Trainings and Workshops

Managing Arrest Related Deaths and Associated Liability (16 hours)

Instructor:  Darrell L. Ross, Ph.D.

November 29-30; 8 am - 5 pm each day (16 hours)

Location: Student Union Meeting Room 3 & 4 (2nd Floor past the food Court)

  Register Here

Recent high dollar awards from civil suits and criminal prosecutions of officers, continues to demonstrate that an ARD is critical high liability topic requiring updated training. An ARD involves numerous complex issues including: response to the mentally impaired and to the chemically impaired person, the officers’ response and the use of force and restraint options employed, issues surrounding the death investigation, the cause and manner of death, agency policy, training and supervision issues, and numerous emerging liability issues associated with the death. This course blends an examination of the current status of the scientific research on the subject matter (lab & field), the officer’s field application of the use of force in these violent encounters, emerging issues, and an assessment of how the courts apply various liability principles to an ARD. Case studies and field incidents will be discussed. Participates will able to return to their agency with advanced subject knowledge, and with the ability to revise policy, training, and improve field response. Law enforcement and corrections administrators, officers, supervisors, instructors, investigators, risk managers, and attorneys should attend.   

Course Description

While very rare in occurrence, law enforcement temporal arrest-related deaths (ARDs) involve numerous and complex issues including: capture, control, and restraint; law enforcement officers’ (LEO’s) use of force (UoF) and force and restraint options; contributors and causes, and manners of death; law enforcement agency (LEA) policies, procedures, guidance, and training issues, first-responder planning and coordination, investigations of these deaths, foreseeable consequences, and emerging liability issues.

A variety of case decisions across the federal appellate courts have impacted the UoF landscape, particularly as it applies to ARDs, restraint equipment, and the use of intermediate weapons, including Conducted Energy Weapons (CEW). Public and media scrutiny and criticism routinely follow such events. Too often officers are criminally prosecuted. Civil lawsuits are commonly filed and various liability issues emerge. This presentation examines the liability trends and the outcomes of published 42 U.S.C. § 1983 UoF and ARD litigation involving over 1,500 cases. The recent trends in criminal prosecution of involved LEOs is also addressed. Over 30 variables are discussed and case studies are assessed (videos and written summaries).

The presentation provides assessments of ARD-related case decisions involving prone restraint, weight force, various restraint devices, CEWs and other intermediate weapons, and cases involving multiple-officer response. Law enforcement response to the mentally impaired and those under the influence of chemical substances, including excited delirium syndrome (ExDS) based on the current scientific research are discussed. Common liability issues and the force criteria applied by the courts are addressed, as well as examining policy and training issues, assessing LEO UoF decision making/field applications, and applicable supervisory issues are also examined. Participates will be able to return to their LEA to update policy, training, and improve field response.

Course Objectives

The objective of the presentation is to examine the common trends and outcomes of published 42 U.S.C. § 1983 litigation regarding ARDs after the use of various UoF equipment and techniques. The presentation will assess the patterns of the force criteria applied by the courts. The objective includes broadening attendees UoF liability knowledge as they relate to factors temporally associated with ARDs. Objectives include:

• Preparing and analyzing objective ARD timelines (pre-incident to conclusion of final legal appeals)
• Understanding the rarity and numbers (frequencies) of ARD-related events
• Understanding where ARD complications arise (importance of the science, legal procedures, law, and scientifically inept decisions and foreseeable consequences)
• Examining the liability outcomes and trends of 1,500 published 42 U.S.C. § 1983 cases during seizure and detention situations
• Examining the variances and trends in application of the Graham and Kingsley standards and additional criteria used by federal circuits in assessing claims of excessive force, restraints, intermediate weapons, providing medical aid, duty to protect
• Examining the current status of the scientific research and the association with ARDs, uses of varying force options and equipment, and the impact on courts’ decision making
• Examining the common trends of subject behaviors, including the mentally impaired, those under the influence of a chemical substance, and subjects showing Hyper-Delirium with Severe Agitation features and mind-body disconnect who LEOs confront in ARD incidents
• Examining the trends of common liability variables courts often assess, courts’ threat risk analysis model, and review courts’ decisions
• Examining case study examples, incident and media videos
• Examining policy and training implications which emerge from these cases as well as preparing the LEOs’ reporting
• Describing recommended strategies for field decision making, LEOs’ responses and reports, and supervisory reviews, and
• Describing strategies for preparing for court testimony

 

Strategies for Managing the Marginal Performer (8 hours) 

Instructor:  Darrell L. Ross, Ph.D.

Date:  TBD  8 am - 5 pm (8 hours)

Location: TBD

 

  Register Here

 

 

Course Description
An ongoing concern for the law enforcement administrator is the issue of employee corrective action and discipline. Left unchecked an organization may suffer from apathy, low morale, low productivity, citizen complaints and concerns, and potential liability. Framed within the contours of risk management principles, this 8-hour administrative course examines managerial strategies for responding to the marginal performer.
This 8-hour course is designed to examine the many facets which may impact employee non-performance, organizational issues, leadership styles, job descriptions, policies and procedures, problem employees v. employee with a problem, marginal performers, civil service regulations, administrative expectations, liability issues, performance reviews, corrective actions and progressive discipline, efforts of remediation, suspensions, investigations, terminations, peer review of performance, and due process procedures. An emphasis on implementing an Early Identification and Intervention System (EIIS) and salvaging employees as warranted will be presented and a review of case studies will also be addressed.

