We are a Blue business

TacBook USA works with a range of subject matter experts in the law enforcement community and an extensive network of military and public safety professionals across the nation to develop the country’s premier resources for field operators and supervisors.

A message from the Founder:

This company is not about me or the TacBook team members. It’s about YOU, the public safety professional, the first responder. You are true heroes. I am just a guy who helped solve a problem. And now the team and I are sharing that solution with you.

Especially in the earlier stages of my law enforcement career in law enforcement, I drank from the firehose like you. I was buried in manuals. Becoming a cop means learning a new language – laws, codes, procedures.

And, not blessed with photographic memory like some of my peers, I had to study hard – flashcards were common, and thousands of lists.

Honestly, I was a little annoyed in the academy by how much “fluff” there was included in the study manuals. Only about 1/10 of what was written in those books was the material we needed to know – the rest was useless fine print.  

It would be great if we could plug a cable into our brains like Neo in the Matrix and learn Kung Fu, or the entire Vehicle Code in seconds. But since we don’t have the red pill, we have to highlight laws we need.

While my study lists grew and became more organized, I eventually made it into a flip book.  

I did shop around for a quick-reference guides, and purchased several. But they were very narrow in scope. Most of them were just lists of codes, with too much fine print. And, I couldn’t find an all-in-one comprehensive resource that included the essentials for cops – laws, codes, procedures, admonishments, etc. This was a problem for me. And I saw other cops struggling with too – messy cheat sheets, inconsistent SFSTs and memory lapses with radio codes.

So, I continued making my flip books better. I networked with thousands of LEOs nationwide.  I collected and merged the best “cheat sheets” from across the country.

I consulted fellow FTOs, DREs, detectives, veterans and rookies to find out what exactly we need in the field.  We entered the essentials, and trimmed out the fat.

What resulted was the TacBook: THE master-compilation of cheatsheets for cops. (“Tactical book”). My personal definition of “tactics” is “doing dangerous things in the safest and most efficient way possible”.

Police work is dangerous: we need answers fast. It’s also stressful – we are expected to be accurate and thorough with everything. If your SFSTs are messy, they will absolutely ROAST you in court.  

So, I worked with graphic designers to get this material organized in way to be most efficient for eyes/brain to process. We found the best text font and size – too large and there won’t be enough information. Too small and it becomes fine print.

I ensured the booklet was organized by PRIORITY.  You don’t have time to flip through a booklet during an emergency. But, if you are doing a Hot Crime Broadcast, you look at the back cover and make sure you are getting the right information out. Having done so many times, I can tell you reading them off the cover instead of trying to do it from memory really helped me to keep my pulse down.

So, I am not some super-guru. I am just a guy who had a problem, solved it for myself, and now sharing it with others. And now, cops from all over the country are messaging and emailing me saying this thing is good. So, now it is my business to make them better. For YOU .

A few details about my career:

TacBook was founded by Marcus Mahanty. Mahanty has served as a police officer US Marine, Corrections Officer and Emergency Medical Technician.

As a Police Officer in a very active city in Southern California, Mahanty most enjoyed serving in the Special Enforcement Unit and Patrol Division . Some of his roles included Field Training Officer, Cadet Advisor / Training Operations Manager, Honor Guard member, and Training Instructor, specializing in Drug Abuse Recognition and DUI enforcement.

A few of Mahanty’s certifications included Advanced Peace Officer, Drug Recognition Expert (DRE), Instructor Development Institute (IDI) - Intermediate Instructor, Academy Instructor (IDI) and Standardized Field Sobriety Testing (SFST) Instructor. Having served as a DRE, Mahanty is especially proud of the TacBook’s Drug Section as one of its outstanding features.

Some of Mahanty’s additional roles have included:

• Member of the Mountain Medical Rescue team, Grand County EMS, Colorado.

• Marine Corps Martial Arts Instructor - USMC Martial Arts Center for Excellence (MACE)

• Member of San Diego Organized Retail Crime Association (SDORCA)

• American Mountain Guides Association - Single Pitch Instructor (SPI).

Mahanty holds a bachelor’s degree and master’s level coursework in the USMC Expeditionary Warfare School (EWS).

Our Values

The values central to TacBook are “Precision, Dependability and Simplicity.”

Precision: Words mean things. If the book says this law is a felony, an officer may put him/herself or the public at risk to chase down as suspect of that crime. Codes need to be 100% correct. It’s about officer safety and public safety.

Dependability: When you email us, we respond the same or next day. When you submit an order, it ships the same or next day. If we make you a promise, we keep it.

Simplicity: There are thousands of laws for each category. With all of the subsections, they can get complicated. We specialize in filtering out only what is essential know in the field, when seconds matter. Cops often just need the law code, title and whether it’s a felony or not. That’s it. The ocean of details can wait until after the arrest.

TacBooks equip field officers with quick answers so they can save time and stay sharp in the field.  There are a million gadgets and gear items for your personal protection. But the TacBook is gear for your brain.

Our Vision

Our vision is to continue to be the #1 field guide for public safety professionals nationwide.  We will continue to produce updated editions specific to each of the 50 US states, special editions (such as the Patrol Guide and OIC) and customized TacBooks for various agencies and entities, i.e. the TacBook for Military Police – Ft Hood edition.

TacBook USA will contribute as an informed participant to the crucial conversations on societal matters including criminal justice and law enforcement via special events, articles, blogs in our BOL section and social media posts. We will remain a positive and trustworthy company in the field where trust from the community is especially critical.