Guardian Mindset Podcast

In this episode, Eric examines the actions and efforts of General William Westmoreland during the Vietnam War as an example of evaluation and refinement of the standards of service, and how that applies to retaking the narrative of law enforcement.

Eric sits down with retired Los Angeles police captain and expert witness Greg Meyer to discuss the trial of former Minneapolis Police Officer Thomas Lane, one of the officers involved in the death of George Floyd. Meyer served as a use-of-force expert in the defense of Lane, who was charged with and convicted of deliberate indifference to Floyd's medical needs.

A first amendment audit is a form of activism where an individual seeks to exercise their first amendment rights. In this episode, Eric reviews the contemporary challenges that first amendment auditors may present to law enforcement personnel in the performance of their duties, and offers a few approaches to handle these situations without infringing on first amendment rights. 

Eric welcomes use of force expert and co-founder of Force Science Insititute, Dr. William Lewinksi, to the show. The two cover Dr. Lewinski's career in psychology and use of force, and discuss the role of human performance factors in the profession and in recent use of force cases. 

Dr. Lewinski is the co-founder and executive director of the Force Science Institute. He is a leading behavioral scientist whose work has focused on the intensive study of human dynamics involved in high stress, life-threatening encounters. He has a Ph.D. in Police Psychology and is a professor emeritus of Law Enforcement at Minnesota State University, Mankato, where he taught for more than 28 years, was an L.E. Program Director and also chair of the Department of Government.

Eric welcomes Dr. Paul Taylor onto the Guardian Mindset Podcast to discuss his experience working in law enforcement and considerations for improving practices and outcomes. Dr. Taylor, an assistant professor of criminal justice at the University of Colorado Denver, has over 10 years of practical law enforcement experience, and now specializes in research on police decision-making and human error in the context of use-of-force encounters.

Attorney Daigle reviews the U.S. Supreme Court decisions in Lozman v. City of Riviera Beach and Nieves v. Bartlett to highlight some of the challenges facing law enforcement in relation to the First Amendment.

Attorney Joseph Race joins Eric for the Daigle Law Group Accreditation 101 webinar. The webinar is a broad overview of law enforcement accreditation for department members at any level. For Accreditation Managers, this will be a review of a process that you are well aware; for CEOs and command staff, this will provide information regarding the full extent of your current or future accreditation endeavors. Watch the full webinar here.

Eric speaks with guest Lewis "Von" Kliem (MCJ, JD, LLM) of Force Science Institute about his extensive career in law enforcement as an officer as well as an attorney and educator. The two cover trends, challenges, and changes in law enforcement, improving professionalism and practices, and understanding human performance factors.

Eric discusses the rights of journalists and guidelines for the current challenges of police and press relations with expert Attorney Mickey Osterreicher, general counsel for the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA). Attorney Osterriecher has worked extensively as an advisor on public recording of police and has instructed at IACP and NSA training conferences, as well as DLG Use of Force and First Amendment summits.

Captain Aaron Jones, Esq. (Cincinnati Police Department, IACP Legal Officers Section Vice Chair) joins Eric to discuss the opportunities and challenges that careers in law enforcement present, and how law enforcement has changed over the course of his 23-year career.