use of force continuum

Police Stress Intervention Continuum: An empirical option for LEO’s and command staff to reduce officer suicide

Michael Sefton, Ph.D. Human Behavior, Police officer behavior, psychological relevence, Stress, use of force continuum , , , , , , , , , , ,
Scope of the Problem: Police Suicide and the goal to eliminate it – modified December 28, 2022
Police job-related stress is well-identified and reported in the media daily and the rates of suicide nationwide are being debated by Aamodt and Stalnaker. They are actually less than one is led to believe but even one law enforcement officer suicide is too much. During the week of Christmas 2022, 3 police officers took their own lives at Chicago PD. Some law enforcement officer deaths may be reduced by using a stress intervention continuum. This ties the continuum of calls into a stress reduction protocol that empowers resilience and recognizes the importance of stress mentoring and the soft hand-off for defusing the growing impact of high stress and high lethality exposure. The stress intervention continuum does not single out one officer but identifies all officers – including call takers, dispatchers, and supervisors for defusing particularly abhorrent events like mass shootings. This way, personnel who played a roll in a “bad call” will not be overlooked nor stigmatized for stress reduction defusing and/or debriefing.
Stress is defined as any situation that negatively impacts an officer’s well-being. The rate of suicide and divorce among law enforcement is approximately the same or lower than the general public according to a meta-analysis conducted by Professor Michael Aamodt.  But there are areas in the country and agencies that have higher rates of self-inflicted death.
When the suicide rate of police officers (18.1) is compared with the 21.89 rate for a comparable demographic population, it appears that police officers have a lower rate of suicide than the population according to Aamodt, 2008.
Incidence of suicide tend to be elevated in cities like Chicago, where chronic gun violence and a murder rate in the hundreds per year means cops see a staggering amount of traumatic events. As a result, they may gradually become numb to the exposure of pain and suffering (Joyner, 2009). A Department of Justice report found that the suicide rate in the Chicago Police Department is 60 percent higher than the national average.  According to the 2018 Chicago Sun Times, in a note to department members, former CPD Supt. Eddie Johnson said in 2018, “Death by suicide is clearly a problem in Law Enforcement and in the Chicago Police Department. We all have our breaking points, a time of weakness where we feel as if there is no way out, no alternative. But it does not have to end that way. You are NOT alone. Death by suicide is a problem that we can eliminate together” CST September 12, 2018.  Chicago PD is not alone with the problem of suicide among its men and women in blue. In fact, smaller departments with fewer than 50 officers often have high rates of suicide and lack the peer support and clinical resources that enable officers to find help during times of crisis.
Law enforcement officers (LEO’s) encounter the worst of all experience on a routine basis. The people who call the police may be society’s best upstanding citizens but on this occasion it could be the worst day of their lives and they seek help from police.  Many times it is not the pillars of society seeking help but those people in the fringes or margins of society now victims of violent crime or abuse.
According to Hartley, et.al., 2007, “repeated exposures to acute work stressors (e.g., violent criminal acts, sad and disturbing situations, and physically demanding responses), in addition to contending with negative life events (e.g., divorce, serious family or personal illness, and financial difficulties), can affect both the psychological and physiological well-being of the LEO population.” When these officers are identified there needs to be a planned response using a peer support infrastructure that provides for a continuum of service depending upon the individual needs of the LEO and the supports available. In many agencies, especially smaller departments lacking resources, officers’ languish and sometimes spiral downward without support and without somewhere to turn.  Police officers must have support available to them long before they are expressing suicidal urges.
As programs are identified and service continuum grows the risk of peer conflict over perceived betrayal of trust must be addressed. This must be addressed in the peer support training with emphasis on preservation of life over maintenance of confidentiality or the status quo of abject silence. “In itself, it’s a product of centuries of police culture in which perceived weakness is stigmatized. Cops know their brothers have their back, no matter what, but they still don’t want to be seen as the one who’s vulnerable.” according to a recent Men’s Health article written by Jack Crosbie in a report about suicide in the NYPD published during Mental Health Awareness month in May 2018.
The argument is made that the recurring uncertainty of police calls for service often leave LEO’s with low-level exposure to trauma of varying degrees. It is common that LEO’s move from one violent call to the next without time to decompress and process what they have seen.  The repeated exposure to trauma can slowly whittle away LEO resilience – defined as the capacity to bounce back from adversity. In a national media study published by Aamodt and Stalnaker, legal problems were a major reason for the law enforcement suicides yet no other study separately cited legal problems. In another study, relationship problems accounted for the highest percentage of suicides at 26.6% (relationship problems plus murder/suicide), followed by legal problems at 14.8%. In nearly a third of the suicides, no reason was known for LEO suicide.
Police suicide has been on the radar of advocates of LEO peer support for months or years.  The incidence of suicide has remained stable across the country but some agencies have higher rates of suicide.  Smaller departments – those with less than 50 officers in general have the highest rates of suicide.  This may be linked to the lack of availability of peer support programs and a paucity of local practitioners to provide professional service with knowledge in police psychology. “While police officers may adapt to the negative effects of chronic stress, acute traumatic incidents necessitate specialized mental health treatment for police officers (Patterson, 2001)”.  A referral to the department EAP often falls flat and makes it more difficult to make the hand-off when peer support is not enough.

