Hippos are Cop Killers

That is right; a hippo may be your greatest threat as a law enforcement officer. I know what you are thinking – well maybe not – but stay with me for just a few minutes and I’ll explain why the big adorable animal is a danger to you.

As trainers, it is our duty to provide our cops and cadets with the best information possible to keep them healthy and alive. We do a good job of pointing out the obvious threats to their survival that have always been in the forefront, but some of us do not want to talk about the elephant (or the hippo) in the room. Some instructors, and officers, may not even realize what some of the leading killers of officers are, but I can assure you that a new recruit has no idea unless someone tells them.

My daughter, Nadia, served as a missionary in 2009 right out of high school. I asked her why she wanted to be a missionary and she replied, “I’m not brave enough to be a police officer, Dad.” She spent two months in Mexico and another six months in Kenya and Uganda. I don’t know too many officers willing to drop everything andhead into the unknown of Mexico or Africa without a gun, a vest, or arrest powers. I told her she was more courageous than anyone I knew.

Once Nadia arrived in Mbita, Kenya she had limited contact with us through a satellite phone. She made it to an Internet Café one day and emailed some photos home. Being a paranoid and overprotective police officer dad, I immediately noticed the poorly stretched barbed wire in some of the photos. During our next phone call, I asked her if people in the area had been attacked by lions recently.  She just chuckled and replied “No dad, I haven’t even seen a lion yet.” I then asked her about hyenas, cheetahs, and tigers, but I received the same reply. She finally asked, “What are you worried about?”

As a farm kid, I stretched plenty of barbed wire around our fields, and it was always to keep something in, or something out. I asked her, “With layer after layer of barbed wire in your photos, the people are trying to keep something out; what is it?” Her reply came as a complete shock to me.

“Dad, the barbed wire is for the hippos. They kill way more people around here than lions, tigers, and crocodiles combined.” What was she talking about? I knew hippos quite well. I had played the game, Hungry Hungry Hippos as a kid and had seen their image thousands of times in toy stores as cute stuffed animals. I watched them gracefully swim at the zoo and heard the keeper call them a water horse.  I had never heard such an outrageous accusation against a more peaceful animal.That was because I was poorly informed about the real threat that hippos carry if you live around them on a daily basis.

Nadia was living on the shore of Lake Victoria in Kenya with 11 other missionaries and their hosts. The lake is about the size of my home state of Ohio and teaming with hippos and crocodiles.   Shockingly, hippos are far more dangerous than the crocodiles to humans. But I argued with her, “Hippos aren’t carnivores. That makes no sense.” Nadia confirmed that they were not carnivores, and in fact did not eat people. They just killed them.

As soon as they arrived on the shore line, the missionaries were cautioned about the 3-ton threat that gallops at 30 mph on land and is equally quick in the water. Hippos are far more territorial than other animals.   Getting between them and their young is a big mistake. Getting between them and the deep water is a big mistake. Getting in a boat and wandering into their area is a big mistake. It seems that being near a hippo in the wild is a big mistake. The creature that has been made into a cute mascot in America has killed more Africans than lions, crocodiles, and elephants combined.

Nadia’s closest encounter with hippos came with a boat ride across Lake Victoria to visit a rural village. Their hosts explained that most hippo deaths happened on the water while in small boats. The animal feels the boat is violating their territory and attacks from below, usually cutting the boat in half and crushing the victims as well. The missionaries were then told to yell out if they saw any shadows in the water – that will ease tensions. With civil wars and war lords killing people in these African nations, it can be easy to miss the hidden threats like hippos.

With 71 firearms related deaths last year, I would never tell anyone to lower their street survival training for cops and cadets. But, I am also reminded that there were 64 traffic-related fatalities and 42 deaths by other means last year. That is over 100 officers killed by something other than gunfire.  There are great resources to help trainers lower these statistics as well, and we should do all we can for our brothers and sisters in blue.

Here are just a few ways to increase the safety and longevity of your officers:

Legal Understanding

The more an officer understands their legal rights when dealing with suspects the safer they become. One example: Too many officers have the right to conduct a frisk for weapons under Terry v. Ohio and fail to handcuff the person during the limited search. Some feel that handcuffs equal an arrest, but that is not what the U.S. Supreme Court has said. If you can articulate and justify the right to frisk a suspect for weapons, you can easily justify the use of handcuffs as a safety measure until you are done. Too many police officers have been killed conducting a pat down of a person they believed was armed and dangerous because they allowed the person to keep their hands free. This is an issue that involves legal understanding as much as it does physical control techniques.

Wear Your Vest

This one seems simple enough to fix, but officers fail to wear their vests for different reasons. The only acceptable reason for you not to wear a protective vest should be the failure of your agency to provide one and your inability to afford the cost yourself. Consider taking out a loan if necessary to invest in your safety; it’s worth it. Fortunately there are organizations like http://www.VestForLife.com that provide used effective ballistic vests for free.  So, I am sure your family would agree with me, there is no reason for you not to wear a shield around your body that protects the organs that are vital to you, and them.

Drive Safely

This also seems as simple as telling someone to drive safely, but I have been in pursuits where my adrenaline was driving the car instead of my brain. I would be a hypocrite to say I always thought about the safety of myself and the innocent citizens around me when driving a police car. I did not, until I processed a fatal and unnecessary crash involving an officer and a minivan carrying a family. Drive your cruiser with your family in mind. They want you to make it home healthy and alive. For that to happen, you need to wear your seat belt and make sure you control your speed instead of allowing it to control you. For more information, check out the Below 100 campaign by visiting www.Below100.com.

