Over the last several years there has been a heightened awareness in the number and severity of incidents where police officers misidentify and fire upon another officer. The repercussions of an incident such as this are far reaching, potentially devastating, and can cause serious trust issues not only within an agency, but within a community as well. The Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department (KCPD) has experienced the aftermath of a “Blue on Blue” shooting firsthand.

The KCPD Firearms Trainers began testing a theory that police badges worn in the upper chest area would make undercover, plainclothes officers more readily identifiable. Several small control groups were tested, and results supported the initial hypothesis. After due consideration, the KCPD Firearms Training Section devised and implemented comprehensive badge awareness and center-mass focus training beginning in 2011. The training was repeated in 2012 to confirm the results of the enhanced awareness training participants received the previous year.