You may have heard of the bill passed recently by the Indiana General Assembly that gives citizens the right to physically resist—even with deadly force—any LEO they “reasonably believe” is unlawfully entering their dwelling or is about to cause them injury. At this writing, the legislation awaits the signature of Gov. Mitch Daniels to become...Read More
For the first time, a scientific research team has used modern technology to confirm just how a vascular neck restraint works to produce unconsciousness. The findings emphatically refute assertions that this valuable control technique is inherently dangerous and potentially lethal. “With the majority of subjects [in the study] rendered unconscious and, importantly, [with] no serious...Read More
An exaggeration of the sudden in-custody death problem is generating “persecution and prosecution” of LEOs and their agencies and is resulting in “reactionary changes in policy and procedure that may well be based in conjecture rather than fact,” according to new findings by a Canadian research team. In particular the study group challenges the widely...Read More
The average officer within months of leaving an academy will be able only to describe how a given suspect-control technique should be used but will have “little ability” to actually apply it effectively in “a dynamic encounter with a defiantly resistant subject.” At the rate academy and in-service training is typically delivered, it could take...Read More
An expert on excited delirium is reaching out through Force Science News for first-hand accounts from officers who have encountered suspects high on so-called “bath salts.” At least one LEO—a sheriff’s deputy from Mississippi, responding to a disturbance call—has been killed, reportedly by an offender under the influence of psychoactive bath salts. In that case,...Read More
The latest study by the Force Science Institute has produced 2 surprising findings of importance to trainers, street officers, and police attorneys: Some suspects lying flat with hands hidden under chest or waist can produce and fire a gun at an approaching officer faster than any human being on earth can react to defend himself;The...Read More
A Force Science research team recently conducted unique tests with police volunteers to determine how long officers can typically endure in all-out fights with suspects and how a desperate struggle can affect memory. The results are expected to have important legal implications regarding the use of force. Administered under the guidance of Dr. Bill Lewinski,...Read More
Theories abound about how best to tell if a suspect is lying to you, short of hooking him up to a polygraph. But based on recently reported experiments, a Force Science advisor thinks one of the best ways to surface cues to possible deception may be simply to have the subject tell his or her...Read More
A new study of suicide by cop that is unprecedented in its breadth, depth, and detail reveals that these encounters are “shockingly” on the rise, explains specific ways that they differ from “regular” OISs, and establishes emphatically that they create exceptional threats to civilian bystanders, responding officers, and the subjects themselves. “The single most important...Read More
One of the most dangerous positions a suspect can assume on the ground is prone with his hands tucked under his body, either at chest or waist level. What’s hidden in those hands? And if it’s a gun, how fast can he twist and shoot if you’re approaching him? This month [1/09], the Force Science...Read More