Emotional Survival

In the book “CopShock” by Allen R. Kates we find out as many as one third of law enforcers become impaired by Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  When I mention the statistic to a class of veteran cops or academy cadets, I always have some doubters staring back at me. Back in 1990, research by Mann & Neece found the rates of PTSD among American police offers were as high as 35%. A few years later, a study (Miller, 1996) found that 69% of law enforcement officers who retired early left for psychological reasons.

If that is not convincing enough: Law enforcement personnel have been reported to have three times the rate of suicide, increased alcohol use and cardiovascular diseases, and twice the rate of divorce compared to the general population (Marmar et al., 2007; McCaslin et al., 2007).  And 94.5% of police recruits reported exposure to at least one critical incident during their first year of police service (Marmar et al., 2007). Research from “The Badge of Life” organization has shown that there are 140 to 150 police suicides each year, nearly three times more than that of officers killed by felonious means. While there have been great strides made, there is still much more to do in this area. But how much time in your academy and in-service training is dedicated to the emotional survival of your officers?  There are some great resources for agencies and trainers at www.LEOtrainer.com/suicide.

Are You Watching for Hippos or Just Lions?

People understand lions are dangerous because they have big teeth and they look dangerous. Many of the suspects we run into on the street are equally as scary looking and come across as an obvious danger to our safety. I believe we are doing better and better as instructors when it comes to preparing our cops and cadets to face dangerous people, but there are other dangers that need to be covered by us as well. If it is our intention for law enforcers to live happy and healthy lives we must do better.

Don’t take your eye off of the lions you run into, but always be aware of the hippos that unexpectedly attack from below. Point them out to other officers and add them to your in-service and academy training programs. Your officers, their families, and society will all benefit from your efforts.

The Reasons Why Women Should Never be Cops?

Recently, I was teaching a basic academy class in my home state of Ohio. We were deep into the 24 hour block on Community Diversity as I was covering different religious beliefs and how they affect an officer’s safety, a victim’s statement, and a suspect’s reactions to questioning. There was one student who really had trouble understanding how it would benefit him to understand the different people (along with their cultures), that he would soon be serving.

As I began to explain the beliefs of the Sikh religion – specifically, that they believe that women are equal to men in every way – the cadet blurted out, “Women shouldn’t be cops and we all know it.  They are window dressing and don’t have what it really takes to do police work.” As everyone turned to stare at him, he continued with his rant, “They just aren’t tough enough or brave enough.”

He seemed shocked when he did not receive the support he obviously expected from the rest of the class, especially that from the three female cadets who appeared to be planning his demise. Of course, all of his beliefs and vast amounts of wisdom were based on cop shows and movies, because that was the limit of his experience with policing. Fortunately for us in law enforcement training, everything they show about cops on TV is true – at least in this cadet’s mind.

I saw a great opportunity for the class to learn some important history about our profession that might help to change – or at least enlighten – a few attitudes. I started by asking the students to individually list the common myths and beliefs that some people hold about women in law enforcement. I had them list the reasons that make it harder for women to be cops, along with comments they have heard from others. The lists were fairly short and the same sentiments were repeated. I let the cadet who first spoke write them on the board. He titled the list “The Reasons Why Women Should Never be Cops.”

• Women are not strong enough to beat people up (Yes, most of them listed “beat people up,” so I also went to great lengths covering proper Use of Force and the 4^th Amendment with the group).
• Women are not brave enough to face danger without fear (They apparently thought we sprinkled pixie dust on each male cadet at the end of the academy to make them fearless – I never got my dose).
• Women are not good at investigating crimes and can’t intimidate bad guys into confessing (Too much TV had many of the cadets convinced that we still beat confessions out of everyone. Hopefully they don’t see any reruns of Andy Sipowicz on NYPD Blue).

After a vibrant (and nearly violent) class discussion, I began to tell the students a little known story of Ohio’s first female sheriff – Maude Collins. It was reported for years, that the first female to ever be elected as sheriff in the U.S. was Katherine Crumbly in 1976, but that history was inaccurate. Maude Collins held the office in 1925! She faced trials and tribulations as sheriff that few of us in law enforcement today could even imagine, and on top of that, it appears she dealt with them quite well.

On the evening of October 8^th, 1925 Sheriff Fletcher Collins of Vinton County, Ohio headed into neighboring Jackson County to serve a warrant on George Steele.  The man was wanted for a speeding violation and was located in a field by Sheriff Collins. A woman accompanied Steele that night and told the story as it unfolded. The Sheriff announced his intention to arrest Steele for the outstanding warrant, but the fugitive told the lawman he would not go peacefully. Collins started over a fence toward the couple when Steele leveled an unseen shotgun at the Sheriff, firing it once, and killing him. This tragic event would result in one of the most amazing stories of law enforcement tenacity I have ever heard.

Most of us can only imagine the horror that rips through the family of a fallen law enforcement officer. In 1925 there were no police chaplains, victim’s services, or survivor resources to help the family of Sheriff Collins. Fletcher had been married to his wife Maude for 11 years and the couple had 5 children -the oldest of which was 10 years old. The new widow soon started to pack, preparing to take her children to family members in West Virginia. She knew that the Appalachian country of Ohio was not an easy place to find work and raise a family for a single mother of 5, but that would quickly change.

Before Maude was able to leave she was visited by three county commissioners. One was reported to ask her “Where are you headed Maude, we just made you sheriff.” One can only imagine how the news was first received by the newly widowed woman, but history tells us of her answer. Maude became the first female sheriff in the State of Ohio in 1925, and in one of the most unlikely regions to hold such a position. There would not be another female to hold the office in any county of the state for another 50 years.

