Topic 5 Police Discretion Scenarios Worksheet Instructions: Complete Parts I and II of the worksheet. Part I: Read the scenarios below and consider the many options an officer has when responding to s

The following example reveals how a dual understanding of the law and my own nature allowed me to avoid escalating a situation and causing additional p roblem s fo r everyone, myself included.

In this particular case, a woman called to ask us to check on her m other’s well-being. The mother supposedly was meeting the caller’s brother at the mother’s residence, and the wor­ ried caller said her brother was a drug user. She gave m e his date of birth, and I soon discov­ ered that his driver’s license was revoked, but that he did not have any active warrants.

When I arrived, the front door of the resi­ dence was open, but the glass storm door was shut. While walking up the driveway, I felt the exhaust pipe o f the vehicle in the drive­ way. It was still hot, indicating it had been driv­ en recently, so I recorded the vehicle and plate information.I asked who else lived at the address, and the man did not respond. I asked again, and he mentioned a name I did not understand or rec­ ognize. Since his behavior was odd and aggres­ sive and his actions suggested he was under the influence o f drugs, I requested a second unit as backup and for medical to stand by.

I asked the man where his mother was, and he stated that he did not know. He said he did not touch her or talk to her. I asked if she was still located at the residence, and he said no. I as k ed i f he k n ew w h ere she w as, an d he yelled, “No! I told you I didn’t talk to her!” When backup arrived and another officer began speaking with the male, I retreated to my vehicle and called dispatch to request the cell phone number of the mother. After reach­ ing her, I confirmed that she was not at the residence in question and that she was fine.

While in my cruiser, 1 heard an officer yell, “Don’t pick up the hatchet!” It was clear the subject was increasingly agitated by our pres­ ence, so I took the opportunity to diffuse the situation and approach it from a different angle.

I returned to the house and asked the male if he would talk to medical. He said no. I told him I had reached his m other and that she was fine, and he thanked me. Since the well­ being o f the mother no longer was a concern,neighborhood and waited for the man to dri ve away. However, before I could catch him de­ parting, I received a call in progress that re­ quired my immediate attention.

Had I forced the situation at the residence, th ere w as a very goo d ch an ce the subject would have attempted to attack me or one of the other officers on the scene with the hatchet.

In such an instance, the likelihood of him being shot surely would have increased, and I could have been held liable for creating the situation.

Self-control on my part and a clear under­ standing o f my duties and obligations allowed me to avoid escalating a situation that quickly could have becom e tragic.

In another instance, I had to make a split- second decision while serving a mandatory protection order with a kick-out. This means I was going to an individual's home, serving him with a protection order, and making him leave his home, all within roughly 15 minutes.

The protection order was a no-contact or­ der with an added clause that the individual could not own or possess any firearms. The individual in this case had a criminal history o f violence and gang activity that I was aware of before making contact.

I knocked on the individual’s door in the morning, waking him up. When he came to COPS SHOULD N O T PLAT JEOPARDY b y Da r r o n Sp e n c e r W hen p o lic e o ffic e rs " f o r c e " a s itu a tio n , n e g a tiv e results u s u a lly fo llo w .

Through the door, I spoke with a very edgy and ag g re ssiv e m ale w ho did n o t identify himself, but who answered to the first name o f the brother. It was hard to hear him through the door, so I told him I was going to open it, but I am not sure he heard or understood me.

When I opened the door and held it open against m y back, the male raised his voice and became increasingly aggressive. This was cause for concern because I could see various tools on the floor about five feet away, includ­ ing a hatchet.

I calmly explained that I had been asked to check on the well-being o f the residents. The male stated that he was fine, but his eyes were blo o d sh o t and he nev er stopped pacing or waving his arms.I cancelled medical and left the scene. We had been contacted to check on the mother’s well­ being, and we had done that successfully.

I could have articulated a medical hold for the individual, but I had limited legal grounds, given that he was on private property. Since officers who escalate a situation unnecessarily can be held liable for any negative outcomes, my best bet was to implement a better plan that initiated contact with the man elsewhere.

