in this issue . . . Non-Lethal Force   Note Taking During An Interview    Panic Can Cause Inappropriate Decision-Making

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ILEETA Use of Force Journal
WITH RICK GUILBAULT

Have you ever applied a technique or used a weapon on a suspect and found that it was not as effective as you hoped it would be? Of course you have. Perhaps a better question is, do you have a weapon or know of a technique that is effective every time? If you can answer yes to that one please call me because you know something I don’t and we need to share that information with our fellow trainers. The fact is that nothing works 100% of the time. For this reason, officers should always have a backup plan, “Plan B”, ready to go when “Plan A” fails. This seems like common sense and most of us would agree in principle that everyone should have a backup plan.

However, by focusing training on one tool and not addressing how it fits in with the officer’s other options, many of us may be unintentionally training officers to be single-minded when deploying force.

When training officers on a new weapon it is appropriate to initially focus the training solely on the technical aspects and practical application of that weapon. But that training should also include the weapon’s limitations and what to do if that weapon is not effective. All weapon training should include transition drills that teach the officer to recognize when a weapon is not being effective and the alternatives that are appropriate and available to them. Officers that are not trained to transition to other options will often continue to apply ineffective force that could result in injuries to both the suspect and the officer and make no progress toward control and custody.

The first thing to do when preparing a transition course is to identify all the weapons available to the officer. Typically this would include TASER device, pepper spray, baton, launchable impact weapons, firearm, and empty hands. Uniformed officers will typically have many more options than officers who work in plain clothes. Tactical team officers often have different force options than the rest of the department. Officers should train with all the weapons available to them in the field, and only with those weapons. Just about every weapon used by the police has a training version. Firearm marking rounds, nonconductive TASER cartridges, inert pepper sprays, and training batons should be a standard part of your training arsenal. Next, discuss your use of force policy and legal standards that apply to these weapons. Officers should understand under what circumstances each weapon is authorized, and which weapons are considered to be comparable as far as when they can be used. As a situation escalates and deescalates, so does the amount of force an officer can lawfully use. A majority of the training should focus on transitioning between less lethal options since these are the weapons most frequently used by officers, but some time should be spent transitioning from less lethal to lethal force and back again so officers don’t get mentally locked into only their less lethal options.

Cover any compatibility issues between the weapons, such as any flammability issues with your pepper spray, and any restrictions that pro hibit the use of one weapon in conjunction with any other weapons.

Once you have covered these issues, have the students begin slowly by repetitively drawing and holstering each weapon on command. Then slowly pick up the pace until they can quickly deploy and stow each of their optionswithout taking their eyes off the threat.

Next, run the students through some use of force scenarios to evaluate not only their weapon handling abilities, but also their judgment in deploying the appropriate weapon under the circumstances. Some scenarios should include the role player escalating and deescalating his resistance, thus requiring the officer to transition to different weapons as the circumstances change.

Students should work solo in some scenarios and with multiple officers in others. The objectively reasonable level and type of force in a situation and the tactics used can vary based on the number of officers present. Officers should also practice team tactics including communication and cover, and deploying less lethal weapons with lethal cover when appropriate.

Every transitional training scenario should ultimately include apprehension up to and including handcuffing. Officers all too often hesitate to handcuff suspects once the suspect is down or compliant because they feel they have gained control of the suspect and the situation.

This hesitation can give the suspect an opportunity to recover and continue the fight, resulting in additional uses of force such as additional baton strikes, impact projectiles or TASER cycles. This additional force can often be avoided if the officers move in and cuff the suspect as soon as it is reasonably safe to do so. One day of transitional training held at least once a year can go a long way toward preparing your officers to deal with any unexpected responses to their use of force and to always have a “Plan B.”

Rick Guilbault is the Vice President of Training for TASER International. He is a retired police sergeant from a California police department with 24 years of experience. He served as an academy sergeant, inservice training supervisor, and SWAT team leader. He has a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice and a master’s degree in Public Policy & Administration. Email him at RickGuilbault@ileeta.org.

 

By John E. Reid & Associates When participants see video-taped interviews at our seminars, it is obvious that our interviewers take a written note following each response offered by a subject. The Reid Technique advocates active note taking during a structured interview for three reasons. First, taking a written note following each response slows down the pace of questioning. It is much easier to lie to a series of questions asked in quick succession than the same questions asked five or seven seconds apart. The reason for this is that when questions are asked rapidly, the deceptive subject does not have time to internally respond to his lie; that is, once a lie is told, rather than having time to experience a fear that the lie may be detected, the suspect's attention is immediately directed to the investigator's next question. When questions are not separated by a period of silence, the accompanying behavior symptoms of deception are greatly reduced. Innocent subjects are comfortable with the silence note taking creates. They realize that the investigator is writing out their answer and they simply wait for the next question to be asked. Deceptive subjects, on the other hand, are uncomfortable with this period of silence. Because their original response to the question was less than truthful, they may modify or qualify it during the time in which the investigator takes a written note. This behavior, in and of itself, can be a good indication of deception. Second, taking written notes helps the investigator focus on key aspects of the subject's behavior during a response. In this regard, the notes following a response should not be a verbatim record of the subject's answer. Rather, the essence of the response should be documented, along with any significant behavior symptoms. This is illustrated below, where the entire question and answer is first reproduced, followed by the investigator's written notes: I: "How do you feel about being interviewed concerning this allegation against you?" S: "Well, it makes me scared, you know. I don't understand why everyone, well not everyone, but the people at the agency, why they think that I would do this to my step daughter." SIC (Shift in the chair) Attitude: It makes me scared. I don't understand why people at the agency would think I'd do this to my step daughter. Notice that the investigator's question is underlined. It makes little sense to only document the subject's responses during an interview -- the investigator's questions must also be documented. In this example, a standard abbreviation for the question is used. The SIC following the essence of the subject's response indicates a shift in the chair. At the conclusion of this article are other suggested abbreviations to document nonverbal behaviors. Finally, by taking written notes during an interview, an investigator can review an interview days or weeks after it was conducted and reconstruct the subject's significant verbal and nonverbal responses during the interview. This is especially beneficial when a number of possible suspects have been interviewed on the same case in that the investigator can make intra-suspect comparisons to help identify who can, or can not, be eliminated as a suspect. As a caveat to this entire discussion it is important to emphasize that if written notes are taken during an interview, they need to be taken following every response. Conversely, if sporadic notes are taken following only selected responses, this will have the effect of causing the subject to be guarded and hesitant in offering further information. Sporadic note taking alerts the subject as to the apparent importance of a particular response and results in less meaningful information. Possible Note Taking Abbreviations for Nonverbal Behavior =>        Break of gaze to the right CT        Clear throat DB        Deep breath or sigh ...         Delayed response DII        Direct eye to eye contact e          Early response Grm            Grooming behavior Ill             Illustrators !           Loud or emphasized Lgh       Laugh (erasure) SIC       Shift in chair

