A new study clearly documents a “significant and important” trend in federal courts to consider the physiological and psychological impact of stress on officer performance in cases alleging excessive force and inadequate training. “This finding,” says Dr. Bill Lewinski, executive director of the Force Science Institute, “is very encouraging to those of us who have...Read More
A recent lower-court decision in Tennessee may be a bellwether signaling a need to tweak law enforcement use-of-force policies. At issue is whether department policies and the training to support them should cover use of force against injured persons. The unpublished ruling last month [4/11/13] from the U.S. District Court in Nashville is important, says...Read More
An officer’s job termination, based largely on discrepancies between his description of a physical encounter and what a Taser camera recorded, has been reversed by a California judge, thanks to the efforts of an attorney and an expert witness with Force Science credentials. Ofcr. Santino “Sonny” Lopez of the Grover Beach (CA) PD, the president...Read More
In the nation’s highest-profile case of weapons confusion, the California Court of Appeal has ruled that a jury verdict of involuntary manslaughter was reasonable and a two-year prison sentence was warranted for former officer Johannes Mehserle, who swore that he thought he was deploying his Taser when he actually drew his pistol and fatally shot...Read More
In at least nine incidents in the U.S. and Canada, officers have mistakenly drawn their sidearm—thinking they were deploying their Taser—and unintentionally used deadly force against uncooperative suspects. In at least two cases, the subjects have died, while others have sustained serious injuries. Often in these unfortunate events, the involved officers have become central figures...Read More
Part 1 of a 2-part series As an expert in interviewing skills, Dr. Ed Geiselman has seen the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to officers being questioned by investigators after use-of-force events. Recently he was asked to review transcripts and audio recordings of interviews in cases where LEOs’ jobs were on...Read More
Time-and-motion concepts researched and taught by the Force Science Institute are most often used to unravel the complexities of officer-involved shootings. But 2 recent cases demonstrate the value of these principles in assessing other types of law enforcement encounters as well. In Nevada and British Columbia this summer, graduates of the certification course in Force...Read More
An internationally publicized case of a tragic shooting in which Force Science testimony was given has been decided by a California appellate court in favor of the involved officers. Controversial from the beginning, the headline-grabbing case concerned a tense standoff between LAPD SWAT and a drug-deranged father who was holding his 19-month-old daughter in his...Read More
A northern California transit officer who was fired on charges of lying about circumstances that preceded a nationally controversial OIS has been ordered reinstated after an arbitration hearing in which Force Science played a pivotal role. Twenty-nine-year-old MarySol Domenici was among half a dozen Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) officers whose actions were challenged amidst...Read More
Two expert witnesses with Force Science backgrounds are believed to have been influential in a jury’s recent decision to reject a murder conviction of a former transit officer accused of deliberately shooting an unarmed suspect in the back during a handcuffing scuffle. The witnesses, Dr. Bill Lewinski, executive director of the Force Science Institute, and...Read More
