Taser Meyer Knockdowns in the New Millennium
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Knockdowns in the New Millennium Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 1 LEARNING OBJECTIVES • • Understand the relationship between selection of tools/tactics and injuries to officers and suspects. • Learn the injury-reduction philosophy. • Learn more about in-custody deaths. • Learn about policy and training to reduce injuries • Learn about the Injury-Reduction Use-of-Force Chart • Learn a six-step strategy for implementation of the injury-reduction philosophy. Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 2 WE’LL LOOK AT . . . •Policy •Training •Equipment •Tactics •Supervision •Review Processes Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 3 THE MISSION: • • • • Greg Meyer Fewer and less severe injuries to suspects and officers Reduced civil liability and complaints Reduced disability time and pensions An improved public image for your law enforcement agency 800-453-5518 4 Use of Force 101 When can an officer use force ?????? Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 5 WHEN DO WE USE FORCE? • • • • • Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 To make an arrest To protect self or others To prevent escape To overcome resistance To protect the suspect! 6 Use of Force 101 How much force can an officer use ??? Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 7 HOW MUCH FORCE DO WE USE? Greg Meyer • REASONABLE ! • Graham v. Connor -- police use of force incidents are “tense, uncertain, and rapidly evolving” 800-453-5518 8 Use of Force 101 Why would an officer use force ??? Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 9 WHY DO WE USE FORCE? Greg Meyer • CONTROL !!! • Control is safer for you and me • Uncontrolled situations are dangerous 800-453-5518 10 DEADLY FORCE Greg Meyer • Will continue to be an option • Armed criminals • “Suicide by cop” 800-453-5518 11 The Injury-Reduction Philosophy Officers must use only that force which is reasonable. The most reasonable force is the type that gets the job done and results in the least injury to officers and suspects. Nonlethal weapons have been proven to be effective knockdown tools which result in fewer and less severe injuries to suspects and officers than conventional police tactics. Therefore nonlethal weapons should be used before conventional tactics whenever the dynamics of the situation allow the officer to have a choice. Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 12 The Study Nonlethal Weapons v. Conventional Police Tactics: The LAPD Experience Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 13 The Study * 502 use of force incidents involving: Baton Taser Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 Kick Spray Punch Flashlight “Misc.” Swarm 14 Effective Force Type No Injury Taser/Gas Effects Only Minor Injury Moderate Injury Major Injury TOT AL Baton 24 0 24 66 7 121 Kick 20 0 9 12 0 41 Punch 6 0 5 15 1 27 Misc. Bodily Force 51 0 20 58 6 135 Flashlight 4 0 0 14 6 24 Swarm 33 0 3 10 1 47 Chemical Spray (CS/CN) 0 18 1 0 0 19 Taser 0 88 0 0 0 88 TOTAL 138 106 62 175 21 502 Suspect Injuries Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 15 Officer Injuries Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 Effective Force Type No Injury Taser/Gas Effects Only Minor Injury Moderate Injury Major Injury TOTAL Baton 99 0 4 10 8 121 Kick 36 0 0 3 2 41 Punch 19 0 0 5 3 27 Misc. Bodily Force 109 0 5 13 8 135 Flashlight 20 0 3 1 0 24 Swarm 39 0 1 6 1 47 Chemical 14 5 0 0 0 19 Taser 88 0 0 0 0 88 TOTAL 424 5 13 38 22 502 16 Injury-Based Use of Force Chart Officer's Response Expected Injury Deadly or GBI Attack, or Fleeing Felon Rule Deadly Force Death or Serious Injury Attacks Officer, and Unable to Use OC/Taser Baton, Kick, Other Impact Moderate to Major Aggressive Resistance, and Unable to Use OC/Taser/Swarm Tackle, Leg Sweep or Aggressive Compliance Holds (e.g., PPCT/Carotid/LVNR) Minor to Major Bizarre Resistance, and Unsafe to Approach, PCP/Psycho/Etc. Taser, Swarm None to Moderate Defiance of Verbal, Plus Credible Threat OC (Pepper Spray), Stun Gun None to Minor Passive Resistance, Drunk PickUp Firm Grip or Passive Compliance Holds None Cooperative Presence, Verbalization None Suspect's Actions Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 17 Suspect's Actions Greg Meyer Officer's Response Expected Injury Attacks Officer, and Unable to Use OC/Taser Baton, Kick, Other Impact Moderate to Major Aggressive Resistance, and Unable to Use OC/Taser/Swarm Beanbag, Tackle, Leg Sweep or Aggressive Compliance Holds (e.g., PPCT/Carotid/LVNR) Minor to Major Bizarre Resistance, and Unsafe to Approach, PCP/Psycho/Etc. Taser, Swarm None to Moderate Defiance of Verbal, Plus Credible Threat OC (Pepper Spray), Stun Gun None to Minor 800-453-5518 18 NOTHING AWAYS WORKS ! Greg Meyer • No 100% fail-safe tools or tactics • All might lead to injury or death • “Stuff Happens” 800-453-5518 