  

LEETA Use of Force Journal
By Larry Smith

My son, Randy, and I were SCUBA diving off the coast of San Diego, CA in the kelp beds at about a depth of 40 feet. We were looking for abalone and spear fishing. Randy was only 14 years old and already an accomplished diver, but he lacked the fears of what could happen if safety procedures were not followed. He was wearing a smaller air tank than I was, but it had an air gauge to determine the amount of air that he consumed during the dive. Being a watchful parent, I always kept checking his air supply as a precaution. Things progressed well and his air consumption was much less than mine. Randy just finished spearing a big link cod and put it into his “goodie bag” when I looked at this air gauge. His air tank was down to less that 200 PSI and we usually surface at 300 PSI. I gave him the hand signal to surface. He motioned that he wanted to spear one more fish. Then, he gave me the signal, finger across the throat that he was out of air.

Luckily, I had plenty of air my tank. I felt the onset of panic. We could both perish if I did not get air to him or he had to make a free assent to the surface from 40 feet, which is not an easy task for a sport diver. I momentarily slowed my breathing and grabbed his SCUBA tank harness. Randy knew from recent practice sessions that he should grab my SCUBA tank harness to connect us for buddy breathing. I would control the air regulator taking three breaths, and then he would take three breaths as we ascend to the surface.

It seemed like eternity until we reached the surface. Randy had  dropped his weight belt, his spear, and his fish and inflated his buoyancy compensator. I forgot all those procedures and only focused on the buddy breathing. We both swallowed some seawater, but other than that we survived a potentially fatal accident.

How does this relate to panic? Well, panic is described as a sudden feeling of fear or anxiety that comes on suddenly, is overwhelming, and appears to be uncontrollable. In our incident, panic was starting to set in. I knew that I felt it and I am sure Randy could see his life pass before his eyes. We managed it and were able to bring a near fatal incident into a lifesaving experience.

You may not be a SCUBA diver, but during my diving experience I have had the feeling of the onset of panic many times underwater. I have learned to cease whatever I am doing and  take stock in what is happening. I do not act immediately, but evaluate my options. Sometimes acting on first instinct is not the wisest decision. As a police officer I can remember many incidents that could have taken my life or the life of my partner if either one of us would have panicked. It may happen to you on a daily basis when you drive your patrol car or when you search an open business during a response to an alarm call. How about when a suspect reaches into his waistband on a high-risk vehicle stop and you inappropriately react and there is not a gun?

Lieutenant Colonel Grossman describes, “combat breathing” in his lectures and in the martial arts we talk about Ki breathing exercises that are one in the same. Taking a breath, holding it, then exhaling slowly, then taking another breath and repeating the exercise brings the heart rate down, relaxes you and allows you to make better decisions before panic sets in.

There is a fine line between fear and panic. Fear is healthy, makes you give respect to the environment you are in. As long as you control your fear, you control your response to the environment. Once you allow fear to take over and you fail to respond appropriately, then panic sets in. This is where you find that fine line between the two. That line is dependent upon the individual, his mindset and his crisis rehearsal. The military trains soldiers so that under pressure, when fear and panic set in, they follow through with the rehearsal.

Sergeant Andy Barton, Bristol (CT) Police Department, pointed out the relationship of confidence and panic, “If you lack confidence, panic will surely set in. If you have confidence (or faith) in the technique or recommended course of action, it will be a start to accomplish your task at hand. Above all, you need confidence in yourself that you know your ability to perform and that you will perform under duress exactly as you have trained to do, knowing that the technique or course of action will enable you to succeed or make it through the event. It worked in the diving incident with the buddy breathing system.”

We mostly agree that crisis rehearsal is the key to surviving the streets as a police officer, but learning how to manage panic can give us the best advantage to make the right decisions under pressure.

What is your opinion?
Larry Smith is a 34-year veteran lieutenant (retired) from the San Diego (CA) Police Department. He is a judicially recognized expert witness in use of force and police procedures. Larry has instructed arrest and control tactics for the past 40 years. His martial arts training in Aikido and police training has prepared him to understand the mechanics of use of force encounters. Email to larrysmith@ileeta.org.

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