Policing Matters

Recently, a news item appeared on PoliceOne about eight police cadets who were injured during defensive tactics training at their academy. This sort of thing is not terribly uncommon. Police training is necessarily difficult, and comes with some degree of danger. But the question becomes, how can police conduct training (both academy and in-service) that is as close to reality as possible, but still safe enough that injuries are minimized? In this podcast segment, Jim and Doug discuss the different options police have at their disposal to mitigate this matter.

You have the right to free speech. But being a cop is not a right — it is a privilege. That privilege can be taken away from you in the event that you conduct yourself in any way deemed to reflect poorly on the department. This is particularly true of incendiary statements made on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and the like. Cops are held to a higher standard than other government employees and speech on social media is included in that higher standard. As Supreme Court Justice Holmes said way back in 1892, “The petitioner may have a Constitutional right to talk politics, but he has no Constitutional right to be a policeman.” However, the Court has also recently ruled in offices’ favor, saying that some agency policies contain unconstitutionally overbroad prior restraint on protected speech. Jim and Doug discuss some of the pitfalls of posting your opinions to the Internet, as well as some of the nuances of coming up with a solid policy that’s beneficial to all parties.

Most thoughtful police leaders know that they are in perpetual peril that something so monumentally ugly goes down in their jurisdiction that cable satellite trucks will rain from the sky and take up residence in the parking lot of the nearest big-box store. Whether it is an officer-involved shooting or an active shooter event, the cameras will be rolling and the story will be you and your agency. How do you prepare for this? Jim and Doug discuss some ways to ready yourself and your department.

Police officers at the line level can demonstrate leadership just as much as the chief in the big office. In fact, line level officers and their immediate supervisors are the raw materials from which the most visible forms of police leadership are formed. What does it take to turn street leadership skills into promotions in rank and responsibility? Jim and Doug discuss the traits of a good leader, no matter what rank they’ve attained.

Under federal law, marijuana is illegal. Meanwhile, 30 states and the District of Columbia currently have laws legalizing marijuana for either medical or recreational use. This discord puts the Justice Department in a legal bind. Under President Obama, Deputy Attorney General James Cole drafted a memo saying that the Feds would defer to state and local agencies to enforce their own marijuana laws, with federal involvement directed only at drug cartels and activity in states where pot was still illegal. But in the first week of 2018, the mainstream media reported that Attorney General Jeff Sessions plans to lift those Obama-era restrictions on Federal enforcement of drug laws in jurisdictions that have voted to legalize marijuana. However, Sessions stopped short of directly encouraging U.S. prosecutors to bring marijuana cases. Jim and Doug discuss the ramifications of the new position of the DOJ.

The gunman in the Las Vegas shooting in October reportedly had equipped several AR-15 rifles with what is called a bump stock, which effectively turns a semi-automatic rifle into a weapon capable of automatic fire. Following that tragedy, there has been a great deal of discussion around the legitimate purpose a bump stock might have, as well as the need for a gun owner to equip their firearms with a suppressor. In this podcast segment, Jim and Doug discuss those issues as well as the emerging threats posed by 3-D printers and so-called ghost guns.

As we do every December, the Policing Matters Podcast looks back on the year that was. Probably the biggest single event of the year was the Las Vegas mass shooting, but Jim and Doug also discuss how police responded to natural disasters — particularly Hurricane Harvey in Houston and the widespread wildfires in Northern California. Other major trends were cops in the middle of First Amendment assemblies, the debate over sanctuary cities, and the fallout of decriminalization of various offences. As we close out 2017 and move forward into 2018, Jim and Doug wish every one of you health, happiness, safety and success.

Drug overdose is reportedly the leading cause of death for Americans under 50, and according to a recent report from PERF, more than 64,000 people died by overdose in 2016 alone — that's more than three times the number of Americans killed in the Vietnam War. Doctors have been prescribing opioids too generously, and addicts are still successfully "doctor shopping" to load up on pills. Further, Heroin is easier to acquire than ever. In this segment, Jim and Doug revisit the topic of cops carrying Naloxone, and sometimes administering it multiple times per shift.

In late November, US District Court Judge William Orrick in San Francisco issued a permanent injunction blocking President Donald Trump's executive order to deny sanctuary cities a variety of federal funds. Less than a week later, a jury in San Francisco acquitted the illegal immigrant who shot and killed Kate Steinle on all but one charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Following that jury’s ruling, a federal grand jury has indicted the Mexican man on immigration and weapons charges. Clearly, state and local governments are on a collision course with the federal government (especially the executive branch). In this podcast segment, Jim and Doug discuss the issue.

How do we even define de-escalation? Isn’t this really the same thing as Verbal Judo? Does de-escalation policy put cops in danger? When does de-escalation actually work? In this podcast segment, Jim and Doug discuss the fact that you cannot talk everyone into handcuffs — some will always resist, and how that reality negates some of the training and philosophy around de-escalation.