De-escalation for Law Enforcement

This officer thought it was OK to move furniture using his/her patrol car.  This was not a smart move.  This is why de-escalation is needed.  We all think differently.  We all react differently.  Not all of us have common sense.  For instance, we are taught that you can not use deadly force simply because someone flees the scene.  Yet, we still see some officers that do it.  Why?  Because they are not trained or not trained enough.  This is simply training that will give you some tools that will hopefully let a suspect know that you do care and you are not there to fight them.  However, keep you guard up.  You never know how someone will will react.

We have no clue what people around us are going through.  Someone could be having a devastating day or they could be having the best day of their life.  We need to treat every person we come across with kindness, respect and dignity.  It may seem like a very small problem or not a problem at all to us.  But to that person, it may the worst thing they have ever gone through, or they may perceive it that way due to other factors they are facing in their life.

Ever have a "6th sense" that something is not right?  Trust that feeling.  There is no harm in calling for backup.  If we increase the amount of time we have to respond to a situation we can make better decisions.  How  can we give ourselves more time?  We examine that in this section.

Sometimes we do not have time to de-escalate.  Sometimes the scene explodes on us quickly.  However, when you slow the film down, you can see that we have visual control of the hands.  You can hear the man is simply mad about the lights.  Remember that video about empathy we saw?  What if this man has a mental condition we are unaware of?

I think this is a difficult situation.  Maybe if we get a little more distance, we have time to react?  I think this is a 50/50 situation.  I can justify the use of taser or the lack of force in this case.  Just remember, you must be able to articulate the reasons for use of force.  So think of what you would say if this officer was you.

Do you know the signs of PTSD?  Are you aware that it may cause good people (soldiers, first responders) to act out in a manner that may be threatening?  With so many soldiers coming home and first responders dealing with casualty incidents, there are many people with PTSD.  This video is just a little insight into what life is like with a form of PTSD.  Some have it worse than others.  

Pursuit of armed bank robbery suspect in central Florida.  Note the position of the trooper deploying stop sticks!  What do we normally do when we end a pursuit of a known robbery suspect?  We do a felony stop.  Watch what happens!  Look at the positions of officers and troopers!  If the subject had a gun, the officers were in a direct line of fire.  The officers went into "animal brain" instead of mid-brain.  They lost sight of the big picture.  Luckily it did not cost anyone an injury or death!

Marion County SO Detectives chasing a drug dealer.  This dealer had high tech surveillance at his house.  He bolted when he found out they were coming and the chase was on.  This guy was a big player in the drug community, not your local corner drug dealer.  What do you think about the use of force?

When a pilot of US Air experienced a problem with very little altitude gained during take off, he did not panic.  They had practiced for so many scenarios for so long, he knew how to handle it.  His voice never cracked.  He never yelled.  He did not panic.  He flew the plane while getting information to/from ATC.  I think this goes to show how practicing scenarios can lead to a calm and thought out response when it hits the fan.

Do not get caught up in dialog.  I think these officer did a great job of not getting caught up in the argument and creating a scene.  However, there were a couple of mistakes I saw made.  1)  Do not turn your gun side toward a sovereign citizen.  They are unpredictable and several have been known to kill.  2)  However hard to not do, do not smile or laugh at them.  It will escalate the situation.

These officers had just gone through CIT training several weeks before this call occurs.  I think this is as close to textbook as you can get.  There were multiple officers.  They used vehicles for cover/concealment from the guy carrying the knife.  They cleared the innocent people from the backdrop in case it went south.  One got the bean bag gun, one had lethal (pistol) and one had a taser.  They formed a tactical L and avoided a cross fire situation.  Using the two less than lethals, they were able to take the suspect into custody.

De-escalate yourself when driving.  Prior to last year, accidents were the number one killer of officers.  We not only do not do anyone any good if we do not get to the call, we hinder response to other calls when officers have to divert to our accident.  Slow down.  You are not going to get there that much faster and research has proved it.  Slow down!  The life you save may be your own!