At work I stopped to speak with some rookie officers, noticing a CAT TQ on one of their holsters I became curious. My department issues SOF-T wide’s so it catches my interest when I see a CAT in the mix. I usually ask what their thought process is (have they used them before in a prior career or training) and more importantly where did they get it?
this isn’t meant to be a discussion on the finer points of both or one vs. the other
He had purchased it from Amazon and was proud of the fact that he got the holster and TQ together for $50 bucks.
I never want to discourage people that make the additional effort to be prepared. So, I explained the potential for this TQ to be fake and that there were other reputable places he could purchase one from.
We left it on the note that he should inspect it thoroughly.
I was fortunate to see him again the next day and asked him about the TQ once again. He told me that it was not fake and worked well… how would you know it worked well unless… oh no. You guessed it, his partner (also new) and himself had spent some of their time after our conversation using it on themselves.
I instantly realized my mistake in handling this situation. While not wanting to discourage this young officer and take the decision away from him about his equipment choices, the sheer lack of information he had about the issue would never allow him to make an informed decision.
I asked to see the TQ and immediately knew it was fake. The fact that they had utilized it in what we’ll call a “practice run” also meant that even if it had been real, it was no longer fully reliable.
We sometimes forget that even in the age of instant information, not everyone is aware of the same information. I see at least one Instagram post a day about fake tourniquets. Something of note is the shear amount of fake equipment that is floating around. You'll find one, if not more at almost every class.
As instructors, supervisors and leaders in our fields there sometimes needs to be a delicate balance between sharing knowledge, correcting mistakes and avoiding discouragement when even best intentions fall short.
I’m sharing this story not to put any of the blame on that rookie officer. I think it’s more to hold myself accountable. He was so proud of the purchase that in the moment I did not want to stifle that or cause any embarrassment. But simply asking to see the TQ would have rectified the situation a day earlier.
Check your equipment... check your partners equipment... if you're in a leadership, instructor or supervisory position, always be on the lookout for things that may need to be addressed.
Purchase your equipment from reputable companies, a few dollars saved is not worth your life or someone else's.