Trained by Hollywood to expect that a single round is enough to fatally wound a threatening suspect, noncops may question OISs in which multiple shots were fired. Why did officers fire so many rounds? Why was the suspect shot after already falling to the ground? Why did some bullets hit him in the back? For...Read More
A new study headed by an Advanced Force Science Specialist finds that an officer who confronts a subject in the throes of excited delirium stands nearly a 90% chance of ending up on the ground in a struggle with potentially serious consequences. The more symptoms of excited delirium a subject exhibits, the greater his likelihood...Read More
In reporting another new study of excited delirium, researcher Dr. Darrell Ross offers additional insights for improving the safety of officers and subjects alike in these fraught confrontations. The goal is not to train or expect officers to make clinical diagnoses in the field as psychiatric experts, Ross says. “But providing them with research findings...Read More
A major fresh look at some of the Force Science Institute’s seminal research on the physical dynamics of assaults on officers is underway at two universities. The goal, says FSI’s executive director Dr. Bill Lewinski, is to use highly sophisticated technology that’s now available to more deeply explore earlier findings that have become critical to...Read More
The problem of officers failing to activate recording equipment before or during a force encounter can be a thorny one with multiple potentially negative consequences. But a plaintiff in a federal lawsuit has tried to push the issue to a new and radical extreme. The incident in question began in the snowy, predawn hours of...Read More
What happens when LEOs—frustrated, angry, discouraged, vengeful, or apprehensive about anti-police outbursts from communities they serve—turn a blind eye to self-initiated, pro-active law enforcement? The city of Baltimore is one place to look for an answer—and the newspaper USA Today has done just that in a recent investigative report with sobering implications. Back in 2015,...Read More
Could “practicing” your firearms skills with violent video games that reward headshots adversely affect your performance with a real gun? A new report on an experiment at Ohio State U. raises that question. What are known as “first-person shooter games” (FPS) are “often used to train soldiers and police officers,” notes Dr. Brad Bushman, an...Read More
The critical and controversial question of when investigators should interview officers after a shooting or other high-intensity event will be addressed by Dr. Bill Lewinski, executive director of the Force Science Institute, at the annual conference of the International Assn. of Chiefs of Police this fall. Lewinski will explain the “six key psychological factors” to...Read More
Prison employees have a rate of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder roughly equivalent to war veterans who’ve served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to newly reported findings from a study in Washington State. Nearly one-fifth (19%) of prison workers surveyed “reported symptoms that were severe enough to be diagnosed as PTSD”—a rate six times higher than...Read More
Among the most tragic officer-involved shootings is this scenario: A distraught family member calls 911 because a loved one seems hell-bent on killing himself and can’t be dissuaded. The desperate hope is that the police can successfully intervene. But on scene, officers prove as unpersuasive as everyone else. As the contact evolves, with officers groping...Read More
