I plan on taking him to dinner, and trying to ask him what kind of gear he is planning on using/trying. This is supposed to be a surprise so I'd need to be sneaky in how I ask. |
#31
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This might seem like a lot to some, but believe me this is the first and last knife he'll ever need...
http://www.truenorthknives.com/vcom/...oducts_id=4221
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No Limit No Compromise |
#32
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#33
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He will be issued a flashlight that is a pretty nice one. My thoughts on gear like that is use what they give you if it is good equipment. If it breaks or is lost, it is replaced that same day or the next day depending on what shift he is working. Dont buy body armor as he will be fitted for a new vest and have a recycled vest when he is sworn in. The baton is the best way to go. Maybe get it engraved after he finds out what his ID number is. It will be the only thing out of the ordinary that he will be allowed to carry for a while. |
#35
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Depends...find out what his department policy is. What is good for department A may not be authorized for department B.
__________________
Urban legends are a poor basis for making public policy. |
#37
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With a 1k budget, you can pretty much get him 1 of everything that's been mentioned!
As far as trying to find out your brother's preferences, maybe you could enlist your brother to help you shop for a real/imaginary friend who is about to graduate from a police academy. Show your brother a list of possible gifts and say IF you were to buy your other friend one of "these", what would your brother, with his previous military experience, think would be a good choice... Btw, I'm a tackleberry/gear queer kinda guy and it would take too long to go into discussion (typing) even about just the stuff that's been mentioned so far... Last edited by Samuelx; 07-11-2013 at 9:56 PM.. |
#38
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As a lifelong Stockton resident, I strongly suggest body armor.
Thank your brother for me. There are many positives about Stockton. There are a lot of good people here. We are suffering from extremely bad decisions by politicians that wanted to spend big so Stockton would be just like Sacramento or San Francisco. So they built the big budget projects and then found they still could not compete with Sacramento or San Francisco so City Hall got stuck with the bill and under used venues that could not attract events or enough people to cover the cost of any event that actually was staged. Of course the solution was to layoff police and hire more consultants while giving pay raises to people at City Hall. Also, for some reason we also seem to attract the scum that overflows from Oakland. The City politics are still bad, but I think he will still find a lot of support from the long time, regular law-abiding citizens that are feed up with the gangs and drugs. Unfortunately, our county jail problem is a huge problem, so many BGs will be released before the ink on the paperwork is dried. I still admire you brother for his service to our country and his willingness to give Stockton a chance. Recently, we seem to loose more LEOs because they move to other places that have higher pay and a lot less stress. Our new police chief is trying to change that. I believe we are just at the point of new hires just starting to outnumber those who leave. Tell him welcome and to stay safe. |
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