tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17966533092306230132024-03-13T06:23:57.492-07:00The Police Perspectivewww.joelshults.comDr. Joel F. Shultshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01309440903516125037noreply@blogger.comBlogger97125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796653309230623013.post-70515625656502914112022-07-22T15:40:00.002-07:002022-07-22T15:40:32.937-07:00Evaluate Self Before Evaluating Uvalde<p> As an academy and in-service instructor, I have noticed how
often cadets and seasoned officers can divorce themselves from the reality of
the experience of others. I remember specifically a colleague who was a
firearms instructor conducting a range day that included some dash-cam videos
of officers being assaulted. We watched a horrific replay of an officer on a
traffic stop being brutally beaten in a blitz attack, then murdered before our
eyes. The instructor’s comment was “She didn’t have the will to live”. I don’t
know whether she had the mythical warrior mindset or not, but I do know I had
stood in her shoes, in proximity to a traffic offender, and had been knocked
unconscious on the pavement. Was it because I lacked the tactical knowledge or
the will to live? Of course not. But I did put myself in a vulnerable position
on that night on that stop, trying to deal with a carload of characters. By the
grace of God and a backup officer, I was not killed. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We imagine ourselves as our fictional heroes, making all the
right moves in the glorious fog of battle because we’ve poked holes in paper
targets and run through some scenarios at the shoot house. All good, but as
anyone who had been the target of someone actively trying to make you die can
testify, training is vital, but reality is terrifying. Officers who should be
moving tactically sometimes look like a squirrel in the road not sure which
direction to go. I remember asking the occupant I had arrested after a pursuit
and crash what happened. He replied that he wasn’t sure but all of the sudden
this lady cop was yelling at him to get out of the car. We had no women on duty
that night, so apparently, my voice went up a few octaves under stress.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Experiencing shock and pain is not pretty. Indecision is
awkward. Obeying orders that are bad ideas is cognitively torturous. Wanting to
charge in is natural for most cops because we’re used to being independent
decision-makers, but we also are trained to coordinate when in teams and follow
the chain of command. Who wants to pick up the dropped battle flag unless we
know the platoon will follow us? Self-doubt under duress sometimes masquerades
as self-assessment. One is unhelpful, the other essential. So, before we join
the chorus of condemnation, let’s humble ourselves for a minute, and put our
feet in the boots of the officers that day.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The interim legislative report wisely states: “Based on the
experiences of past mass-shooting events, we understand some aspects of these
interim findings may be disputed or disproven in the future.” We also know that
if something new and positive eventually surfaces it will not see the light of
day in the media. If some new damning information arises, it will be in the
mouths of every network anchor.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Would police leaders who respond and advance toward shots
fired always have the immediate thought of getting out of there and setting up
a command post? There’s always criticism of chiefs who forget that they are
still cops. What about the cops that forget they are chiefs? I’m certain that among
the dozens and dozens of officers present, the vast majority were willing to
march into the danger zone and die for the kids. But at what point does heroism
become strategically foolish? At what point is survival to continue the mission
more important than proving you care enough to generate a grand police funeral?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">With the unfixed locks and the lax adherence to routine
safety policy and confusion of multiple crimes being reported and the failure
of radios and alerts, can we crush that last domino that fell in the series and
think we’ve addressed the tragedy enough that we can walk away with confidence
saying “things would have been different if I’d been there”? I’m not an
apologist for what happened or should have happened on May 24th at Robb
Elementary, but context here is critical.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Should we analyze the hell out of this thing? There is no
question that we must. The dead deserve it. The community deserves it. The cops
deserve it. Every nervous teacher and scared student in the country deserves
it. But let’s do this with humility. If you haven’t read the latest evidence
and reports from credible investigative bodies, then you are relying on the
same media you criticize for the false narratives about policing that are so
pervasive. Maybe no comment until you know as much as you can. No eye rolling,
no shoot-from-the-hip second-guessing, no denial that you might have done the
same thing in the same circumstances. The tragic deficiencies overshadow the
notion that there were heroes on that day, but there were many.<o:p></o:p></p>Dr. Joel F. Shultshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01309440903516125037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796653309230623013.post-29811182974686810252022-06-24T15:14:00.004-07:002022-06-24T15:14:41.017-07:00 Welcome Back to the Constitution<p> Welcome Back to the Constitution</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Whether we agree or not on recent U. S. Supreme Court
(SCOTUS) decisions, one thing seems to be certain – the majority of Justices
are putting the brakes on MSU (making stuff up). Hot button issues like abortion,
guns, and police conduct are being viewed through the lens of what the
Constitution says instead of what judges and politicians want it to say.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Without commenting on the merits of any of the case
decisions, the trend toward originalism – interpreting the Constitution in the
context of the authors’ intent – does seem to be gaining preeminence in this
season’s SCOTUS opinions.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Supreme Court is often accused of being politicized and
the truth of the matter is that it has always been so. The recent but quickly
discarded idea of adding to the number of justices so that Biden could make
additional appointments of presumably liberal members. Until settling on the
number nine for the court in 1869 there were several changes and attempts to
change from the original number of six Justices at the Court’s invention in
1790. The notorious effort by President Franklin Roosevelt to “pack the court”
after several of his New Deal plans were ruled unconstitutional was
unsuccessful. Roosevelt did, however, due to his long Presidential tenure, end
up choosing eight of the nine justices by the end of his term.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">With lifetime appointments and no history of any Justice
being impeached, the consistency of the Supreme Court’s power has been proven
through the years. The process of selecting what cases get to be heard at this
highest level provides the opportunity for the Court to decide what issues will
be addressed. Earl Warren, serving as Chief Justice from 1953 to 1969, was a
notable activist in selecting cases that had a tremendous impact on the civil
rights movement of the era, including many landmark cases in criminal justice
including granting lawyers to poor defendants, requiring a rights warning
before police interrogations, allowing stop and frisk searches, extended fourth
amendment requirements to state and local law enforcement, expanded
availability of federal lawsuits against police, restricted the use of deadly
force, and others.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">SCOTUS 2022 has determined that the 2nd amendment prohibits
the restrictive New York requirements to obtain a handgun, the regulations for
which were intentionally cumbersome to limit the availability of concealed
weapons permits. The decision relied on a broad reading of the right to bear
arms in an originalist sense and cast a shadow on the gun control advocacy
statutes and regulations in local legislative bodies. The majority of states
have loosed concealed carry restrictions, and many have eliminated the need to
obtain a permit in “Constitutional carry” states. In contrast, many local
governments have attempted to enact restrictions within their boundaries.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In a win for effective law enforcement, the Court has
recently upheld cases that maintain the concept of qualified immunity. While
the doctrine is one that was made by court rulings when it comes to use of
force its definitions rely on the 4th amendment understanding of reasonableness,
the standard that has prevailed rather than a standard for perfection and prognostication.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The overturning of Roe v. Wade indicates another turn toward
the Constitution’s framers for interpreting what the document means. Again,
regardless of one’s opinion about the issue of abortion, critics of the
decision have long held that intense scrutiny of the Constitution finds no
explicit right to any medical procedure. Had the Justices wanted to make a
statement on moral or scientific grounds, they would have looked at the “life,
liberty, and pursuit of happiness” rights in our founding documents which
inform originalism interpretation. The original Roe case found an unspoken
right to privacy which the Court then extended to medical decisions. The right
to privacy, like other implied rights that had no ink in the original
documents, has long been recognized, but the link to abortion laws, says
today’s SCOTUS, was too weak to be legitimate.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The ruling does not prohibit abortion, as is being portrayed
by many observers, but rather says that it, as with all matters not covered in
the U.S. Constitution and left to the 10th amendment, is a matter left to the states to regulate or not as
they see fit.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The good news for the citizenry, whether these decisions are
celebrated or decried, is that there is one governmental body that remains
mostly shielded against the knee-jerk politics of the day. Having at least one
branch of the government not subject to the fickle winds of opinion polls is a
good thing.<o:p></o:p></p>Dr. Joel F. Shultshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01309440903516125037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796653309230623013.post-31624160552893859242020-06-06T09:56:00.004-07:002020-06-06T09:56:26.711-07:00Who will want to be a peace officer now?<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p> </o:p>If you are interested in a career in law enforcement, don’t
do it. If you are in it, get out. In my forty years of teaching, practicing,
writing, and training in police matters I never thought I would give that
advice, but if Colorado Senate Bill 20-217 passes, that advice could not be wiser.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Colorado’s citizens should know that the bill requires all
officers to have body worn cameras (BWC) on during all contacts. Police
officers do not widely object to BWCs, as they have consistently been to
officers’ benefit. But SB20-217 requires the camera on when you call about your
suicidal brother, your drug dealing neighbor, or when you want to
confidentially report information about a potential school shooter. If the
officer fails to turn on their BWC for any contact, even in the case of a
sudden ambush, the law presumes that there is police misconduct absent any
other evidence. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To ensure that no criminals get hurt during their violent
crimes, the bill specifically eliminates the part of the law allowing deadly
force when a suspect “Has committed or attempted to commit a felony involving
the use or threatened use of a deadly weapon”. The officer must use their
telepathic powers of prophecy to know whether an offender will use the next .25
seconds to make their threat “imminent”. The bill also removes a peace
officer’s ability to use deadly force “to prevent the escape of a prisoner
convicted of, charged with, or held for a felony or confined under the
maximum<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>security rules of any detention
facility” unless there is “likely endangerment of human life or inflection of
serious bodily injury”, again calling on the officers’ psychic ability which
the sponsors of the bill apparently think is taught in the police academy. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The bill severely limits qualified immunity (remaining for
all other government actors, just not the police), which has been a well-established
protection for reasonable mistakes made in good faith for any government
official. Officers are not only disallowed from human error, unlike doctors,
lawyers, and accountants, but if they are civilly sued they must be fired as
though they had been found guilty of a crime. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To add to assurance that officers
will be uniquely, severely punished, they will not have the benefit of their
agency’s insurance coverage and will be personally financially responsible in
addition to their loss of career. And, of course, any complaints in the officer
will be required to remain anonymous so that the accountability is always a
one-way street. Never mind that officers already are subject to federal and
state criminal charges, federal and state civil lawsuits, department
discipline, and financial disaster as a result of misconduct accusations, even
those which ultimately find the officer vindicated. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The bill additionally burdens your local officers and
agencies with added paperwork and data reporting that, while possibly
beneficial (though by no means certainly beneficial) duplicates much of what is
already being reported. You’ll be glad to know as the minutes tick away after
your 911 call that your officer is filling out their surveys and will be with
you when the mandated paperwork is done. Even with public funds looking
dismal,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>you’ll be glad to know that the
legislator is directing how your police leaders must divert their budgets from
crime fighting to managing the new mandates. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Under the guise of reform, the bill’s sponsors are
attempting to punish all of Colorado’s 13,000 peace officers for police
misconduct everywhere at the cost of the privacy and safety of all citizens. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />Dr. Joel F. Shultshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01309440903516125037noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796653309230623013.post-28912380074478672512020-01-02T17:42:00.000-08:002022-05-26T05:28:29.140-07:00Real Common Sense Planning for School Violence<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Despite the statistical rarity of mass shootings at schools,
events are so bone-chilling that that prevention and response has become a
priority in every community. As a former Chief of Police on a university
campus, a graduate of the Emergency Management Academy and a host of FEMA
courses, I have written a number of well researched articles on school safety
and active shooter response in addition to conducting full scale exercises and
first responder training. I do not minimize the seriousness of the threat, nor the
need for preparation. We’ve had enough experience since Columbine to have
learned a few things and ignored a lot of other things. Here are some
fact-based observations:</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b>The
number of well-armed attacks on mass numbers of students is much rarer than
reported</b>. In counts of “school shootings”, those violent crimes that are
actually interpersonal, domestic, or gang related, or completely unrelated to
the fact they occurred on school property also get counted. Certainly potentially
deadly, these cases are not what we have in mind when we imagine the horrific
random attacks designed to kill as many people as possible, and not the kind of
crimes for which much of our preparation attempts to address. These crimes
target individuals who happen to be on a campus when contacted by the
assailant.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b>We
probably need to stop doing active shooter drills</b> in our schools. There are
several reasons for this. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">a.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->One
is that the drills can traumatize students and teachers, normalizing an
expectation of imminent violence. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">b.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Secondly,
since most attackers are students or former students, drills train the shooters
as well responders. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">c.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Thirdly,
there is no template for the way attacks play out. In other words, we are
likely drilling a practice that would be irrelevant in an actual attack. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">d.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Fourthly,
first responder participants in a drill likely will not be the ones responding
to an actual event. When the call goes out, every law enforcement agency with a
radio will be responding, from the local agency that you’d expect to the game
warden. Seldom are all of those agencies represented in full blown exercises
which are, by the way, a hugely expensive endeavor.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">e.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fifthly, most active shooter events are over
by the time law enforcement arrives, which limits the value of full-scale
deployment practices<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">f.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Sixth,
not every police leader has actual expertise in this type of response and,
therefore, may not be aware of best practices or be willing to coordinate with
the vast number of agencies and personnel to coordinate a response. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b>Complex
systems of response don’t fit with human nature</b>. There are many well intended
systems of signs, placards, codes, etc that are part of some emergency plans.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">a.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->The
human brain is less effective when there are too many things to remember. In police
training we know this as Hick’s Law, a principle in psychology that says the
more choices you have, the slower the decision-making process becomes. Having a
seldom used system that requires a lot of decision making increases the
likelihood of that system failing.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">b.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->The
frequency of employing the knowledge of these emergency procedures will result
not only in their lack of use in a crisis, but also in their lack of awareness
by new staff, first responders, substitutes, and visitors. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">c.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Coded
public address announcements, and even sophisticated alert systems via cell
phone, are likely to be heard and received by the attacker or given too late
for effective response. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">d.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->A
failure to adhere to the system with 100% accuracy can result in unnecessary
panic and are not a reliable indicator of a situation inside a classroom. Does
that OK placard in the window really mean the room is safe? If the teacher
forgets or chooses not to risk moving toward the door to put up the right
placard, will the SWAT team be tossing in a stun grenade?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b>The
attraction of evacuation must be resisted</b>. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">a.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->There
have been zero – yes, zero – k-12 students killed who were behind a locked door secured as soon as an intruder or threat appeared.