It was apparent he had arrived at and intend­ ed to leave the premises in a motor vehicle.

Since I suspected he was under the influence of drugs and I knew his driver’s license was re­ voked, seeing him behind the wheel would give me legal reason to stop and arrest him.

To that en d , I p ark ed at the ex it o f thethe door, I saw that he was about six feet tall and weighed more than 300 pounds. He was wearing shorts and a tank top and had numer­ ous visible gang-related tattoos. He was not fully awake nor alert yet and, after I intro­ duced myself, he invited me into the single­ wide trailer house. We walked down a narrow hallway to the main bedroom.

1 stopped at the door o f the bedroom and looked inside. The room was very cluttered, and the oversized bed took up m ost o f the space. The m an’s girlfriend was sitting in the far c o m e r o f the room. To m y right w as a dresser, and on top o f it was a pistol pointing in my direction. 1 could tell from the bore size that it was either a BB or pellet gun, neither of which is classified as a firearm.

32USA T O D A Y ★ SEPTEMBER 2017 LawEnforw cwran I explained the protection order and kick- out along with the stipulation that he not own or possess any firearms. The protected party in th is c a s e w as a n o th e r w o m an , n o t the m an’s girlfriend.

Without warning, the man turned and pulled another pistol out from under the pillow. I saw it in the gap between his side and arm as he turned back to face me. He was holding it by the base o f the handle with it dangling upside down between his thumb and index finger.

If his hand had been wrapped around the grip o f the pistol in a normal fashion, I would have drawn my gun and shot him in the head with little to no warning. Even w ithout his hand wrapped around the grip o f the pistol, I would have been completely justified in shoot­ing and killing him, but I am thankful I made the decision not to take his life. In this case, it was the correct choice.

As he finished turning toward me, he ex­ plained, “I t’s ju s t a BB gun.” H e wanted to know if he could take his BB guns with him when he left. I stated that he could because they were not classified as firearms. I then ex­ plained how close I had come to shooting and killing him. He was taken aback and apolo­ getic. Still half asleep, he had not considered what he was doing. I told him never to reach for a gun without telling the officer beforehand.

Accidents occur every day. Some are a nui­ sance and take up your time, while others alter your life permanently. I have responded to a lot o f accidents, and I confidently can say thatproperly fastened seat belts and child restraints are very effective in saving lives and minimiz­ ing injuries. Excessive speed usually is a con­ tributing factor in most injuries and fatal acci­ dents, and most accidents occur because the driver is distracted or impaired. If everyone wore a seat belt, slowed down, and focused on driving, the accident rate would plummet.

One particular accident caused by an ex­ hausted driv er deeply im pacted me. As al­ ways, I did my best to go beyond the basic re­ quirements. Two vehicles were involved, and the sleep-deprived driver was dead. After tak­ ing pictures o f the scene and vehicles and completing a rough drawing o f the resting po­ sitions o f the vehicles, I headed to the hospital to speak to the driver who had survived the USA T O D A Y ★ SEPTEMBER 2017 3 3 La w En f o r c e m e n t T e c h n o l o g y t o t h e R e s c u e ?

by Adrian Aum en "Researchers in the new Complex Social In te ra c tio n . . . laboratory are using body-w orn cameras and advanced scientific tools and techniques—such as data analytics, biometrics, and machine learning— to examine the complex factors th a t shape interactions betw een police and com m unity members." As th e n a tio n g ra p p le s w ith p o lic in g a n d s e c u rity issu e s, c rim in a l ju s tic e s p e c ia l­ is ts a t W a s h in g to n S ta te U n iv e rs ity a re d e v e lo p in g te c h n o lo g y t o im p ro v e p o lic e -c o m ­ m u n it y r e la t io n s , o f f ic e r tr a in in g , a n d p u b lic safety. R e s e a rc h e rs in th e n e w C o m p le x So cia l In te ra c tio n ( C S I) la b o r a t o r y a re u s in g b o d y - w o r n c a m e r a s a n d a d v a n c e d s c ie n tific to o ls a n d te c h n iq u e s — s u c h a s d a ta a n a ly tic s , b io ­ m e tr ic s , a n d m a c h in e le a r n in g — t o e x a m in e t h e c o m p le x fa c to rs th a t s h a p e in te ra c tio n s b e ­ tw e e n p o lic e a n d c o m m u n ity m e m b e rs .