It takes enough courage to marry a law enforcement officer, but just imagine taking over their duties when they had been murdered, and with 5 children. We should not take it for granted that there were no day care centers, after school programs, or social services to help Maude raise her children. She not only took on the title of Sheriff – she fulfilled the duties of her office with true courage and professionalism. In one photo Sheriff Maude can be seen standing behind a moonshine stile that she and her deputies had just raided. She is standing with an axe in her hands indicating the method she preferred for preventing further production, but more interestingly is that one of her children can be seen holding onto her leg. We can have no idea what it must have been like for her to fulfill the duties of Sheriff and the duties of motherhood as a single parent in 1925. She is an inspiration of true grit.

Maude was a capable sheriff and not just a figurehead. She would go on to prove her worth as an investigator as well, when she was called upon to solve a double murder – what would still be considered a rare occurrence today in Vinton County. The cases would shock the community and draw the nation’s attention on the first female Sheriff of Ohio. She cleverly determined that the murderer had worn the victim’s shoes to leave misleading footprints at a crime scene. She explained her theory to her chief deputy and the county coroner. She noted that the impressions were not deep enough to be left by the heavy victim but could have been made by a lighter person wearing his shoes.  Sheriff Maude subsequently persuaded the female she had suspected all along to confess to wearing the shoes of another, who had previously been the primary male suspect, thereby solving a double homicide and gaining national fame when the case was reported in Master Detective magazine.

Many of the best officers I have served with were women, but there is often a double standard applied to them. If a male police officer is a total screw up, and an embarrassment to law enforcement, other officer will commonly say, “He just isn’t cut out for the job.” But, all too often, when a female officer screws up in the same way, some will say, “That proves that women are not law enforcement material.” Every woman seems to be thrown under the bus by some, while men are judged individually. We should judge every officer on his or her individual abilities to protect and serve our society – with integrity. Using a broad stereotype to judge either gender is a mistake.

It has been shown that men generally have more physical strength than women, but study after study has shown that women are better communicators than men. In his book, Arresting Communications, Lt. Jim Glennon states, “The most important skills for criminal justice professionals to master are those skills associated with the art and science of communication.” He goes on to point out some communication differences among men and women. “Females tend to have a significant edge in verbal skills. They also seem to be better equipped to receive a wider range of sensory information, tend to be more observant, … and generally communicate more efficiently than men.”

Lt. Glennon is not trying to say that physical strength, a survival mindset, and firearms training are not vital ingredients of a successful law enforcer. He is simply pointing out that fact that we use our communication skills far more than any other, and in general, men will need to work harder to become better communicators. In the same way, some women may have to work harder to improve their physical capabilities. Each gender has strengths and weaknesses, but it is the individual officer that must prove their worth.

Maude Collins faced the multitude of doubts and limitations placed upon her. As a woman she was view by many as lacking courage and strength, but she instead shined as an everlasting example for all of us in law enforcement. In 1926, many of the same doubters formally elected Maude Collins in a landslide victory – a two to one margin over her rival – making her the first elected female sheriff in the State of Ohio. She now lies next to her husband, Sheriff Fletcher Collins, whose name is engraved on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. By making the ultimate sacrifice, Fletcher Collins inspired an unlikely and valiant guardian of justice.

Courage in law enforcement does not require some magic ability in which you somehow become fearless. That doesn’t exist outside of a Hollywood production, but Maude modeled what real courage looks like. She showed the ability to overcome fear through her tenacity, and the realization that the safety of our society is more important than anyone’s individual fear. Maude Collins knew very well what she was protecting as Sheriff of Vinton County – her children and the world they called home. She did it for all the right reasons and with a noble spirit.

After the story, the cadet silently walked to the board and erased the list. He turned to the class and said, “I probably need to have a little more experience, well, any experience, before I comment on what it takes to be a good cop.” I provided the knowledge – he delivered the wisdom.

Richard Neil is the author of “Police Instructor: Deliver Dynamic Presentations, Create Engaging Slides, & Increase Active Learning.” He is a retired city cop, and instructs for several of Ohio’s criminal justice training academies. He can be contacted through his website that is dedicated to law enforcement training resources –http://www.leotrainer.com.

Make Them Mad – Make Them Learn

There are speakers who say you have less than 5 minutes to make a lasting impression with your audience, and others who only give you 60 seconds. They are both right depending on the audience. With police cadets, you have more time to impress them since they are eager to learn and excited to have the opportunity to be there. Veteran cops on the other hand may not even give you 60 seconds. They may not want to be there in the first place but you can quickly earn their interest, and eventually their trust, if you start out with something powerful. By showing them the benefit of your presentation, you will gain their attention and interest. You can start with a personal story, a unique fact, or a controversial quote.  Just about any way to start out with a bang will work.

“An emotionally charged event is the best-processed kind of external stimulus EVER measured.” ~Dr. John Medina, Brain Rules

 Using a controversial topic to engage the emotions of your audience is one option. Consider looking for a point of contention relevant to the topic, and exploit it to fuel a debate among your students.  Dispute, even anger among them, shows interest in your topic.  These emotions are a daily occurrence for law enforcers and they will benefit from this type of learning experience.

I will take debate and anger any day over boredom and sleeping, but some instructors cannot handle the thought, or feeling, of losing control. They would rather lecture without involving their students and maintain complete dominion over the class. There can be little gained by anyone in this type of learning environment.

“Emotionally charged events persist much longer in our memories and are recalled with greater accuracy than neutral memories.” ~Brain Rules

Consider any well-known book, article, news story, or quote as a unique way to start your next class. I purposely use controversial statements that I know will make a class of cops or cadets mad, sad, or happy.  If they are mad, they are listening.  They want to know why I used it and what comes next.  Do not be afraid to challenge their core beliefs or yours – they will come out stronger and be more attentive knowing that nothing is off limits in your presentation.

I usually place short statements on the screen for students to ponder and then follow up with the remainder of the information. Here are a few examples of materials I have used before.

