I’ve been hearing this a lot lately, “officers are using excessive force due to lack of training.” I’m hearing it from cops, retired cops, and fired cops… Frankly, I think that is false.
How can you call an officer’s response “excessive” when that response is the only thing they have to offer. It is not “excessive,” it might be inappropriate, or non-optimal, but not excessive. It is the only response they have available with the circumstances.
Hold on, wait, wait, wait... before you start trolling or “excessive forcing me.”
We are seeing inappropriate / non-optimal force that is extremely opposite of “excessive.” I mean running away from the fight instead of control the subject.
With the toxic setting law enforcement is finding itself in today and the way media spins statements and situations, we must be more careful with our wording of statements we put out there, especially current or retired officers.
Do law enforcement officers need more training? YES, I am a law enforcement trainer and I scream this from the mountain tops: you have to train in this line of work!
Do law enforcement officers need more options between police presence/verbal commands and deadly force? YES, we are setting our girls and guys up for failure with the level of training we are giving them. Lets get our troops more comfortable with less-lethal options, lets get them more competent with going hands on, let’s teach them to never run away from the threat (not talking tactical retreat here).
Here is the point of my soapbox, let’s not call an officer’s inappropriate/non-optimal response “excessive force,” lets call it what it is and let’s not forget about the other end of the spectrum, not enough force when holding the line.
Khillah
CenturionMSC.com