Points of entry to Peer Support – Stress Intervention Continuum

  1. Exposure to highly stressful events in close sequence
  2. Change in work assignment, district/station, deployment undercover or return from deployment
  3. Increased absenteeism – over use of sick leave – missing court dates
  4. Increased use/abuse of substances – impacting job functioning, on-the-job injury
  5. Community – citizen complaint(s) for verbal abuse, dereliction of duty, vehicle crash
  6. Citizen complaints of excessive force during arrest, supervisory or peer conflict, or direct insubordination
  7. Abuse of power using baton, taser or firearm, recurrent officer involved use of force. Officers are sometimes strongly embittered and angry at this point in their career due to perceived lack of support and powerful feelings career disappointment and alienation – copyright Michael Sefton, Ph.D.
Real-time model of change
The use of force continuum is well described in the LEO literature and ongoing criminal justice narrative. What does that have to do with stress intervention in police officers? It sets the tone for officer behavior whenever they meet potential resistance and or increased aggression during citizen encounters. It may also be used for initiating peer support needs whenever an incident use of force has occurred.  LEO’s change the force response based on the situation they encounter in real-time in a flexible and fluid manner. In this same way, peer support programs can flexibly shift to the needs of a presenting LEO and intervene early on – rather than when an officer is at a breaking point. “This continuum (use of force) has many levels, and officers are instructed to respond with a level of force appropriate to the situation at hand, acknowledging that the officer may move from one point on the continuum to another in a matter of seconds.” NIJ publication.  Peer support too, must accommodate a law enforcement officer in real-time to begin the process of building a healthy, resilient response to sometimes horrific exposures and provide a continuum of unbiased employee assistance and when necessary professional consultation.
Protective Factors begin in Academy training
What topics should addressed while LEO recruits are in training?  Ostensibly, the resilience of LEO’s depends upon the opportunity for in-service training in topics of mindfulness, stress management, physical health maintenance, nutrition, and trust.
“Emotional resilience is defined as the capacity to integrate the breadth of police training and experience with healthy, adaptive coping, optimism, mental flexibility and healthy resolution of the traumatic events. In general, resilient people are self-reliant and have positive role models from whom they have learned to handle the stressful events all police officers encounter” according to Leo Polizoti, Ph.D. a police consulting psychologist (Sefton 2018).
Police programs for health maintenance
The Police Stress Intervention Continuum or P-SIC, involves a system of police support that varies in its intensity depending upon the continuum of individual needs of the LEO including physical debility or other significant components impacting career success and satisfaction. The intervention protocol is flexible and fluid as well. The entry point into the peer support continuum initiates from supervisory observations of LEO history and behavior, peer recommendations, and exposure to a range of traumatic events.
The cumulative stress associated with a career in law enforcement cannot be understated.  In the setting of police stress and stress support there is an intervention protocol that relates to the peer-support program continuum.  Depending on where officers enter the peer support network will impact the level of intervention they may require in the P-SIC program.  Peer support is not psychotherapy but officers occasionally must hand off the officer in trouble to a  higher level of care.  These hand-offs are key to linking at-risk LEO’s with range of professional support needed to keep them on the job. Yet fear of reprisal for acknowledging the cumulative impact of stress and its impact often derails the hand-off to the professional. The highest risk for suicide to a LEO is when he is denuded of badge and gun because he may be a threat to himself.
The career success they have may be directly related to the application of resiliency training to build and maintain physical and emotional hardiness that lasts a lifetime according to Leo Polizoti, 2018. Before this can happen the stigma associated with reaching out must be reduced.
NIJ Publication (2009). Use of Force Continuum. https://www.nij.gov/topics/law-enforcement/officer-safety/use-of-force/Pages/continuum.aspx. Taken November 17, 2018
Aamodt, M. G., & Stalnaker, N. A. (2001). Police officer suicide: Frequency and officer profiles. In Shehan, D. C, & Warren, J. I. (Eds.) Suicide and Law Enforcement. Washington, D.C.: Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Aamodt, M. (2008). Reducing Misconceptions and False Beliefs in Police and Criminal Psychology. Criminal Justice and Behavior 2008; 35; 1231 DOI: 10.1177/0093854808321527.
Patterson, G T. (200l). Reconceptualizing traumatic incidents experienced by law enforcement personnel. The Australian Journal of Disaster and Trauma Studies, 2.
Joyner, T. (2009) The Interpersonal-Psychological Theory of Suicidal Behavior: Current Empirical Status. Science Briefs, American Psychological Association, June.
Sefton, M. (2018). Police Training: Revisiting Resilience Blog post: https://msefton.wordpress.com/2018/07/27/police-training-revisiting-resilience/. Taken November 18, 2018
Sefton, M. (2018) Points of Entry to Peer Support and mentoring. Blog post: https://wordpress.com/post/msefton.blog/5269 – taken December 27, 2022
Hartley, T., et.al.(2007). Associations Between Major Life Events, Traumatic Incidents, and Depression Among Buffalo Police Officers. International Journal of Emergency Mental Health, Vol. 9, No. 1, pp.
John M. Violanti, Anna Mnatsakanova, Tara A. Hartley, Michael E. Andrew, Cecil M. Burchfiel. (2012). Police Suicide in Small Departments: A comparative analysis. Int J Emerg Ment Health. Author manuscript available in PMC 2015 Aug 14. Published in final edited form as: Int J Emerg Ment Health. 2012; 14(3): 157–162.