PTSD & Stress

True or False: As many as one third of law enforcers in this country are impaired by PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and cannot function well, if at all. ~from the book CopShock by Allen R. Kates

The statement is true and backed up by several different studies.  Here are a few follow up statistics to drive the point home for your audience of veterans or cadets.

• Rates of PTSD among American police officers are as high as 35% (Mann & Neece, 1990).
• Law enforcement personnel have been reported to have three times the rate of      suicide, increased alcohol use and cardiovascular diseases, and twice the rate of divorce compared to the general population (Marmar et al., 2007; McCaslin et al., 2007).
• 69% of law enforcement officers who retired early left for psychological reasons (Miller, 1996).

 Rookie Stress

True or False: Over 50% of rookie officers will encounter a critical incident in their first year?

• It’s false. It is much higher with 94.5% of police recruits reporting exposure to at least one critical incident during their first year of police service (Marmar et al., 2007).

We Need Warriors

Ask your cadets the following question.  “Can we survive without doctors and hospitals?”

I always get a quick answer back from my class, “Of course not.”  They answer without thinking about our ancestors who survived for the past 10,000 years without medical sciences (but with 4 spinal implants I’m happy we have them now).  After allowing the class time to debate the topic, place the following statement from On Combat (Lt. Colonel Dave Grossman and Loren W. Christensen) on the screen, and ask the students if the statement is true.

• We could go for a generation without the doctors… but civilization would continue.  If, however, we went but a single generation without the warriors who are willing to confront human aggression every day, then within the span of that generation we would truly be “both damned and doomed.”

It will start a great discussion and help our future guardians see the importance of warriors in our culture.

 Crapping Your Pants

Is it natural to wet your pants when you are in a life and death situation? Should we let officers know what physical and biological changes they may encounter in such circumstances?

• Research shows that if you have a “load” in your lower intestines during a highly stressful survival situation, it’s going to go.  Your body says, “Bladder Control?  I don’t think so.  Sphincter control?  We don’t need no stinking sphincter control!”  What do you do if that      happens?  You keep on fighting.  ~On Combat, Lt. Col. Dave Grossman

 Tunnel Vision

Out of 10 officer involved shootings, how many police officers would suffer from tunnel vision?

• Eight out of 10 suffered tunnel vision. ~ Alexis Artwohl, Ph.D. is an internationally recognized behavioral science consultant to law      enforcement, and she is an advisory board member for the Force Science Research Institute.

Killing Ain’t Easy

In WWII only 15% to 20% of trained riflemen fired their weapons at exposed enemies when alone. If a leader ordered them to fire, nearly all did, but you won’t have anyone commanding you. ~Study by General S.L.A. Marshal

• These figures have dramatically increased with realistic targets and training.
• As a cop or a peacekeeper, your job is not to kill, it is to serve and protect.  To do that, you may have to kill. ~On Combat, Lt. Col. Grossman
• This is the great paradox of combat: If you are truly prepared to kill someone, you are less likely to have to do it. ~On Combat, Lt. Col. Grossman

 These types of discussions will create a variety of emotions and also create understanding that will be retained by your audience. People learn best when there is an emotional connection. We are not swayed by logic as many instructors think.

If people were swayed by logic and not emotion…

• No one would smoke.
• No one would have unprotected sex with a stranger.
• And no one would spit on a cop and expect him to say thank you.

We are emotional beings, and emotion rules our lives and our learning.

Some instructors shoot themselves in the foot from the very beginning (no pun intended for the agent who did).  They start out weak with a monotone, boring, and irrelevant opening that highlights their personal exploits and lengthy bio.  An audience will never be swayed or pulled in to our presentation by any attempts to show them how great we are. They have no emotional connection to us or our repertoire.

Start with something memorable, and choose a strong theme to draw your audience in right from the beginning. People will remember the beginning of your presentation if you make it emotional and powerful.

Richard Neil is the author of “Police Instructor: Deliver Dynamic Presentations, Create Engaging Slides, & Increase Active Learning.” He is a retired city cop, and instructs for several of Ohio’s criminal justice training academies. He can be contacted through his website that is dedicated to law enforcement training resources – http://www.LEO-Trainer.com.

Factoid 1 – Super Police Instructor Man

The Law Enforcement Engineer

The cars were lined up ready to travel across the new bridge.  Their small town would finally be united with the city across the river.  It would save the citizens 45 minutes of driving to get to the stores, the schools, and the only hospital.  The people raised millions of dollars and donated hundreds of hours to make the project work.  The mayor cut the ribbon, but before the first car could cross, the engineer made an announcement.  He told the people, “I did not use design plans, follow construction requirements, or perform any safety tests on the structure. However, I assure you that it is safe to cross.”

The citizens were shocked and appalled.  They refused to drive across the bridge with their families at risk.  How could he be so reckless?

The engineer was insulted – he was an expert after all.  He knew what he was doing.  What more did they want?   

Would you cross the bridge with your kids in the car?  Would you be upset after investing time and money in the project? Walking into a presentation with nothing more than your expertise in law enforcement is the same as building a bridge without design plans, without meeting construction requirements, and without any safety testing.  It is a disaster waiting to happen.  Students invest hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars to attend your academy, and they should see a presentation with design plans – not an instructor who decided to wing it.

A poorly constructed bridge appears to be more dangerous than a poorly trained police officer – but the bridge will only collapse once. The law enforcer may be around for decades impacting the lives of thousands of citizens and endangering his fellow officers.

It is a noble endeavor to serve as a police instructor, but you must develop essential qualities to succeed. You need determination over discouragement, enthusiasm to train law enforcers, and the self-confidence to believe you will succeed.

