Shooting from the Hip

While visiting your favorite haunted house this season, what’s the best way to make yourself look über-cool when a terrifying monster is coming at you with a fake (but equally terrifying) chainsaw?

The answer is definitely not what Sgt. Eric Michael Janik, 37, of Baltimore did.

A man who helps run “The House of Screams” said that the officer, who apparently also had alcohol on his breath, pulled a loaded .40 caliber Glock out of its holster and pointed it at him.

“He pulled a gun out on me and aimed it at my chest,” Michael Brian, the haunted house worker, told WJZ Channel 13. “It was about three feet away from me.”

According to the Associated Press, Mr. Janik has since been charged with assault and reckless endangerment. He has also been suspended from the Baltimore city police.

Now Mr. Janik’s unbelievably poor judgment is bringing on comparisons of that other infamous gun fail.

“So we’re to assume a fellow officer knew he was armed and had been drinking, yet did nothing about it,” asks David Codrea for Examiner.com. “And we’re to further assume that not collecting actual evidence of intoxication by investigating officers is standard department procedure?”

Perhaps there is something scarier than bogus chainsaw-wielding monsters.

Blogs and forums are buzzing about the redesigned fourth-generation Glock, set for release in 2010.

Richard over at Gun Holsters and Gear says the new Glock, or the “Next Generation of Perfection,” is rumored to have an adjustable grip for hands of all shapes and sizes as well as a textured finish.

AccurateShooter.com mentions that grip on Glock handguns has been a point of contention for some time. Glocks have been manufactured by Glock GmbH in Austria since 1963. The company’s is known for its strike-fired polymer-framed pistols.

“Glock has been losing market share as police departments nationwide have traded in their Glocks in favor of the more ergonomic Smith M&Ps,” said the editor at AccurateShooter.

When the fourth-gen G22 RTF2 Glock was first released this year, Steve at The Firearms Blog wrote: “I think 3rd gen glocks will be considered the ‘classic’ and having an older one will be ‘cool.’”

Will the newly redesigned Glock make it into the ‘cool’ category?

Safariland Holster

It’s something we unfortunately see all too often: A police officer just doing his job, protecting the community, and a criminal goes after his weapon, attempting to disarm him.

That was the case most recently in Ontario, Canada. An emotionally disturbed man went after an officer’s holster, and actually managed to tear it away from him, The Hamilton Spectator reported last week.

Fortunately the gun was locked safely inside a holster. The man was unable release it from the holster because of three safety clips, therefore not allowing him to shoot anyone.

According to the paper, the officers were equipped with Level Three Safariland holsters and have been for nearly two decades. However, it was the first time these holsters were put to a real-world test.

Read the full story here, and watch a review of the Safariland ALS holster below.

Authorities in the Australian state of Victoria are investigating defective gun holsters, which are still being used by area police.

According the The Age, an officer was shot dead after a routine traffic stop by his own firearm in 2005. The commanding officer allegedly knew the holsters to be defective and potentially fatal. While some say officers were not warned of the danger, one officer told the paper that the security clip on his holster often opened without him noticing, happening “more times than I can think.”

If any good could come out of this story, it would be underlining the importance of a quality gun holster that would never impede police officers’ ability to defend themselves and others. Whether your holster is made out of leather, kydex or any other material, always double check that it’s working properly before using it on the job.