The Town of Framingham, Massachusetts, located twenty miles west of Boston, was recently in the news when a local paper profiled an illegal immigrant who says he lives in fear of being pulled over by police and the ensuing possibility of deportation. Sure he's in the country illegally, employed illegally, and driving with an expired foreign driver's license, but he was painted as the victim. Millions of illegal immigrants take to the roads every day, which is dangerous enough; to make matters worse, there are also violent criminals within the subculture. A traffic stop puts officers in a dangerous close combat situation, and only real combat self defense can protect them.

Police officers represent the state, and illegal immigrants have already shown they have no respect for our government or laws. Combine this disrespect with the fear of being deported and a traffic stop could turn into a volatile situation. While traffic stops have always been dangerous, the illegal immigrant issue provides us a chance to review tactics and training for full time and auxiliary police officers. Proactive self defense is the best way to prevent injuries and the escalation of violence.

When an officer approaches a vehicle he doesn't know what he's going to encounter, and if the situation doesn't quickly come under his control it can be deadly. In 2006 alone 15 officers died from being hit by cars and another 45 died in auto accidents, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. An officer is all alone and even if help is minutes away a lot can happen, and weapons can quickly become irrelevant. Officers need an advantage in a close quarters combat (CQC) situation, and combat martial arts can give them that advantage.

Being a police officer has to be one of the hardest jobs in the world. For the men and women who put on the uniform it is a daily struggle; they have to be both a friendly public servant and a vigilant warrior, and for all those who praise them there are many relentless critics. For police officers it is about enforcing the law and protecting the community, and the best way to do that is to use self defense training that lets them take a suspect down quickly. If an experienced officer sees a situation beginning to deteriorate, he or she needs self defense training to take control of the situation quickly and effectively. Police officers don't have the option to run away like civilians, and giving the bad guys the first shot isn't an alternative either. A traffic stop is just another dangerous part of a cop's routine; with the right training, though, they can all make it home at the end of their shifts.