Officers learn to use guns as last resort
By Mike Baird, The Corpus Christi (Texas) Caller-Times
It’s not a game when police are pelted with paintballs in mock training situations. The stinging splat is a startling step into a virtual world of crime.
Seventy percent of cadets are hypothetically killed for the first time because they waver in their confidence about when to shoot, says John Graham, criminal justice instructor at Del Mar College.
The force-on-force training is a repeating two-shot plunge into life-and-death situations. And in several situations in the past few years, sometimes to the disdain of or criticism by the public, the training has been put to the test.
Corpus Christi Police have used deadly force five times in the last 36 months. Officers shot and killed a homeless man who lunged at them with a knife. Two men in separate instances who aimed BB guns at police were killed. Donald Wilcox, a suspected murderer who refused to drop his weapon, was shot and killed by a SWAT team. The fifth man killed was Paul Silvas, who police say tried to run them down in his vehicle last month.
A Nueces County grand jury, after reviewing the evidence, on Friday decided not to indict the two officers who shot and killed Silvas in last month’s incident at a convenience store.
Not long after that incident, on Nov. 16, three officers were wounded in a gunfight at an apartment complex where police had originally responded to a domestic disturbance call. The suspect, Ishmael Salahud-Din, was shot twice in the leg but last week was moved from a hospital to the Nueces County Jail. One of the officers received a serious head wound, but all are recovering.
In both of the recent instances, the public has raised questions about why so many shots had to be fired to subdue the alleged adversaries. In the case of Silvas, family and friends want to know if his alleged offense was worth his life.
Force is last resort
Decision-making during stressful situations receives a lot of attention during training periods.
“Tat-tat” is the guide that’s taught to exercise caution, said Bryan P. Smith, commander in charge of training Corpus Christi police.
“Just as serious as using deadly force when it should not be used, is not using it when it should be,” Smith said. “We’re focused on the officers’ decision-making ability.”
And few incidents end with officers firing their weapons.
In the past three years police have been assaulted 124 times, according to reports.
Police say deadly force is a last resort, to be used only when absolutely necessary. Here are the steps in between:
-- An initial uniform presence to defray a tense situation
-- Talking to a suspect to explain the situation and define the options
-- Physical control maneuvers to restrain a suspect
-- Use of less lethal weapons - baton or pepper spray
-- Use of a firearm without intent to kill
Trouble is, sometimes police must use the last resort first.
“An officer is authorized to use deadly force when faced with the threat of serious bodily injury against themselves or another citizen,” Smith said.
It’s not a ladder you climb from bottom to top, it’s sometimes an elevator that goes to the top in a split second, Graham said.
“It’s possible officers in the same circumstance would make different choices, but I’m convinced that Corpus Christi police officers I’ve interviewed have the best possible training to make proper choices,” he said.
The investigation into the most recent shooting incident at the apartment complex still is under way.
But all of the officers involved in deadly shooting incidents were cleared by internal affairs investigations and grand juries didn’t indict them after reviewing the incidents.
The police guide for using deadly force is called the “Use of Force Continuum.”
It details the initial effect of a uniformed authority at the scene and progresses to what police call “verbal judo” to control a heated or hostile situation.
Verbal judo
Verbal judo is a five-step process used to talk a person into compliance without resorting to physical restraint, by listening to them, empathizing with their situation, asking them to comply and summarizing their options.
An officer might say, “If you don’t leave, you’re trespassing and I have no option but to arrest you.”
Officers are encouraged to use a weaponless strategy by also learning physical control maneuvers and wrestling techniques to subdue rowdy or resistant suspects first, Smith said.
If these weaponless controls fail, the next consideration is use of non-lethal weapons.
One program gives training with the ASP - a metal telescopic, expandable baton that officers are taught to use before reaching for their gun. The Crime Control and Prevention District has certified more than 100 officers since May in an eight-hour course on use of the ASP, training officials said.
After classroom discussions about the moral consideration and using only the amount of force necessary to make an arrest, officers are tested on the level of force they demonstrate in progressive mock situations based on the force continuum, Smith said.
This class is continuing with groups of about 25 officers at a time, training officials said.
Another weapon used that’s not considered deadly is pepper spray.
The Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education requires peace officers statewide to re-qualify in firearm use once per year. Corpus Christi police officers qualify twice a year at the Corona Training Facility, Smith said.
The commission also evaluates Texas police training academies based on the first-time pass rates of graduated cadets taking the licensing exams, said Robert Bodisch, director of education and training and academy standards.
The Corpus Christi Police Department Police Academy has had a 100 percent first-time testing pass-rate with cadets for the last three years with average overall scores of 82.77, according to the exam statistics from the commission.
All officers complete 40 hours of training every two years, said Mary Helen Martinez at the Corona Training Facility.
The range master, Sgt. Fermin Garza, checks all firearms to be sure they meet the required standards, officials said.
The current semi-annual four-hour firearm training began in October.
Types of weapons
Officer training requirements also depend on the weapons they choose.
Shotguns are secondary weapons and for an officer to carry one they have to pass a 10-hour training course and qualify for use with updated training once each year.
Officers who choose to carry a semi-automatic weapon instead of the city-issued .357 magnum revolver must complete an additional 10-hour auto-transition course.
“It’s to make sure we drill them with the various techniques to handle the different function compared to a revolver,” Smith said.
Professional educators agree that each deadly force incident is different and the force continuum is only a guide that combines with an officer’s level of training, education and experience on the streets.
“There is no one single answer in any situation,” Graham said.
“At some point there’s a realization of risk, and hesitancy on the part of some officers has cost them their lives,” he said. “Officers are not trained to kill, they are taught to use the least amount of force necessary to stop aggressive behavior.”
Cadet Training:
-- 1,224 hours total.
-- 40 hours dedicated to firearms training with .357 magnum pistols.
-- Procedures for making warning shots, firing at vehicles, and destroying animals.
-- Safe handling of firearms, weapons maintenance, unloading procedures, holstering, reloading, marksmanship.
-- Videos showing firearms that police might encounter in the field.
-- Training with shotguns.
-- 16 hours of “force-on-force” training using paintball guns, to learn level of force needed in progressive situations.
-- 16 hours of crime scene practical exercises including “shoot, don’t shoot” scenarios.
-- 3-4 hours of night shooting instruction.
-- Firearm training from various distances. Cadets must demonstrate proficiency from 3 to 25 yards.
Source: Corpus Christi, Texas Police Department Training & Crime Prevention