19 DON’T TALK THEM TO DEATH !!!! Greg Meyer • Verbalization usually works, not always. • Stand-offs degenerate into shootings • Continued verbal vs. aggressive takedown 800-453-5518 20 USE DECISIVE FORCE Greg Meyer • No one wins a long fight • Get it over with fast in order to . . . • Minimize injuries and bystander trauma 800-453-5518 21 DOING IT WRONG • • • • • • Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 Public will not accept or support you! Civil disobedience, riots Front pages forever Sacrificial lambs of various ranks $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Intra-agency finger-pointing 22 POLICY Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 23 Local Govt. Policy Making It would be more “‘cost effective’ for the city to settle claims for broken bones of combative suspects who are hit with batons rather than to pay settlements” in chokehold cases. --L.A. Councilman Robert Farrell Los Angeles times, 10/7/81 Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 24 Local Govt. Policy: The Results Greg Meyer • Injuries to suspects went UP 661%. • Injuries to officers went UP 521%. • The Chief’s request to modify the policy was ignored by the City Council. • A HUGE GAP was created in the use-of-force policy; baton striking techniques became the number-one tool. 800-453-5518 25 POLICY = COMMITMENT • • • • • • • Greg Meyer More than what comes out of a thick book Commitment to human life Commitment to reduced deaths/injuries Commitment to reduce public liability Commitment to maintain public credibility Commitment to learn from mistakes Commitment to professional employees 800-453-5518 26 TRAINING Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 27 TRAINING • • • • • • • Greg Meyer DYNAMIC Interactive Performance based Confidence building Realistic situation simulations Refreshed Recorded 800-453-5518 28 www.aele.org Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 29 www.aslet.org Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 30 EQUIPMENT Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 31 FORCE OPTIONS ??? Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 32 Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 33 Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 34 Pepper Spray Effectiveness • • Less effective on druggies than on those who were drunk, mentally ill, belligerent or combative Odds of failure were found to be 2.5 times greater when used on druggies --NIJ study of pepper spray incidents in Baltimore Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 35 Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 36 THE IDEAL NONLETHAL WEAPON Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 • Hand-held • Single officer • Immediately available • Maintains distance • Temporarily incapacitates • Noninjurious (compared to impact devices) • Affects only the intended target • Easy to train • Easy to maintain • R E L I A B L E knockdown capability 37 Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 38 Question: If we can put a man on the moon and return him safely to Earth, why can’t we put a man on the ground and take him safely to jail??? Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 39 Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 40 Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 41 Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 42 32 Cal. Stinger® Rubber Balls Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 Drag Stabilized Round 2x2 Bean Bag Round 43 s:: eo., ~ eo., l::::) ~ - -.- ~ s:: ~ , r;; ~ I ~ ~. -.--.. ~ "U :::=l I ~ I § ....... ~ :t> C ~ I :::=l PHOTO / ROY HUNTINGTON Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 0 :n '\::3 ........ 44 Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 45 Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 46 Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 47 EQUIPMENT • • • • • Greg Meyer Best available for flexible response Readily available at the user level Never deployed with untrained personnel Properly maintained Inspection records 800-453-5518 48 TACTICS Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 49 Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 50 TACTICS • • • • • • Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 TIME V. DISTANCE Stand-off situations Sudden attacks Don’t “talk them to death” Lethal-force back-up Arrest tactics v. defensive tactics 51 Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 52 RELUCTANCE TO USE FORCE Greg Meyer • Front page of your local paper, six-o’clock news. • Lawsuits. • Federal consent decrees • Peer pressure to be less proactive • Administrative pressure to avoid adverse incidents 800-453-5518 53 Sudden In-Custody Death • On the ground • In the back seat of your police car • In your holding tank • In your jail Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 54 Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 55 CUSTODY DEATHS Greg Meyer • Typically it’s