An award-winning journalist who frequently writes on law enforcement issues has given a scathing account of the federal government’s 10-year oversight of the LAPD and calls it “a disturbing harbinger for other police departments.” In a 3,100-word report in The Weekly Standard magazine, author and TV commentator Heather Mac Donald paints a damning picture of...Read More
In one word, name a critical–and unfortunately common–mistake investigators make when interviewing police officers who have been involved in shootings. The answer, according to UCLA psychology professor, Dr. Ed Geiselman, is interrupt. “I’ve seen police officers–as well as other presumably cooperative witnesses–bursting at the seams to tell their account of an incident only to be...Read More
How do principles of human behavior and memory stimulation studied in Force Science certification classes get applied in real-world policing? Consider the recent experiences of 2 police trainers and Force Science graduates who played pivotal roles in significant use-of-force investigations, 1,700 miles and an international border apart. In one, an officer ended up cleared of...Read More
Part 1 of a 2-part series What helps and what hurts after a fatal shooting? Nobody knows better than officers who’ve been there. Recently a panel of 6 survivors of shootings in Wisconsin, along with 2 instructors who’ve collectively been involved in the aftermath of dozens of deadly police encounters, spoke their mind on the...Read More
Editor’s note: Our strategic partner, PoliceOne.com, recently ran the following article in which Force Science Advisor Chuck Remsberg is quoted. As Chuck points out, although times are tight financially, it’s important to remember that there are some things—like training—that are crucial and necessary, regardless of economic conditions. Reputations, careers and lives can depend on it....Read More
Foreseeing a proliferation of suicide bombing attacks in the U.S., a homeland security planner for the Delaware Dept. of Transportation has drafted a “unified framework” for first-response operations that he believes will eliminate inconsistencies and inadequacies currently hobbling law enforcers in defending effectively against a favored weapon of terrorists. The plan is a core component...Read More
A case involving the stun-drive Tasering of a handcuffed arrestee was decided this month by a federal Court of Appeals panel in Florida, with some instructive language regarding what’s permissible in the handling of passively resisting subjects by an officer working alone. In assessing a deputy’s actions in delivering Taser shocks to an arrestee who...Read More
A first-of-its-kind, case-by-case study of in-custody deaths associated with TASER use has confirmed that the popular electronic control devices are by no means the dangerous and often deadly weapons that Amnesty International, the ACLU and media reports frequently suggest. Self-described as “kind of a nerd” who approaches tedious research as recreation, Chief Howard Williams of...Read More
If you’re a patrol officer who’s first on the scene of an active-shooter call, should you make immediate entry in hunt for the suspect…or wait for other early responders and improvise a rapid deployment team? Since the Columbine massacre 9 years ago, few if any trainers any longer advocate delaying for a formal SWAT call-out,...Read More
2 of a 2-Part series Editor’s Note In Part 1 we reported on a ground-breaking new study by researcher Tom Aveni on why and under what circumstances officers shoot suspects who end up not to be armed. Here we offer some of the significant implications of Aveni’s findings. Aveni is founder of The Police Policy...Read More