The classroom with a locked door is unquestionably the safest place for anyone
to be in a school shooting. Any protocol that moves students from that safe “protect
in place” location increases exposure to attack.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">b.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Marching
students from inside the school to another location with their hands over their
heads makes reunification, accountability, and protection less effective.
Allowing students to stay in their classrooms with a safe adult allows the
situation to be controlled better than any other strategy. Students can be
counted, identified, and released to parents directly from classrooms more
efficiently than after a mass exodus past potentially hazardous locations.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">c.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->This
includes bomb threats. The preferred protocol is to have students remain in
place while the threat is assessed, or the premises are searched. Bombs are
much more likely to be anti-personnel or of limited power than to be of such
magnitude that structural damage is likely. That means that movement outside
the classroom more likely exposes students to an explosive device than protects
them from one. Classroom walls are the students’ best protection while first
responders arrive.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b>Prevention
and intervention are possible</b>. Schools are often afraid of privacy concerns
like juvenile laws, FERPA, HIPPA, and protecting victims and therefore do not
share information about the behavior of students. This is exactly why the
Virginia Tech killer wasn’t stopped before he murdered 33 people. On the university
campus where I most recently served, our CASH (CAmpus Safety and Health) team
reviewed reports of concern from law enforcement, students, faculty, and staff
to “connect the dots” on concerning behavior and develop intervention strategies
for potential threats from on or off campus. Other behavioral intervention team
strategies are available to copy that can be effective and pass legal review. </div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> I am not addressing security hardware or security personnel in
this commentary, but I’m convinced that it is time to simplify our preparation
and response to the threat of a mass killer.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<br /></div>
<br />Dr. Joel F. Shultshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01309440903516125037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796653309230623013.post-68655018140467019152019-10-02T13:42:00.002-07:002019-10-02T13:46:04.154-07:00How To Know When The Activist Is Ignorant<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Some common topics arise when lay persons talk about police
use of force, and most of them are erroneous in fact or interpretation. Here is
a sample.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Clue # 1<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They include
the Trayvon Martin case in examples of police shootings. Martin was shot by a
neighborhood watch coordinator in what a jury later accepted as self-defense. The
controversy regarding police was their initial conclusion that it was a case of
self-defense. The shooter, George Zimmerman, was a mixed-race 28 yr old whom
the press managed to call a white male in order to emphasize the potential for
a racially charged story. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Trick question to test the amateur activist: How many times
did the cops shoot Trayvon Martin? If the answer isn’t “zero”, the person doesn’t
know what they are talking about.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Clue # 2<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They include
Michael Brown as an example of an innocent black teenager shot without
justification by a white police officer. An additional clue is when they
mistakenly refer to Brown as “Michael Ferguson”, as I heard a commentator on
CourtTV say just today in analysis of the Amber Guyger case. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Brown, always referred to as an “unarmed black teenager”,
was 18 years old, nearly 300 pounds, and was 6’4” tall. Hardly the image of the
headphone wearing Facebook photo pushed in the press. Brown, who had just
walked away from a strong-arm robbery caught on video in which he shoves an
elderly shopkeeper (who was Asian – but Asian victimization hasn’t yet become a
newsworthy trend) in order to steal cigars to modify for marijuana use. When
confronted in a lawful contact by police officer Darren Wilson, Brown
approached Wilson who was still seated in his patrol car when Brown wrestled
to take control of Wilson’s service weapon. Failing that, Brown attempted to flee,
ignoring Wilson’s attempts to take him into custody, and Wilson shot Brown. All forensics verified this account.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Trick questions to test the activist’s knowledge:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->How
many times was Brown shot in the back? Answer: zero<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Who
was the first person believed to have started the story that Brown was
surrendering with his hands up saying “Don’t shoot”? Answer: Dorian Johnson,
who was arrested on a warrant from another jurisdiction on an charge of making
a false statement to police during an earlier arrest for theft unrelated to the
Brown incident and who later admitted that his initial statement was untrue.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->How
many autopsies were there on Brown relative to the shooting case? Answer: 3 –
all of which confirmed the Wilson’s narrative.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->What
was Wilson convicted of after the shooting? Answer: After a grand jury, federal
investigation, internal investigation, and intense public and media scrutiny,
there was zero evidence of wrongdoing of any sort by Officer Wilson. None. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Clue # 3<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are
still talking about Rodney King.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Trick questions: <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>How
many officers are still around from the Rodney King era? Answer: It was 1991, a
rookie hired that year is likely already retired. Stacey Coons is 68 years old
now. Laurence Powell is 58.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->In
the Rodney King arrest, there were 56 baton blows alleged. How many of those
blows were ultimately found to be excessive?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Answer: None, according to the first jury trial, and one or two in the
subsequent federal case. (Recent research on reaction time might have negated
that finding.)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Clue # 4<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They never
consider the accountability of the alleged victim. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Trick questions:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->What
is the appropriate response when confronted with a weapon capable of killing
you or others near you or those in the path of that person’s escape? If they
say “talk them out of it”, “shoot them in the leg”, or “use your Taser”, they’ll
need to spend half a year in the police academy and two years on patrol before
they understand differently. They could also read the peer-reviewed research on
the rarity of police use of force, and the multiple findings that fail to show
race bias in police use of deadly force – but that’s just about as likely.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->What
is the law in every state about complying with an order by a police officer and
submitting to an arrest? Answer: You must. It solves all kinds of problems and
avoids your getting shot.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I applaud activism, sound journalism, and police
accountability. What saddens me is public opinion and activism based on prejudice,
ignorance, and cemented conspiracy theories. What infuriates me is legislation
and policy based on that same ignorance.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />Dr. Joel F. Shultshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01309440903516125037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796653309230623013.post-85389080172603807332019-09-07T18:48:00.003-07:002019-09-10T13:32:08.653-07:00The Deconstruction of Law and Order<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I get it. We have a lot of people in jail. We have mental
health issues associated with violence and criminality. We have concerns about
police shootings. And we have an irrational, emotional, perversely political
response by activists, elected representatives, and politicized police
administrators.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In this past year we’ve seen California’s Governor sign the
repeal of a law that requires citizens to assist police officers. While some saw
the law as a vestige of the wild west posse, I see it as a confirmation of
bystanders who are happy to videotape a police officer struggling with no sense
of responsibility as a fellow citizen. This repeal is symbolically a further
tearing away at the essential morality of being a community’s citizen and
bearing the mutual burden of peace keeping. The repeal was justified, in part,
by the irrelevant use of the law in previous centuries to track down runaway slaves,
just to make sure politicians can claim yet another blow against police racism.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our American ideals of policing are rooted to a large degree
in the principles of Sir Robert Peel, the father of English policing for whom “Bobbies”
are named. Peel famously said that the police are the people and the people are
the police. With professionalization, technology, and increasingly complex laws,
policing has become separate from the citizenry and has often cautioned against
non-police citizens getting involved. The courageous convenience store clerk who
draws a firearm to thwart a robbery is often lightly praised while the public
is cautioned to just call 911 if they see a crime in progress. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In <a href="https://www.policeone.com/police-policy/articles/484775006-nj-police-launch-strict-last-resort-use-of-force-policy/">New
Jersey</a>, Camden Police Chief J. Scott Thomson, now retired, instituted a force
policy that requires deadly force to be a last resort. While this is, in fact,
the de facto practice in nearly all fatal police shootings, the limitation can
be problematic. Stuart Alterman, an attorney who often represents officers,
called it an “unnecessary progressive stance” that will lead to more lawsuits
against police and put them at risk. Saying the policy “will only cause police
officers to second guess themselves during the most critical moments of their
careers.”, Alternman stated “With all due respect to those individuals involved
in drafting this new use-of-force policy, I’m wondering if it was really
drafted by anarchists instead of those individuals attempting to support police
officers,” he said.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
By definition, a “last resort” implies intervening
responses, a prophetic gift of knowing when that moment is, and that all other
means have been excluded in the milliseconds during which an officer must
decide whether to pull the trigger or give a deadly attacker another moment to
repent. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Oregon’s Governor Katherine Brown signed a bill this month
ending the death penalty for cop killers unless there is premeditation. So apparently
only official cop assassins might face the ultimate accountability for murdering
one of our public servants. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Criticizing use of force by police isn’t enough. Jesse
Smollet – actor and architect of a fake assault on himself to proclaim a hate
crime attack – has his lawyers lashing out against Chicago Police for their
aggressive investigation of Smollet’s false report. At a time when hate crimes
can literally ignite cities, Smollet’s suits are telling cops not to
investigate quite so hard, implying that investigating is racist in an of
itself. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A prosecutor in the crime torn St. Louis, Circuit Attorney
Kim Gardner recently blamed St. Louis police officers for enforcing drug laws
that resulted in a contact with a criminal who fought with and attempted to shoot
officers who were able to stop the four time felon with deadly force. Gardner
is also believed to have summarily dropped several violent felony cases because
they involved officers whom she labeled as racist.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In Sacramento, the local police were excoriated for putting
a bag over a young arrestee’s head in a video that was widely circulated as an outrageous
example of police being meanies. With no understanding of netting equipment
specifically designed to keep police officers from being covered in disease
ridden spittle from combative subjects, the critique reached a fever pitch. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This kind of reasonable and necessary police strategies
often generate a morale killing apology from police leaders, instead of an
opportunity to educate the public. Worse yet, they can generate <a href="https://joelshults.blogspot.com/2019/06/regulating-supercops.html">stupid
laws</a> that are aimed at punishing law enforcement for doing police work and
which create greater opportunities for crime to breed and incentives for police
officers to step away from doing their job. Recruitment and retention rates, as
well as increasing crime in some areas is a measurable outcome of this rhetoric
and regulation.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I don’t have enough blood pressure medication to talk about
the Presidential candidates who smear the law enforcement profession, including
the one who continues to refer to the “murder of Mike Brown” in Ferguson. This
malicious, slanderous ignoring of the facts (i.e. a lie) was spoken in the face
of overwhelming evidence that this “unarmed teen” lumbered into a convenience
store, stole items in a strong arm robbery in which he shoved an elderly shopkeeper,
shortly after which he reached into a patrol car, attempted to take Officer
Wilson’s sidearm, and, when Brown continued his assault, was lawfully and
righteously shot. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This happened in an era when President Obama invited Brown’s
parents for a night out. Yes, the same President that said police “<a href="https://joelshults.blogspot.com/2014/10/obamas-hypocrisy-on-mistrust-of-police.html">acted
stupidly</a>” while investigating a report of a possible burglary when a
resident was attempting to get into his locked house after forgetting his keys.
