the cops here need better flashlights lol

one had a like 4d mag light from the 90s other one had streamlight sl20 let me say they where really weak i just have a eagletac tc100c2 MKII it was rather funny watching my light drown out both theres

point em here and buy some stocks in 4sevens/fenix... affect them all with the sickness!

I recognize this.

I already posted a story about impressing a cop with my TK35 last November.

The police here in Europe are catching up quite fast now though. Especially their smaller belt carry lights are mostly Fenixes now. The PD30 is standard issue now in a lot of cities. Their Magchargers are still used when they need a big light.

Richub said:

I recognize this.

I already posted a story about impressing a cop with my TK35 last November.

The police here in Europe are catching up quite fast now though. Especially their smaller belt carry lights are mostly Fenixes now. The PD30 is standard issue now in a lot of cities. Their Magchargers are still used when they need a big light.

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It's good to see some LEO's catching up and the PD30 is a classic but on a duty belt it wouldn't be much trouble to go slightly larger for greater throw like a TK15 or 21, Quark X Turbo would be a good choice in that price range and build quality.

Unfortunately, in general, the public service budget for duty flashlights is a very low priority. A lot still have those 4d cell Maglight rechargables. Police can purchase their own, but many don't want to pay out of their pocket for it.

I have found that it depends greatly on the Police Officer and on how long they have been on the Force. Night before last I assisted some Officers in a search in the nearby woods. They were looking for some evidence to a fraud case that had occurred close by. The suspect took off on foot as the police approached her and threw everything she had on her left and right as she fled. Out of the two Officers that I went with, one was a rookie still using the dept issued Magcharger and the other was more senior who had his own JetBeam Military series. I wasn't sure which one it was to be honest with you, but it looked to be about 500'ish lumens to my eyes. (That was compared against my TK41)

Another thing is whether or not they work nights. Morning shift cops tend to carry really bad lights to be quite honest. They are almost always old streamlight incans or magchargers. The guys who have LED lights tend to have ones that put out maybe a hundred lumens. Not so much with the night shift. I have a standing joke with them about how the JetBeam BC40 is become standard issue. Everytime I turn around another guy went out and bought one. Most night shift guys that I work with have lights that are 300 plus lumens, 2 or more of them, large brand names (Fenix, JetBeam, 4Sevens, Surefire, Thrunite), and are looking for more. I guess it just depends on how you need the light.

this police dept is rather small the town has like 3k people or soo and they just got like 4 brand new chargers and a tahoe but cant swing a few bucks for some better lights

Surprisingly a flashlight is usually something not supplied by a department and police Officers are notoriously cheap. I have worked for 4 different departments and I work closely with Officers and Deputies from several others. Not one department issues a light. Almost all the Officers I know have used or continue to use Streamlight. Some Officers have an open mind and are willing to try new items but generally they are stuck in a mindset that says the old standbuys are the best.

Cops have a gun fetish worse than Marines, I've seen them spend thousands on guns to bling out their holster, things like Colt 1911's or I've even seen some playing cowboy with revolvers, but will duty carry a mini-mag incan as their light.

madecov said:

Surprisingly a flashlight is usually something not supplied by a department and police Officers are notoriously cheap. I have worked for 4 different departments and I work closely with Officers and Deputies from several others. Not one department issues a light.

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I guess it depends on the Dept. Mag-chargers appear to remain the primary (issued) duty light here with some security companies adopting them as well, the rest of us need to purchase our own but for my mind why skimp on something that you rely on?

Were they the Patriot, or were they Jackboot type? If they are Jackboots, let them stay with Maglites.

Most of the cops I know are not very interested in guns or flashlights. They have to shoot qualification periodically, and many barely make the minimum.
Jerry

The cops here do not need any more power. Thanks to a cop I am now extremely light sensitive, have corneal flash burn, see halos, have a sub capsular plaque and will need lens replacement. If you know anything about the modified maglites they use please send an IM or??
Thanks

Flash burn to the cornea? Unless they're using carbon arc spotlights or welding in your face I doubt it was any incan light the cops were using. A stock magcharger, which is probably what most departments would have as standard issue would be lucky to break 200 lumens. Even a heavily modded ROP mag, something totally impractical for cops to use, only puts out 1150 bulb lumens. I have a couple led flashlights with easily double that power. If I turn it on at night, you know it. It'll light up an entire front yard and throw clear across a city block. And I've flashed myself a couple times with them. It's uncomfortable sure, so much you instinctively turn away. But even my best and brightest won't be causing medical damage. I doubt the cop's sub optimal gear did your eyes in.

Of all the LEOs I used to work with, many of them didn't have a preference for either their sidearm or really any other piece of equipment that they used while on the job. To them they were all just tools that they may need while working and so long as the tool functioned, how well it did what it was supposed to wasn't that much of a concern. I know....even then I thought that thinking was a bit, well ...

A smaller group of them were, ummm....shall we say concerned with the type of equipment that they were issued and several went out and bought their own stuff anyway. Back in those days the dept. still issued a .357 magnum revolver and Streamlight SL20s I think they were. They were just transitioning to the Ruger P85 but easily a third of them carried personal weapons that were on the dept. approved list. Many more still used whatever light was in the car they checked out for the night. A couple of them had their own lights and I specifically recall one who had built himself a patrol box that he would sit in the passenger seat...it had a magcharger bolted in place that he could just plug into the cigar lighter of whichever car he checked out.

Elton said:

this police dept is rather small the town has like 3k people or soo and they just got like 4 brand new chargers and a tahoe but cant swing a few bucks for some better lights

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Vernonia, by any chance?

After the incident my eyes have serious issues that I never had before. The beam went through 300 power reading glasses. They were on the left and my left eye is much worse than my right even though it used to be better. I also get eye twitching too. .I never welded but I am thinking I experienced something similar to a welding accident. As far as the police go these were not ordinary cops. They jumped out of a black car wearing black suits did not identify themselves. When I was flashed I said wtf you do that for I am now blinded like a dear in headlights. They told me that they do that for their own protection. This light had an extension and was not typical issue. Not sure why an extension would be needed if it was an led. What ever it was it really messed me up.

I've spoken to a few LEO's in my city, most of them have standard issue lights which definitely do need an upgrade. Interestingly enough, I noticed one carrying what appeared to be a very cheap-looking SF clone, i.e. 2xCR123, general shape was SF-like but a bit rounder on the tailcap and looked like Type II anodizing as it was on the shiny side. When I asked him what it was, he had no clue and said it was issued by the dept. I didn't ask to see it since he was on crowd duty.

The tactical units appear to sometimes be a bit more selective, but it still differs from one to the next: one tactical unit LEO had a beat up, older SF 6P with the stock incan bulb. He said it was awesome but didn't know anything about the new upcoming models. The other had no clue when I mentioned SF and other names and didn't seem to care what was on his duty belt, just that it was bright enough for the task.

I think it's like any other job: some care about the tools they use, others just see it as tools that allow them to do their jobs and nothing more. So, while we may suggest that they need better lights, they don't seem to mind either way.

The welder accidents are caused by uv rays. Your eyes gets a "sunburn". It hurts so bad that you prob wont be able to post stuff on the internet. Feels like sand on your eyes.

JerryM said:

Most of the cops I know are not very interested in guns or flashlights. They have to shoot qualification periodically, and many barely make the minimum.
Jerry

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Same here. I asked one in my local department once what type of firearm he was carrying [it was a Glock 17, as could be plainly seen, he was left handed]. He said, "I don't know. Some sort of Kimber I think? I don't really care though."

Not that they do anything around here. They don't even give out speeding tickets [thankful for that, but still, they need to be out and about]