 

“Wisdom is knowing what to do next; skill is knowing how to do it, and virtue is doing it.” ~David Starr Jordan

As an instructor, you are the engineer of your presentation.  Your expertise is the greatest value the cadets can receive, but without planning and preparation they will be confused much of the time.  You may know what you mean during your talk but they will not.  It is all new to them.

Do not use the old excuses: “I’m better off the cuff,” or “I don’t want to sound rehearsed,” or the most common “I don’t have time to prepare anything; I’m too busy.”  This is what I refer to as crap, double crab, and lazy crap.  It is all crap!  If you want to wing it with a 3 minute speech, have at it, but when you are teaching cops and cadets, you owe it to society to invest some time and effort to make it significant.  If you give any less, you are building a bridge without plans, without meeting construction requirements, and without any testing. Structurally, it will be doomed.

Many of us don’t look forward to the preparation of a presentation and even fewer want to practice before the actual delivery, but it is a necessary step to make citizens into cadets and cadets into guardians.

“It’s a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it.”  ~W. Somerset Maugham

Richard Neil is the author of “Police Instructor: Deliver Dynamic Presentations, Create Engaging Slides, & Increase Active Learning.” He is a retired city cop, and instructs for several of Ohio’s criminal justice training academies. He can be contacted through his website that is dedicated to law enforcement educators and trainers – http://www.LEO-Trainer.com

Confessions of a Police Instructor

I Teach Cadets and Write Training Articles for Selfish Reasons

I have selfish reasons for wanting our police instructors to get better and improve the safety of our law enforcers and the society they serve. With frequent visits to the Cleveland Clinic, I have come to the realization that I will not live to a ripe old age. I have a vested interest in the next generation of police officers who will become the guardians that protect my wife and kids (maybe grandkids) after I am gone. We do not hesitate to invest in life insurance to protect our families – should we not also invest in our law enforcers who will provide a lifetime of vital service for them? The Police Instructor handbook and PhalanxLE.com are my investments in the development and training of worthy protectors to watch over my family and yours.

I want the best possible men and women wearing the badge when my loved ones need their help, and I want input on how they are trained.  I want to make sure standards are kept high and that only the most qualified cadets with large quantities of integrity and humility are accepted. My family has been blessed by our profession, but they have also suffered through fear and pain because of it. Spending time writing the book, designing the website, and creating resources to help instructors could never repay their sacrifice, but I hope it will create a better world for them to live in when I am gone.

“We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face… we must do that which we think we cannot.” ~Eleanor Roosevelt

 I Am a Jealous Instructor

I am jealous of every cop and cadet I teach. I loved being a police officer and was not ready to retire when my career ended; I still find myself wanting to take their place each time I talk about the unique profession we serve. Recently, while giving a speech during a graduation ceremony, I admitted my jealousy to the recruits and their families. I hope it served as a reminder of just how addictive this profession can be and what an honor it is to serve others as one of God’s guardians of justice.

If you are still serving as a law enforcer, you should know that there are people that long to fill your shoes.  In my two decades of policing, I served on the road patrol, as a crime scene investigator, as a criminal investigator, and as a school resource officer. I was blessed with a multitude of experiences while serving with three great organizations, and I overlooked how fortunate I had been until it was gone.  And it was gone without warning.

Like many of you, I did more to help others in one week than some people will do in a lifetime. That is the blessing of law enforcement, but it also comes with an addiction and its own form of withdrawals. By helping to develop the next generation of guardians, I find the symptoms are more bearable.

I Am Stingy as Well

Years ago, while attending my first train-the-trainer course, I met several new instructors from all over Ohio. A few of them had no idea where to start; the course simply provided them with a lesson plan but not much more. By this time in my career, I had accumulated a wealth of resources and information that could help them get started, but I found myself reluctant to share anything with them. I now try to encourage everyone – including those we might consider to be slouches – to become a better trainer, but I still find it hard at times.

When I used to worry about giving away my stuff and how it might affect my persona as an instructor, I was focusing on me and only me. Instead of concerning myself with our cadets, our officers, and our society, I worried about my ego, my pride, and my vanity. I encountered all of these obstacles again while writing the book Police Instructor and developing the web sites, but this time I overcame them – I have a new mission. It can only improve our profession if we are willing to share our wisdom and show others how to train worthy protectors for society.

“Nothing you have not given away will ever really be yours.” ~C.S. Lewis

 I Gave Up in the Most Uninspiring Way

The doctor walked into my hospital room and said, “Mr. Neil, I cannot figure out how to stop your pain, and you cannot go on like this much longer. I am going to send you home on some strong narcotics that should sedate you and help with the pain.” I was completely speechless (a rare occasion), but my wife Gloria asked “Who should we see next?” The doctor looked offended as if an accusation was made against her intellect. She responded “Well I do not know what anyone else could do, but you can call whomever you like.” I went home and tried to hide my self-pity while I thought of ways to die with dignity. I simply gave up and was completely defeated in body and spirit. Fortunately for me, my family went along for the ride and they did not give up so easily.

I do not want anyone to think I am without my faults, or that I never give up.  The fact is I did.  I felt like a burden to my wife and kids, and I wondered what kind of father and husband I could be in a drug induced stupor.  That is a glimpse of what my family has endured, and I had to apologize to them for the way I let them down.

Our friends and family would tell you that I am the noisy and overprotective city cop, and that Gloria is the devout Christian mother, wife, and friend. But fortunately for me, she also grew up Pentecostal and knew how to raise her voice when it mattered most. She was not about to let me get away with dying and leaving her alone to raise two teenagers.

I Feel Sorry for Myself

It’s embarrassing to admit, but I feel sorry for myself – daily sometimes. My nerve damage is catastrophic and the debilitating pain caused by my injury is constant. I have 4 Neurostimulator implants in my spinal cord powered by two battery packs in my lower back. I am dependent upon several narcotics and one of them causes me to suffer short-term memory loss. I must take an amphetamine to make my body function every morning, and I wear Lidoderm (a form of Novocain) patches on my legs and back to help with the pain when I stand to teach.