Obama solicitously postured a pretend apology by sharing beer and nuts on the
lawn with the officer. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On other criminal justice fronts we’re finding massive
decriminalization of drug offenses. This may be a well-intended way to increase
awareness of mental illness and addiction, or an easy way to reduce costs of
incarceration. In either case, one result is that the criminal behavior of drug
offenders is not being appropriately addressed. Legalization of marijuana,
predicated on the false impression that thousands of people are spending many
years behind bars for possession of small amounts of weed, that pot is not
addictive, that it is benign and even beneficial, and that sellers in pot shops
are local mom and pop operations divorced from big business and organized
crime, has had no positive effects that balance against the social ills of it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m hoping that America will do for police officers what we
eventually did for military veterans of Vietnam. We moved from spitting on them
for being baby-killers, to admitting that they deserved yellow ribbons and
appreciation for their service, and stop blaming them for the war. My hope is
that our police officers - who do an amazingly professional job every day
(according to study after study) and are not the blame for our social ills –
will get their yellow ribbons from our fellow citizens, too. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />Dr. Joel F. Shultshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01309440903516125037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796653309230623013.post-49052175332020033162019-06-18T12:02:00.001-07:002019-06-18T12:02:39.003-07:00Regulating SuperCops<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Whether you’ve seen the movie The Incredibles or have missed
it, you might be living it. The plot centers around a family of people with
superpowers that have been ordered by the government to stop fighting crime.
Sound familiar? If not, take a moment to review the stories about California
mandating restrictions on use of force, Connecticut considering forbidding
shooting at vehicles, New Hampshire revising its use of force law, and numerous
cities refusing cooperation with federal law enforcement.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In a way, this is a high compliment to the law enforcement
profession since these activists and lawmakers are showing us that they believe
police officers have superpowers! Here are those magical powers that we need to
use more wisely, according to these statehouse policy geniuses:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>The Power Over Physics<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With the ability to control the path of every bullet, and
determine the line of flight of every vehicle, there is no wonder why our
powers must be legislatively limited! With computer-like calculations of wind,
coefficient of friction, angles, surface tension and porosity, velocity, mass,
sound waves, light refraction, and the trajectories of every person in motion,
there’s no reason why a supercop like you should make an error with your
vehicle or weapon systems. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the real world, the variables in any arrest or use of
force event are too numerous to even know, much less calculate. Every action
that requires deployment of a tool carries with it the risk of malfunction,
failure, or unanticipated outcome. Planes crash, rockets explode, and
transmissions can slip. Slides and triggers on pistols glitch, handcuffs can
slip off, cars can skid, thick clothing can dampen a baton strike or a Taser
barb. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Suspects and bystanders can change speed on foot or on
wheels. Sound can echo and misdirect. Traction of boots can slip. None of the
infinite forces at work in a moment of an officer’s contact with a suspect is
without a variable that can alter an outcome. We live under the laws that Newton
discovered with no exemption for good works or good intent.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>The Power Over Biology<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cops are universally as fit as Chuck Norris and agile as
Jackie Chan. One or multiple opponents who dare to challenge our authority to
take them into custody can be felled with a few secret ninja moves or wounded
with a well placed single shot, John Wayne style. Our senses need no
milliseconds to absorb all the information we need to make those instantaneous
flawless decisions. Performance on little or no sleep, impervious to the errors
of stress or exhaustion, is no problem. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We wish. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The greatest training advances of the last twenty
years in policing have come from a study of human capacity. Even the amazing
brain takes time to process sensory inputs, sort through alternative responses,
and send the appropriate signals to our body parts to execute that response.
Much of the foundation of that knowledge comes from sports psychology and
research on human performance in athletics. There is no sport where 100% is the
standard measure of performance for hitting, launching, catching, kicking, or
directing a ball into a hole, net, or the hands of a team member, but our next
morning commentators can’t fathom why an officer did what they did after
watching some snippet of cell phone video. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is individual humans interacting with other individual
human beings that constitutes the bulk of a patrol officer’s work. Those
interactions cannot assume peak performance by any of the parties involved in
an encounter.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Power to Predict The Future<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is the most amazing power of all the superpowers that
police officers possess. They know what others are thinking. They intuit
motive, merit, and mental capacity. They know what will happen if they make an
arrest, or let a person escape for another day. They know if it is a suspect’s
birthday, the eve of their wedding day, or if they were just getting ready to
make something of themselves if only they got a chance. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The answer to the question of why an officer chose a certain
course of action is that the officer acted on the information they had at a
given moment, not the certainty of what would happen if a different course of
action, or none at all, had been taken. One use of force investigation I reviewed
suggested that an officer should have terminated a foot pursuit of a burglar
caught in the act of breaking in a vacant home. Since the officer knew the
offender, said the internal review, the officer should have stopped chasing the
suspect and obtained a warrant instead. This prescription was given even
knowing that the officer was aware that the suspect was already the subject of
an active warrant which clearly had not made the suspect law abiding and
compliant. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Education is Key<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Those making policy and law can only do so with the
information they have - much of which is provided by activists hostile to law
enforcement - or from the misconceptions of movie fiction and false narratives
of viral videos. Police officers, leaders, and police advocates may fail to
understand that they can take an active role in educating law makers about the
realities of policing. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I recently wrote the members of a state legislature who
were on the committee considering a proposal on use of force and received
personal replies and questions from several of the members. I was able to
explain, in rational terms, the adverse impact of the proposal which was
ultimately not passed into law. One of the legislators communicated that many
officers had expressed opposition to the measure, but none had articulated the
issues until my correspondence. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Your voice can make a difference. It may be your only real
superpower.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />Dr. Joel F. Shultshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01309440903516125037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796653309230623013.post-46464367761479619222019-05-15T08:45:00.002-07:002019-05-15T08:45:27.519-07:00Police Week - the Asterisk*<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I remember walking, tourist-like, through an old cemetery in
Savanah, Georgia on a weekend road trip while at FLETC. I just like old cemeteries.
One of the saddest benevolent lies is found there: “Gone but not forgotten”. As
I scanned the ancient headstones, I notice that there seemed to be one that had
garnered special attention. I moved closer and began to read that this was the
resting place of the remains of one Button Gwinnet, one of the original signers
of the Declaration of Independence. I inhaled with whispered “Wow” and suddenly
felt that I was on an especially sacred patch of ground. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There is hardly a culture where remembrance is not a part. As
the son of a WWII soldier part of my DNA is saluting the flag, wearing the
poppy pin, and standing at attention at somber ceremonies remembering the
fallen. We are compelled to remember our heroes. Even our collective American
guilt over our treatment of our Vietnam soldiers blossomed into yellow ribbons
for our Iraq war veterans and we finally invited those Vietnam conflict era
veterans to the party. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When a police officer dies, we offer a final parade more
massive than any Presidential motorcade. Their name is engraved in our nation’s
capital and perhaps in state and local monuments. Even in the current era of
hostility toward law enforcement, local communities find an outpouring of
support when a police officer is killed. Flowers, cards, and teddy bears cover
the places where the blood was spilled. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And that is as it should be. Never forget. Never forget.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then we look around at those memorials and see in the crowd
the wheelchair bound former police officer whose career was derailed by a line
of duty injury. We see those with the slight, tell-tale limp of a prosthetic. We
see one with the stoic expression well practiced to mask the pulsing winces of
chronic pain. We don’t see the ones still in their hospital beds attached to
tubes and monitors. We don’t see the ones at the rehab center learning how to
walk again. We don’t see the ones whose injuries were once described in the
newspaper as “non-life threatening” sitting in the darkness trying to talk
their own brain out of a panic. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s not a competition between those survivors of a line of
duty death of a loved one and those who are called into a life of caring for a
living survivor. Children left without a mother or father, and children whose
lives have also been changed and now must adjust to a mother or father who
simply cannot be who they once were, have their own grief and loss to bear. It
isn’t fair to measure the feeling of abandonment by the family of a line of
duty death when the thin blue line breaks with the passage of time against the feeling
of abandonment when an officer’s injury makes them of no use to their agency
and they become unemployed and uninsured. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But for the catastrophically injured to be forgotten during
a time declared by Presidential proclamation to be devoted to both the dead and
wounded is for us to fail in our remembrance of the totality of heroism and
sacrifice. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To forget those law enforcement veterans robs our culture, both as a
profession and as a nation, of the completeness of our honor to those who have
served with utmost devotion. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If we forget the hurting of any hero, we may
forget the fullness of our own willingness to give all. For behind every dead
and wounded police officer stands the living, serving, able ones ready to make
that same journey out of safety and into danger. We see it every day. Only by
honoring all of those who have given much can we stand resolute to carry on.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
*Police week honors the fallen. Let us also honor and help
those who fell and are still working to rise up again.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />Dr. Joel F. Shultshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01309440903516125037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796653309230623013.post-48270206860975504422019-05-02T13:26:00.001-07:002019-05-02T13:26:13.115-07:00Remembrance As Police Officer Memorial Day approaches please remember those who are disabled as well as those who perished. If you are fortunate enough to be retired with mind and body scarred but intact, if you are still on the job - even if grumbling and discouraged - remember those who would give anything to be back on the streets with you. When we are young and fearless and willing to die we seldom think about the willingness to bear chronic pain, to live life looking outwardly weak bowed by deformity, to lose sight and senses that reorder the way we experience the world, to be changed so much in body, mind, and spirit that our families don't know us anymore, to watch a patrol car speeding past and cry because you can't go with them, and to fight your own body while losing friends and finances. Salute the graves, yes. But do not forget the living who gave themselves also.Dr. Joel F. Shultshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01309440903516125037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796653309230623013.post-4670210196214970152018-09-11T10:28:00.000-07:002018-09-11T10:28:37.030-07:00The Moral Imperative of Intentionality - a leadership lesson from the noxious weed world<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 107%;">In my part of the great
American Southwest there’s a terrible weed called tribulus terrestris. Roughly
translated it means “pointy weapon of the earth”. We call them goat heads
because of their shape and pointy horns. These burrs are worse than their
cactus neighbors because they hitch a ride on clothing and drop strategically
inside the house in places most likely to be traversed by bare feet. I find it
no coincidence that the devil himself is often symbolized by a goat’s head.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 107%;">After spending a good bit
of time wresting them from my yard and gravel drive I began to think about the
ease with which they seem to exist. Unlike the cool green grass I try to
nurture and grow, or the tiny tremulous tomato plants we fed and watered, the
pernicious weeds just got haphazardly dropped in the worst soil on the property
and settled in for a long season. I case there is a chance of missing the
metaphor, weeds are the damaging attitudes and behaviors in an organization in
contrast to a carefully crafted workplace culture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here are a few lessons that occurred to me as
I stabbed at those wicked roots in the hot sun:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 107%;">Weeds
are lazy and lucky <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 107%;">The things that leaders want, such as loyalty, performance,
congruence with the mission, are things that must be nurtured, cared for, and
maintained. We can seek to hire people with these qualities but maintaining
desired behavior and attitudes is a constant process of growth. Low morale and
sloppy work are insidious and barely noticeable but take root in any crevice
they find.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 107%;">Weeds
are selfish<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 107%;">Annoying burrs don’t like to work for a living. They
take their nutrients from the good plants. The beautiful and helpful growth
will be weakened by the weeds. Not only do the weeds need to be stopped,
killed, or removed, but the healthy plants must be protected. Pulling weeds
near roses can damage the rose bush unless it happens early and carefully<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 107%;">Weeds
cause unseen damage<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 107%;">I often am blissfully unaware of the goat head in the
driveway until I unwittingly carry a burr into the house where, days later, I
discover it in the sole of my bare foot during a 2 a.m. trek to the kitchen.