Police Training: Revisiting Resilience

Michael Sefton, Ph.D. CIT, crisis intervention, Human Behavior, Police officer behavior, psychological relevence, use of force continuum , , , , ,
What is resilience in police work?  Emotional resilience is defined as the the capacity to integrate the breadth of police training and experience with healthy, adaptive coping, optimism, mental flexibility and healthy resolution of the traumatic events. In general, resilient people are self-reliant and have positive role models from whom they have learned to handle the stressful events all police officers encounter.  In the best of circumstances officers are encouraged to share stressful events and debrief with peer supports that are a regular component of the police service.  Unfortunately, in spite of the availability of peer support many officers are hesitant to utilize and call upon their peers to help with difficult even traumatic calls like suicide and severe child or elder abuse.  One reason for this is a culture of internalizing stress until it whittles away career satisfaction and job performance.  The underpinning of police officer burn-out is the collapse of resilience and onset of maladaptive coping.
How many mid-career officers have reduced productivity and elevated stress that leads to increased use of alcohol, drugs, gambling, abuse of sick leave, and job-related injuries?  According to Leo Polizoti, Ph.D. resilience refers to professional hardiness that is protective against such career burnout and raises both professionalism and job satisfaction. Many believe that hardiness and resilience can be built and polished as the officer grows into his career.
Police training tends to be repetitive and often boring.  Officers train to attain a level of automaticity so that when field encounters become threatening they are quick to utilize tactical behavior in the use of force continuum.  Sadly, police departments everywhere have trained in the active shooter protocol so that when the call goes out every officer knows exactly what is expected of him or her.  By doing so the motor programs and cognitive maps coalesce into a tactical advantage for law enforcement.  Training also helps to reduce autonomic arousal and helps regulate internal levels of stress so that officers can function at optimal levels when needed most.
Just as it is difficult to identify mental illness in a civilian population until the person is off the rails, so too is it difficult to pinpoint a law enforcement officer who is struggling with the long-term effects of the high stress calls police answer on a daily basis. “Stress and grief are problems that are not easily detected or easily resolved. Severe depression, heart attacks, and the high rates of divorce, addiction, and suicide in the fire and EMS services proves this” according to Peggy Rainone who provides seminars in grief and surviving in EMS (Sefton, 2013).
High levels of stress are known to slowly erode emotional coping skill leaving a psychologically vulnerable person at higher risk of acting out in many ways including with violence.  The 2013 case of domestic violence homicide in Arlington, Massachusetts raises the specter of domestic violence homicide in police and first responders. In this case, a decorated paramedic allegedly killed his twin children, his wife and then himself. Outwardly, he and his family seemed happy. What might trigger such an emotional breakdown and deadly maelstrom?
“Although resilience — the ability to cope during and recover from stressful situations — is a common term, used in many contexts, we found that no research had been done to scientifically understand what resilience is among police. Police officers have a unique role among first responders. They face repeated stress, work in unpredictable and time-sensitive situations, and must act according to the specific departmental policies. ” Andersen et al. 2017
The career success they have may be directly related to the application of resiliency training to build and maintain physical and emotional hardiness that lasts a lifetime according to Leo Polizoti, 2018. Before this can happen the stigma associated with reaching out must be reduced.
Reduced stigma will afford officers the chance to express themselves, lower stress and tension, and seek peer or professional help when situations evoke or release the ghosts of cases past – often the underpinning of PTSD. This openness has not yet found its way into the law enforcement culture and while physical fitness has taken hold for career satisfaction – mindfulness has not become fully embraced.
REFERENCES
Andersen et al. (2017) Performing under stress: Evidence-based training for police resilience
Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Gazette Magazine Vol. 79 No 1.
Polizoti, L. (2017) Psychological Resilience: From Surviving to Thriving in a Law Enforcement Career. Presentation. Direct Decision Institute, Worcester, MA
Polizotti, LF (2018) Psychological Resilience : From surviving to thriving in a law enforcement career. Personal Correspondence. Taken 4-21-2018

