From Force Science Research Center:
Force Science News #69
April 6, 2007
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HOW TO COMBAT MYTHS THAT MUDDLE FORCE CONFRONTATIONS
Part 2 of a 2-part series
[EDITOR'S NOTE: In Transmission No. 68, sent on 3/26/07, we explored
dangerous myths about police use of force that movies, TV, and video
games have brainwashed civilians and some LEOs into believing.
Our report quoted a provocative article by Det. Cmdr. Jeffry Johnson of
the Long Beach (CA) PD, "Use of Force and the Hollywood Factor," which
now appears in full at:
http://www.aele.org/law/2007-04MLJ501.pdf.
In this continuation of our report, Johnson argues what's necessary to
counteract these misconceptions, which can negatively impact how
officers react in life-threatening situations and how their actions are
judged by civilian evaluators.]
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"After a high-profile use of force, more civilians than sworn personnel
are going to be judging your actions," Johnson told Force Science News.
As members of review boards, prosecutors' staffs, juries, and the media,
they'll determine what's reasonable and therefore justified and what's
unreasonable and therefore criminal.
"A very thin line" often separates the good from the bad, and drawing it
properly demands realistic knowledge of the true dynamics of force
challenges and applications in street confrontations.
Unfortunately, Johnson writes, "[s]imple fair-mindedness coupled with
the experience of watching a lot of cop shows does not qualify a
civilian to analyze force incidents." As things now stand, "much of the
community is quite frankly unprepared to judge police force....
"No one is suggesting that police agencies take a step backward and
exclude or discourage [civilian] involvement and input." But, Johnson
argues, agencies do need to launch aggressive educational campaigns to
better assure that civilian influences are grounded in a solid
understanding of valid force principles.
Specifically, he offers this strategy for LE administrators:
1. "The first target should be civilians who already have a direct hand
in judging force incidents." These include personnel boards, force
review commissions, prosecutors, and the like.
Their education "does not need to include extensive weaponless defense
training, practical firearms instruction, endless scenarios, case law
and statutory law review," Johnson explains. "[B]ut it is critical they
understand what reasonable force should look like."
During a single 8-hour presentation, say, critical training elements
could "include a force options explanation (i.e., force continuum or
paradigm), basic laws of arrest, role-playing, Hollywood Factor
misconceptions, review of police force statistics and data, and a
question-answer session." It would also be effective to include
"components like firearms tactical simulation training or police
ride-alongs" as reality checks.
2. Apart from educating these "official" civilians, "build a cadre of
trained people who will come to your support" after a significant force
incident.
"This is key," Johnson says. In a controversial, high-profile case,
"you're going to have a lot of people descend on your town or arise from
within it with an agenda. They'll be eager to 'explain' video of the
incident to the public" in a way that's likely to be much different from
your experienced interpretation. Having respected voices from outside
your department who can knowledgeably challenge distortions can be
invaluable.
3. Seize opportunities to educate the broader general public, including
the media, through such venues as community academies, town hall
meetings and forums, neighborhood watch groups, and other civic and
faith-based gatherings. "Non-cops are very interested in the police
world," Johnson says. Even in a 2-hour presentation, much can be done to
dispel force myths, like those mentioned in Part 1 of this series. "Mix
in some videos from 'Cops' and let people see things as they really are."
At the scene of a force encounter, assuming there's time and that you're
not dealing with a hostile crowd, it may pay dividends to "take a few
moments and explain to civilian witnesses why you did what you did,"
Johnson suggests. You may be able to blunt the impact of "something that
doesn't look right by their standards" and get them to better understand
that "using force isn't about being sporting but about establishing
control in a dangerous situation."
Similarly, if you had to lay hands on a subject but ultimately didn't
arrest him, a few words of calm explanation may help forestall a bitter
misunderstanding.
"There are always going to be people you can't reach, no matter what you
do. The media will always want to show the ugly videos. But you can
balance them by educating people who want to understand and want to have
confidence in the police. It's going to take work, but you can make
inroads."