Suddenly my whole attention is directed not only to removing the thorn from my
paw, but also planning a venture into the dark web to purchase a nuclear device
to rid the planet of tribulus terrestris. But a temporary rage against the
annoyance solves nothing. Neither does a brief nuclear attack on the immediate
problem. Cultivation and care is the key. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 107%;">What
are the weeds in your agency?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 107%;">To apply the lessons of weed control the first quest
is to find out what the weeds are and where they are hiding. After that comes
not only an effort at eradication, but a renewed effort at nurturing the plants
that need to be healthy and useful for a healthy environment. <b style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<br />Dr. Joel F. Shultshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01309440903516125037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796653309230623013.post-12456757085248316212018-08-23T14:02:00.004-07:002018-08-23T14:02:52.927-07:00Just another beating?<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>“Shocking video shows black man being 'beaten, punched and
kicked by six North Carolina police officers'</b>” shouts the headline on the UK’s
Daily Mail website and echoed by many media outlets. It makes me wonder if they
were reporting on an appendectomy whether the headline would read “Woman
drugged and stabbed by masked gang”. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While the media are fighting for credibility like never
before, the explosive bias of headlines like these can’t be balanced by the
occasional reporting of actual facts buried in their narrative. Like moths to a
flame, the assumption that police action is not only wrong but outrageously and
gratuitously violent, seems to be irresistible. So, just in case any reporters
read something other than their own bylines, let me break this down for them.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“Shocking”<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Shocking implies something wild, unexpected, and deeply
wrong. Stories have a beginning, and this is where the story turned shocking –
when the man was contacted by police and began actively assaulting them. It was
very likely a surprise to the officers, but not shocking. After all, most cops
have repeatedly experienced attempts by other to hurt or kill them. That part
wasn’t shocking at all.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“Video”<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One perspective, almost always edited for effect by newscasts,
showing a small percentage of the action being reported. Unlike television
fictional fight scenes, street encounters are not choreographed, are not staged
to show the tension-building falls and punches, and are not played to take
greatest advantage of camera angles. The scenes, to my career-long
disappointment, are also absent the background theme music and sound effects.
Video can be evidence of something, but it is rarely automatically proof of
anything.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“shows black man”<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Why this racist approach to reporting continues in the face
of culturally sensitive political censors is a mystery. The suspect’s behavior
is hardly an asterisk in these reports and should be the focus of the finding
of fact. If race, ethnicity, or gender were equally significant in all
citizen-police encounters then headlines reporting the murders of police
officers would routinely label the officers or their attackers as white, black,
Asian, latino, female, male, gay or transgender. Victim officers are just cops.
The demographics of offenders resisting arrest are rarely noted unless
reporters smell the opportunity to cry racism.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“beaten, punched, and
kicked”<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
No reader could doubt the connotation of this inflammatory
language. There is little room for the reality of the careful calculation and
restraint in use of force exhibited by these officers. Baton strikes are
designed to be less than lethal efforts to stop an attack by interfering with
nerve and muscle function. Baton strikes are aimed at specific parts of the
body, but can be ineffective or land on an unintended target area during an
actively attacking person. A single strike may not be effective in the most
ideal circumstances when the baton is needed, so multiple strikes or strikes at
more than one area simultaneously by more than one officer in no way
constitutes a “beating” in the common understanding of the word. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Similarly, the use of an officer’s hands and feet to disable
an attacker and bring an end to the resistance is perfectly aligned with lawful
use of force to effect an arrest. Any observer familiar with the range of
compliance options available to police officers to avoid lethal force can see
that from verbal commands to empty hand control to Taser to baton, the officers
heroically avoided killing a man who seemed intent on violently ending their
attempts to take him into custody.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“Six North Carolina
officers”<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The number of officers is a fact to be reported, but to
imply that there was an unfair number of officers against a lone offender is to
rewrite the manual on use of force. Whether these officers intentionally
engaged in a swarm maneuver, the concept of having multiple officers to enable
a more peaceful restraint of a violent offender was developed for the very
purpose of reducing injuries to suspects. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While it may be natural to emotionally identify with the
officers with the belief that they are angry and offended, the reality is that
the officers were using skills for which they were trained, equipped, and
authorized to use. The story begins with the suspect’s resistance and violent attacks
on the officers. The officers are aware that if the offender escapes, it isn’t
just a blow to their ego, it pushes this violent man into the public’s risk.
They are also aware that with each officer carrying multiple items which, if
seized by the suspect in his frantic grasps, could be used to kill or disable
an officer or other innocent citizen, the sooner this episode is ended, the
safer it is for everyone, including the suspect. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">A fact based headline<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, fellow journalists, can we stick to objective reporting
in headlines? How about “Officers work together to arrest violent offender”,
then a subheading of “man attempts to punch and bite responding officers,
resists Taser”. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now, roll that video. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
All of it. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />Dr. Joel F. Shultshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01309440903516125037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796653309230623013.post-82744681951410034452018-08-22T15:06:00.001-07:002018-08-22T15:06:16.969-07:00A brief history of Street Smart Force training<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hi, I’m Joel and I’d like to share the story of
StreetSmartForce training. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I can easily
share my resume, but all that will tell you is that I’ve been very fortunate to
know some of the best, most dedicated trainers and educators of our day in the
criminal justice field. What I really want you to know is that I really care about
America’s police officers. As I look back on my many years of service I am
astounded by how I survived! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You see, I started at a time and place where you
got suited up and put on patrol with the possibility of attending an academy
sometime in the future. In fact, I was part of the very first class in my home
state that started after the mandatory training law went into effect, even
though I was grandfathered and exempt. My academy was a whole 120 hours and I
completed it in my eighth month of my career.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Within two years I became a trainer, adding Field Training Officer and
Supervisor to my experience. I obtained first responder chaplain certification
before 9/11 and volunteered with the NYPD shortly after flight resumed. I also
began writing for Calibre Press’ Street Survival Newsline, and still write an award-winning
column for PoliceOne.com. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With further education I began to teach college
courses part time and eventually became a full-time police academy instructor
before moving into my first chief of police role. My biggest incentive came
after taking the reigns of a police department just months after an unresolved
officer-involved shooting, just about the same time I was finishing my doctoral
dissertation on community policing through the University of Missouri. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Being directly in charge of an OIS was a first
for me, so I hit the research heavily. What I though I knew about high stress
violent encounters. That was over ten years ago and led to my registration with
the State of Colorado as a psychotherapist, and to my writing three of my books
– Forward I Go – a collection of inspirational readings to encourage police
officer, The Badge and the Brain – the central tenants of my training centered
on human performance under stress, and Fifteen Ways to Calm Your Mind without
driving yourself crazy – a guide for anyone, but especially first responders,
for dealing in a practical way with anxiety and mental fitness. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Although I can
train your officers or employees on virtually any topic, since the focus of law
enforcement right now is the two-fold concerns of use of force and mental
health, that is where my current emphasis is. Contact me soon if you have any
questions or issue I can help you with – personal or professional, or to get a
sample of my training material and quotes on costs – which I’m sure you’ll find
quite reasonable and competitive. It will be a joy to engage with you, so call,
email, or message me soon!<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />Dr. Joel F. Shultshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01309440903516125037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796653309230623013.post-74004936886278946902018-08-08T22:07:00.001-07:002018-08-08T22:07:21.546-07:00The Moral Imperative of Coercion and Compliance<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
The consent of the governed establishes authority in our
constitutional republic. Our representatives enact laws with the intent that
most citizens will comply, but with penalties attached if they don’t. The only
way for those penalties to be meaningful and ensure the safety and equality of
law-abiding citizens is to have a mechanism for activating those penalties
provided under the law.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That mechanism is force. It is the legitimate police
power of government.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our history as a nation has included unjust and immoral
laws. These laws have often been amended or eliminated by democratic action.
Some have been changed through resistance and rebellion. Some remain to be aligned
with the best of our natures. But the law requires obedience except in the most extraordinary circumstances. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When police officers refer to the thin blue line, they mean
that element of government that is empowered to bring those who break the laws
of the land into accountability to their fellow citizens. This accountability
is through a carefully crafted system that, though not flawless, faces the accused
with a judgement by his or her peers in a court of law. Without these armed
government agents, the system collapses, and those who would happily and peaceably
obey the laws would be forced to fend for themselves at the mercy of the
violent.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As a nation whose history includes revolution and civil
disobedience for a higher moral calling of greater freedom and justice, we hold
a culturally sacred place for thoughtful resistance. Historians of the future,
and astute contemporary observers, will find the current culture of resistance to
law enforcement is based on a tragically misplaced, destructive, delusional belief.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the study of human behavior, especially collective and “viral”
behavior, it is observed that while criminal behavior often derives from the
offender’s ability to disregard social norms by some internal justification.
When that criminal behavior gets defined by others with social influence and
leadership as acceptable or at least justifiable, and in some cases admirable,
the stage is set for broader social permission, or license, for others to emulate
the once unacceptable behavior. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The narrative of rampant, enculturated unlawful behavior by
law enforcement has been expressly and tacitly endorsed by an increasing number
of persons of influence. These influencers, from President Obama to other
elected officials, sports and Hollywood personalities, and social activists,
have embedded in a layer of national consciousness the pernicious idea that the
police in the United States have no moral authority to enforce the law. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p>The results of this narrative is increased crime and violence
against law enforcement officers by offenders, and injustice to officers
lawfully engaged in their sworn duties who face punishment in the courts and in
their agencies. At a time when study after study endorses the reality of the
overwhelmingly appropriate and courageous actions of officers in the millions
of daily transactions with the citizenry, the misguided endorsement of mistrust
of the institution of policing in this country has veered from legitimate
accountability into a national travesty. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The solution is for the voices of sanity to become louder
than the increasingly irrational voices of encouraging lawlessness. The
majority of Americans overwhelmingly respect and rely on their police. Those
voices must be encouraged and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>heard.