T h e in te rd is c ip lin a ry , in te rc o lle g ia te C S I re­ s e a r c h t e a m , le d b y D a v id M a k in , a s s is ta n t p ro fe s s o r o f c rim in a l ju s tic e a n d c rim in o lo g y , is t h e firs t t o e x p lo re p o lic e o ffic e r d e c is io n m a k ­ in g a n d in te rp e rs o n a l in te ra c tio n b y e x a m in in g d a ta fr o m b o d y -w o r n c a m e ra s , ‘T h is re s e a rc h a n d t e c h n o lo g y w ill p ro v id e in s ig h t in to p o lic e p ra c tic e a s w e ll a s re a l-w o rld a p p lic a tio n s fo r im p ro v in g o r g a n iz a tio n s a n d d e c is io n m a k in g a t th e in d iv id u a l level,” h e s tre s s e s .

T h e C S I t e a m is u s in g t h e in fo rm a tio n to d e s ig n a lg o r ith m s a n d n e w s o ftw a r e t o h e lp p u b lic s a f e t y a g e n c ie s im p r o v e p o lic e - c o m ­ m u n ity re la tio n s ; r e d u c e c o n flic t, c o s t, a n d lia ­ b ility; a n d e n h a n c e t h e h e a lth a n d w e ll- b e in g o f la w o ffic e rs a n d th e ir c o m m u n itie s .

S in c e its la u n c h e a r ly t h is year, t h e la b h a s a n a ly z e d m o r e th a n 2 , 0 0 0 p o lic e -c o m m u n ity in te ra c tio n s a n d n u m e r o u s r e c o r d s fr o m la w e n fo r c e m e n t in c id e n ts t o id e n tify , c o d e , a n d c a ta lo g ke y v a ria b le s a s s o c ia te d w ith a ra n g e o f o u t c o m e s , p o s itiv e t o n e g a tiv e . L o c a tio n , lig h tin g , t im e o f day, n u m b e r o f p e o p le p re ­ s e n t, g e n d e r, race, v e rb a l a n d p h y s ic a l stress, a n d in te n s ity o f th e in te ra c tio n a re a m o n g th e m y r ia d c o n te x tu a l f a c to rs a s s e s s e d .

T h is a p p r o a c h c o m b in e s a u t o m a t e d a n d m a n u a l c o d in g t o g e n e r a t e m o r e o b je c t iv e a n d h o lis tic d e s c rip tio n s o f p o lic e -c o m m u n ity in te ra c tio n s th a n o th e r e x is tin g m e th o d s p ro ­ v id e , M a k in c o n te n d s . P r e lim in a r y r e s u lts o f th e s tu d ie s h a v e b e e n p u b lis h e d in t h e J o u r­ n a l o f R esearch in C rim e a n d Delinquency.

To a id t h e C S I r e s e a r c h , A r iz o n a - b a s e d A x o n ( fo r m e r ly T A S E R In te rn a tio n a l) is e q u ip ­ p in g t h e la b w ith its la te s t b o d y - w o r n c a m e r a h a rd w a r e a n d s o ftw a re . T h e d o n a tio n w ill e n ­ a b le t h e re s e a r c h e rs t o u n d e r ta k e a ra n g e o f e x p e rim e n ts e x p lo rin g t h e s itu a tio n a l a n d d y ­ n a m ic fa c to r s a s s o c ia t e d w ith d e c is io n m a k ­ in g a n d t h e e ffic a c y o f p o lic e tra in in g .