Rainone, P. (2013) Emergency workers at risk. (website) http://www.emsvilliage.com/articles/article.cfm?ID=176. Taken 12-1-2013

From anonymity and stigma grows resilience

Michael Sefton, Ph.D. CIT, DVH, Human Behavior, Police officer behavior, use of force continuum , , , , ,
Today there is still a great deal of stigma associated with reaching out for peer support within police departments. Officers’ fear being misunderstood and seen as weak if they acknowledge their vulnerability years into the job. The blue line bleeds each time an officer takes his or her own life yet the silence within the ranks is stunning. An officer may act heroically in their efforts to save a child who isn’t breathing and fail.  An officer may be first-in to a call for domestic violence homicide and fail.  An officer may be dispatched to a horrific motor vehicle crash and come upon an overturned minivan with a shamble of entrapped human misery and death and still feel a failing.  These events create a chink in the armor and sometimes reveal gaping personal anguish that accumulates over time. The cumulative impact of trauma adds to the layers that belie the outward calm.  As a former police officer there are calls I covered that are painful to this day. Abject failure. Exposure to subclinical, traumatic events takes a toll of both physical health and emotional wellness and can lead to PTSD, secondary traumatic stress disorder, and burn out.
Prevention of law enforcement suicide is paramount.  As recently as early November, 2018 a former police chief died by police assisted suicide killed by his former officers after charging them with a kitchen knife.  And in Baltimore County, MD, School Resource Officer Joseph Comegna, a 21-year veteran of the force, took his own life at his desk in the public school.  “And unlike line-of-duty incidents, which tend to receive a great deal of media coverage, law enforcement suicides rarely get much press, says Al Hernandez, a 35-year veteran of the Fresno Police Department (FPD) in California. Hernandez helps connect officers to mental health care.” according to Jack Crosbie writing in Men’s Health about a suicide death of an NYPD officer who died in early 2018.
The impact of stress on the lives of LEO’s is well known and can have pervasive impact on officer well-being both in and out of uniform.  Hypertension, cardiovascular disease, substance abuse, and depression are just a few of the behavioral health consequences that may result from repeated exposure. Ongoing vulnerability to traumatic events can result in anger, resentment, strong negative emotions, and reactive embitterment that can erode job satisfaction and job performance (Sadulski, 2017). Critical Incidence Stress Debriefing plays an important role for police by helping LEO’s manage their trauma and post-traumatic stress. It should be provided as part of an integrated system of peer support. Most departments have officers trained in CISD whom provide peer support to brother and sister LEO’s who are in crisis. Key among these relationships is the hand-off to mental health professionals when indicated. Peer support is not treatment and the relationship between the peer support and psychological treatment should be clearly defined.
Each of us in law enforcement has a duty to reduce suicide among the men and women in blue whenever possible. This requires a substantive understanding of the risk factors associated with LEO self-destruction. Chief among law enforcement is the camaraderie that bonds officers together during times of stress. Peer support is a key factor in reduced emotional suffering among law enforcement officers. 
Risk factors for suicide increase when the conventional need for belongingness among law enforcement officers which is thwarted by the estrangement or isolation.  This comes with individual officer discipline, e.g. suspension, or some other factor pushing him/her out that can be isolating and evoke feelings of thwarted belongingness according to Thomas Joiner (2009). Social alienation is a powerful emotional dynamic that results from the experience of being estranged from a core group of supportive friends, colleagues, and immediate family. This occurs in many ways including change in social reciprocity and reduced exposure to primary interpersonal ties resulting in powerful feelings of loss and growing belief of being a burden. This may be the result of disciplinary actions toward the officer, on-the-job injury, or departmental requisite following officer-involved use of force. 