I only tell you this to share a very important lesson, and one that seemed to take me a while to accept as true. I can assure you of one thing – self-pity has never helped me accomplish anything. Never. It does me no good to feel sorry for myself or have others feeling sympathy for me – it is nothing but a waste of precious time.

It also does no good to feel sorry for ourselves when we have to teach a topic that we do not enjoy. Complaining and disdain will not help our law enforcers learn how to survive. Take it from a master of self-pity – when you find yourself in that state of mind, look for the nearest exit.

It really is true: You learn what is important in your life when you are about to lose it. I wish I would have had my current perspective on life twenty-five years ago. My priorities would have included hope, faith, and serving others much sooner, and I would have ensured that my God and my family would have never taken a back seat to anything.

“Self-pity is our worst enemy and if we yield to it, we can never do anything wise in this world.” ~Helen Keller

Not the Last Word

Police Instructor and PhalanxLE.com are not my attempts to speak the last word on law enforcement education and training. One person can never offer more than a glimpse into what is needed to become a great instructor. The techniques, methods, suggestions, and tips are NOT absolutes for educators and trainers to follow. They are resources for you to use, change, or adapt however you see fit. I hope they stimulate ideas, stories, discussions, and positive action by law enforcement instructors, criminal justice educators, field training officers, supervisors, school resource officers, sheriffs, and chiefs. I hope they serve you and your students well throughout your career and theirs. We should be pleased with our advancements in law enforcement training, but we should never be content.

My confessions are plentiful. I’ve had more than my fair share of embarrassments over the past few decades, but I’ve also had many triumphs. I have learned to turn all of these experiences – good and bad – into a source of wisdom that will benefit my students throughout their careers. Your own unique experiences can become the wisdom that can save lives, especially if you are willing to share your confessions with the people who can learn the most from them.

We need trainers who will passionately serve to build the guardians of tomorrow and to help them understand the importance of their commitment. The recipe for a good police instructor includes generous portions of courage, patience, and stubbornness mixed with as much wisdom and humility as you can find. These traits, along with a determination to improve our craft, will provide skilled and worthy protectors for our society.  Without sacrifice there can be no justice – without justice there can be no society.

“It’s a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it.”  ~W. Somerset Maugham

 Richard Neil is the creator of http://www.LEO-Trainer.com, the web site dedicated to law enforcement educators and trainers. He is also the author of the book “Police Instructor: Deliver Dynamic Presentations, Create Engaging Slides, & Increase Active Learning.”

 

Opening Exercise for Audience Participation: Pick a Square

Opening activities serve to get students acquainted with each other and actively involved with your topic.  They can take time away from your original lesson plan, but their impact is well worth the investment.  Years ago, I came across a really cool team building activity while attending a crime prevention conference in Washington D.C. Each participant had to wear a Post-It Note on their forehead. They interacted with each other and seemed to truly enjoy the group activity. I couldn’t wait to use it when I got back to Ohio. I was always looking for new ways to engage my students and increase their understanding of my topic, and this was an engaging method. When I tried it out with my next class they hated it!  And I mean hated it!

When I started to explain the activity, the cops in my class were rolling their eyes while looking at each other, obviously considering what method they would use to hide my corpse. They wanted nothing to do with the exercise, but they had enough respect for me as an instructor that most of them were willing to try it (after I offered to buy lunch). Once they had the Post-Its on their heads and started getting into the heart of the exercise… they still hated it! Was it something that could only work in Washington D.C., and not with my law enforcers in the Midwest? Or, was it the way I explained it to the group that was flawed? These are good questions to ask when things go wrong with any type of opening exercise or team building activity. The problem wasn’t the geography or the explanation – it was the audience. It had no relevance to my topic and it wasn’t designed or intended for my audience of cops.

The conference where I learned of the activity was the International Youth Drug Prevention Conference, and the group of students that we had taken on the trip as part of our agencies youth program really did enjoy the activity. It was created with them in mind – not cops. That is why it failed when I used it with them. There is always the possibility that you can adapt an exercise designed for one group to work well with another, but this wasn’t one of those, and I didn’t try to adapt anything anyway. I just used it “as is,” and that didn’t go over well with my brothers and sisters in law enforcement. There is nothing wrong with using an opening activity with a law enforcement audience, but it has to be relevant to your topic and beneficial for your audience. If not – don’t use it!

A good opening exercise is something like an appetizer – it gives students a taste of what is to come and sets an engaging atmosphere early on. Most opening exercise could be used with multiple topics and I will leave it to you to decide how or when you might use this one.

Pick a Square – Save a Child

This exercise serves as a quick opener to get cadets thinking through a problem instead of rushing to an answer.  I don’t know where the activity originates from (it was not from my limited intellect), but it works well with several topics in law enforcement.

Draw a grid containing 64 squares on the white board (or chalk board if you’re old school or have no budget).  Select one square and write down the corresponding letter and number on an index card and lay it face down so no one can see it. Tell the students their job is to guess which square you chose.  Do not allow them to talk with each other, and call on them one at a time allowing only yes or no questions to be asked. They will usually just guess a square and not put any thought into their questions. You can add some pressure by also informing the class that this represents the map of their assigned patrol district, and they need to find their way to a call for service. I commonly use this when I teach the Missing Children Investigation topic to academy cadets.