‘T h e r e s e a r c h t h a t D a v id M a k in a n d h is te a m a r e d o in g a t W S U is g ro u n d b re a k in g ,” s a y s R ic k S m ith , A x o n C E O a n d fo u n d e r. ‘‘It r e p r e s e n ts a n o th e r e x c itin g a v e n u e fo r b o d y - w o r n c a m e r a u s a g e , p o te n tia lly le a d in g to th e d e v e lo p m e n t o f t o o l s t h a t w ill m a k e b o d y - w o r n c a m e r a f o o ta g e m o r e u s e fu l fo r tra in in g a n d fo r u n d e r s ta n d in g p a tte r n s o f b e havior."‘T h is is a n e x c e lle n t e x a m p le o f a w in -w in p u b lic-p riva te p a rtn e rs h ip w ith po ten tia l to g e n ­ e ra te c o s t s a v in g s fo r p o lic e d e p a rtm e n ts a n d b ring n e w p ro d u c ts t o t h e market," relates Brian Kraft, d ire c to r o f B u s in e s s D e v e lo p m e n t fo r th e C o lle g e o f A r ts a n d S c ie n c e s a n d d ire c to r o f In­ novation a n d In dustrial R e s e a rc h E n g a g e m e n t fo r th e O ffic e o f R e s e a rc h . T h e C S I lab a ls o re­ c e n t ly c o n t r a c t e d t o w o r k w it h t h e A p p lie d P h ysics L a b o f J o h n H o p k in s U n ive rsity o n fu r­ th e r research related to b o d y-w o rn c a m e ra use.

A s p e c ia lis t in p o lic e tra in in g a n d te c h n o lo ­ gy, M a k in e s p e c ia lly is in te re s te d in id e n tifyin g t h e situ a tio n a l a n d d y n a m ic fa c to rs a s s o c ia te d w ith ke y p e rfo rm a n c e in d ic a to rs a n d t h e d e c i­ s io n to u s e fo rce . W h ile s ta tis tic s relatin g to p o ­ lice u s e o f fo rc e lo n g ha ve b e e n c o lle c te d a n d m a d e a v a ila b le to th e public, M a k in p o in ts o u t th a t t h e in fo rm a tio n p ro v id e d b y th o s e sta tistics h a s b e e n lim ited, in d ic a tin g o n ly w h e th e r u se o f fo rc e o c c u rre d a n d th e ty p e o f fo rc e use d .

“ U s e o f fo r c e is n ’t in h e r e n t ly n e g a tiv e — th e r e a re t im e s w h e n it n e e d s t o o c c u r, a n d w e m u s t c o m e to u n d e r s ta n d n o t ju s t w h e th e r it h a p p e n s , b u t h o w it h a p p e n s . O u r s is th e firs t s tu d y I’m a w a re o f th a t a tte m p ts t o c o n ­ te x tu a liz e u s e o f fo rc e , s u c h a s h o w q u ic k ly it o c c u r s a n d t h e s e v e rity a n d d u ra tio n .” A d d s D a le W illits , a s s is t a n t p r o f e s s o r o f c r im in a l ju s tic e a n d c r im in o lo g y a n d a m e m ­ b e r o f t h e C S I r e s e a r c h t e a m : “ O n e o f t h e g re a t c h a lle n g e s o f s tu d y in g p o lic in g is th a t it is h a rd t o tr a n s la te r e s e a r c h r e s u lts in to p ra c ­ tic e . T h e a g e n c ie s w e ’v e ta lk e d t o a n d w o r k ­ e d w ith a re in c r e d ib ly e x c ite d a b o u t th e w o r k w e 're d o in g in t h is lab.” T h e s o ftw a re b e in g d e v e lo p e d b y th e C S I t e a m c o u ld b e u s e d in c o n c e r t w it h o ffic ia l a g e n c y d a t a t o h e lp s u p e r v i s o r s e v a lu a t e t h e i r o r g a n i z a t i o n s ’ a p p r o a c h e s t o o f f i c e r t r a in in g , p o lic ie s , a n d p r o t o c o ls a n d id e n tify a re a s fo r im p ro v e m e n t.

