True Stories

Early one morning I was out tracking a carjacking suspect with my K9 partner, Sabre. I was carrying my departmental-issued Remington 870, equipped with a SureFire Dedicated Forend, across my front as I tracked the suspects.

We found two suspects, one of which we cornered and captured in the backyard of a town home. I used my SureFire dedicated forend to identify the suspect and, with the help of my K9, took the suspect into custody without incident. After he was secured, we resumed our tracking, crossing a wet, wooden footbridge over a swamp. Upon reaching the end of the footbridge, I lost my footing and fell, my SureFire forend taking the brunt of the impact as my 260-pound body crashed down. I was mortified and convinced I'd just destroyed the light. But once I collected myself off the ground and tested the forend, much to my delight, it worked flawlessly.

Though I did not end up locating the second suspect, it was a great seeing the toughness of your product firsthand. Thanks for making such a durable, reliable product.

CPL John S.
Bel Air, MD

I was working night patrol when I received a call about a suspicious noise coming from the rear alley of a local business. When I arrived on the scene, I saw a subject walking away from the business. I parked my marked unit and, as I exited, I asked him what he was doing. Before I could finish my sentence, I was looking down the barrel of a semi-automatic pistol. I ran to the opposite side of my unit and drew my weapon. As the subject gave chase, I stopped and pointed my gun at the subject and told him to drop the gun. I illuminated the subject with my SureFire X300^® just as he pointed his gun at me a second time. Shots were fired, and the rest is history.

I truly believe that my tactics, training, and SureFire X300 kept me a few fractions of a second ahead, and alive, that fateful night. I won't be able to get my weapon or my X300 back until the criminal case has been cleared, so I've been saving my money to purchase another X300. I feel naked every night I hit the streets without one, so hopefully I can purchase one (maybe even two) soon. I have stressed the importance of a reliable weapon-mounted light to all of my partners; since my incident, many have purchased one—specifically, the SureFire X300.

SureFire was a major element in my survival that night, and I hope all of the officers who read this story take into consideration just how important it is for them to have a reliable lighting system. Thank you, SureFire, for keeping me safe, alive, and able to return home to my family.

Rene M.
Brawley, CA

As a member of the fulltime SWAT team, I was recently dispatched to a hostage barricade situation where shots had been fired. I am a member of the counter-sniper team, and my partner and I were deployed to cover the front of the residence. Upon reaching our observation point, I detected movement to the left of our position. I let my partner know, and I continued to cover that direction with my M4 assault rifle outfitted with a SureFire M900 WeaponLight. I then saw the suspect, who was wondering the perimeter of the house, looking for law enforcement officers.

On command, both my partner and I lit up the suspect with our M900 lights and verbally commanded him to surrender. The suspect immediately dropped to the ground and yelled, "Don't shoot me, I give up!" We took the suspect into custody without further incident. Upon debriefing, the suspect stated that, due to the blinding lights, he thought he was surrounded by a much larger group than two people.

I would like to personally thank Surefire for making such a great products and for making my job that much safer
Trent L.
Jessup, MD

At approximately 1:00 a.m., while onboard my USCG patrol boat off of the coast of Cuba, conducting Alien Migrant Interdiction Operations, we began to track a target of interest (TOI) southbound at 25 knots on radar. We then used our forward-looking infrared to ascertain that this TOI was a center-console "go fast" outfitted with twin outboard engines. This type of boat is frequently used for smuggling migrants from Cuba to the United States.

When we launched our small boat to interdict the suspected smugglers, they altered their course and gunned the engines. My coxswain followed in pursuit and brought our small boat alongside. While alongside, I employed my L1 LumaMax® at the driver's eyes, disorientating him to the point that he lost his night vision. He started making erratic course and speed changes, which gave us enough time to jump onboard and detain the two suspects.

My L1 turned an extremely dangerous situation into a safe, effective takedown of a stolen boat and two suspected smugglers. Thanks, SureFire.

Nyles F.
Zepherhills, FL

At the beginning of the year, I swapped out my department-issued weapon light for a SureFire X300. I made the switch primarily because my department-issued light put out a weak beam and always died so quickly.

After training with my new X300, where it worked flawlessly and impressed my fellow trainees, I used it on duty for the first time in a building search, about a month after I got it. My partner and I responded to an alarm call, and we found an open door and a dark room. My partner did not have weapon light on his firearm, so I went in first. I turned on my X300 and lit up the entire room before we entered. It was a small room, and we cleared it quickly before entering a much larger room. My X300 lit up half of that room before we even entered it, and once inside, it lit up the rest. We could see everything-every corner, every nook and cranny. We quickly cleared that room, too, and declared the call a false alarm.

