Train, Don't Blame Your Cops
By Sean Van Leeuwen
Urging adoption of new " use of force " policies has been all the rage across the country this past year in response to high-profile shootings.  These efforts are misguided "paper over substance" solutions, because what is needed is training and equipment. Of course, unlike "paper policies," providing state of the art training and equipment costs money. 
 
Prudent law enforcement agencies already have well-developed force policies, and there is simply no point in adopting new policies when an agency fails or refuses, to provide deputies with proper training and equipment.  All peace officers should be properly trained and equipped to carry out current use of force policies before resorting to unproven or unwise policies or techniques.
 
San Francisco recently exemplified this type of failure.  In 2010 San Francisco Police Commissioners refused to equip their police with Tasers, joining Detroit (another city known for its sound policy-making decisions)  as one of only two cities with populations over 500,000 to refuse to equip their officers with this valuable tool. They were warned that someday this would lead to a future where a knife-wielding suspect could be "shot dead because an officer lacked a valuable option to deadly force."  ALADS President George Hofstetter covered this issue in a recent blog when  San Francisco refused to provide Tasers to officers on the grounds that they are a health risk to those who are tased!  Did San Francisco reverse policy? Nope, they concocted new "use of force" policies loosely based on the unproven PERF principles we have discussed and critiqued at length in previous ALADS blogs which can be found at the bottom of this article.
 
Here in Los Angeles County, while there has been no movement seen to adopt the widely criticized "PERF principles," work needs to be done in the areas of both training and equipment. Currently, the Sheriff's budget has been stretched to the breaking point, making even the most vital training and equipment scarce commodities.  If Los Angeles County's leaders want to have a positive impact and reduce use of force incidents, they can start by providing the adequate funding needed to equip properly and continuously train deputies on the best tactics and procedures, not criticize and second-guess deputies' actions given the benefit of 20/20 hindsight.
 
In the area of training, we are in continual contact with our members who are the rank-and-file deputies of this department and are well aware of how many hours of training they receive on average each year.  We know that in many areas, including dealing with the mentally ill, use of force, search and seizure, and ethics that the hours of training received on a yearly basis have substantial room to be increased.
 
In the area of equipment, the County can and should do much more. Every deputy sheriff whose primary duty is law enforcement should have a Taser. Why in 2016 do we put deputy sheriffs on the street without a Taser?  Some stations have resorted to relying on "shared" Tasers, designating certain deputies or sergeants to carry them.  It doesn't do a deputy sheriff or the community we are sworn to protect any good if the first responding deputy sheriff to a violent subject happens to be the deputy who doesn't have a Taser.  Every time a deputy is forced to discharge a firearm, it creates a risk, whether someone is hit or not.  I once told a high-ranking department executive a Taser is always cheaper than a bullet, meaning that Tasers not only give deputies viable force options, they reduce the risk of loss of life and possible civil liability whether or not they are deployed. Tasers have their place, but we recognize from the recent Los Angeles Times article that Tasers are not a panacea. In split seconds when a deputy's life is at risk, deadly force may be the only option.
 
While training is a Department responsibility, it is the  Board of Supervisors who needs to fund the Sheriff's Department to ensure complete training cycles can be offered to all deputies every year.   That training needs to be relevant, continuous and ongoing to be effective.  Yes, that means that there may be deputy sheriffs removed from patrol duties for several days or more to attend this training, which has a fiscal impact since someone else will be filling their place on patrol.  The County and cities who contract with the Sheriff's Department need to embrace the concept of funding training which will enable deputies to effectively employ tactics and measures required by our 103-page use of force policy .  If we could reduce even one deputy involved shooting by providing deputies with the necessary equipment and training, it will be money well spent.  
 
Deputy Sheriffs do not come to work intending to become involved in a shooting.  Such incidents are forced upon them, usually by the actions of others.  Deputies want to come to work properly trained and equipped by the Department to do their job; protecting the public, while minimizing the risks to their own lives. Any law enforcement agency or government entity which dreams up a new use of force policy, while failing or refusing to provide the proper training and equipment to implement those policies, is cheating the public and its own personnel.  "Feel good" measures, such PERF suggestions which pander to a small number of people who either can't or won't understand the complexities involved in law enforcement uses of force, only increase the danger everyone.


Sean Van Leeuwen is Vice President of the Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs. ALADS is the collective bargaining agent and represents more than 8,200 deputy sheriffs and district attorney investigators working in Los Angeles County.  Sean can be reached at [email protected].

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