chutchinson

Increasingly trainers are using videos of officer involved incidents during new officer training. I personally use several different videos during my training. However I am also seeing an increase in trainers misusing videos in class. I this article I plan to discuss my viewpoints on how to get the most out of videos.

First of all make sure you know the whole story. If you do not know the full story behind a video then don’t use it. Recently I heard that a major security company in Alberta was using the centennial bridge shooting as part of their training. Unfortunately the information they gave to their students was incorrect. The new officers were told that the officer responded to a suicidal man on the bridge. What actually happened was the officer was stopping the man because he was a suspect in a violent assault that had just occurred 15 minutes prior. Does this change anything? Absolutely! It changes the whole dynamic of the interaction. It changes the justification of the officers actions at the start and its a great way to get your officers thinking about what they would do in a similar situation.

In the video when the suspect attacks the officer the fight moves off camera. At this point a man jumps over the hood of a police car to help the officer. The man is an off duty detective from a neighbouring city. What you can’t see on the video is that the suspect is choking the officer and biting his eyebrow off. Yes you read that correctly. The suspect bites the officers eyebrow off (I have a picture of the officer. The picture is quite graphic and shows the extent of the damage that was done). If your officers are never told what is happening off camera does this change things? Absolutley! It is the whole justification for the off duty detective shooting the offender twice to stop the attack. You now have a great talking point on the use of deadly force. You also have a great scenario to role play or at least discuss. Basically if you don’t know the facts of the case then don’t use the video. It destroys your credibility as a trainer. Also if you know the facts make sure you are telling your officers. It’s no good only giving them half of the information

Secondly the security company that was showing this video was telling their new officers what the officer involved did wrong. This is something I cannot stand. When we are watching these videos we have the benefit of 20-20 hindsight. We are under no stress and we can put our full attention into the video. The officer has many other concerns and does not know the end result. The officers is involved in an incident that is, to quote the U.S Supreme Court “tense, uncertain and rapidly evolving.” Instead of picking flaws with the officers actions make an effort to find learning opportunities. Talk about environmental awareness and pre-attack indicators. The suspect in the bridge shooting displayed many pre-attack indicators however most officers are not trained on how to pick them up. Now you can show the officers the video again and just focus on the suspect’s body language. Teach your officers what to look for. (I will do an article one day about pre-attack indicators) and don’t judge the officers. They are all brave men and women and deserve our respect. Learn what you can from the video but do not judge those involved.

Thirdly avoid videos that have been edited or cut down. Try to get the whole video. For those of you that have not seen the centennial bridge shooting here is a link to the full video: http://blutube.policeone.com/Media/4...idge-shooting/

I love using videos in training. Videos allow officers to see real life events and learn from them. They can hold people’s attention better than most other types of learning. However be careful when using them. Don’t show a video and move on. Show a video and take it apart piece by piece. Watch the suspect’s actions. Watch the communication between the officer and suspect. Use the video to start discussions about these sorts of things. Remind your officers that the video does not tell the whole story and that we should be careful to leap to conclusions. The officers are doing a hard job and some give their life in the video. Be respectful when talking about the officer. We are fortunate to have the video and be able to use it for training. Even if you are not a trainer, watch the videos and start doing when/then thinking. Mentally rehearse the scenario and put yourself in the officer’s shoes. While watching some videos I get an adrenaline dump. I imagine myself swapping places with the officer and try to imagine what the officer is going through. If we can get that type of reaction just watching the video imagine what the officer is going through.

Stay Safe,

Chris H