Facts must become the substance of the narrative about racism, use of force,
and police accountability. Lawmakers, clergy, journalists, and even members of
our own profession must become better informed both on the facts, and on the reality of coercion as a legitimate democratic function of government, and compliance as the duty of its citizens. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are few people in a position to lead this education
effort. If police officers, trainers, and leaders don’t take that
responsibility, no one else will. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />Dr. Joel F. Shultshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01309440903516125037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796653309230623013.post-53402983901123092302018-07-18T11:55:00.003-07:002018-07-18T11:55:58.867-07:00From the archives: Survival mindset: Fake it 'til you make it?<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.375rem;">
First appeared in PoliceOne.com September of 2012</div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.375rem;">
What I’m about to say may burst your bubble and make you so ticked off you can’t even finish the article through your angry eyes. I’m going to meddle with our collective and perhaps necessary cultural mythology. I’ll be branded a heretic to the religion of officer survival because I’m going to rail against cheap thinking that replaces reality in the minds of many of our police officers today. And I’ll even throw in a Bible verse to make the atheists and agnostics think I’m narrow minded and exclusive. All ready on the firing line?</div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.375rem;">
The survival mindset is overrated.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.375rem;">
Hold your fire. Maybe what I really mean is that survival mindset is misunderstood, misapplied, and misdirected.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.375rem;">
Let’s do a little thinking about what sometimes passes for a survival mindset.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.375rem;">
Are you overweight, out of shape, and full of junk food? Then you don’t have a survival mindset, you have a good luck charm. Your positive attitude isn’t going to push more oxygen through that extra few miles of blood vessels you’ve got weaving through your fat cells. If you had a genuine survival mindset you’d go for a walk every once in a while and stop popping buttons off your shirt.</div>
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Is your personal life a mess? Then you don’t have a survival mindset, you have paranoia and control issues. Your so-called will to survive is limited to not getting killed on any given day. A genuine survival mindset comes with a lot of reality checks and life balance.</div>
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“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he,” says Proverbs 23:7.</div>
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How can you be a survivor in one area of your life and not all? Real confidence applies to every facet of your life, not just your swagger in uniform.</div>
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Are you as ready to sacrifice your life for a heroic cause as you are to survive combat? If not, then you have a strong sense of self-preservation, not a survival mindset. If you are quick to criticize officers who have died in the line of duty by spouting off that they just didn’t have a survival mindset that’s usually a sign that you’re whistling in the dark in denial about the realities of dynamic lethal encounters that you just can’t process. A deep survival mindset accepts death as a reality that does not deter what you have to do.</div>
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Do you approach your duties casually because you can handle anything that comes up? Overconfidence is not a survival mindset. It’s just cocky and stupid. Are you afraid of what other officers will think if you ask for a back-up? Do you rush in to prove you’re not afraid of anything? That’s posturing for your buddies, not solid police work.</div>
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Do you ignore advice of senior officers or cops from other agencies because you think you have the best, newest training? The survival mindset wastes no information. It seeks out small nuggets and puts together bits and pieces from every person, every trainer, every offender, and even people you don’t like. The officer who thinks they have arrived at their peak of knowledge and proficiency is not survival minded, but small minded. The true warrior is a humble learner.</div>
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Do you make light of death, tragedy, sorrow, and see emotion as a weakness? Then you’ve got a light-weight coping skill, not a tough survival mindset. Survival deals with reality and processes in a slow, mature way. Survival does mean suppressing your emotions appropriately — not ignoring them in yourself or others.</div>
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I recognize that I haven’t given a good definition of what a survival mindset is — just a few examples of what it isn’t. My goal is to start a discussion about whether we are really training today’s officers in that attitude, or merely brainwashing them to think that mindset trumps discipline and training.</div>
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It does not.</div>
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Bravado, posturing, boasting, pretending, and ignoring our fears are useful tools. Sometimes we do have to fake it until we make it. But as a lifestyle, they are poor substitutes for a survival mindset that will rise to any occasion, yields to learning, and balances the will to live with the will to live well, and with the courage to die. </div>
Dr. Joel F. Shultshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01309440903516125037noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796653309230623013.post-32865090171848979802018-07-09T20:25:00.000-07:002018-07-09T20:25:14.969-07:00From the archives: 7 habits of unsuccessful departments<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.375rem;">
This originally appeared on PoliceOne.com October 2010</div>
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Last week, Chuck Remsberg did an article — <a href="http://www.policeone.com/columnists/charles-remsberg/articles/2796566-7-habits-of-successful-departments/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1174c9; margin-bottom: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s;">7 habits of successful departments</a> — that offered some excellent suggestions and best practices. Unfortunately, we sometimes see police leaders who end up doing the exact opposite of what one may call a best practice. So it seems fitting that we follow up with an article on unsuccessful departments. Without further delay — but with a respectful nod to Stephen Covey — here are seven characteristics of weak police agencies.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">1. Serving the Wrong Customer</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0px;" />The first customer of a police leader is the officer in the patrol car. If officers treated citizens the way some supervisors treat officers there would be complaints rolling in on a daily basis. Compassion, communication, respect within a department creates the same attitudes on the street. If you want cops who care about the citizens you need leaders who care for their cops.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">2. Pretending to do Community Policing</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0px;" />Chiefs are forced to claim they are doing community policing and will attach that label to the slenderest thread of something that resembles it. Genuine community policing involves bringing diverse interests into a discussion of community problems. Line level officers are critical to the success of collaborative efforts and must be empowered with discretion and resources.</div>
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<span style="font-weight: bolder;"><br />3. Assuming Integrity</span>Public relations, crime prevention, and community meetings don’t amount to community policing but often are substituted for the hard work of communicating and collaborating.</div>
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Some departments over-assume police delinquency and have no trust in the professionalism of their officers. At the equally distressing opposite end of that spectrum is a department with no accountability and no healthy policy in place to maintain integrity.</div>
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Audits and reviews of all aspects of policing that are subject to discretion and abuse should be a part of operational structure. This includes evidence, petty cash, working with youth, drug enforcement, traffic enforcement, and attendance patterns. Monitoring officer conduct maintains discipline and serves as an early warning system for officers who need guidance. It also indentifies, rewards, and encourages integrity.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">4. Exotic Training</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0px;" />The default training strategy of ineffective police departments is “scheduling by brochure” — the lack of a focused set of training objectives in favor of catching training as it happens along. While it’s good to offer specialty training to keep officers interested and motivated, sending an officer to underwater evidence recovery school makes little sense when basic competencies remain un-mastered. Underperforming police agencies fail to establish a cohesive and relevant training plan.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">5. Bootstrap Counseling</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0px;" />Agencies that do not attend to the psychological health of their officers will suffer loss of productivity, shortened officer careers, and higher levels of sick leave and injury. Ignoring the traumatic events — or defining traumatic events as “just part of the job” — creates a sense of hopelessness in officers that can lead to a slow erosion of their effectiveness. Regular supportive and preventive services should be as important as any other department operational consideration.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">6. Line-led Culture</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0px;" />Leadership requires the establishment and maintenance of culture and tradition. Departments that fail to create a sense of identity, mission, and purpose from its leaders will create their own out of the basic human need for identity and belonging. Values of hardened and cynical officers can dominate an agency if not countered by positive and rich symbols, ceremonies, language, and traditions established by high-performing leaders.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">7. Unshared Leadership</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0px;" />Leaders who fail to understand that they are not always the smartest person in the room fail to cultivate the intellect and influence of their officers and staff. Ideas must be genuinely welcomed, available for consideration, and rewarded. Leaders may not want to share power, but it is essential that they share influence. Not every idea is a good one, but not every good idea comes from the command staff. Underperforming law enforcement agencies are almost always governed by fear of engagement with managers.</div>
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Effective policing is accomplished through an artful blend of strong leadership and discipline, balanced by trust and support of those who do the hard work on the streets. Mutual respect and communication will strengthen the agency and multiply its effectiveness in serving the community.</div>
Dr. Joel F. Shultshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01309440903516125037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796653309230623013.post-88857279185114843332018-06-26T11:50:00.000-07:002018-06-26T11:50:08.945-07:00Listening to your brain: 5 ways to deal with job stress<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.375rem;">
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From the archives: This first appeared in PoliceOne.com December 2009</div>
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The problem with talking to cops about stress is that there’s a little too much touchy-feely going on in some of those discussions. So let’s talk biology. Our brain soup is not a hot tub with little bubbles of hearts and balloons percolating around just waiting to be nurtured. It’s a complicated but primitive mess of chemistry and tissue. Much of what we interpret and label as “feelings” are actually biological processes over which we may have limited control.</div>
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No tough cop wants to think they have lost control of their feelings. I sure don’t want to think that. My job and identity are defined by self-control. I need it, I like it, I’m proud of it, and I’m not giving it up. But if I break a leg and it hurts and makes me limp, that has nothing to do with self-control. It’s just a limitation of biology caused by the stress of somebody’s bumper hitting me at 35 m.p.h. (been there, done that!). The same is true with my brain being thumped by stress. I can deal with it now, or limp with it later.</div>
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Basically your brain is operating in two different worlds: the rational and the primitive. When it comes to stress there’s a part of your brain that is sneaking around like a naughty teenager. Nestled comfortably somewhere behind your forehead is your parent-brain sitting in the den placidly smoking a pipe and reading Plato. The brain in the back of your skull is the teenager down in the basement bedroom doing God knows what. Like any parent of a teenager, the calm, rational brain relaxing in the den and analyzing life with a cool, experienced hand doesn’t necessarily want to know what’s going on in the basement. Like any teenager, the primitive basement brain doesn’t think the rational brain needs to know all of its business, but still needs attention and sometimes acts up just to see of the parent gives a darn.</div>
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So congratulations on that teen brain of yours. There it sits, nestled in the brain stem, probably thinking about sex. Even if you’re an old duffer like me that impulsive, adrenaline-fueled, hormone-charged bundle of nerves still wants to run things and doesn’t know when to shut up and behave.</div>
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Chances are good that your goofy youngster is doing what it thinks is best to help us survive, but making us miserable in the process. Basement brain is selfishly worried about surviving right this moment; it has no sense of the future. It doesn’t care about digestion or fighting off disease or starting a family. It only cares about keeping nerves at attention to recognize threats and getting blood to large muscle groups to be ready to fight. Teen brain doesn’t realize that putting the body in a state of hyper-alertness damages the parent’s ability to relax, engage in emotional closeness, sleep well, digest food, have fulfilling sex, or concentrate on small details. The parent brain is too busy compensating for these icky feelings to pay attention to the stuff in the basement even though that’s really where the problem is.</div>
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Are you getting the analogy? Is it time for you to get in touch with your inner 14-year-old. This is the person who is stressing you out and you don’t even know it. Consider one or more of these suggestions:</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">1)</span> Ask the people who know you best “Do you think police work has changed me?” Don’t be defensive. Listen and let them answer honestly. Ask at least three people and compare their answers. Your self-awareness will impress them. <br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">2)</span> Be a watcher and listener. Cut the bravado and big talk. If there’s a tough case a fellow officer just handled you don’t have to get your puppy dog face on and say, “How did that make you feel?” Just listen. What you hear may tell you as much about yourself as it does about the other person. <br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">3)</span> Ask a younger version of yourself if you’re sadder, more tired, or less connected than you used to be. Think about who you were a few years ago. We all toughen up — that’s a good thing. But when we grew our thick skin did we trap a cold heart in there too? <br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">4)</span> Casually ask your doctor about stress — both traumatic and cumulative — and see where you are on the checklist of warning signs. <br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder; margin-bottom: 0px;">5)</span> If you can’t manage to ask a professional then use the Internet or the public library to find some good information about PTSD, stress, and healthy lifestyles.</div>
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I want to hear from you, so e-mail me. I might even talk some sense into that teenaged brain of yours.</div>
Dr. Joel F. Shultshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01309440903516125037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796653309230623013.post-935878630609304992018-06-20T12:31:00.000-07:002018-06-20T12:31:04.664-07:00From the Archives - The moral imperative of loyaltyFirst appeared in PoliceOne.com Aug 3, 2009<br />
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The dyed fabric from the famous mills of Coventry, England in the 17th century kept its blue color so well that it was known as true blue. The color you bought was the color that stayed, without fading or changing. Is that you? Do you honor your highest and original values by remaining true blue? Can you state your most basic values that guide your daily behavior?<br />
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Loyalty is often expressed as if it were purely an emotion — the misting of eyes at the national anthem or a breathless vow of love in a moment of passion. I believe we need to understand loyalty as an act of will and intellect. It is this firmness of thought that will sustain our behavior within a solid ethical framework through a law enforcement career.<br />
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Our real loyalties are exposed in the grist mill of life experiences. In their book Theory in Practice, Chris Argyris and Donald Schon state, “When someone is asked how he would behave under certain circumstances, the answer he usually gives is his espoused theory of action for that situation. This is the theory of action to which he gives allegiance, and which, upon request, he communicates to others. However, the theory that actually governs his actions is this theory-in-use.”<br />