Course Objectives

• Describe the core functions and competencies of administration
• Describe organizational issues impacting work productivity
• Describe the central issues of first line supervision with officer performance
• Describe administrative leadership styles
• Describing the job assessment process
• Describe the components of employee marginal performance and troubled employees
• Describe the potential liability concerns related to discipline, supervision, retention, and training
• Examining organizational policies, procedures, hiring practices, job descriptions, and FTO programs
• Describe the usage of performance evaluations and evaluation instruments with officers
• Describe the components of an Early Identification & Intervention System (EIIS)
• Describe the components of effective corrective action plans and efforts of remediation
• Describe the elements involved with investigations, due process rights, discipline, suspensions, and terminations
• Describing how to prepare for employment appeals and administrative hearings
• Reviewing case studies of employee performance, to apply managerial responses, and appropriate corrective strategies

 

Crisis Intervention Training (40 hours)

Instructor:  Bob Cox, GPSTC

TBD;  8 am - 5 pm each day (40 hours)

 Location: TBD

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Course Description

The Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) is a dynamic collaboration of professionals committed to people with mental illnesses and other brain disorders. The CIT program is sponsored by the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Georgia Department of Human Resources Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Addictive Diseases, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police, Georgia Sheriffs’ Association, Inc., and Georgia Public Safety Training Center. The program is successful because of its strong partnership of volunteers that include law enforcement and corrections officers, mental health professionals, advocates, consumers, and family members.

Law enforcement officers who are trained in CIT can effectively assist individuals with mental illnesses and other brain disorders who are in crisis, therefore advancing public safety and reducing the stigma commonly associated with mental illness. One of our major goals is to train 20% of Georgia law enforcement officers in CIT within the next few years. To achieve our mission, we will focus on the following objectives:

• Ensure that people with mental illnesses and other brain disorders always receive treatment
• Increase the number of local governments with community-based jail diversion programs
• Improve the quality and quantity of mental health services
• Protect the rights of people with mental illnesses and other brain disorders
• Promote adequate training for criminal justice system personnel about mental illness

Course Objectives

Day 1

• Welcome/Registration
• Overview of Crisis Intervention Teams
• Signs and Symptoms of Mental Illnesses
• Schizophrenia
• Major Depression and Bipolar Mood Disorders
• Personality Disorders
• Suicide Prevention, Intervention, and Aftercare
• Child and Adolescent Intervention
• Treatments of Psychiatric Illnesses

Day 2

• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder/Consumer Interviews
• Site Visit – Local State Psychiatric Hospital
• Site Visit – Local Emergency Receiving Facility

Day 3

• Addictive Diseases
• Co-Occurring Disorders
• Developmental Disabilities
• Alzheimer’s Disease
• De-Escalation Techniques (Part 1)

Day 4

• Consumer Perspectives
• Family Perspective
• De-Escalation Techniques (Part 2)
• Cultural Sensitivity
• Legal Issues and Mental Health Law

Day 5

• The Mental Health System/Community Resources
• De-Escalation Techniques (Part 3)
• Course Review
• Written Examination/Program Evaluation

 

Stress, Human Persormance, and Deadly Force Liability (16 hours)

Instructor:  Darrell L. Ross, Ph.D.

TBD

 Location: University Center, Cypress Room

  Register Here

 

There is a critical need to understand the dynamics of extreme stressful encounters and how they affect tactical field performance, particularly the use of deadly force. The first day, participants will review the research on stress and human performance, the dynamics of decision making under stress, liability case decisions emerging from claims of excessive force, and examine how the courts apply the Graham v. Connor (1989) criteria to associated human factors in deadly force encounters. The second day, participates will participate in use of force scenarios through the use of a force simulator and role playing in scenario-based training exercises.

Course Description

Police officers confronting a lethal force situation, or any extreme encounter, is not only a dangerous proposition but the stress of the encounter can impact decision making and field performance. The impact of stress affects varying individual but common human factors including physiological, psychological, cognitive processing, emotional responses, decision-making and the ability to apply appropriate motor skills. These responses have critical tactical ramifications for officers prior to the-event, during the event, and post event.

There is a critical need to understand the dynamics of extreme stressful encounters and how they affect tactical field performance, particularly the use of deadly force. Officers will be scrutinized by investigators, administrators, plaintiff’s counsel, the community, and the judicial system for their split-second decision making for several years. This two-day (16-hours) course addresses the science behind the human performance factors and their tactical implications associated with the stress of the incident.
Practical application of current human factor research to tactical field confrontations facing officers will be presented. The first day, participants will review the research on stress and human performance, the dynamics of decision making under stress, liability case decisions emerging from claims of excessive force, and examine how the courts apply the Graham v. Connor (1989) criteria to associated human factors in deadly force encounters. The second day, participates will participate in use of force scenarios through the use of a force simulator and role playing in scenario-based training exercises. Officers, administrators, trainers, and investigators will benefit from the course. 

Course Objectives

• Describe the status of US Supreme Court decisions on the application of deadly force
• Describe how the US Supreme Court and lower courts apply the Graham criteria and examine the officer’s perception in analyzing a claim of excessive force
• Describe the scientific research regarding perceptional formation under extreme stress
• Examine physiological responses and their impact on perceptional distortions on vision, hearing, contextual cues, reaction-time, multi-tasking, and memory
• Analyze the dynamics of officer behaviors, subject threat levels, the operational environment, and the associated tactical implications
• Describe the components of perceptions, misperceptions, and judgment under extreme stress
• Describe decision making variables associated with subject’s action and officer reactionary/response time
• Describe the interplay of the dynamics of extreme stress, cognitive processing, perceptional distortions, tactical decision-making, and motor skill response
• Examine the dynamics of human factors and the application of use of force case law decisions
• Describe the training and tactical implications associated with extreme stress encounters
• Participants will apply course principles by completing three scenario-based exercises