4. Police managers "must not be shy or apologetic about the fact that
the real force evaluation experts come from within [LE] ranks. Just as
an experienced surgeon is the best person to judge another surgeon's
incision and technique where there is an allegation of malpractice, so
an experienced police officer and force expert is most qualified to
judge--or at least offer a forensic analysis of--a force incident,"
Johnson writes.
"This is no great insight," he admits. But much of the LE community has
been "so intensely scrutinized and brow-beaten"--not to mention
horrified by riots, civil unrest, and angry protest sparked by major
force incidents in recent years--that "we've backed away from force issues.
"We somehow abdicated our role as the experts on what's reasonable force
so we wouldn't look brutal or insensitive to the community. This created
a vacuum, and critics of the police and people with agendas have filled it."
Johnson stresses: "This issue should not be trivialized.... [O]f course
individual officers and police agencies need to be willing to submit to
scrutiny. However, the scrutiny must be fair, and based upon an
objective standard."
Police managers should not be "fearful to assert their expertise, as if
in doing so [they] will appear less objective and risk their own
political survival." An agency certainly should not ignore a bad
shooting, he emphasizes, "but you should not be reluctant to assert
reasonableness. You have to be able to say, 'We did it right and it's ok
and here's why.'"
5. "Finally," Johnson writes, "police officers must also be
educated....[T]hey are not immune from the effects of the Hollywood
Factor. A failure to fully appreciate these misconceptions can result in
serious injury....
"[D]o you think it is important for an officer to appreciate that when
he shoots a suspect, the reaction will likely be very different than
what he has seen all his or her life on television? Such training is
currently not provided in most academies or advanced officer training."
For their own safety and to convey accurate information "to the
community they contact on a daily basis," officers need to be "aware of
the laws and mechanics of force. Cops need to understand more about what
a gunfight is really like, including what physiological changes they go
through." (This, incidentally, is a primary mission of the Force Science
Research Center at Minnesota State University-Mankato and of the Force
Science seminars conducted by executive director Dr. Bill Lewinski.)
Also officers need to be better schooled in describing force encounters
in their reports, Johnson says. For example, the "fatigue threshold,"
when you're "suddenly out of gas and most vulnerable in a struggle," is
rarely mentioned, yet can be a vital factor in justifying an escalation
of force if you feel you are approaching a dangerous level of
exhaustion, Johnson points out.
"Documenting the hell out of" the suspect's actions and what you were
experiencing can be essential to recreating a picture of a force
encounter "from the perspective of the officer on the scene," part of
the standard for assessing reasonableness established by the Supreme
Court's landmark force decision, Graham v. Connor.
Without proactive educational measures inside and outside of agencies,
the polarizing disconnect between police and public perspectives about
the reasonableness of force seems destined only to get worse.
The mythic distortions embedded in the civilian mind by the
entertainment industry are likely to become "progressively more severe
and graphic each year in order to maintain the public's interest and
ensure box office profits," Johnson writes. At the same time, public
exposure to disturbing real-life images of police force will increase.
With cameras in police cars, on street corners, on TASERs, in cell
phones, and no doubt soon on guns, "there will be very few incidents in
the future that won't be on tape," Johnson told FSN. "We're going to see
more and more encounters where we have to explain what we're doing."
The longer Hollywood's force myths go unchallenged, the harder those
explanations will be.
[NOTE: One dramatic step toward public education will be the recently
announced National Law Enforcement Museum, a 90,000-sq.-ft. facility
scheduled to open in 2011 in Washington, DC, under sponsorship of the
National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. Emphasizing
interactivity, the museum's highlights will include a "judgment
simulator," where visitors can "make split-second decisions on the use
of lethal and less-lethal force," and a "Cop Critique Theatre," where
real-life LEOs will offer "insightful commentary about their fictional
colleagues on TV and in the movies." For detailed information and a
virtual tour, check out:
http://www.nleomf.com/TheMuseum/museum.htm.]
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--
Stephen P. Wenger
Firearm safety - It's a matter
for education, not legislation.
http://www.spw-duf.info