I've used my X300 lots of times since that call, and I've yet to change the batteries. It is far and away the best weapon light I have every used. Thanks for making such a reliable product, SureFire.

David S.
Vista, CA

I'm a volunteer firefighter/first responder. One night we were paged to a wreck with a possible pin-in. When I arrived at the scene, other firefighters were attempting to extricate the victim from the car. I'd been there maybe five minutes when the alternator on the fire engine went dead and all of the lights went out. We all carry clip-on lights made by another company, but they weren't bright enough to warn oncoming traffic. So I pulled my G2® LED from my pocket, twisted it on, and was able to stop oncoming vehicles from crashing into us and our fire engine. People said they could see the light from a half mile away.

Kudos for making such a bright, durable light.

Cole W.
North Wilkesboro, NC

At 17:00 hrs in late September, the Lincoln volunteer ambulance was paged to rescue a hunter who'd fallen and fractured his leg. He was five miles from the trailhead in the Scapegoat Wilderness. Most of the route he'd traveled was off the forest service trail and followed a creek up the Continental Divide over steep terrain.

We were able to locate him about 19:00 hrs (after the sun set). We had a couple of flashlights, but, unfortunately, the six extra batteries I always carry were tucked safely in my vest—back down the mountain on the passenger seat of the ambulance. We managed to get the hunter off the mountain by 23:30, but as we started hiking back, our flashlights died. Luckily, I had my SureFire Helmet Light with me, so I mounted it to the Tango Down mount on my cap, and was able to lead us safely back to the trail head, where our ambulance awaited us.

Robert F.
Lincoln, MT

Back in the day, when I was a young recruit, in the early 90s, we were issued one of your competitor's battery-operated 3-D-cell flashlights. Needless to say, it was not that bright. I went and bought my first SureFire 6R (now obsolete), based on what I'd read and a recommendation from the retail store. It was compact, produced a flawless, bright beam, and was the talk amongst other police officers, many of whom went out and bought their own.

As a member of the K9 unit, I proposed a fulltime tactical light for our issued pistol. Needless to say, the SureFire X200® (since replaced by the X300®) beat out all competitors and is now the standard light for our K9 unit, ERT, marine, and mounted units. In addition, our department was looking for a new standard-issue light that had to be battery powered for earthquake preparedness. Not only did the light have to be bright and flawless, but our managers demanded high customer service. Our relationship with SureFire from our X200 purchases took care of that. As a result, the G2® was selected as the standard-issue light for the 1,400 members of the Vancouver Police Department.

Sgt. Ray W. - Vancouver PD
Vancouver, B.C.

The day I brought my G2® LED to firehouse, everyone asked about it-and how much it cost. When I told them the price, they gave me the business about spending as much as I did, showing me their cheap ten-dollar lights that they claimed were just as good as any other light out there. Right. They typically work for a week or two and then go out without warning.

Two months after my purchase, our company was the second responding company to a house fire. The first responding company was extinguishing the fire, and we followed behind, doing our search. My partner and I entered a room, where we found a woman lying on the floor, thanks to my bright G2L cutting right through the smoke. We were able to get her out while she was still breathing. I know that, had I been using a cheap $10 no-name brand, we may not have found this woman as quickly as we did, and she may have perished.

Your flashlights are by far the brightest and definitely the toughest out there. Real life-savers. Thanks for making such top-quality lights. I already have my eye on the new G2L-FYL firefighter/first-responder light. I'll definitely be a customer for life.

Joseph W.
Saint Louis, MO

This is the story of my faithful companion. In 1998, I was issued a SureFire 6P® Original when I was assigned as an agent to a tactical narcotics team, in Miami, Florida. Since then, my trusty 6P has made dozens of search-warrant tactical entries, hundreds of arrests, boarded ships, and been in the jungles of South America and the deserts of Mexico. It has even racked up three deployments to Iraq, when I was mobilized with my reserve unit. It is beat up, scratched, wrapped with a little "hundred miles per hour tape," and looks like hell, but it works like the day I first took it out of the box.

My trusty 6P is not only my faithful companion but a souvenir of 13 years of a lot of fun and excitement. Thanks, SureFire, for making a great product that I can trust my life to.

