Credibility of your course review articles?

[DanV1317]

I have to say that i enjoy reading your magazines every month first off. I do have a ton of them around my house and occasionally will read ones from the year before or just a few months before. Recently i got into reading the 2005 December issue and saw an article review of Gabe Suarez's class, SI Terrorism Interdiction Course.

The article was written by John Aaron as he attended the class on June 11-12, 2005. The article came off as very negative and sounded as if John did not like gabe's class at all. I have always heard great things about Gabe and decided to check out his website more and his forums and look for information about the class your writer was discussing in the magazine.

As it turns out, Gabe stated your author only attended 2 of the 7 days that the event was going on for and was carrying the attitude that he knew more than everybody else at the class, and Gabe actually had to tell the guy to cool down because he was picking fights with others in the class.

While i dont want to get into too much other detail that gabe mentioned about your author in the class, i am starting to question the credibility of your articles when even the intructor and other classmates will confirm that your writer only attended 2 days of the 7 day class! How can you review classes that only sum up a small portion of a full week long class?

Are your writers only attending a portion of the classes for any other reviews they do?

Do they always go in with an open mind and try to learn as much as they can and ask questions in hopes of giving an honest review in your magazine?


If this is incorrect please varify this for me as i was extremly disappointed to hear such a story that might hurt the credibility of your magazine and writers.

Thank you

[Denny Hansen]

Dan,
First, thanks for the kind words. It's been over a year since that article appeared, but here's the way I remember it:

Are your writers only attending a portion of the classes for any other reviews they do?

First, actually the information you have is not entirely correct. It was not a 7-day class. It was two courses; a 2-day, followed by a 5-day.

The writer signed up for the two-day "Terrorism Interdiction Course." He stayed for both days. He showed up for and observed the first hours of the "Ultimate Combat Skills Course" (a class that he did not sign up for). Aaron made it clear in the article that he did not stay for the next five days as the training, in his opinion, was unsafe.

And so, while it's true that he did not stay for all 7 days, it's not true that he did not stay for the entire class he reviewed.
Denny

[liliysdad]

In my opinion, the minute the "instructor" stands down range while firing is going on, I'm out, whether it be Day 1 or Day 10.

[hydrashok407]

Wow! I've only got my third issue (just today, in fact), and I'm in love with the magazine.

I was wondering how I could get my hands on the article in question??

[Denny Hansen]

hydra-
back issues, both print and electronic editions, are available at our website. www.swatmag.com

Denny

[hydrashok407]

Alrighty, then... I downloaded the issue and read the article.

When in the company of trained comrades, I'm slightly liberal on some safety issues. Not willing to delve into that hornets' nest at the moment, I must say I would have left the course LONG before I could have observed as many safety violations by perfect strangers as were witnessed by the author.

After reading such an article, I'd research the credibility of the author... a report on a firearms course like this is pretty unbelievable!

[PressCheck]

My "personal" beef with a "renowed" firearms instructor is Gabriel Saurez. This complaint is not on a "personal" basis, however it is on a professional basis. As I have said, I am currently a police officer for a department in Northern California. Everytime a police officer, across the country, commits a crime and/or does something wrong, it effects ALL police officers. In my opinion, any police officer committing a crime, such as perjury, grand theft, embezzlement, etc should not be teaching others how to use firearms.

On 11/28/1999, Gabriel Saurez, a full time police officer for Santa Monica PD, had a "slip and fall" accident in the locker room. Mr Saurez, at the time, was and still is, a highly regarded firearms instructor. Mr Saurez went out on workers comp, for the "slip and fall" incident, collecting over $100,000.00.

In October 2000, an investigation was completed against Mr Saurez. It was found Mr Saurez was collecting workers comp money AND running Saurez International. Basically, teaching firearms to people and collecting money for it; at the sametime as collecting money from workers comp.

The complaint against Saurez stated: In March, 2000, Saurez swore, under oath, he did not collect any outside income since his alleged injury, 11/28/1999. Although he had received money for firearms training, under Saurez International during this time.

Mr Saurez again committed perjury, for lying about whether or not he obtained emergency medical treatment.

On or about 9/27/2000, Mr Saurez plead guilty to workers comp fraud, money laundering, and grand theft. He received a year long jail sentence in LA County Jail for his plea bargin.

The plea bargin allowed for Mr Saurez to pay back the money he had received from workers comp in an exchange for dropping two perjury charges. Perjury, in CA, cannot be dropped to a misdemeanor. Mr Saurez also agreed to pay back the $112,250.01 he obtained from workers comp. This would allow Mr Saurez to be able to possess firearms and be able to teach firearms in the future.

His wife was also sentenced to 1 day in jail for the scheme. Mr Saurez would have people who hired him, pay his wife (for his services), through a fictious company, so he could still collect the money.

As most know, Mr Suarez is currently teaching firearms to many people across the country, since getting out of jail.

Now, is what he is doing right now illegal? No, it is not. In my opinion, it is disgusting. He has committed perjury (although not convicted of it), theft, grand theft, and spent a year in county jail. How can he walk into a court of law, criminal or civil, and defend someone he has trained?

He is a disgrace to the law enforcement profession and should not be allowed, by anyone, to teach in their faciltiy. Call me romantic, call me stupid, however I believe morals, ethics, and professionalism should be a major portion of this profession.

Maddog, if you would like copies of the news articles, just email me. I will send them to you snail mail. Unfortunately, the links no longer work.

By the way, the number and types of shootings Mr Saurez claims to be involved in is also debatable.

Oh, and before it starts, yes, I have confronted Mr Saurez with this information. It appears as if he really doesn't care.

[Denny Hansen]

This thread started out with an honest question, with an honest answer. I'm closing it down before it degrades into a he-said/she said argument. This is not the proper forum for training questions/debate.

Denny