Technically its half right. They break them with rams, their feet, butts of shotguns (dangerous?), breach charges (swat) or their shoulders.
I guess "cops" dont usually do much breaching with objects anyway, as they usually save that for the tac teams don't they?
The "teams" are comprised of cops...
Hence why I termed the original comment as being "wrong"...
Even a smaller P.D. will often have a rapid response team, but it's operators won't have the benefit (due to manning & budget issues) to "play TacStar" all day/every day.
They'll be patrolling just like every other uni out there, packing their kit in the trunk, waiting for the call to go out...
Large forces (i.e: O-Town & MTL) can afford to have dedicated teams...
Being a member of a tactical intervention team comes with an extensive amount of specialised training.
Dynamic breaching (not to be confused with explosive breaching) is part of this training.
The use of a large steel implement (i.e: the "Hooligan", door ram, Thunder Maul or the good ol' crow bar), coupled with anger & brawn, is far from being the option of choice under certain circumstances.
The Method of Entry is determined by a variety of factors, chieftly amongst those is "the known & estimated threat(s) to team members & bystanders" & the "environmentals" of the objective...
To put it in layman's terms, I'll use a simple example: an armed & erratic assailant holds a [inset weapon of choice] to a hostage's head/throat/vital area. Windows are covered, so no "eyes on". The perp has made it clear that any attempt by LEO to enter the premisce will be answered by an instant execution...
In such a case, banging away at the front door with a 27 lbs Hooligan & reckless abandon may not be the best choice.
Why not use the ram then? It's a sure-shot door buster, right?
Nope... It's not... I've seen & experienced doors who can resist a full-on blow from the heaviest of rams & laugh it off...
But maybe even worse, is what we call the "Joe Montana" effect =)
Picture this: A full stack waiting on you to "crack the combo". Adrenaline coursing through your body mixed in with countless other "emotions". Both hands kung-fu gripping your ram. Taking the Happy Gilmore run-up. 200 lbs of Alpha Male backed by 58 lbs of ballistic armor & tactical equipment powering a 45 lbs breaching apparatus.
You swing as hard as you can and just as it makes contact, you prep to release (as you've trained countless times to do). But you don't...
You hold on just too long, and as the door flies open & the ram continues it's crash course into the great "unkwon", it's taking you with it...
That right there, is the Joe Montana... And the Joe Montana is a bad day for the breacher...
Not only are you entering technically unarmed, but you're also entering a high rate of knots, totally airborne & soon-to-be severely hurt...
If you're lucky enough to have had accurate & up to date schematics of the objective, you may break a few ribs once you hit the ground. Upon impact you now have to deal with whoever may be in the room.
If the tenant decided to do some renos to the place & the schematics are out of date, you might be sailing head first down a flight of stairs.
The Joe Montana, even if survived without a scratch is something a breacher will never live down.
The use of a well placed T.E.S.A.R. or Hatton round can drastically expedite the entry process.
Followed by a D.D., the effect of flying door knob
may buy the team the very critical time they need to neutralise the offender before said offender enacts his/her threat.
The use of a shotgun as MOE is not always advised though.
As mentioned, the "environmentals" of the objective also ditacte the tool & approach to be used...
The possibility of a gas leak or rigged POE may cancel the opportunity to breach via shotgun &/or door/wall/window charge.
In such an event, mechanical breaching may be the only viable alternative.
If none of the latter methods are advisable, the "soft knock" approach may be favored...
Methods that will not be utilised (by any remotely intelligent individual) would include the use of the butt of the shotgun or the shoulder...
Only on T.V. shows such as COPS will you see such stupidity proudly displayed.
A door will be kicked only after the locking mechanism has been removed/destroyed by other means. So kicking to gain entry is not an option either.
All this may/will be subject to change if the intervening officer doesn't have time to wait for a tactical unit's assistance & must gain entry immediately. At which point, if he is a fervent fan of such show as COPS, ha may very well attempt a breach via buttstock, Lawrence Taylor shoulder dive or Chuck Norris front kick...
Success (and the potential for a self-inflicted injury) would be a gamble in such an instance.
So, an extremely long-winded post, to say this: the use of a Vindicator-gripped, short-barrelled (and I mean
short) shotgun is a viable, and most importantly, a utilised method of entry for canadian LEO.
But I won't be taking the "money shot" with a PGO shotty though...
Not if I want to keep my job, benefits & freedom while staying off the front page of every newspaper & 1800/2300 hr media medium in the country.
Back to the OP: Do PGO shotguns have a place IRL?
Sure...
Gh0sT OuT~!