Where We’re Going

You might be wondering what this whole Johnny Tactical thing is all about, where it came from, and where it’s going. Or you might be wondering what’s on TV later — and that’s okay, no hard feelings. Regardless of which category you fall into, I wrote this for today, and, like mom’s meatloaf, that’s all there is so you’ll have to take it or leave it. Let’s dive in, shall we?

Where I’ve Been

I’ve been a police officer for over 19 years, taking a wife and three kids along for the ride. I started in 2003 in a small 45-man department. After seven years in Patrol there, three of which on a regional SWAT team, I moved on to a larger department with about 250 officers. Since arriving there in 2010 I have worked in Patrol, SWAT, and Detectives. Somewhere along the way I became a massive personal growth nerd and small business enthusiast. Johnny Tactical was born from a combination of my fancy booking learnings, my failures, and my experiences at work and in life.

Johnny Tactical officially started in the Fall of 2019, though the idea had been on my heart and mind for almost four years before that. Because I’m a perfectionist and a little bit scared, it took me that long to finally pull the trigger and do something about it.

With all the backlash from Ferguson in 2014, followed by Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, the riots, and the progressive, popular demonization of law enforcement in 2020, I saw a growing need in primarily two areas: personal growth and officer safety. I believe that the key to the many (law enforcement as a whole) is the one (the individual officer).

To date, all the change that’s touted by the powers-that-be seems to focus on laws and legislation or rules and regulations, all of which feel to me to be heavily politically motivated. At best that approach hacks at the leaves ignoring the roots, and at worst seeks only to appease the mob. I believe that American law enforcement is the best, most ethical, and most trustworthy system in the world, even though it is not without its problems and its problem people. After all, cops are humans too.

I believe there is always room for improvement — we can always get better at who we are and what we do — but I believe that it will not come from the outside in, but rather it must come from the inside out. Here at Johnny Tactical, we’re not trying to create the image of a perfect police officer, we’re just trying to be a better one.

Where I’m Going

My philosophy for Johnny Tactical that drives my mission and my vision centers on making law enforcement better from within through the personal growth and development of the individual officer, you and me, and products and services that improve our tactics and enhance our safety from the myriad of threats we face from without. But to effectively learn and grow I think we all need a healthy dose of humor and believe that we need to take our work seriously, but not ourselves. There are far too many hardos running around in law enforcement, especially on the tactical side of things, and they make the rest of us look dumb (just saying).

Johnny Tactical is still in its infancy, begun with what I call the low-hanging fruit — the things that I can do now with the tools, resources, and finances available to me. Because I believe in running a debt-free business — owing nobody anything — things have progressed slower than I would like since I decided long ago to move at the speed of cash. That doesn’t mean I don’t have some big ideas and a big vision for the impact I want to have on the law enforcement community. Far from it. What those limitations have forced me to do is to learn to grow slow, to be more creative and a whole lot more patient. It has actually saved me from making some big mistakes with extra zeroes on them.

What We’re Working On

From the personal growth side of things, we plan on launching affordable, on-demand digital courses in the coming months that cover personal growth and leadership delivered from a Christian cop’s perspective. From the officer safety side of things we plan on launching digital courses and in-person training covering basic tactics, officer safety, weapons handling, and firearms proficiency. We also have several physical products and inventions in the works that we are super excited about. One of which has a prototype currently in research and development that is geared toward Patrol and SWAT.

We also have a bazillion design ideas — this is just a rough estimate, of course — for more t-shirts, patches, stickers, and hats. That hard part is deciding which ones to make first. If you have ideas or suggestions for us make sure you reach out to us via email, our contact page, or DMs on social media.

Thank You

For those of you who have followed along, consumed our content, shared it with others, and spent your hard-earned money on our products, I cannot express how grateful I am to you for trusting us with your time, your attention, and your money. Each and every one of you matters to me and the Johnny Tactical team. Thank you for being a part of what we are trying to do and we look forward to working with you and serving you in the coming years.

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Thanks for reading! Do you have a story that you think we could learn from and that you’d like to share with Johnny Tactical nation? Fill out the contact form and include your name, rank, and department, or email it to [email protected] and follow these guidelines:

– It must be a firsthand account
– True
– Have a lesson, principle, or tactic to apply
– Cleaned of names, dates, and places
– Include your call sign

If your story is selected and published in our blog you’ll get the credit using your call sign and we’ll send you a free Live Tactical t-shirt!