James B.
Knoxville, TN

I'm a police officer and work fulltime as a mountain bike officer in an area with a busy club scene. One night my partner and I saw a stopped vehicle blocking a lane of traffic, with the driver out of the vehicle, dancing in the street, trying to impress some woman on the sidewalk.

As we came upon the vehicle, my partner made the approach to the driver while I stayed back to keep an eye on the rear passengers. As my partner spoke with the driver, the rear passenger started to move around. I then moved up, in an attempt to get a better visual and tactical position, my gun at the ready position and my 6P^® LED in my non-shooting hand.

The passenger lunged both of his hands under the front passenger seat. As he did, I went into combat mode and explained to him that if he so much as moved another inch, there was a high probability his friend would be cleaning brain matter from his car interior. The passenger froze but would not obey my other commands. It was during this moment that my 6P LED revealed the butt of a black handgun only a half inch from his fingertips. After carefully explaining to him of the monumental importance of his next decision, and my excellent shooting abilities, he decided it would be in is best interest to discontinue his reach.

My partner was able to gain a tactical advantage and pull him out of the car without further incident. After it was all said and done, and cuffs were on him, it turned out he was only 16 years old and thought it would be cool to drive around with a gun. The power and clarity of my SureFire flashlight hands down beats the department-issued lights I've had in the past.

James L.
Waldorf, MD

As a police officer, sometimes the tool that you use most is your pen. For this reason, I chose to purchase the SureFire Pen II. Not only is the Pen II an excellent writing instrument and sobriety testing tool, with its highly polished tip, it's a handy little kubaton, as well. But by far the best thing about this pen is showing other officers, who are SureFire fans too, how big of a fan I am by owning it.

The Pen II may not have saved my life (yet), but it has made all the paperwork I have to do much more bearable. Thanks, SureFire.

Henry F.
Atascosa, TX

My SureFire X300® saved a life one night, back in 2009. I was working night watch about 9:00 p.m. on a cold California night. I got a report of a person in a park lying on the ground in a poorly lit area. I arrived and contacted the person, who was asleep and clearly intoxicated. I woke him up, and he immediately started making threats. He got up, and before I could lay hands on him, he told me he had a gun, his right hand going for his waist band under his coat at the same time.

I quickly drew my Glock 22, fired up my X300, and moved to my left. The suspect put his right hand in front of his face to shield his eyes from the intense light that was coming from my X300. Luckily for him, my X300 lit him up so brightly that I could see everything clear as day, and there was no gun under his coat.

He ended up getting arrested, but it could've ended much, much worse for him. The light from my X300 was so bright that he had to shield his eyes from the light with his hands, which gave me enough time to see there was no gun and not escalate the force level. I've used my X300 many other times since then, but this incident really stands out to me. I believe the X300 is one of the best weapon-mounted lights on the market today. Thanks, SureFire.

David S.
Oceanside, CA

I was assigned to the graveyard shift, and happened to be a solo officer, when I was dispatched to a railroad yard regarding a suspicious individual. Upon arriving, I found the suspect, who ignored my verbal commands. I cautiously approached the suspect and grabbed his hand in an attempt to control him when, suddenly, the suspect spun on me and I began to receive hay-makers to the head.

I soon found myself on my back, with a crazed individual on top of me, continuing to strike me in the face. As I attempted to block the blows, I heard the gut-dropping sound of "snap"—my retention strap on my duty gun coming undone. I reached down with my right hand to my duty gun and found the suspect's hand trying to take my firearm. Now it was a matter of life or death.

With my right hand pinning the suspect's hand on my duty gun, in an attempt to prevent him from taking my firearm, I was frantically looking for anything to use as a weapon with my left hand. I found my trusted SureFire 6P^® flashlight [newer model is 6PX™ Tactical] and used it to repel the blows to my face. When enough distance was created, I illuminated the suspect with my 6P, which caused him to instantly take his hand off my gun and shield his face from the intense light. I finally had the upper hand and was able to take him into custody. In the distance I could hear the sirens of my fellow officers responding, but I could not radio my position, as my radio was damaged in the fight. Gripping my 6P, which had just endured a hellish battle, I fired it up to signal the sea of blue looking for me.

I was contacted weeks later by my patrol sergeant, who told me he received a complaint from jail. He told me that an individual was claiming I used "excessive light" and caused him to be temporarily disoriented. After a few chuckles and a hard lesson learned, I vowed to never hit the streets again without one of your products. Thank you for providing equipment that brought me home safely to my family.

Justin H.
Clovis, CA