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This perspective on the contrast between espoused theory (our stated life principles) and our theory-in-use (what we really look like as we behave in the world) is an enlightening one for self-examination. For example, if we say that we are loyal to Constitutional principles, to a high morality, to the espoused values of our department, and yet falsify a use of force report for ourselves or a co-worker then we have established that our highest loyalty is to convenience and self-interest. Our true colors show, and they are faded and not true blue.<br />
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Without a clear reminder of what you really believe and live for, the expediency of the moment may prevail and betray your higher aspirations. A loss of focus that allows us to drift from our highest ideals can contribute to burnout and misconduct. A visible cornerstone for your primary, ethics-defining loyalty can have refreshing preservative value to the soul. Your cornerstone might be a cross or wedding ring worn daily. For others that reminder might be a family photo on the visor in the patrol car. For some, it might be a daily ritual or reading. I recommend a written personal mission motto.<br />
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A personal mission motto articulates your values so that you are compelled to define them. A motto or mission statement is the central measure for your life’s work and provides a standard against which to measure your decisions. My father was a WWII veteran who gave a lot of effort to the American Legion whose motto was “For God and Country.” All that he lived for, even the mundane tasks of work and family, was embodied by that phrase. Others might say “Family First” or “Remember Your Mission” or “Liberty and Justice.” Finding your cornerstone can help you through the day, and perhaps help you survive the worst days of all.<br />
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What is your motto?Dr. Joel F. Shultshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01309440903516125037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796653309230623013.post-68840070650951883122018-06-11T13:24:00.000-07:002018-06-11T13:24:08.289-07:00It's a Curse, I Swear<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><i>From the archives: First appeared in January 2009 in Street Survival Newsline before Street Survival and P1 parted ways</i></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Police officers are subject to a double and even triple standard in many respects. We are expected to catch bad guys without hurting them, solve problems in a few minutes that existed for years before we got called, get to emergencies instantly without driving too fast, and stop crime without making contacts with minority groups or rich white people. </span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">I remember listening to a citizen make a complaint on one of my officers for using foul language on a contact. I don't remember her exact words but it was something on the order of "Your [bleeping] cop used some [bleeping] language around my [bleeping] son and I think it was [bleeping] uncalled for and you should [bleeping] reprimand his [bleep]." Her point, although not well articulated, was that she could cuss but my officer couldn't. I actually agreed with her. </span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Naturally if I begin a diatribe against the use of swearing the first offended person will say "Oh, like you never cussed in uniform!", and I confess I have. My use of foul language has been very rare and it was used for linguistic effect given the context, and with a purpose to achieve a specific communicative effect. Have I ever said other inappropriate things or acted out of emotion? - yes. As Sgt. Friday famously said "The only problem with police work is that you have to recruit from the human race.” </span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Words have meaning. I used to have morning coffee with a cranky retired physics professor who would get a pained look on his face during holidays and sunny weather. On one particular morning he was talking about the silliness of thinly disguised euphemistic language in a sitcom he had watched in which the word "boinking" was used to refer to sex. His final assessment was that words are meaningless so you might as well use the "real" words. As I thought about his foolish assumption that words are meaningless I considered looking him in the eye and saying, "You know, you old bastard, that's really true," as a means to test his theory. </span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">The words and phrases that we use to describe this kind of language are meaningful as well. We talk about "cussing," which is a slang derivative of "cursing", associated with "swearing". Before language was easily reduced to writing for contracts and pledges, a person's word truly was a bond. History was passed down orally and naming a child often had a determinant effect on a life. Spoken words were powerful. False speaking was condemned in both legal and social discourse by ancient codes including the Ten Commandments and the Code of Hammurabi. Mystics believed - and still do I suppose - that you could speak a curse on someone and change their life course. Jesus taught that calling someone a disrespectful name was tantamount to murder in motive and heart. </span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">I once led a study by a group of middle schoolers from my church and talked about this very subject. I asked them to write down every cuss word they knew. Although they were hesitant at first, they quickly began, obviously, to enjoy the exercise. I wrote all the words and phrases on the blackboard (which I carefully and fastidiously erased at the end of the session) and began to reveal the hurtfulness behind each word or phrase. The sexual references often were demeaning to women, spoke of violence and adultery, or human waste and worthlessness. Other words spoke of disrespect to the Creator or expressing the desire for someone to be condemned to a life or eternity of suffering. The heaviness of the reality of what is meant by the words we so easily throw around became evident to the young people. </span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">One theory of aggression blames violence on our liberal use of foul language - not that bad words cause violence (although what fight starts without them?) - but that if cussing becomes meaningless by overuse then what's the next level of venting but punching somebody? Growing up in a home where my Dad was a religiously discipline man I never heard him swear except when he was working on the car or telling the banker who came to repossess the farm to get off our land. He taught by example that cussing was reserved for special occasions. </span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">There is an evolution of language that makes some words and phrases harsher or softer over time. When I was in high school if something "sucked" the reference was to a demeaning, forced sex act. Today the word connotes a vacuum, emptiness, or worthlessness and most people have little objection to it. The epithet of calling someone a bastard has lost its sting in today's America where babies born out of wedlock is the norm. Other examples come to mind but I feel like a little boy behind the barn practicing my curse words if I ponder it too much. </span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">The most ubiquitous and harsh word is the word that originates as a reference to rape. It is referred to as the F-word, eff, f***, or other recognizable codes for public print. There are plenty of arguments for avoiding this word in addition to its potential moral revulsion. In most cases the word is just a space filler and makes no grammatical sense whatsoeffingever. Since police officers in emotionally charged situations tend to revert to what they practice, the word pops up on video tapes of crisis situations too frequently. If I never hear "Get on the f***ing ground and show me your f***ing hands now!" on </span><a href="http://www.blutube.com/" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1174c9; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s;" target="_blank">blutube.com</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> again I'd be grateful. The word has no communicative purpose and, in fact, obscures the flow of the language and the conciseness of compliance commands. It can also be prejudicial to juries and attorneys even though they are quite content using the language themselves or at least enjoying movies and HBO without the slightest flinch at the word. </span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">As for the argument that this is the language of the streets and people need to know how serious we are, I just have to say that avoiding that language in my experience has never kept somebody from responding to my commands. We're not "one of them" and pretending that using gutter language bonds us to our rough communities is disingenuous. None of this is to say that total foul language abstinence is necessary any more than to say that we never do anything in the course of our jobs that is not also proper in normal social intercourse. We do use harsh language, we do use force, and we do use deception, all of which involve ethical calculations of ends justifying means and that, in a perfect world, would never be necessary tools of the trade. </span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Avoiding swearing in public requires the discipline of avoiding it in private. The exercise might be a good self-improvement project for this year. What the heck - it couldn't hurt.</span>Dr. Joel F. Shultshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01309440903516125037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796653309230623013.post-58029103855498383742018-06-09T07:43:00.000-07:002018-06-09T07:43:54.714-07:00Contextual Compliance Tool Kit<br /><div class="Article-p" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; float: left; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: -0.3em; margin-top: -0.24em; padding-bottom: 1.875rem;">
<span class="smartdate" data-timestamp="1221141069" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0px;" title="9/11/2008, 7:51:09 AM">This archived article from PoliceOne.com first appeared Sep 11, 2008</span></div>
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The word is spreading that the use of force continuum is dying a slow death. While the continuum model has served as a useful instructional tool for trainees over the years it has serious and even dangerous limitations as a tool for application in a field environment.</div>
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Police officers engaged in encounters with non-compliant offenders may feel that they are legally obligated to climb the use-of-force ladder and de-escalate to compliance, hesitating to take safer immediate assertive actions to end unlawful resistance. The stair- step dance of “he does that then I can do this” confuses practitioners, prosecutors, and juries. Fortunately, the US Supreme Court has a refreshingly realistic standard of reasonableness which has yet to be fully grasped by policymakers of my generation still trembling from the Warren court years.</div>
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This article offers five principles of understanding encounters with non-compliant offenders under the doctrinal umbrella of offender-centered decision making. That is to say that the subject with whom a peace officer is in lawful contact is the primary decider of the tenor of the encounter.</div>
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In all cases where the officer is dealing with an encounter outside of a purely consensual one (in which the subject has the right to simply turn and walk away), the law explicitly demands that the subject complies with the officer.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder; margin-bottom: 0px;">1. Training and report writing about non-compliant encounters should concentrate on the offender’s behavior and accurately portray the officer as reacting to the offender in the context of the event.</span></div>
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While this principle may not sound radically different than current practice it is a contrast to the continuum model. The continuum doctrine and its underlying premise is that officers are legally and morally bound to use no force where the remote possibility exists of avoiding it and to use the least force theoretically possible in the least intrusive way for the shortest possible amount of time.</div>
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The reality is that when an offender is non-compliant (they become an <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">offender</em> at the moment of non-compliance) the officer has the legal and moral obligation to gain compliance as quickly and safely as possible. Rather than <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">lowest</em> force, we must transition to a <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">most effective</em> paradigm. In this context, we would define “effective” as that which is quickest and safest. The most effective means of gaining compliance may not be the least possible force but must remain <em style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0px;">reasonable</em>.</div>
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That which is most effective, i.e. fast and safe, tends to result in shorter physical contact when a hands-on disposition is inevitable. Briefer contact means less likelihood of injury to an offender, bystander, and officer. In that light, application of effective means to end non-compliance is a moral imperative as well as tactically superior and justifiable.</div>
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In addition, while de-escalation is one of the many tools in the compliance toolkit it is not always wise to employ attempts at verbal calming. Some conditions contributing to non-compliance are medical emergencies dependent on brain chemistry that will not respond to calming techniques and that will only get worse and less treatable over time. This does not argue against crisis intervention methods, but rather puts those methods in the toolbox for use when appropriate and to be left in the box when they are not.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder; margin-bottom: 0px;">2. Restructure the language of reporting to eliminate the term “use of force” from reports, policy, and training as much as possible.</span></div>
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The baggage that comes along with this term unfairly colors any objective report and tacitly implies that the officer’s actions are suspect and brutal. It promotes the assumption that if force was used it was the officer’s fault and he or she has some explaining to do.</div>
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In keeping with the concept that the decision to be non-compliant is with the offender, an officer’s efforts to gain lawful compliance should be described in those offender-centered terms with the officer identified as the victim. The subject of the narrative should be the offender, not the officer. Putting emphasis on the behavior of the offender and the context of the encounter more accurately portrays the offender’s unlawful behavior and minimizes the perception of the officer as the aggressor. The officer leads the reader to agree with him or her that the use of force was imposed upon them by the offender.</div>
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With offender-centered reporting, agencies may decide that separate forms for reporting use of force are unnecessary. Those reports were important in an earlier era of policing but can be supplanted by a more comprehensive approach to report making.</div>
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Any efforts required to gain offender compliance should be a part of the offense report narrative; fully documented in the accurate and comprehensive description of the offender’s unlawful behavior and the context of the contact. The offender-centered concept of non-compliance enhances officers’ awareness of their victimization which, in turn, will likely enhance the prosecutors’ and juries’ perceptions as well.</div>
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Use of force reports are by their nature defensive and carry the cloud of accusation over them. Documenting non-compliance puts the burden where it should be – on the offender’s behavior in the context of a criminal act of resistance.</div>
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In using language to convey the circumstances of the event officers should avoid passive language like “he was then subdued” and avoid mere labeling such as “resistive”, “combative”, “uncooperative”, “non-compliant” unless providing specific descriptions of behavior such as walking away, pushing, refusing to answer, fighting, etc.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder; margin-bottom: 0px;">3. Context is critical.</span></div>
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The context of the encounter gives the officer facts that determine his or her course of action. These facts are almost always unknown to the offender, but the offender’s ignorance of them must not justify his or her failure to comply. The law requires compliance.</div>
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The significance of environmental, social, and historical factors that color the officer’s perceptions of the encounter will escape the reader of the report unless the officer explicitly guides the reader to navigate the cumulative significance of those factors. All of the factual circumstances of the event and the officer’s subjective interpretation of them must be communicated in the report.</div>
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The reader of the report must have as much information as possible about the situation faced by the officer. Standard concerns such as time of day, number of persons, and knowledge of the offender’s emotional disposition should be articulated. Officers must give voice to their fears and concerns even though documenting fear seems counter to our self-image. Those who read the officer’s report should not be left to guess or assume the appropriateness of the officer’s actions without a fully painted picture.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder; margin-bottom: 0px;">4. Use the “Contextual Compliance Tool Kit” language and imagery.</span></div>
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Stage and step compliance policies should be altered to explicitly recognize the rapid decision making and fluidity inherent in non-compliance events. The metaphor of the toolkit is much more useful than some geometric graphic.</div>
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Rubrics, tables, arcs, stair steps, and wheels all imply some rational orbit of events when a person resists a police officer. The process of deciding how to gain compliance is a logical one, not trial and error.</div>
