Law enforcement officers are involved with an endless variety of encounters, and some of these are relatively rare or very rare indeed. For instance, Atty. Michael Brave, always popular at ILEETA conferences and other training events for his remarkably detailed, rapid-fire legal updates, points out that on average “for every 71 LEO encounters there will...Read More
Researchers with the Force Science Institute continue to bring a realistic perspective on law enforcement issues to the largely civilian academic community. Dr. John O’Neill and Dr. Dawn O’Neill of the Force Science staff made separate presentations in Denver recently at the annual convention of the prestigious Assn. of Behavior Analysis International. The convention attracted...Read More
An innovative medical treatment facility, exclusively for LEOs burdened by substance abuse, stress overload, marital problems, or other wellness-threatening issues, is scheduled to open within the next few months, not far from the Force Science Training headquarters in a Chicago suburb. Dubbed St. Michael’s House, after the archangel patron of warriors, the special, nondenominational facility...Read More
A federal appellate court has ruled that a sheriff’s deputy was justified in shooting dead the driver of a car heading toward him as a weapon, even though the deputy deliberately stepped into the vehicle’s path and stayed there when he had the opportunity to move aside. The 10th circuit Court of Appeals said the...Read More
A recent online research roundup published by the National Strength & Conditioning Assn. adds to the ever-growing evidence that physical fitness matters in practical ways to public safety personnel. The report is included in the group’s quarterly journal, Tactical Strength & Conditioning, and was compiled by Dr. Rod Pope, associate professor of physiotherapy at Bond...Read More
In a snapshot preview of a book he’ll publish this summer, prominent researcher Dr. Darrell Ross recently offered law enforcement trainers a provocative update on one of the rarest events in policing, yet one of the most vexing: arrest-related death. In a presentation running nearly four hours at the annual training conference of the International...Read More
Facing a medical emergency and a use-of-force dilemma, did this sheriff’s deputy do the right thing? The deputy, working road patrol for the Oakland County (MI) SO, responded one June afternoon to a call at a residence near Detroit where four paramedics were struggling to help a man overcome a life-threatening diabetic crisis. According to...Read More
A study of a year’s worth of force reports in one major US police department reveals some interesting patterns of officer injuries in non-shooting confrontations. The review was led by Dr. Katelyn Jetelina, an epidemiologist with the University of Texas School of Public Health who specializes in violence prevention and injury. Her team included Dr....Read More
Over the years, medical examiners and plaintiff’s attorneys have advanced a variety of speculations to explain the arrest-related deaths of suspects for which no medical cause is readily apparent. This parade of horribles has included hog-tying, positional (prone) asphyxia, neck restraint, pepper-spraying, and cardiac disruption (electrocution) caused by conducted electrical weapons. And one by one,...Read More
A newspaper columnist’s perspective on a shooting in Florida may be helpful to officers conducting citizen police academies, town hall meetings, and other events where they try to get civilians to empathize with LEOs’ use-of-force decisions. In Charlotte County, FL, sheriff’s deputies responded to a 911 call of a residential domestic disturbance in which a...Read More