Embitterment has large implication on LEO productivity, career satisfaction, job performance, citizen complaints, and officer health. It grows slowly as a function of career experience perceived support, and critical incident debriefing and peer support are vital to officer longevity.  Mentoring in the field and supervisory support reduce officer isolation and sometimes powerful feelings of negativity that can fester over time according to Polizoti, 2018.  Ostensibly, resilience is the opposite of embitterment. Have you ever worked with someone who rolled with the punches – literally and figuratively?  They can have felony cases dismissed in court and remain nonplussed maintaining a positive attitude and a “better luck next time” belief system.  
Lethal Self-Injury – Acquired Ability
The final risk factor involves a gradual desensitization to pain and human suffering according to Joiner (2009). Over time, exposure to repeated violence, homicide, intimate partner violence, and other “salient fearsome experiences”, the self-preservation instinct gradually disintegrates into a residual fearlessness in the face of life threatening danger and an acquired capacity to ignore the horror and humility of violence with a higher tolerance of pain and substantive capacity for suicide (Joiner, 2007).
Joiner believes that the capacity for suicide is acquired over time from the repeated exposure to trauma such that the reaction to horrific traumatic events, e.g. domestic homicide, loses the ability to evoke a normal emotional response and habituates to a decreased emotional reactivity, a higher tolerance for pain, and a fearlessness in the face of death. Given this proclivity toward feeling “numb” in the face of high levels of violence, over time researchers look for protective factors such as reducing isolation and more frequent debriefing after every critical incident rather than wait until LEO coping goes the way of attachment and perceived support. 
References
Sadulski, J. (2017). Promoting Police Resilience through Peer Support. Law Enforcement. Blog post taken November 20, 2018
Joiner, T. (2009). The Interpersonal-Psychological Theory of Suicidal Behavior: Current Empirical Status. Science Briefs, APA, June.
Polizoti, L. (2018) Critical incident resilience training. Personal correspondence, September.
 



Forensic Mental Health: Contemporary Issues and Interactions Involving Justice-Involved Persons with Mental Illness

Michael Sefton, Ph.D. Dangerousness assessment, domestic violence homicide, DVH, Human Behavior, Police officer behavior, Suicide by cop, use of force continuum , , , , , ,

neacjs-logo-US-left-colorv21-300x251WESTBOROUGH, MA April 30, 2017 The Northeastern Association of Criminal Justice Sciences has announced the date for its upcoming annual conference to be held in Rhode Island at Roger Williams University in Bristol.  The conference will be held on June 7-10 2017.

The topic this year is Forensic Mental Health: Contemporary Issues and Interactions Involving Justice-Involved Persons with Mental Illness that has been in the news when it comes to police encounters with those so afflicted.  In Massachusetts alone over 120 people thought to suffer with mental illness have been involved in lethal force situations with law enforcement between 2008-2016.  The program is still being drafted but I have been invited to present the Psychological Autopsy as a Forensic Tool along with my colleague Brian Gagan and co-author of the Psychological Autopsy of Steven Lake – Dexter,

lakefoll0916_kc01-250x250
Dr. Sefton discussing psychological autopsy of Steven Lake with coauthor Brian Gagan (left)

Maine Homicide-Suicide in 2011.

