Week 11 Flashcards
What standard do courts look at when examining use of force cases? (3)
The objective reasonableness standard, judged from the standard of a reasonable officer on the scene
Researchers spend lots of time trying to determine what the reasonableness standard should be
How should officers perform when faced with these kinds of threats and how can we objectively/scientifically prove it?
What did Simon’s first study on physiological responses during police duties do? What methods did it use? (3)
Looked at how officers respond in high-intensity situations using quantitative analysis
Followed general duty officers in Surrey BC over 114 shifts
Equipped them with heart rate, GPS and inertia monitoring devices so they knew where they were, how they were moving at the time (to control for movement changing HR) and how they were physically reacting at the time
Also kept track of operational files, reports, data and profiles to know everything that happened on these shifts and when
What other measures did Study 1 consider? (5)
Phase of the call (dispatch, enroute, arrival on scene, encounter)
Priority level (priority 1: very urgent, priority 2: urgent, priority 3: routine)
Weapons reported or accessible during the call
Arrest or apprehension
Composite training variable (specialized training in use of force to only carbine training)
What did Study 1 find? (5)
Officers arousal level increased throughout the phases of the call
Calls dispatched with a higher priority level, involved apprehension/arrest and/or have a weapon involved did result in elevated arousal
Incident factors (weapon present, arrest) also makes a different
Training/skill level did not make a difference in arousal level
A formula was created to predict heart rate based on the features of the call
What did Simon’s second study on stress and lethal force scenarios hypothesize? (4)
Proposed that officers will display elevated stress in a scenario in line with a realistic UofF scenario
This stress level should be moderated by the level of police training and years of service
Higher stress levels will be associated with poorer performance
Higher levels of training and experience will be associated with better performance
What methods did Study 2 use? (3) What measures did they consider? (2)
Got 122 active duty officers to participate in a use of force simulation
Attached to stress reactivity monitoring devices (HR, eye monitoring)
Attached to a firearms training system that simulates a real gun shot
Considered level of training
Measured performance metrics using statistically supported measuring systems
What was the scenario in Study 2? (3)
Sent officers into a rundown apartment for a domestic disturbance with 2 males inside fighting (one with a knife)
A long range of chaotic and stressful scenarios occur including one male putting the knife to his own throat, yelling/swearing at the officer, pulling a gun and trying to shoot the officer, etc.
These psychological stressors were all put in place based on researching supporting their common occurrence in real life scenarios (noise, time pressure, ambiguity, etc.)
What happened to the officers in the scenario? (6)
Heart rate and fight or flight increases the further you get into the scenario, making logic go down
Most officers reported cognitive and perceptual distortions (autopilot, tunnel vision, etc.)
Small insignificant stress difference between training levels
Performance only went up a small bit with added training and actually went down a bit with years of experience
Several officers made lethal force errors either by mistake of fact or decision making (shooting the bystander, shooting the man who put the knife to his throat)
These errors increased with stress reactivity, level of training, and years of police service
Were the hypotheses in Study 2 supported? (4)
Officers did display elevated stress reactivity in the use of force scenario
Mixed evidence on level of training impacting stress reactivity
Highly elevated stress is associated with poorer performance
Also mixed evidence on level of training/experience being associated with better performance
According to Study 2, what are behavioral predictors of good performance? (5)
Assessing the situation
Recognizing threat cues
Maintaining tactical advantage
Competence with intervention options
De-escalation techniques and behaviors
What are the legal implications of study 2 for the objective reasonableness standard? (4)
Paints a realistic picture of human performance under stress and that it is suboptimal
Even with training, performance deficits and lethal force errors are persistent
A reasonable officer will likely not perform flawlessly under the circumstances of a critical incident
Suggests responsibility (except in circumstances of bias, malice of neglect) should lie with government and institutions, not the officers
What are the training implications of study 2 for evidence-based training?
Need training on those factors that were indicative of better performance that is sufficient and frequent
What is Excited Delirium Syndrome (ExDS)? (6)
A state of extreme mental and physiological excitement
An autopsy fails to reveal evidence of sufficient trauma or natural disease to explain the death
Used to be called Bell’s mania until the 1880s
Became more common after deinstitutionalization and stimulant use in the 80s
Dopamine and substance use are common factors in it but there is no definitive cause yet
Cause of death is usually cardiovascular arrest (not CEW or vascular neck restraint)
What are the 10 features of ExDS?