the drugs (coke, meth, PCP) • Excited delirium = acute exhaustive mania • Immediate medical treatment suggested 800-453-5518 56 Excited Delirium, etc. • “Excited delirium” is a term psychiatrists use for people who flip out. It takes about six officers to restrain such a person.” • “Acute exhaustive mania” is the same thing --Dr. Charles Wetli Suffolk, NY Medical Examiner Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 57 When do they happen? • • • • • • • Greg Meyer After a violent altercation of any sort After being hog-tied After being pepper-sprayed After being Tasered or stun-gun After a neck-hold After you think they’ve calmed down After they have emergency medical help 800-453-5518 58 Prevention of In-Custody Death • • • • • • Get them OFF their bellies . . . NOW!!! Avoid a “full hog-tie”!!! Have one person monitor...FULL TIME!!! Get them emergency medical treatment!!! Be especially aware of cocaine, PCP, methamphetamines, schizophrenia The big ones will have THE BIG ONE!!! Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 59 DANGER SIGNS ! a. “Fatalistic Mindset” of the violator. b. 3-minute or longer fight c. Drugs on board d. Obesity e. Increased ambient and/or body temperature (Bob Bragg, Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission) Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 60 What Happened??? • “In-custody deaths are multi-factorial; they look bad on TV...it does not necessarily mean that the restraint methods caused the --Dr. Charles Wetli death.” • 44 cases in Miami: 22 white male; 21 black male; 1 black female Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 61 Miami Deaths: Common Factors • • • • • • • ALL had cocaine in their systems No neck-holds were used Cardiac arrest usually after calmed down Hyperthermia (104-108 degrees) Cocaine blood-level range: .05 - 11.8 mg/L Tend to be chronic cocaine users on binge Only seven of 44 were hog-tied Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 62 San Diego: Common Factors “In all eleven cases, the subject was PRONE at the time of cardiac arrest.” -- Dr. Brian Blackborne Chief Medical Examiner, San Diego Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 63 SUPERVISION Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 64 SUPER VISION • • • • • Supervisors must supervise !!! Guide, train, direct, motivate Inspire, explain, encourage Hold people accountable Negligent retention of negligent supervision Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 65 REVIEW PROCESSES Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 66 REVEW PROCESSES • • • • • • Greg Meyer Systematic and system-wide Compare performance to policy Value continuous improvement Thorough debriefings Thorough investigations Include your trainers !!! 800-453-5518 67 ETHICAL EXPERTS AND ATTORNEYS Greg Meyer • Don’t use hookers • Use experts and attorneys to help evaluate systems and practices • After litigation, “close the loop” 800-453-5518 68 YOUR HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT (Sorry about that, Chief!) • Examine your own agency’s use-of-force incidents. What types of tools and tactics are being used, in what situations? What types of injuries are resulting to your officers and your suspects? Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 69 YOUR HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT (Sorry about that, Chief!) • What are the costs of litigation and officer disabilities resulting from your agency’s use-of-force incidents? $?$?$?$?$ Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 70 YOUR HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT (Sorry about that, Chief!) • Grade yourself and your agency on the Six Steps for Law Enforcement Decision Makers Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 71 HOW YA MANAGIN’??? SIX STEPS FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT DECISION MAKERS Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 72 SIX STEPS 1. Recognize the need to adopt more humane knockdown tools and tactics. Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 73 SIX STEPS 2. Greg Meyer Make a solid commitment to reducing injuries to suspects and officers. 800-453-5518 74 SIX STEPS 3. Greg Meyer Acquire one or more effective, available nonlethal weapons. 800-453-5518 75 SIX STEPS 4. Greg Meyer Put less injurious tools and tactics lower on your continuum. 800-453-5518 76 SIX STEPS 5. Train to win! Dynamic v. static Have a back-up plan Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 77 SIX STEPS 6. Greg Meyer Require officers to explain why they used a more injurious knockdown weapon or tactic instead of a less injurious one. 800-453-5518 78 REALITY!!! Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 79 Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 80 DEDICATED PROFESSSIONALS • • Greg Meyer Use force in good faith Use force in a reasonable manner 800-453-5518 81 Knockdowns in the New Millennium Greg Meyer 800-453-5518 82
