New studies of the nature and challenges of multitasking have important implications about the safety of police driving, both on patrol and in high-speed pursuits, according to Dr. Bill Lewinski, executive director of the Force Science Institute. One research team, at the University of Utah, revisited the often-studied subject of cell phone use while driving—and...Read More
Have you ever been confronted by another officer who mistook you for a suspect when you were out of uniform? Have you ever been the challenging officer in such a situation? Do you have ideas for tactics or training that might prevent tragic consequences in these dicey, life-threatening circumstances? If so, a governor’s task force...Read More
A new research project getting underway at Washington State University in Spokane aims to develop a means to “dramatically improve the ability to measure police officer performance in deadly force encounters, and thus evaluate the impact of management and training practices.” The result “has the potential to help save lives” as well as to “increase...Read More
Dan Lovelace has been to the dark side of the law enforcement moon. Targeted by a prescription drug abuser who tried to run him over. Swirled into a media frenzy when he shot and killed her. Fired by his agency and brought to trial for murder by a zealous prosecutor. Shunned like a leper by...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
Part 2 of a 2-part series The suspect Tactical Ofcr. Kurt Kezeske was after had just stabbed his girlfriend in the neck and chest so viciously that when she fled their residence and collapsed in a snow bank, she bled to death in moments. Kezeske shoved open the kitchen door, and there he was, 3...Read More
Not that you need more stuff to hang on your duty belt, but here’s an addition you might consider: a pouch you can reach with either hand that contains a one-handed tourniquet. If you or another officer are wounded and bleeding badly, it could make the difference between life and death. Although a number of...Read More
Is it true that an old standard of first aid training—attending to Airway, Breathing, and Circulation (bleeding) in that order when treating injured parties—is now obsolete? In a report about downed-officer rescues published in Force Science News [Transmission sent 3/16/09], Dr. Matthew Sztajnkrycer contended that when caring for downed officers, ABC should be reversed to...Read More
Surprising preliminary results from a survey about responses to downed-officer rescues suggest it may be more practical to modify training and equipment related to this high-intensity field challenge than to try changing officers’ instinctive responses. “Officers appear to view risk in this situation very differently than would be predicted based on studies of risk in...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
