Since the incident in Minneapolis involving George Floyd, there has been a growing hue and cry for the abolishment of qualified immunity for law enforcement officers. This article will address the question and its ramification. Qualified immunity provides public employees with protection against personal liability for actions taken in the performance of their duties. The […]
Category Archives: Officer Safety
Trial in the Court of Public Opinion
If one follows the news reports. Police officers do not have the rights and protections afforded to all people who are in the United States. Media outlets put people on air that want the police officer to be publicly flogged and then hanged in the public square. The officer, on the other hand, cannot try […]
A knee-jerk reaction
The State of Ohio has announced that it is designing two portable “shoot houses” that will be available to school districts that authorize their employees to be armed on school grounds. Law enforcement agencies utilize two methods of training working officers. They are Scenario Based Training (SBT) and Reality Based Training (RBT). SBT involves a […]
The scorecard for the law enforcement response
Law enforcement agencies, especially in the larger cities, have contingency plans in place to address civil unrest. The implementation of those plans, sadly, come from the orders of elected officials who hide in their offices. The situation on the campus of the University of California Los Angeles is a perfect example. The law enforcement response […]
What to do?
A thirty-four year old father lined his three young boys in his front yard and executed them with a rifle in a rural area just east of Cincinnati, Ohio. One of the three ran into a wooded area near the home and was captured by the father, who returned him to the house and executed […]
Dealing with suicide
Suicide among healthcare and public safety workers is nothing new. What is relatively new is the options offered to develop coping skills. It is clearly a result of mental illness which, in the case of people who deal with death on a professional level, comes from the stress of their employment. An active shooter exhibits […]
Paying a final tribute
In a world where anger, rage and political strife are the norm rather than the exception, it is uplifting to see the response to the death of a public safety professional in the line of duty. It is a fitting tribute to a person who has made the ultimate sacrifice to their community but the […]
The Politilaztion of Law Enforcement
In a shocking recent move, Los Angeles Police Chief Michael Moore has banned the blue line flag from being displayed by any member of LAPD. He claims that his decision is based upon a number of complaints from the community claiming that the flag is racially biased and indicates a belief in totalitarianism. The reality […]
The First Amendment Audit
There is a disturbing new trend being found on social media called “First Amendment Audit.” This involves males who enter public buildings to get video of something. The person demands the name and identification number of those they come into contact with, but refuse to provide any information about themselves. These individuals believe they are […]
The perils of training
Police agencies across the country are utilizing Reality Based Training (RBT) and Scenario Based Training (SBT) to adequately prepare officers for the types of encounters they will experience once they leave the training room. A Cincinnati, Ohio police academy recruit is is serious condition in a Cincinnati hospital after collapsing following a redman exercise. Video […]
The conviction of Kim Potter
This must begin with the statement that the death of Duante Wright was tragic and avoidable. However, the criminal conviction of the police officer who caused the death raises a number of issues which will likely be addressed at the appellate level. The family of Mr. Wright has suffered an irreparable loss, that is unarguable. […]
Media with an agenda
CNN was once a professional news organization created by Ted Turner. It is now a partisan provider of biased and inaccurate reporting designed to change the narrative of law enforcement. On Sunday, May 1, CNN aired a one hour piece titled, “United Shades of America.” It was narrated by an African-American male who exhibited a […]
An interesting question
I received a text from a former law enforcement officer that said: “Ok,,,is it just me, or has the world of LE collapsed in on itself? I do not recall there being so many excessive use of force incidents and certainly not so many cases where a child is shot and killed. What the hell […]
Another twist
A Columbus, Ohio police officer involved in a deadly shooting has been indicted by a Grand Jury. The indictment charges the former officer with Felony Murder, Felonious Assault, and two counts of Dereliction of Duty. The case was presented to the Grand Jury by the Ohio Attorney General. On December 22, 2020 officers Adam Coy […]
Damned if you do, Damned if you don’t
Two Federal Bureau of Investigation agents were killed and three others wounded in Sunrise, FL where they were serving a search warrant for Child Pornography. The suspect was also killed. The specific role of the five agents is unknown as to whether they were part of the tactical response or there as investigators. That is […]
When does is stop?
A police officer responding to a call is surrounded by people who are beating on his vehicle and his windows in Tacoma, WA. Is being vilified because he drove into the crowd fearing for his life, but not a single word of criticism for the people who were involved in the outrageous conduct from the […]
The Capitol Fiasco
The fiasco at the U.S. Capitol last week obviously failed miserably and there are calls from Democratic members of Congress for heads to roll. Those cries were made after the Capitol Police Chief and the Sergeant at Arms of the Senate had also both announced their resignations. In a television interview Chief Michael Sun told […]
Smell the coffee Chicago
With record breaking violence in many big cities across the country, police agencies are looking at ways to reduce the numbers. Cincinnati, Ohio, in conjunction with the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio announced a program which should have an impact on the violence. Cincinnati has already […]
The Breonna Taylor debacle
The death of a young woman in Louisville, Kentucky has started a firestorm that extends throughout the United States. It stemmed from the execution of a valid search warrant signed by a Judge. The “No Knock” warrant is a special request allowing the officers to execute in nighttime hours without identifying themselves. It requires sworn […]
A new strange case
In what gets ever stranger, a Grand Jury in Oklahoma City has indicted a Blackwell, Oklahoma Police Lieutenant for second degree murder in the shooting death of a 34 year old female who had fired at police officers and others. It is reported that the Grand Jury based their decision on the number of shots […]
Kudos are deserved
There is not a lot of love from the law enforcement community regarding the media, but kudos are due in the coverage of the line of duty death of a suburban Cincinnati, Ohio police officer. Sgt. Dale Woods of the Colerain Township, Ohio Police Department was struck by a truck while directing traffic at a […]
Arming Security Officers
Up until the mid-1980’s, a significant percentage of proprietary (in house) security departments armed and in many cases commissioned (police authority) their force. This includes Universities, Hospitals and schools.That changed due to a number of factors. First and foremost, corporations determined that the potential liability of misuse or abuse outweighed the value of officers carrying […]