A strong message about deadly force encounters that critics of the police, as well as investigators and prosecutors, need to hear is sent in a feature article that appeared this summer [’06] in “The Scene,” the journal of the Assn. for Crime Scene Reconstruction. The article, authored by Drs. Jeffrey Bumgarner, Bill Lewinski, and Bill...Read More
Does being angry put you at higher risk for getting injured? In one way, yes–and it’s a way with great relevance for law enforcement. Researchers at the University of Missouri-Columbia studied some 2,500 patients in 3 ERs and about 1,500 unharmed residents selected from the community at large to see what relationship, if any, exists...Read More
The cerebral game of chess would seem to be several light years removed from the rough-and-tumble world of the street cop. But a new report on the mental processes of chess players suggests that law officers and trainers have a lot to learn from the means by which amateurs become masters of the checkered board....Read More
Initial research has been completed in a major new study that may eventually help improve police performance during high-intensity events, like shootings or life-threatening pursuits, and define what an officer can reasonably be expected to remember about such incidents afterward. A staggering amount of fresh data regarding brain activity is currently being analyzed. But already...Read More
What are the chances that a suspect who suddenly presents a gun and starts shooting as fast as he can will actually hit an officer he’s trying to kill? At what distance will his accuracy significantly drop off? Does playing video games measurably enhance his skill? What’s an officer’s best reaction for avoiding fatal hits?...Read More
Interested in the latest court decisions on use of force, search and seizure, off-duty confrontations, and a long list of other topics of vital interest to proper law enforcement? Now you can access some of the best legal reports available–FREE, online. Americans for Effective Law Enforcement, the nonprofit organization that produces outstanding legal seminars for...Read More
To read about the hyperaggression and superhuman stamina of a suspect in the throes of excited delirium is one thing. To experience it face to face with your life on the line is vastly different, especially when one of your .40-cal. rounds has blown up your attacker’s aorta and another has drilled into his spine...Read More
What is described as a “huge” legislative shift in favor of POs has taken place in Arizona, where the rules about justifying the use of deadly force have been significantly changed. This spring [’06], the governor signed into law Senate Bill 1145 which, in effect, removes the burden of proving justification in an OIS shooting...Read More
What does it take to train today’s officers to face deadly force successfully? A panel of nearly a dozen experts spent almost 4 hours voicing opinions on that topic at the recent annual conference of the International Law Enforcement Educators & Trainers Assn. (ILEETA). But the bottom line was neatly capsulized in a matter of...Read More
The quality of commands officers issue tends to deteriorate drastically in potentially life-threatening confrontations, possibly leaving suspects confused about what they’re expected to do to comply, according to 2 new studies conducted under the auspices of the Force Science Research Center at Minnesota State University-Mankato. What these studies reveal is “more shocking than anything we...Read More
