NCJ Number
226580
Journal
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 78 Issue: 4 Dated: April 2009 Pages: 16-21
Date Published
April 2009
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This article describes and examines the hands-on, experiential training developed for prosecutorial attorneys within the Civil Rights Unit in Washington, DC responsible for investigating the use of deadly force by law enforcement officers.
Abstract
The goal of the hands-on experiential training was to place U.S. attorneys in the shoes of objective, reasonable law enforcement officers who must use deadly force. The attorneys experienced anxiety in reporting the decisions they made during these high-stress but nonthreatening scenarios. It gave them some insight into what officers may experience when their lives and those of citizens are in jeopardy. This training provides attorneys with additional information to make clear, equitable reviews, and offers additional insight of the effects of these agonizing events on those law enforcement officers compelled to use deadly force. It is recommended that local and State law enforcement agencies consider developing training programs for attorneys charged with reviewing the use of deadly force by their officers. After reviewing use-of-force cases, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia requested, with the help of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the creation of a training program for senior prosecutors of the newly established Civil Rights Unit responsible for investigating the use of deadly force by law enforcement officers. With the main intention of the program, to give attorneys the perspective of an officer, an interactive video simulator was employed that played scenarios requiring the participants to decide whether to engage the use of deadly force followed by discussion from other attorneys in the classroom who witnessed the events. 11 endnotes