Another crisis management expert in a different venue recently offered multiple practical pointers on handling mainstream media in the face of a potentially incendiary use of force, like an officer-involved shooting. “Any OIS–no matter how righteous–is going to be a critical incident for your organization,” said Rick Rosenthal, president of RAR Communications. “When the media...Read More
The U.S. Supreme Court recently decided a case involving fatal shots fired at a moving vehicle that provides an important reminder to officers about thoroughly articulating use of force and offers help to police lawyers in arguing qualified immunity cases, according to two prominent law enforcement attorneys who are also Force Science instructors. For officers...Read More
A new study of unarmed individuals who have died this year in confrontations with police reveals illuminating details typically surrounding these events and tends to refute the activist narrative that trigger-happy officers with deadly intent are rampantly targeting black males. After analyzing 125 cases that could be found in which unarmed civilians in the US...Read More
“No comment.” Those are the “two most dangerous words” a law enforcement administrator or spokesperson can utter these days after an officer-involved shooting, according to an excellent video presentation by Force Science Certification Course graduate Brian Willis which you can access on YouTube by CLICKING HERE. Refusal to provide information on a major force event...Read More
Part of a periodic series Sgt. Thomas Ovens, an officer in the state of Washington, had scarcely hung up his diploma from the Force Science Certification Course when, in quick succession, he was called on to help defend two major lawsuits against police. In one case, officers with a large department in Eastern Washington shot...Read More
A flashpoint of controversy in some officer-involved shootings is when officers do not immediately cease fire the moment a deadly threat ends and they are no longer in mortal danger. An officer’s ability to instantly stop pulling the trigger once a “stop shooting” signal becomes evident is not always considered. Instead, the officer behind the...Read More
As you know, the Force Science Institute in its Certification Course (visit www.forcescience.org for more details) and in public statements advocates that officers who have been involved in shootings or other high-intensity events should be allowed a recovery period of at least 48 hours before being interviewed in depth about the incident by IA or...Read More
Coming through a life-or-death encounter alive may be only the first challenge in claiming victory in a shooting or other major use of force. After the firing stops, a criminal investigation, an IA review, media scrutiny, and likely civil lawsuits can create punishing secondary assaults for surviving officers if not negotiated properly. It’s this potentially...Read More
Editor’s note: Out of respect and sympathy for the officers involved in this tragic incident and in admiration for the agency’s courage in pursuing learning points that will help keep other officers safe, we have chosen to remove the actual names of the agents and the department associated with this event. In Part 1 of...Read More
Editor’s note: Out of respect and sympathy for the officers involved in this tragic incident and in admiration for the agency’s courage in pursuing learning points that will help keep other officers safe, we have chosen to remove the actual names of the agents and the department associated with this event. When Agt. DB arrived...Read More