Police are building bridges and throwing life savers

Michael Sefton, Ph.D. CIT, crisis intervention, Dangerousness assessment, domestic violence, Human Behavior, Police officer behavior, SAPD, use of force continuum , , , , , , ,

WESTBOROUGH, MA  – March 30, 2017  Police officers are being trained in crisis intervention techniques across the country and Canada. This training offers plenty of practice role-playing scenarios that come directly off of the call sheets affording a reality-based training opportunity. I recently spent time riding with members of the San Antonio PD mental health unit and have the greatest respect for the officers with whom I rode.  In contrast, some departments regularly have highly trained clinicians riding with officers bringing expertise in mental illness and abnormal behavior across the thin blue line.  It is thought that by sharing knowledge at working with unpredictable, drugged out, psychotic and delusional and angry who police encounter on a daily basis better outcomes may be achieved. No single model is best and all are still in the growing stages of establishing protocols for bringing those most disturbed individuals in from the margins. More and more officers are receiving CIT training every year.

The important part of crisis intervention training comes in the interdisciplinary relationships that are forged in by this methodology. Trust and respect between the police and its citizens builds slowly one person at a time.  Community policing is not a new concept but fiscal priorities often prevent its full implementation.  Just the same, there must be trust and respect between the police and the purveyors of crisis intervention and mental health risk assessment including doctors, nurses, and health care practitioners. This also takes time and training and the shared belief in the model.

“When officers are faced with a deadly situation, when there is a gun pointed at a cop, there is no time to go into mental health measures,” according to Grace Gatpandan, spokesperson for the San Francisco Police Department

IMG_7187
Michael Sefton, Ph.D. in 2017 photograph

The use of force continuum belies each officer contact and guides the process when police are called upon to defuse a dangerous encounter. It is best that a mental health contact be made long before violent threats are made – long before terminal rage erodes personal judgment. The community policing doctrine affords this front end contact and encourages officers to know the people living on the beat.

POLICE ENCOUNTERS WITH MENTALLY ILL CITIZENS

The Boston Globe Spotlight series on police encounters with the mentally ill cites one distraught parent who was quoted “I only wanted the police to disarm him not shoot him dead.” Unfortunately for this family, when faced with lethal violence it is the behavior of the subject that drives the ship in terms of what will or will not happen.  “When faced with a deadly situation, when there is a gun pointed at a cop, there is no time to go into mental health measures”. All too often people fail to see the cause – effect relationship between citizens with guns or other lethal weapons and the police officer response.  The use of force continuum follows the principle of causation by guiding police decision making based on the level of threat.

What came first the threat or the police action?  It is the primary action of the citizen the evokes the lethal response by police.  If citizens dropped weapons and listened to police officer directives during these high energy and chaotic events there would be fewer deaths.  To say they lack training in mental health is preposterous.  Almost as preposterous as saying if they were better parents the mentally ill subject might not aim his gun at police or threaten his mother with a knife.  No, the responsibility lies with the mental decision-making and subsequent behavior of the subject himself.  If mental illness drives the violent behavior than all weapons and substance use must be carefully controlled and eliminated.  When people attend psychotherapy sessions and 12-step recovery programs the proclivity for violence is greatly reduced.  Inevitably, drug abuse is a co-morbid factor that alters perception and fuels underlying anger and violent tendencies.  Who is responsible for this? When drug addition or alcoholism begin – all emotional growth including adult “problem solving” begins to fail until it is fraught with uncontrolled, impulsive violence. Rather than placing blame, greater emphasis on sobriety, counseling and developing emotional resiliency should be encouraged.

Lowery, W. (2015) DISTRAUGHT PEOPLE, DEADLY RESULTS: Officers often lack the training to approach the mentally unstable, experts say. http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/investigative/2015/06/30/distraught-people-deadly-results/?utm_term=.86e44d33dfab Taken March 5, 2017

Scene safety: crisis management and police training

Michael Sefton, Ph.D. Alcoholism, domestic violence, Human Behavior, Police officer behavior, SBC, Suicide by cop, use of force continuum , , , ,

 

WESTBOROUGH, MA  January 7, 2017 What happens once the “scene is safe”? Usually the hostile threat is taken into custody – either to jail or a hospital. In the aftermath of high stress events such as talking a violent alcoholic into surrendering there should be an opportunity to follow-up and bring closure.  In the time it takes to defuse a potentially lethal citizen encounter the police officer has established a connection – however slim it may be.  Aftermath intervention may go a long way to further validate the first steps taken with the initial encounter.  With such high incidence of polydrug abuse the threatened violence may take on a surprisingly banal theme and the importance of sobriety may be realized once the scene is safe.

