Anyone else carry a collapsible baton?

[hso]

you actually need a separate permit to carry one and that requires a course

The law in TN requires training and certification...not a permit. TN only has a handgun permit, no others. If you get baton training it covers all brands. If it is ASP training, it only covers ASP. We got both after finding out that ASP certs were ASP specific.

 

[kBob]

Guys, you can't spin an Asp on its thong when you get bored or just want to make the folks you are approaching think about hickory and say shin interface.....

-kBob

 

[lemaymiami]

Boy, that takes me all the way back to 1968 when I was first stationed near Baltimore and got to see patrolmen on foot there at night in their downtown area... More than one was twirling his stick off and on - leaving a quiet impression of competence with it... Can't remember seeing even one in following years (up to and including when I got in that line of work myself at the very end of 1973...). A simpler time I guess - and probably a big city thing...

 

[herrwalther]

I had given some thought into a carrying a baton. Eventually decided against it when I already conceal carry a gun, knife, spare magazine, pepper spray etc. Adding even just a 16" baton to that would be more EDC than I want.

 

[bikerdoc]

Just me, but the asp screams mall ninja to me. Never carried one on the job. Started with the hickory stick - and yes I learned to twirl! Then a policy change to the p 24 and the show was over

 

[hso]

Just me, but the asp screams mall ninja to me.

Let's not let the active LE guys carrying them in on that.

 

[MikeInOr]

Some day I am going to turn my own collapsible Baton on the metal lathe and make it with a high powered led flashlight in the center / farthest extending section... Just for the fun of it. Kind of a multipurpose flashlight / extendable Baton. I will see how close to a Mag Light I can make it look.

I always wondered what someone could do with a .22 blank to make a collapsible Baton extend by itself with a real nice POP! I doubt I would ever carry such a beast but it would be a fun toy to show off.

 

[lemaymiami]

One of the first things I made in my shop when I retired out of police work - was something with the exact dimensions of the ASP baton that I carried on my duty gear (just in case... thankfully never needed these past 24 years....). Since I build and repair a lot of fishing rods I used available materials - in this case a solid fiberglass section (same length, diameter as the expanding baton - but nearly un-breakable.. (solid fiberglass in that diameter can withstand enormous force and not bend, dent, or break...) with a black foam handle - all in the exact same dimensions that I was familiar with....

I've done a few test strikes with it and it would certainly work as needed... Once again - very glad it's never been needed...

And for those that need to actually see how not to use an ASP baton - just record and look a few times at the news footage coming out of Hong Kong where "police" are using expanding batons to "whip heads" in street confrontations... Then look at the young kids in custody and note that many of them show serious head wounds... Any cop doing that sort of stuff here would not only be out of a job - but also sitting up nights wondering if a prosecution was in their future...

 

[bikerdoc]

Even with hickory , the only acceptable stoles were bone - clavicle, elbow, knee, hips.
Never the head.

 

[glistam]

I carried one as a security guard (Monadnock autolock) and continued to carry one in regular life for years, primarily because MD doesn't issue carry permits for handguns. But over time just lost my liking for them. They're heavy if not carried on a belt and in street clothes they just take too darn long to get and deploy, especially from good concealment. Added to that is when I started working for the Feds, I couldn't take one to work, not even in my car because I park on site. After a while they just stayed in a cabinet collecting dust. Mind I still like them and also collect straight sticks (I have a cocobolo espantoon and a poly-carbonate LAPD "hot dog" I still practice with), but there just isn't a practical reason to carry them anymore. These days I stick with "things that are not per se weapons" because they have other uses, like walking sticks, flashlights, and variations on heavy objects with flexible handles. I add OC to the loadout when not at work.

 

[lemaymiami]

You can do a head strike - and be fully justified - but only when you'd be justified in using deadly force.... In other words - no gun handy but you needed to use lethal force to stop a killing in progress (or something very similar) -but none of that is within guidelines as bikerdoc correctly stated. You'd have to be able to justify it after the fact - and that's a very tough spot to be in... I actually did a bit of Internal Affairs stuff towards the end of my career - and I can't say I enjoyed it at all. Sometimes, though, given the circumstances involved an officer can break the rules and still come out okay. I always thought that a substantial part of an Internal Affairs investigation was documenting evidence that cleared an officer if it was there... (but I did know those who never looked to clear - only to accuse...).

In my state, Florida, every Internal Affairs investigation became public record the moment it was completed and whatever action the City or Department took was completed... Of course, if during that initial investigation criminal offenses were found - the investigation was halted - and the entire package went to the State Attorney's office for their consideration. Only after the criminal side was resolved (justified or cleared, chargeable -but prosecution declined, actually charged and went all the way to a final verdict...) did the Internal side resume... Remember an Internal investigation only involved the officer's job.... not any criminal prosecution at all...

Glad I'm long out of that world...

 

[FL-NC]

Cheap padlock with a bandana tied to the shackle.

 

[Double_J]

Cheap padlock with a bandana tied to the shackle.

Spoken like a true motorcycle rider. Nice, cheap and completely legal when separated.

 

[kBob]

The German Police in the early 1970s used steel extendable batons with some sort of weight on the tip. They were stainless steel sections and not flexible in the least. We called them Gestapo Sticks and you did not want to have one pulled out on you. They also carried hinged cuffs rather than chain linked ones. Prisoner handling was rather easy with those things on the victim, just a little twist and you had the wearer's undivided attention. Some also carried thumb cuffs as a spare and undercover cops sometimes carried thumb cuffs as well. Again with the victims hands behind him a very little twisting pressure was all it took to have them listen the first time you said "get in the car" … come to think of it I never saw them guide anyone's noggin safely past the door frame.... different way of doing things. Funny thing is because of American Cop shows they thought American Cops were rough!

They were also very jealous of our 12 gauge shotguns even when armed with MP5s, Uzis or Walther MPLs!

-kBob

 

[Madcap_Magician]

I have a 7", 9 oz. blackjack that I prefer to a baton.

 

[Meeks36]

I keep one on the night stand. Bought it for carrying around New Orleans. Went there for honey moon. Carried one while skip tracing. Never needed it. Always used a taser/pepper spray. Thinking about selling it. No real practical use for it. One did save my butt when I was living w a ex. Gave my pops my guns. She was nuts. Then 4am knock at door. Then kicking. Her ex kicked in the door. So I grabbed my baton and pepper spray. He walked away.

 

[Charlie Horse]

I've had a 21" on my duty belt for years. The mere sight of it has adjusted a few attitudes.

 

[NMPOPS]

As I get older, I find a good cane comes in handy in more ways than one. But, I do keep my old ASP (department issued) in the driver's door pocket cause you just never know.

 

[dvcrsn]

I would prefer one of my Cold Steel canes or my hickory Whistle creek 4.5 foot stick because of Çalifornia laws

 

[Sulaco]

Thanks again for all of the input, lots of good information. Seems most is from the law enforcement/security perspective, which of course is understandable given mostly law enforcement would be issued a collapsible baton.

However, my perspective is one of strictly defensive use, not offensive, enforcement or detainment. Once I determine the need to use a deadly weapon, I am in for a penny, in for a pound. I am not worried about the legal ramifications of using the weapon, nor am I trying to detain the attacker. I am trying to stop the attack with deadly force - no different than using a gun. Again, perfectly legal to carry in my AO.

Thanks again all!