DSM
Don't Shoot Me
A plainclothes officer behind a vehicle with his weapon drawn, a hi-vis POLICE banner deployed across his torso
Patented 360° Officer Identification

Because you're not always in uniform.

Patented one-hand, 360-degree identification, deployed in under two seconds. From a pouch on your belt, without breaking your grip.

US 8,191,748 B2 Granted Patent
<2 SEC To Full Deployment
360° Identification
100% Orders Vetted
Patented Through 2030Seventeen Years On The Record Invented By A Retired SWAT SergeantEvery Order Vetted
Jan 2008 The Case2 Years In DevelopmentFeb 2009 Shipped

A plainclothes officer who intervenes is, for three seconds, indistinguishable from the threat.

In January 2008, Officer Christopher Ridley was killed in Westchester County, New York, by officers who did not know who he was. He was one of them.

Sgt. Mike Lessman was researching exactly that failure at exactly that moment, teaching Response to Active Shooters and finding that nothing on the market solved it. A windbreaker needs to be on. An armband only faces one way. A raid vest is not something you carry off duty. He spent the next two years building the thing that did not exist, and shipped it in February 2009.

A SWAT team stacked on an entry alongside a uniformed supervisor
TREXPO West 2009, Best Of ShowPOLICE Magazine, May 2009 Cygnus Law Enforcement Innovation Award, IACP 2011 Federal SupplierCAGE 74SS3
On Camera

Watch It Work

The full DSM film: who carries the banner, what it is for, and what one hand and two seconds actually look like.

DSM brand film · 6:20 · Sound on
How It's Carried

Train The Draw

Train it the way you train a reload. It has to happen without thinking, because in the moment it matters you will not be thinking.

01

Deploy On Contact

The banner comes out as the weapon comes out. Identified before the first unit arrives, not after.

02

Deploy On Cover

Seek cover, tactically reload, and deploy. Solve your own survival first, then the recognition problem.

03

And Back In Again

Rolls back into its pouch in seconds, so you are ready for the next call rather than carrying a loose sash.

17Years On The Record
21Banner Configurations
2 SECTo Full Deployment
21 Configurations2 Sec To Deploy360° Identification

Featured Banners

The Receipts

Seventeen Years On The Record

February 2009

Shipped To Agencies

Two years of prototypes, drawn and redrawn with street officers, released to law enforcement agencies.

March 2009

TREXPO West, Best Of Show

Voted Best of Show at POLICE magazine's TREXPO West, one month into its first year on the market.

May 2009

POLICE Magazine

Featured in the May 2009 edition following the TREXPO West win.

IACP 2011 · Chicago

Cygnus Innovation Award

Cygnus Law Enforcement Innovation Award, presented at the IACP Conference.

US 8,191,748 B2

Granted Patent, Active Through 2030

One-hand deployment from a belt-carried pouch to 360-degree identification. No competitor holds an equivalent granted patent on a product they ship.

Multiple Federal Agencies

Federal Supplier

Registered and paid as a federal supplier. CAGE 74SS3 · UEI MMYGTVRG8258 · NAICS 315210.

Every Order, Every Time

Vetted Before It Ships

Credentials uploaded at checkout and verified before anything leaves. The gate is the point.

One HandTwo SecondsOut And Back In

See The Deploy

Two carries, two draws, and the part nobody films: getting it back in the pouch before the next call.

Mike Lessman drawing a POLICE banner from a belt pouch, caught mid deploy with the banner arcing overhead
Belt pouch and IWB · same motion
Mike Lessman drawing a POLICE banner from a soft pocket pouch, caught mid deploy with the banner arcing overhead
Soft pocket pouch · its own draw
A POLICE banner laid flat on a workbench beside its black carry pouch, ready to be rolled and re-packed
And back in · with sound
In Their Words

The People Who Wear It

Instructors, chiefs and off duty officers, in their own words, on what changed the moment the banner came out.

Most of you know one of my major concerns is Officer Safety and I am always interested in anything which will promote it. On an all too regular basis we receive news about another blue-on-blue shooting. In most of these situations an off duty, a plainclothes, or an undercover officer was shot by another, possibly a responding, officer. It is a question of recognition and identification when it was not clear to the uniformed officer he was dealing with another law enforcement officer.

The Banner is a quality product, sturdy, well made and inexpensive. When deployed, it would be extremely difficult for a responding officer not to be able to identify the wearer as a law enforcement officer. Prior to deployment, it is easily concealed in what looks like a cell phone pouch, which does not identify the wearer as an LEO. It is simple and quick to deploy. Finally, when finished, it is very easy to re-pack the Banner in its pouch.

Captain RFlorida Law Enforcement Agency

The DSM Safety Banner could be a life saver for any cop that ever needs to draw his weapon when not in uniform. It is life insurance on your hip.

Ken HackathornPolice And Military Tactics Instructor, Gunwriter

Upon seeing the DSM Safety Banner for the first time, it was a logical approach to a long standing problem. I purchased them and have them in place with my lieutenants, detectives, school resource officer, myself and others ready for special events. This banner is a low cost investment to save lives and prevent tragedies. If you are a chief, sheriff, or police instructor you need to give these strong consideration for your staffers. It is all about saving lives.

Chief William L. HarveyEphrata Police Department

During the Simulation based practical portion of the training, the plain clothed officer was equipped with the DSM Banner and throughout all of the evolutions, not a single plain clothed officer was engaged whatsoever, even in a low light situation. This was a marked difference from previous evolutions where non-uniformed personnel would routinely be either shot or dealt with negatively because of the inability of facial recognition behind the SIM helmets. The administration was so impressed that the Training Branch was given directions for a purchase order on the spot.

CyrilLaw Enforcement Training
CAGE 74SS3Multiple Federal AgenciesAgencies Undisclosed

Trusted At Nationally Significant Events And By Agencies That Cannot Be Named

Straight Answers

What People Ask First

Under two seconds, with one hand, from a closed pouch on your belt. You do not have to break your grip on a weapon or a subject to do it. That mechanism is what the patent covers.

Seconds. It rolls back into the pouch without folding or fussing. This is the question we field most after purchase, so every product page shows the re-pack on video, not just the draw.

Visibility science. High-visibility yellow-green is the most detectable color to the human eye across the widest range of lighting, which is why it is standard on roadway safety apparel. Other colors are available where an agency requires them.

A panel needs a jacket. An armband needs a sleeve. A placard needs a carrier. The banner rides on your belt and identifies you from every angle, including from behind, which is where most misidentifications happen. From late spring through early fall it is also not jacket weather, and in places like Florida it rarely is at all, so a panel does not fit every climate or season.

No. Every order is vetted. You upload your credentials at checkout and we verify them before anything ships. A banner anyone could buy would be worth less than nothing to the officer wearing it.

Yes. Agency and bulk orders go through a quote request rather than the retail cart, with purchase orders, a W-9 and multi-address shipping. Start on the Agency & Bulk Orders page.

Either one. Under twenty units, order straight from the shop and pay online. Twenty units or more, request a bulk quote and we will invoice it. The quote process is not compulsory, and plenty of buyers who could take the bulk discount order online anyway because it is faster.

Lead times depend on specific times of year and demand. Ask when you order and you will get the honest answer for that week rather than a number that turns out to be wrong.

Because You're Not Always In Uniform

Talk To Us Directly

1-775-250-5523
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