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The use of force continuum is predicated on trial and error – if step two doesn’t work go to step three and so on. It implies a willingness to err on the side of being ineffective. Achieving compliance efficiently is rational – the officer will select the tool most likely to be effective in solving the problem of non-compliance.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder; margin-bottom: 0px;">5. Document success.</span></div>
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Officers tend to subtly express in their reports that resorting to force was somehow a failure on their part. Lawful use of force is never a failure, except perhaps a failure of judgment on the part of the offender. Gaining compliance is what law enforcement does. That’s the “enforcement” part. It is what police are hired to do, empowered to do, entrusted to do, and expected to do. It is necessary and honorable.</div>
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The narrative regarding the efforts to gain compliance should be as positive as a realistic account can be. Is there a happy ending when somebody is subdued by multiple officers and handcuffed? Certainly, in the universal sense there was failure somewhere – family, school, religion, government, personal choices; all the things the criminologists study. But the officer’s mission is direct: gain compliance effectively. If that was accomplished then say so in the report. Document all of the care-giving that followed the offender’s resistance, including rights advisements, checking the tightness of handcuffs and restraints, and obtaining medical care.</div>
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Policymakers need to understand that the reactive measures of the past generation to lawsuits and bad publicity have achieved their purpose. We must proceed with caution and be ever mindful of the potential for litigation and loss of public confidence while scrupulously guarding civil rights of all whom we encounter. We need not agree with the enemies of law enforcement nor apologize for gaining compliance under the law – using all the tools in our tool kit.</div>
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Dr. Joel F. Shultshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01309440903516125037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796653309230623013.post-10400205369565253382018-06-07T17:37:00.001-07:002018-06-07T17:37:21.004-07:006 tips for getting the most out of police training<i>This is an archive repost that originally appeared in PoliceOne.com in May of 2008</i><br />
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Cops love training. Lock and load. Hit the range. Slap some leather. Punch some holes in some paper. Lay some tread on the track. Mount up. Sign me up for SWAT school!<br />
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But let’s face it, not all training is worthwhile, not all subjects are fun and not all trainers are gifted educators. Here are some tips to get the most out of training – even bad training.<br />
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1. BE A “GOLD MINER” AND LEARN ONE THING<br />
After 30 years of seminars, academies, and recertifications, I could sleep through most classes. But I am a life-long learner and even if I go to a repeat class with a boring instructor, I always promise myself that I will learn at least one new thing. That makes me a gold miner – looking for nuggets of useful information along the way.<br />
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Listening and watching for those nuggets keeps me alert and interested in what may be around the next coffee break.<br />
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2. MAKE YOUR OWN CONNECTIONS<br />
Learning and retention occur when information is meaningful, especially if emotion or social connections are attached. Sometimes you have to make your own meaning – especially if you’ve tuned out an instructor you don’t like.<br />
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Think creatively and be open-minded. Can this diversity class help my interrogation skills? Would this information be good for someone I am training or work with? Is this mandatory class a step on my career ladder?<br />
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3. GIVE YOURSELF PERMISSION TO DISAGREE<br />
Many times a concept, principle or course of instruction is presented as though it were brought down from Mt. Sinai along with the Ten Commandments. Methods, laws and training doctrine change. Sometimes new ideas are bad, sometimes new ideas are old ideas with new acronyms, and sometimes a trainer gets pulled in to teach a course for which they are not truly qualified.<br />
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You don’t have to be disruptive or disrespectful to question and debate things in your own mind. If you engage with the material and wrestle with it under the skeptic’s scope, you’ll add value to your training day.<br />
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4. NETWORK<br />
Talk to other cops on break and at lunch. Pick their brains, listen to their war stories and get their business cards. The trainer is never the only person in the room with good information to share. Harvest knowledge from others.<br />
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5. BE A HUMBLE LEARNER<br />
Stop posturing. Quit trying to prove you know more than the instructor or the officer next to you. Avoid telling yourself you already know all of this stuff. You don’t have to have a better story, a better way to do something or figure out a way to announce how great you are. Listen to your own conversation.<br />
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If you start hearing yourself saying “I” more than three times in a brief conversation, it’s time to shut up and learn.<br />
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6. ASK QUESTIONS<br />
Despite the popular concept that there are no stupid questions, I know better. I have heard stupid questions and have been known to ask a few myself. It’s OK. Take the risk. The resulting dialogue will give a needed break to the course, inspire others to engage with the class and answer the stupid question somebody else was too afraid to ask.<br />
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If you don’t ask at the time, get the instructor’s email address and check the bibliography for the material to answer your questions later. You are the person most responsible for your own learning. Don’t be passive about it.Dr. Joel F. Shultshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01309440903516125037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796653309230623013.post-89304163080264833402018-05-11T14:15:00.000-07:002018-05-11T14:15:18.255-07:00A Police Officer Memorial Day Prayer - given at a public ceremony May 15, 2012In a culture of increasing awareness of terms like diversity and inclusiveness, the ironic result is often an exclusion of some of our great American traditions, including asking God's blessing on public events. This is not necessary under the establishment clause of the First Amendment and often injures the free exercise clause. Today's event deals in essence with death, and how its shadow informs the police officer's life. It is fitting then, that such a sober contemplation of things immortal, transcendent, and eternally significant be attended by calling upon our Creator to lend attention to this moment.<br />
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I invite you to join me as I do that or to engage in whatever pose, attitude, or thoughts that give honor to this occasion. My prayer is this -<br />
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Dear God, we gather today to honor servants of mankind who have given to us their last full measure of devotion. As we gather to honor the dead I pray that the light of their sacrifice might illuminate our own purpose; that as their life was too swiftly extinguished that it will yet fuel our dedication to peace and service.<br />
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May we as peace officers be renewed in our thankfulness to be numbered among heroes, and refreshed in our desire to faithfully serve others. As no greater love has any person but to lay down their life for another, let us so love - to love justice, to love our community, and to embrace our family and those who love us with active, purposeful demonstrations of love.<br />
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We pray that while we are wholly accountable for our actions that the critic' voice will be softened by voices of encouragement from our good citizens. We pray for wisdom for our legislators and leaders that they will never lightly employ our coercive power so that we shall never be a hand of oppression but always an instrument of peace.<br />
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Guard our liberty, Oh God. Guard our hearts Oh God. Guard our honor Oh God. In the name of the One who hears our petitions and has the power to grant them I pray. Amen.Dr. Joel F. Shultshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01309440903516125037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796653309230623013.post-72432725016602959642018-05-07T12:57:00.001-07:002018-05-07T12:57:34.471-07:00Prejudice or politics? Why cop hate could be getting worse when cops are getting better<div class="MsoNormal">
A highly educated, intelligent, and moderately conservative acquaintance recently posted a story on his Facebook from a woman who had a police encounter to relate. The woman used social media to tell of a car stop of a vehicle in which she was a passenger and her boyfriend was the driver. The officer and the driver engaged in an escalation of tension ending with the officer pointing a gun at the driver. Upon their complaint to the officer’s supervisors, the officer reported that he had his Taser out and not a firearm, and there was no finding of wrongdoing. The woman decried that nothing had been done to discipline the officer. Her version was the only one presented. My acquaintance made this introduction to his sharing of the woman’s account: “<span style="background: white; color: #1d2129;">Some of our police are heroes worthy of honor. But we need to reign in those who think that a badge and a gun make them lords among men.” That statement is factually true but bathed in the not so subtle prejudice that implies the worst of most officers. It sounds suspiciously like "I have a ____(black, gay, muslim, etc) friend and a lot of them are fine people....</span></div>
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There was a time when critics of law enforcement were scofflaws and lawbreakers, or those who had personally experienced an unpleasant encounter with the police. Now we have ordinary and outstanding citizens who vicariously join ranks with the harshest critics, damning with faint praise with statements like “some of our police are good.” Losing the support of solid citizens who succumb to prejudice against the police is a blow to quality law enforcement. <o:p></o:p></div>
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How did the narrative of deeply flawed policing catch fire at a time when police officers have never been more carefully selected and trained, with higher education levels and more professional leadership than ever? Why do the carefully edited and selected videos proffered by the media and anti-police activists gain superior credibility over scientific studies on the realities of violent encounters? Why is Michael Brown still a hands-up-don’t-shoot hero when every investigation says exactly the opposite? <o:p></o:p></div>
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The answer to these questions of <u>how</u> prejudices develop is in psychology. The answers to <u>why</u> is in politics.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Origins of Prejudice<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Prejudices are just one way that the brain processes information seeking to enhance pleasure and avoid danger. We are programmed to generalize and predict. When we get information, we use that to establish templates for decision making. What is familiar to us does not alert strong feelings of fear or disgust. What is unfamiliar we approach with caution. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Another factor is the human inclination to associate with groups or tribes. We know who our friends are and who else is like our friend group. We develop a sense of who is in and who is out and, further, we begin to build real or imaginary walls and defenses against the out-group for our protection.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Throughout our lifetime we accumulate the information that our brains use to decide if something is safe and familiar or foreign and potentially a threat. We tend to pay attention to information that verifies our existing conclusions, but our experiences and new information can eventually change our prejudices. Prejudices are not based on mathematical probabilities. Most sticks are not snakes. Most berries are not poison. Most cops are not jerks. But if very many things you thought were sticks turn out to be snakes, you will hate both sticks and snakes. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Changes in prejudices seldom happen immediately and completely. If, for example, a person has an embedded mistrust of police, they can have a positive experience or friendship with a law enforcement officer. The person will consider that positive relationship an exception to the rule rather than an endorsement of all police officers in order to hold on to their preconceptions. A more general trust or appreciation of the broader group will take more intense experiences and positive information. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>The Politics of Prejudice<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Whether intentional or not, the playing and replaying of controversial videos of violent encounters with law enforcement feeds information to a public increasingly willing to interpret those images negatively and apply them broadly. Because department spokespersons are usually not the first to frame the story or are rendered silent by legal issues, those negative first impressions get more attention from the brain of the civilian. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Viral videos, whether on traditional mass media or social media, are often shown in edited form and with a sensationalistic narrative. Untrained observers are likely to be repulsed by the intensity of the encounter and immediately begin a mental process of denial to deal with the images. The denial process allows the civilian to believe that they wouldn’t act like the suspect or the officer, thus immediately making the persons in the video part of an out-group. And, if they identify with the suspect in some way, it places the law enforcement officer further away from the public’s embrace. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Even events that are eminently explainable from a police perspective get imprinted as negative and no amount of scrubbing will convince most people that their first impressions were wrong. Those who profit from sensationalism, and those who benefit from opposition to the police, jump on these many opportunities to fan the flames of misinformation. Individuals come to believe that those negative impressions are the norm, providing more validation to an already existing bias. A police officer, who sees those in their in-group getting unfairly treated, is prone to respond defensively and angrily, often playing into the hands of critics ready to paint defensiveness as guilt.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Can the good guys win the perception wars?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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If the frequency of confusing images and negative messaging is a major cause of anti-police sentiment, the cure may be more frequent positive messaging. Police agencies may no longer be content for the occasional feel-good newspaper article or community relations program. Consistent, persistent, positive messaging through multiple avenues is a new essential in law enforcement leadership. Constantly building credibility with the public is not a distraction from fighting crime, it is an essential element in effective contemporary policing. <o:p></o:p></div>
Dr. Joel F. Shultshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01309440903516125037noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796653309230623013.post-21077720665398292872018-04-16T09:05:00.002-07:002018-04-16T09:05:21.466-07:00A Quick Quiz on the Philadelphia Starbucks Arrest<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #eeeecc; color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.61px; text-indent: 0.5in;">
Unless you have the self-discipline to ignore things on the news that are utterly un-newsworthy, you have probably heard that a couple of men were arrested by police officers for trespassing in a Starbucks in the city of brotherly love. Apparently, two gentlemen sat at the coffee place for a while then asked for access to the bathroom. Since they hadn’t purchased anything, the manager did not allow them to use the restroom and asked them to leave. When they did not leave the manager made a 911 call to ask the police to handle the matter. Now, let’s see how much you know about all that.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Q 1 The management is racist because non-minority persons are allowed to hang out without buying anything but these guys were black so no way was that going to be allowed.<o:p></o:p></div>
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A. True<o:p></o:p></div>
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B. False<o:p></o:p></div>
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C. Doesn’t matter to the responding officers since they got a call, had a witness, attempted to resolve the matter without an arrest, and had probable cause to believe a violation had been committed.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Answer: C . For those of you who wished that there was a “D” choice, this is what it would have said : D. The officers should have called the CEO of the company and asked for a change in policy that would allow a person, regardless of race, color, or creed, to hang out at Starbucks like it was their living room for an indeterminate amount of time. If that had been an option on this multiple choice question, the answer would still have been C.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Q 2 A common cultural courtesy when sitting in a business is to:<o:p></o:p></div>
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A. Keep looking at your watch to signal that you’re waiting for somebody<o:p></o:p></div>
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B. Buy a pack of gum or something cheap as a good faith gesture<o:p></o:p></div>