Most officers are already highly skilled at using their verbal skills to de-escalate a violent perpetrator without using lethal force – even when a higher level of force may have been warranted.

I have been called to the same home over and over when a violent adult male became intoxicated and gradually overwhelmed and depressed.  Each time officers went to the residence there ended up being a fight.  We deployed OC spray on more than one occasion each of us getting the pepper in our eyes.  This man was hooked up and sent to the hospital time after time. Upon his return (usually within 1-2 days) he would have a short period of sobriety and slowly start drinking and abusing his father again resulting in the same battle we had days, weeks, months ago. Interseting to me was that the younger man was quite reasonable when he was sober. He had no interest in seeing a therapist – nor could he afford one.  The important question to me was what steps could be taken to link this guy to a 12-step alcohol (and drug) recovery program? There were meetings in our town and they were free.  I thought if he could meet a sponsor than hs abuse of his father might be reduced.  In any case, sooner or later someone was going to get seriously injured on a call at this home.  We had heard rumors of him wanting to commit suicide by cop.

Community policing has long espoused the partnership between police and citizens said Sefton in December 2013.  The positive benefits to this create bridges between the two that may benefit officers at times of need – including the de facto extra set of eyes when serious crimes are reported. The same goes for crisis management.  The relationships you build while in the community can serve to help soften the scene and slow down an escalating person of interest who may be looking for a fight.  Violence often occurs after a period of brooding isolation that is fueled by alcohol and a bolus of rage.

Police officers are regarded as the front line first responders to family conflict and DV.  Now they are being trained to better interact with those thought to be mentally ill.  For better or worse, the police have an opportunity to effect change whenever they enter into the potentially hostile foray.  This affords them a window into the chaos and the opportunity to bring calm to crisis.

“To say that it is because they lack training in techniques of crisis de-escalation is short sighted” Sefton 2015

Michael Sefton, Ph.D. Childhood violence, Dangerousness assessment, domestic violence, Human Behavior, Police officer behavior, use of force continuum , , , , ,

WESTBOROUGH, MA  October 28, 2015 “To say that it is because they lack training in techniques of crisis de-escalation that some deaths may have been prevented is unfair and short sighted.” This quote was first published in the summer 2015 when people (perhaps in the media) first started calling for police officer training in mental health awareness and de-escalation training for police officers. One source actually suggested providing more training in mental health de-escalation and less training in the use of force – including firearms. Some wrongly believe that this “sensitivity training” will reduce the number of officer involved shootings with those who are known to be mentally ill.  Unfortunately police shootings of mentally ill suspects has been on the rise in the past 12-18 months.  Yet the use of force in police work continues to enter the collective consciousness when images of police officers acting aggressively toward defiant high school student go viral on social media.

SRO aggression
School Resource Officer take down of resistant student from posted You Tube video

Arguably, when the police are called to keep the peace or investigate a violent person call they are required to meet this threat with heightened vigilance for personal and citizen safety.  When a violent person is encountered the use of force continuum comes into play.  In the case of the Columbia, SC high school student who was aggressively choked and slammed to the floor while seated at her desk, the school resource officer was rightfully fired. The student posed no immediate threat such that hands on tactics were required to control a menacing suspect. In this case, the student was angry at being told she needed to put away her cell phone and was defiant to teacher direction. The police were called to the classroom as a show of force when neither the teacher nor the administrator could redirect her behavior.

If the violent person is actively aggressive or menacing with threat of lethal injury to the police or others than there is unlikely going to be any successful de-escalation until the threat of lethal force is eliminated.  If the violent person responds to officer directives to cease and desist all violent action and submit to being taken into protective custody or arrest – only then can mental health assessment be initiated. At the moment of crisis the need for public safety in all violent situations supersedes the individual need for care of a mentally ill person.  In the case of the South Carolina high school student no such threat existed but non-physical tactics were ineffectively deployed. The officer may have been able to diffuse the situation with empathy, understanding, and firm authority. The arrest could not be made without a higher degree of force for an actively resistant student that first punched the police officer.

Sefton, M. (2015) Blog post taken 10-28-2015 https://msefton.wordpress.com/2015/08/23/calling-for-de-escalation-training/