I like to start by saying, “A child has just been reported missing and the longer you take to find the call location the less likely we are to recover her. What is the location on my card?”  A few students will throw out wild guesses while the others sit safely in their seats. I like to increase their anxiety a little bit more so they’re not so comfortable. “This little girl has been abducted by a sexual predator. If this was your child would you want the officers to sit on their butts and do nothing like all of you are? A little girl is counting on you to fulfill your oath and save her.” The questions usually start pouring in with their newly found guilt, but they aren’t likely to pick the correct square without thinking about their questions. Keep the pressure on them so they don’t speak to each other or take the time to think. That will come soon enough.

Once the class passes up 10 guesses stop them, unless you are truly enjoying yourself by watching the Type A’s become frustrated. Tell them that you are going to choose a new number and start over again, but this time they will have a few minutes to discuss a group strategy to effectively search for the child. Advise the class, that with the right plan of action they won’t even need to ask you 10 questions to find the call location on the map.

Most groups will guess the right square with only six questions – once they think about it logically.  They can ask you one question and reduce the squares by 50% each time. Their question should be something like, “Is your square in rows A through D?” Whether you answer yes or no, they just cut the possibilities in half.  Their next question should be, “Is your square in rows 1 through 4?” If they continue cutting the possibilities by 50% with each question, they will have your square pinpointed with only six questions.

The Value Gained through Problem Solving 

The object of the activity is to get the class working as a group and thinking problems through before jumping to an answer.  The same qualities are important for law enforcers to have on the street. When there is time, we want them to think problems through and not be afraid to ask for the advice of others to find the most effective plan of action. I can assure them that driving around aimlessly in a patrol car is not the best way to find a missing child. When they respond to a real missing child call they will understand the need to have a plan of action that has been well thought out – instead of just guessing where the child might be found. Listening to a lecture about a topic without any interaction by the audience will never build these skills in our students, but a simple Opening Exercise can be a good place to start.

The activity can also work well with several other policing topics. Community Policing: Use problem solving instead of just throwing a bunch of cops at the issue. Crime Scene Search: Plan your approach before rushing in and messing up the scene. Interview & Interrogation: Your questions need to be thought out and concise. Asking a suspect the wrong question can bring an interrogation to an abrupt halt.

When you instruct, you are responsible for passing along wisdom – not just information. Engaged cops and cadets are enthusiastic to learn and become active participants in their own training. To create productive, memorable, and vibrant classes, an instructor must continually work on increasing audience participation. A good format will include group discussions, lectures, guest speakers, case studies, opening exercises, and other activities. Active learning and audience participation may require more from you as an instructor, but the payoff for the audience is worth it. Your efforts will benefit them with a deep understanding of the topic and prepare them for the vital tasks that lay ahead.

More Opening Exercises and other learning activities can be found in the Active Learning Index of the Police Instructor handbook.

Richard H. Neil Sr. is the author of “Police Instructor: Deliver Dynamic Presentations, Create Engaging Slides, & Increase Active Learning.” He is a retired city cop, and instructs for several of Ohio’s criminal justice training academies. He can be contacted through his website that is dedicated to free resources for law enforcement educators and trainers – www.LEO-Trainer.com.

Video: Police Instructor Quick Tip – The 20 Second Inquiry

Help your students develop better questioning skills with this easy technique that requires them to think before they speak. It also stops the stage hogs from taking over a class or conversation with trivial gossip or unrelated stories.

The 20 Second Inquiry is just one of the innovative techniques found in the book “Police Instructor: Deliver Dynamic Presentations, Create Engaging Slides, and Increase Active Learning.”

Prezi – An Innovative Advancement for Making Slideshow Presentations Dynamic

Prezi is the biggest advancement in presentation design since the slide format was developed decades ago, and the change is dramatic for instructors and their audience. The design will engage your audience from the first zoom. Yes, I said zoom. It will wow any group you’re training as long as your content is relevant. And I mean any group! The law enforcement audience you serve will love Prezi presentations as a refreshing change of pace from the static slide shows they are familiar with. If Yoda (the Master Jedi) was going to give a presentation I am sure he would use a Prezi to engage his audience from the start.

Prezi lets you bring your ideas into one space and see how they relate, helping you connect with your audience. Zoom out to see the big picture and zoom in to see details — a method you just have to see to fully understand. You can visit Prezi.com and use the software for free to see how you like it, and you will like it. The service is free for educators and trainers to use, and even the advanced program is a fraction of the cost of Microsoft’s PowerPoint, with the education discount.

I recently made a Prezi presentation to use as an opening for a law enforcement training conference that you can view, download, adapt, or use as a template – at http://prezi.com/5-fi5fd6tk7d/letoa-prezi-opening/.

Predicting Violence – Life Saving Wisdom for Officers, Educators, & Trainers

In Gavin DeBecker’s best selling book “The Gift of Fear,” he teaches us how to predict violence. In each prediction of violence you must ask what the context and ongoing developments might mean to the suspect involved, not just what they mean to you as a police officer. You must ask if the suspect will perceive violence as moving them toward some desired outcome or away from it. The conscious or unconscious decision to use violence, or to do most anything, involves many mental and emotional processes, but they usually boil down to how a person perceives four fairly simple issues: justification, alternatives, consequences, and ability. Mr. DeBecker’s office abbreviates these elements as JACA, and an evaluation of them helps to predict violence.

Perceived Justification – Does the person feel justified in using violence? Perceived justification can be as simple as being sufficiently provoked or as convoluted as looking for an excuse to argue, as with the spouse that starts a disagreement in order to justify an angry response. The process of developing and manufacturing justification can be observed. A person who is seeking to feel justification for some action might move from “What you’ve done angers me” to “What you’ve done is wrong.” Popular justifications include the moral high ground of righteous indignation and the more simple equation known by its biblical name: an eye for an eye.

