Criminal justice personnel are considered ‘professionals’ when they follow the standards and training protocols of the profession. In America, law enforcement continues to be one of the most challenging jobs, forever balancing the rights of the accused with the safety of the community. Consider that with over 800,000 law enforcers, sharing a 7 day work week, 24 hours a day there are surprisingly few incidents of police corruption and abuse. It is precisely because of training and standards that America has moved into the forefront of professional policing on a global scale.
With the steady increase of cameras in the community, citizens are able to monitor law enforcers as they do their jobs daily. Problems and indiscretions are quickly recorded these days with the use of a simple cell phone. This creates many questions that deserve immediate answers. As a police trainer for over twenty two years, I have visited agencies throughout the world and have provided hands on technical training in the most litigious area of police liability…use of force. I have played a role in professionalizing the occupation through rigorous training and intensive program development. Working with law enforcers on five continents has given me a unique understanding of our unique American style of policing that has become a world model.
It has often been said that the “devil is in the details” and this saying may never be truer than when discussing a use of force encounter in court. My experience provides me the skills to dissect encounters and provide technical instruction in how to appropriately use force, weigh alternatives, evaluate stress action and reaction, all within a legal framework put in place through decades of positive and negative police and corrections field use. It is this technical understanding that both police officials and attorneys value when training, prosecuting, defending or bringing a civil action to the court.
Contact me to discuss your situation.