PARSBFNSHG How many do you need to be considered as having ExDS?
Pain tolerance
Constant/near-constant activity
Not responsive to police presence
Superhuman strength
Rapid breathing
Does not fatigue
Naked/inappropriately clothed
Sweating profusely
Tactile hyperthermia
Glass attraction/destruction
Need 6 or more to have ExDS
Is ExDS recognized by medical entities? (2)
Not recognized by the APA or WHO
Is recognized by several medical and physician groups
What is the debate surrounding ExDS? (2)
There are several community groups who believe that it is used as a justification by police for their actions
Also argue that it is not real because of how many large psych institutions don’t recognize it as a real disorder
What are the knowledge gaps in the research area of ExDS? (4) What has been done in response?
Prevalence and distinguishing factors
Situation and risk factors associated with these encounters
Predictors of adverse outcomes
Promising intervention strategies
Simon did 4 studies to try and fill these gaps
What did Simon’s Study 1 do? What did it find? (2) AHHSEF
Looked across non-fatal use of force police encounters for people with ExDS symptoms to identify distinguishing features of ExDS
Found it was a state of extreme mental and physiological excitement
Characterized by extreme agitation, hyperthermia, hostility, exception strength and endurance without apparent fatigue
What did Study 2 do? (3) What did it find? (2)
Looked at situational factors and risks to officer safety in non-lethal use of force encounters
Created odds ratios of risk factors based on there being less than 3 risk factors vs. 6 or more
On the line is same probability of occurrence, before the line is less common, after the line is more common
Alcohol use is less common in ExDS cases
Drugs, drugs and alcohol, struggle, assaultive, grievous bodily harm or death and weapon perception are all common in these cases
What did Study 3 do? (2) What did it find?
Looked at the risk of adverse outcomes in non-fatal use of force encounters involving ExDS
Did 4 odds ratios to assess likeliness of risk
Found that more than one intervention being needed, them being ineffective, the subject being injured and the officer being injured (risky situations) are more likely when 6 or more ExDS symptoms are present, there is a struggle, they are assaultive, and there is a threat of grievous bodily injury/harm
What did Study 4 do? (2) What did it find? (3) What does this mean? (2)
Looked at the effectiveness (police reported and arrest rate) and risk (injury and medical treatment) of police intervention options for people with ExDS
Studied millions of police interactions to look for people exhibiting features of ExDS in use of force occurrences
Found use of force options that are deemed effective (take downs, vascular neck restraints) are usually the ones deemed not safe
Similarly, options that are safer (CEW on probe mode, pepper spray) are not as effective
Intervention options that did not rely on subject compliance showed the most promise when considering this balance (CEW in probe mode, VNR)
Means the problem when dealing with people with ExDS arises when considering the tradeoff between the effectiveness and risk of injury
Officers need to analyze the situation and balance these factors to determine the best possible options
What are the implications of prevention/intervention strategies for police and training when dealing with ExDS? (8) U B D M EBI M P S
We need policy and training that emphasizes:
- better understanding of medical emergencies
- EMS and backup immediately
- de-escalation
- coordinated multiple member response (usually one person is not enough)
- evidence-based intervention options that reduce the risk of injury and struggle
- continuously monitoring the situation
- side-lying or face-up positioning
- sedation by EMS as quickly as possible to brings everything down and under control
What is the Incident Management and Intervention Model?
The RCMP’s version of the National Use of Force Framework to assess and manage risk in all encounters with the public and help determine what intervention is needed
According to the 2022 RCMP Police Interventions Report find in terms of data trends? (2)
The rate of police interventions is very low and has been going downwards, with a stabilization in the last few years
Nunavut has the highest rate of applications of use of force across all provinces and territories (could be because of how many weapons are up there, lack of backup and support from other areas, the complete isolation from other services)
How do tasers work?
Not about pain compliance but causes involuntary muscle contractions which make it difficult and almost impossible to move
