Glass punches really work

[CruiserClass]

I've seldom had to break out a car window, and when I did it was always baton time. Well, I had a search warrant on a car that we couldn't get into from the outside and I wanted the inside processed for DNA so no pry the frame and poke at the buttons with the big bendy stick thingy (yes, technical term), so I needed to break a window. I have a glass punch now but had never actually used it.

PSA: It does not require nearly as much force as you think, especially if you've used batons in the past. If you've never used a glass punch before, no matter how soft you think you need to hit it, go about 10% of that and you'll probably be fine. Else you may add some of your own DNA to the window.

Yup, I was that guy.

[cajunguy]

Used one many times running crash rescue. Spring loaded center punch available from most hardware stores for between $3-5. Cheap and effective.

Always remember to use it in a lower corner of a side window. No bloody knuckles that way.



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[HI629]

I wear gloves when I break windows to minimize the potential of injury.

[Iowa #1603]

Spring loaded center punch works great..............................I have used them MANY TIMES

[RGDS]

I went to use one once and the door was unlocked. Still haven't had a chance.

[HI629]

I swear I shared the spring loaded center punch idea with this guy. Had he heeded my advice.....

http://khon2.com/2014/06/27/sheriff-uses-sledgehammer-to-save-two-children-in-locked-car/

Two children are safe thanks to the quick thinking of a state sheriff.
A woman parked her car on Halekauwila St. Friday morning and got out to pay the parking meter with her two children, a 2-year-old and a five-month-old, in the back seat.
That’s when the toddler locked the car from the inside — with her keys still in the car.
“She frantically made every effort to get the car open, but didn’t want to leave her children,” Toni Schwartz, public information officer, Dept. of Public Safety, said in a statement.
According to Schwartz, the woman flagged down a bystander who then ran into the Circuit Court and found Deputy Sheriff Grant Auna.
“The kids were sweating profusely and we were worried about the safety of the children, so we asked her if it was okay for us to break open the window to get the kids out for safety purposes,” he said.
It took Auna several tries and eventually a sledgehammer to break the window open and unlock the door.
The fire department checked the kids and determined they were fine.

[Mulgrave600]

We are issued with a special hammer in the vehicles. We are also expected to put on gloves, goggles and a mask before using it. I'd imagine that smashing a window in the field will often be a spur of the moment thing so I don't see how I'd have time to go back to the car, get the kit and then put the safety stuff on.

I wish we had window punches.

[chiefjack]

Spring loaded punch at Harbor Freight = $2.50. Carried it in my coat pocket for all 34 years of my career. Used it twice.
As was said before, lower right or left corner of a side window works best. Always wear gloves AND glasses of some kind to protect your eyes.

[HI629]

We are issued with a special hammer in the vehicles. We are also expected to put on gloves, goggles and a mask before using it. I'd imagine that smashing a window in the field will often be a spur of the moment thing so I don't see how I'd have time to go back to the car, get the kit and then put the safety stuff on.

I wish we had window punches.

Dunno about you, but I wear impact resistant sunglasses while I'm working. I also carry light duty "patrol gloves" which goes on under my nitrile barrier gloves. Protects against possible abrasions when dealing with suspects.