T h e d iv e rs ity o f t h e re s e a r c h e rs ’ e x p e rtis e a re a s p ro v id e s im p o r ta n t a d d e d p e rs p e c tiv e , n o te s c o p r in c ip a l in v e s tig a to r R a c h e l Bailey, a s s is ta n t p ro fe s s o r in t h e C o lle g e o f C o m m u n i­ c a t io n a n d d i r e c t o r o f t h e C o m m u n ic a t io n E m o tio n a n d C o g n itio n L a b ora to ry. “B y u sin g m u ltip le m e tr ic s fr o m in te rd is c ip lin a r y le n s e s , w e m a y b e a b le t o u n d e rs ta n d m o r e a c c u ra te ­ ly h o w o f f ic e r s a r e in t e r a c t in g w ith d iffe r e n t p u b lic s in c ir c u m s ta n c e s th a t a re s o m e tim e s v e ry stressful.” B r y c e J. D ie tric h , a s s is ta n t p ro fe s s o r o f s o ­ c ia l s c ie n c e in f o r m a t ic s a t t h e U n iv e r s it y o f Io w a , is a n o t h e r p r o m in e n t m e m b e r o f t h e C S I t e a m o f fa c u lty a n d g ra d u a te s tu d e n ts .

Adrian Aumen is assista n t d irecto r o f public relatio ns in the College o f A rts a n d Scie nces a t Washington State University, Pullm an.accident. After returning to the scene, I gave a written statement and completed a variety of paperwork with the deputy who was the pri­ mary on the case, then left.

While I was pulling away, an adult female standing in the road waved m e down. After identifying herself, she started asking ques­ tions about the vehicles involved in the acci­ dent, and I told her to let m e pull m y car off the road. I parked on the eastbound shoulder and got out. She asked me about her husband, and I told her he had died in the car crash.

Before 1 was able to say I was sorry, she col­ lapsed. I caught and held her and helped her to the back of my car. 1 opened the back door and she sat down in the vehicle with her legs out­ side. I handed her some tissues and knelt in front of her, holding her hands, before request­ ing dispatch to send a victim’s advocate.

She told m e her daughters were in her car, parked on a county road nearby, and that they were four and six years old. She gave m e her mother’s name and number, and I called the woman and explained the situation. The moth­ er stated she was on her way.

W hen the victim ’s advocate arrived, she spoke with the woman and went to check on her daughters.

I told the woman I had arrived on scene less than three minutes after the call came out, and I assured her that her husband did not suf­ fer. I told her she needed to focus her attention on her tw o wonderful children.

I spent 20 to 30 minutes with her and, when she was ready, I took tw o stuffed teddy bears out o f my trunk to give to her daughters and walked with her back to her vehicle.

Her parents arrived about 15 minutes later and helped transfer their granddaughters’ car seats to their vehicle. The woman completed a consent to search form on her husband’s ve­ hicle, locked her vehicle, and left with her kids in her parents’ vehicle.

I returned to the accident scene, gave the primary deputy the consent to search form, and left once again, but I could not stop think­ ing about this accident. The woman and her husband were about m y age; their children were only a few years older than my son. The husband worked the night shift on an oil and gas rig. He had stayed up to spend Christmas day with his wife and kids and then worked all night. On his way home, he had fallen asleep at the wheel and drifted into oncoming traffic.

I can still see this wom an’s face, and 1 still get emotional when 1 drive past the scene of the accident. What if my wife had been in her shoes? What if my son had been the child in the car? How would 1 have wanted the law enforcement officer to treat my family? These questions drive my behavior. ★ Darron Spencer, a f o r m e r M arine, was a c o r r e c tio n s o ffi c e r w ith C o l o r a d o ’s Weld County Sheriff’s Office, and is the fo u n d er o f Humane Policing, Broomfield, Colo., and au­ thor o f a book by the same name, fro m which this article is adapted.

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