Perceived Alternatives – Does the person perceive that he has available alternatives to violence that will move him toward the outcome he wants? Since violence, like any behavior, has a purpose, it’s valuable to know the goal of the actor. For example, if a person wants his job back, violence is not the most effective strategy, since it precludes the very outcome he seeks. Conversely, if he wants revenge, violence is a viable strategy, though usually not the only one. Alternatives to violence might be ridicule, smear campaigns, lawsuits, or inflicting some other nonphysical harm on the targeted person or organization. Knowing the desired outcome is the key. If a person’s desired outcome is to inflict physical injury, then there are few alternatives to violence. If the desired outcome is to punish someone, there might be many. It is when he perceives no alternatives that violence is most likely. A person (or animal) who feels there are no alternatives will fight even when violence isn’t justified, even when the consequences are perceived as unfavorable, and even when the ability to prevail is low.

Perceived Consequences – How does the person view the consequences associated with using violence? Before resorting to force, people weigh the likely consequences, even if unconsciously or very quickly. Consequences might be intolerable, such as for a person whose identity and self-image would be too damaged if he used violence. Context can change that, as with the person who is normally passive but becomes violent in a crowd or mob. (Violence can be made tolerable by the support or encouragement of other.) It is when consequences are perceived as favorable, such as for an assassin who wants attention and has little to lose, that violence is likely.

Perceived Ability – Does the person believe he can successfully deliver the blows or bullet or bomb? People who have successfully used violence in the past have a higher appraisal of their ability to prevail using violence again. People with weapons or other advantages perceive (often correctly) a high ability to use violence.

Now let me show you how to apply these principles with an encounter I had with a man wanted for murdering his wife and daughter. I ignored my intuition and nearly lost my life as I haphazardly rushed through a traffic stop.

Prediction in Hindsight as a Lesson Learned

One late night on patrol I stopped a car that didn’t have their lights on. This was a common activity for DUI drivers so I called for backup. When I approached the vehicle the man was well dressed and very polite, but by no means was intoxicated. I should have been relieved but something was still nagging at me as I looked around the inside of his car and talked with him. He was from Tennessee and said he became lost after he stopped to get gas, and he didn’t notice his lights off due to the heavy street lighting. I couldn’t shake the feeling but I just ignored it and went back to my patrol car to run him through the computer system. Nothing came back indicating he was wanted, and he didn’t even have any prior driving citations so I decided on a warning.

My backup, Doug, had arrived and I told him the man wasn’t a DUI and I was going to send him on his way with a warning. Doug stayed in his car engrossed in a new book as I approached the man again. I arrived at the driver’s door and I could see the man’s arm flexing, and rising up from inside his door. I found myself dropping my flashlight and grabbing his arm with both hands. I couldn’t see what was in his left hand but everything in me knew it was a gun. He reached over with his second hand and began to silently struggle with me.  When I would let go with one hand in an attempt to pull my own gun, I would start to lose control and would have to grab hold of his arm again.  I began to yell at him to stop resisting and within seconds I dragged him through the window of his car out into the street. The action broke his hand and wrist (go adrenaline!).  I never saw the gun until it hit the street and bounced away from his broken hand. The entire ordeal only lasted a few seconds and Doug was still in his car where I told him not to worry – reading his book.

I handcuffed the man and called for assistance. Doug jumped out of his car with a look of confusion on his face. I was supposed to be giving a warning and letting the suspect go. I requested our dispatch to call Tennessee and find out what was going on with this guy who just lost all control. What were we missing?

The computer was running slow so we didn’t know he was wanted for murdering his wife and daughter just a few days earlier (good information to have if you are stopping someone).  After I calmed down and thought back I felt stupid for ignoring my intuition and dismissing what was right in front of me.  I remembered looking around the inside of his car and noticing he was out of gas, but he told me he just left the gas station. That is what we in law enforcement like to call a CLUE! Even though I ignored the clue my intuition picked up on it just fine and sent me that nagging feeling as it tried to protect me from myself.

It worked again when his arm was flexing and rising up from the area of his door pocket. When we grip something in our hand we can watch the muscles in our forearm and bicep move and that information is stored in our intuition, along with countless other minute facts.  At the time I wasn’t even sure why I was grabbing his arm, but I had no doubt it was in my best interest to control it using whatever means possible. My intuition was done being dismissed and sent me a big danger signal on his arm movement.  This time I listened and I lived. In my humble opinion, our intuition is a gift from God that we may never fully understand, but the signals it sends us, like fear, protect us from danger.

Another gift from God is the rush of power we get from adrenaline.  I could probably try to pull the same guy through his car door window a hundred more times and not be able to do it. But with my adrenaline rushing, and my intuition in high gear, it happened without though and seemingly with little effort.  By yelling at him I was also continuing to breathe, which kept the oxygen going to my brain and reduced the chances of freezing up. So my past training was a benefit as well.

Now looking back at the four elements of prediction you can see how they can be applied to this encounter with a murderer.  His Perceived Justification in using violence was warranted in his mind because I was going to take him to jail.  In his own mind, not wanting to go jail meant he had no Perceived Alternatives other than violence.  His Perceived Consequences for using the violence weren’t going to get any worse than they already were, so that wasn’t going to stop him either.  Finally, the Perceived Ability was definitely there with the gun ready at hand, and two murders already under his belt.

Of course I didn’t have all this information ahead of time, but many times you will. My intuition was working, although I ignored it several times, almost to my detriment.  Don’t ignore yours, embrace it and act on it. It will always have your best interest at heart.

Richard Neil is the author of “Police Instructor: Deliver Dynamic Presentations, Create Engaging Slides, & Increase Active Learning.” He is a retired city cop, and instructs for several of Ohio’s criminal justice training academies. He can be contacted through his website that is dedicated to law enforcement training resources – www.LEOtrainer.com.