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C. Doesn’t matter to the responding officers since they got a call, had a witness, attempted to resolve the matter without an arrest, and had probable cause to believe a violation had been committed.<o:p></o:p></div>
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D. Make yourself at home and make sure to take some napkins and sugar packets while you’re there<o:p></o:p></div>
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Answer: Yup, still C.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Q 3 Upon hearing of the incident, the Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross:<o:p></o:p></div>
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A. Immediately appointed a task force made up of one ACLU attorney, one Black Lives Matter member, and a federal judge to investigate why officers are responding to 911 calls involving minorities<o:p></o:p></div>
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B. Placed the officers on unpaid leave until the investigation into the matter could be delayed long enough for the media to forget it ever happened<o:p></o:p></div>
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C. Made a statement on social media explaining that the officers did nothing wrong<o:p></o:p></div>
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D. Implemented a policy prohibiting officers from drinking coffee with cream or sugar in it<o:p></o:p></div>
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Answer: Aha! Trick question! The answer is C. Support of line officers by an administration in politically charged environments does seem to be the exception to the rule, but Commissioner Ross decided to take the unique course of sticking with the facts and the law.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Q 4 In what ways did Starbucks back-pedal to keep its customers?<o:p></o:p></div>
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A. Apologized for allowing its manager to follow its policy<o:p></o:p></div>
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B. Denied the tweets that compared this incident to the Woolworth lunch<o:p></o:p></div>
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counter arrests of the 1950s <o:p></o:p></div>
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C. Doesn’t matter to the responding officers since they got a call, had a witness, attempted to resolve the matter without an arrest, and had probable cause to believe a violation had been committed.<o:p></o:p></div>
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D. Passively took a verbal beating from Philadelphia’s mayor, who accused them of racism<o:p></o:p></div>
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Answer: Again, for our purposes, the answer is C – although I would score “all of the above” as correct.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Commissioner Ross is quoted as saying “<span style="font-family: georgia, serif;">These officers had legal standing to make this arrest. These officers did absolutely nothing wrong. They followed policy, they did what they were supposed to do, they were professional in all their dealings with these gentlemen — and instead, they got the opposite back. I will say that as an African-American male, I am very aware of implicit bias. We are committed to fair and unbiased policing, and anything less than that will not be tolerated in this department.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Commissioner, I will be sending you a personal note of congratulations. And it will include my usual appreciation gift – a Starbucks gift card. Just make sure and order quickly when you do go in. </span></div>
Dr. Joel F. Shultshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01309440903516125037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796653309230623013.post-75978177651824645832018-04-11T12:52:00.000-07:002018-04-11T12:52:12.441-07:00David French on Why Cops are Like Soldiers and Shouldn’t Be Killing People<div class="MsoNormal">
This is one of those discussion pieces that I try to leave alone because I have a chip on my shoulder and I try to keep my brain from running away and keeping me awake at night. My defensiveness comes from forty years of immersion in the world of law enforcement as an officer and leader and as an academic and trainer. Besides being a police academy trainer, I was immersed in deadly force studies after an officer-involved shooting of one of my officers when I was a police chief. I also work, in my capacity as a chaplain, with officers wounded in the line of duty that are so terribly ignored and disposable. My heart is with the cops, and I have trod there.<o:p></o:p></div>
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During that intense study and the years that have followed, I have become aware of the physics and biology involved in an officer’s decision to use deadly force. We pay more attention to the skill of a quarterback playing football than we do on the dynamics of an officer’s use of force. When those factors arise in court and presented to judges and juries rational decisions are made by the courts to find that the officer’s actions were reasonable and justifiable, despite ugly critique and disturbing videos. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Mr. French – and yes, thank you for your service – makes an attempt to credibly compare his military unit’s success in killing few civilians during wartime to the controversial killings by police officers. He fails and here’s why.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The theater of war is not the streets of America. “<span style="color: #2d2d2d; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I walked the streets of local towns and villages. I experienced tense situations where you didn’t know whether to shoot or hold fire</span> <span style="color: #2d2d2d; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I walked the streets of local towns and villages. I experienced tense situations where you didn’t know whether to shoot or hold fire.” Right. You were at war. You didn’t want to kill a good guy or let a bad guy live to fight another day, but the consequences, though grave, are not the consequences that a police officer faces. There are allowances in war. Collateral damage is a pre-calculated cost. Allowing anonymous forces to get away to do anonymous damage in another battle lays differently at the combatants’ feet than the police officers. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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French explains “our troopers faced constant attacks. IEDs claimed lives. Men died to ambushes. Indirect fire was a frequent threat to our combat outposts. Our troopers fought pitched battles in the streets, called in air strikes, fired thousands of artillery rounds, and killed, wounded, and captured dozens of terrorists.” Exactly. For the police officer, while having to make a deadly force decision is quite common (police officers are amazingly restrained in that regard – I know, the reader will not believe that the studies are quite clear on that matter), the exercise of that power is quite rare and, in the context of all the police/citizen contacts that occur, a statistical anomaly. <o:p></o:p></div>
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French states that “<span style="color: #2d2d2d;">Good officers, like good soldiers, know that each encounter takes place against the background of a much larger context, with multiple factors influencing the outcome” and does so in the context of probabilities. He denies that officers should think that a deadly encounter is as likely in one situation as in another, that they should play the odds. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #2d2d2d;">This thinking, which I understand is reasonable from the non-police citizen’s base of experience, does not reflect the police officer’s reality. When we hear that a suspect shot by police was mentally ill, only had a cell phone, was just a trespasser, etc, that belies the totality of circumstances faced by the officer. A barking dog complaint can be an indicator of a burglary in progress. A 911 hang-up can be a prelude to a murder. Worse case scenario thinking? Yes. When you buy a lottery ticket you have a one in a million chance of making the big score, but you have the same chance as anybody else. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anecdotally I know a trooper who was shot by a man who he had contacted for urinating in public. I was knocked unconscious by a traffic violator, and struck by a vehicle whose driver was fleeing a vandalism. When 911 callers say they see a man with a gun, is the officer supposed to think “Ahh, it’s probably just a toy?” Making a deadly force decision is predicated on the circumstances at the moment of the fatal shot, not on whether your suspect is a misdemeanant or felon. French’s statement “<span style="color: #2d2d2d;">Pursuit of an armed robber is different from the pursuit of a vandal, and both are dramatically different from rolling up on an actual firefight” isn’t true as it plays out in the real world of murky and fluid changes.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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So, Mr. French, we don’t have the license that war allows. Our mission, as you point out, is largely service and investigation oriented. But the old Marine concept of being polite to everyone you meet and have a plan to kill them is not as ridiculous as you imply. It might be a good time to visit my article posted recently here, regarding California’s proposal to redefine the rules of engagement for deadly force: <a href="https://aztroopers.org/enews/4-reasons-californias-deadly-force-proposal-deserves-to-die">https://aztroopers.org/enews/4-reasons-californias-deadly-force-proposal-deserves-to-die</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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Now, Mr. French reminds us “it’s important to understand that the mission must come before personal safety.”<b> </b>Are we then to conclude that when the question of “is that person trying to kill me?” comes to an officer’s mind that her response should be “well, let’s see if he shoots me or not?” I won’t go into all of the micro-facts that go through the brain – many of them at a less than conscious awareness level – that telegraph a lethal intent, but those can be articulated and, when juries understand them, deadly force decisions that seem outrageous become quite rational. Of course, there are “bad” shootings, but not very many. And the list of shootings spouted by the average commentator always includes cases that have been critically examined and found lawful.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The idea that officers are set free from responsibility because they claim they were afraid isn’t as cowardly as French makes it sound. First of all there is a high ethical call for survival that includes the ability to continue to serve, continue to intervene, avoid being an impediment to other first responders, and completing the mission in which they were engaged. Secondly, the fear standard is not subjective, it is objective. The fear must be reasonable and articulated to meet the legal standard, not merely claimed. French disingenuously misappropriated an officer’s statement that French quoted in speaking about the Castile shooting to conclude that the officer shot a man because the man was exposing a child to second-hand smoke. Please, Mr. French, if you have to do those kinds of contortions, you reduce your credibility.<o:p></o:p></div>
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On a related note, French claims that “<span style="color: #2d2d2d;">policing is </span><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; padding: 0in; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.2s ease;"><span style="color: black;">far down on the list</span></span><span style="color: #2d2d2d;"> of the most dangerous jobs”. This is being recently challenged by closer studies of officer injury and death. And even if </span>police work<span style="color: #2d2d2d;"> isn’t all that dangerous, as French implies and I vigorously reject, that’s not relevant to Officer A’s individual decision to employ deadly force in a given situation. French implies, in commenting on a recent shooting in Sacramento, California, that the fact no officer has been killed in the line of duty for a long time should somehow enter into the calculation of the officer who decided to shoot. (In a case that has not been fully examined forensically – but lack of facts never stopped an opinion).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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French began on a weak premise and concluded with weak presumptions predicated on few facts. Being a soldier and being a police officer are not equivalents. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Dr. Joel F. Shultshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01309440903516125037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796653309230623013.post-20480321507906162242018-04-03T19:20:00.001-07:002018-04-04T14:36:22.830-07:00Hiring the disabled - how inclusive can we be?<div class="MsoNormal">
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Historically, American law enforcement began largely as a patronage job – something you got because you knew someone with political power who could appoint you. Law enforcement agencies were composed of people who looked like the people who were elected or gained office by political power – white males. This was the template for what a police officer looked like. Any deviation came with suspicions from within the police culture as well as the public. With the arrival of civil service in policing, candidates were chosen by merit. The screening process still managed to filter out almost all but white males. <o:p></o:p></div>
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But change was inevitable. According to the Office of Community Policing, the first black police officer was, surprisingly, in Selma, Alabama circa 1867. An article from the National Law Enforcement Museum chronicles New York City’s first black police officer, Samuel Battle, appointed in 1911. Alice Stebbins Wells is regarded as the first American female police officer, serving Los Angeles in 1910. <o:p></o:p></div>
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In mid-century America, government became the petri dish in the era of renewed interest in civil rights. More women and more minorities were hired by law enforcement, even if only to avoid lawsuits. The first police department that I served added its first female two years after I started. The police station, built in the early 1970s, had no locker room for females. In 1981, Patrolman Woody Tennant became the first openly gay police officer in San Francisco. Transgender cops used to make headlines and get interviews in the media. Not such a big deal now. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Added to race, gender, and sexual orientation, the most recent debates became about bodies and physical capacity. With the advent of the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, the physical abilities required to pass an entrance exam or police academy came into question. Doing pull-ups, being a minimum height, and other standard physical tasks now generated lawsuits demanding proof that standards were relevant to actual law enforcement tasks. A 1993 issue of the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin debated vision requirements for recruits. Fast forward to March of last year when Matias Ferreira, a 28 year old double amputee, graduated as a police officer with the Suffolk County, NY police department. Also last year, <span style="background: white; color: #222222;">Wendy Caldwell</span> was sworn in as Houston Police Department’s oldest academy graduate at age 53. <o:p></o:p></div>
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This week we find this headline: “Texas PD hires first deaf female officer. Officer Erica Trevino became the first female deaf commissioned officer in the department’s history.” Dalhart, Texas, population 8,307, is stepping into the brave new world of non-discrimination by disability.<o:p></o:p><br />
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Where will it end? That’s not a slap-your-forehead with an exasperated sigh question. It’s legit. What are the outer limits of acceptability of police recruits? Given the concern about finding enough cops to fill our ranks now, the challenge is not just to obtain bodies, but what kinds of bodies can we – or must we – accept?<o:p></o:p></div>
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The human brain’s template is wired early on to respond with either acceptance or suspicion in determining what is normal and what is a threat. Our law enforcement culture is no different. A black cop in a police department that has always been all white is not normal. A college-educated cop in a blue-collar GED world is not normal. A female with a badge isn’t normal where it has never happened before. Black officers historically were prohibited from arresting white offenders. Women officers had to wear skirts and could only arrest if a male officer were also present. Many were immediately assigned to juvenile work for the presumed maternal instincts. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Every mold-breaking first-generation of a new type of officer has faced the loneliness of proving themselves. It was not only sink or swim, it was often sink or swim with a weight around your neck. Waiting for back up when your shift has conspired to not give you any help is no fun.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Officer Trevino, I would have advised you as strongly as possible to find another profession. If I were on patrol with you at DPD, I’d be nervous. And I give you the same advice I’d give a cross-fit ex-Seal Team Six recruit: When it’s not for you, get out when you can. <o:p></o:p></div>
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It seems that the only barrier to being a cop is intelligence. Yes, Robert Jordan tested so high on his application for the New London, Connecticut police department that his application was tossed out. He sued for discrimination, but a federal appeals court in 2000 said that being too smart is an allowable disqualifier. <o:p></o:p></div>
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But I’ve worked with obese cops, old cops, arthritic cops, dumb cops, and Coke bottle lens wearing cops, and I’ve worked myself when I was too sick and weak to put up a fight but I suited up anyway. I managed to retire in one piece. The profession owes you, Officer Trevino, your Chief, and your co-workers gratitude for being the Chuck Yeagar of deaf police officers. You may break the no sound barrier. If you don’t make it, it will have been a worthy experiment anyway. And we hope no one gets hurt because you couldn’t hear what you needed to hear. Good luck, sister. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Dr. Joel F. Shultshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01309440903516125037noreply@blogger.com0