Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire How to end many police shootings

I have this discussion with other officers all of the time. People say we need better training in mental health. Some say we need to aim at limbs. Some say we are too militarized. I have my own theory on how to prevent more shootings and prepare officers to deal with threats that don't have guns. There is a group of people who deal with that stuff daily with no guns and vastly inferior numbers. They know how to deal with the worst and get compliance without immediately resorting to violence. They deal well with mental health professionals and the mentally ill alike.

Correctional Officers.

Make people who want to be cops, start inside a major jail or prison. You don't bring guns inside. You learn team takedowns on people with sharp objects. You learn to be polite when bad guys outnumber you 100 to 1. You learn that people have problems but aren't all dirtbags and still have to be deserve to be treated like human beings. You learn to coat your words with honey instead of vinegar, just in case you have to eat them.

Many of us former and some current C/Os used to get looked down on by guys on the road. Now that Im on the road and am involved with hiring at times, I look down on those who don't have that experience. I always treat booking C/Os with respect.

So are police so feeble minded they don't understand they have alternatives to shooting people?

It's not about being feeble. It's about being immersed in the craft of dealing with everything. C/Os are constantly in contact with felons. They get a lot more comfortable in their own skin. They get a lot more reps and they know when to get into a battle of wits or smile and call it good. And believe me, most people don't have the gear to make a career out of being an LEO.

I agree, a healthy dose of our skill set would go a long way.

That's the way it is for Sheriffs Deputies in Denver. Everyone starts in the County Jail for 2 years before you can go on the street.

C/O's kind of know who they're dealing with. By that, the people are in their building. Mostly they're not armed. Yes there are weapons made in jails all across the country. It's not like police out on the street dealing with someone they just made contact with for the first time. They have no idea who they're dealing with. I think having them work in correction might help some, it's not an end all be all though by any means.

NYH1.

Actually prosecute cops for their misdeeds.

Having worked on both sides of the wall, I'll say that you learn more, faster, about how to think on your feet. Nothing is scares me more than a recent college grad with no life experience.

Having worked on both sides of the wall, I'll say that you learn more, faster, about how to think on your feet. Nothing is scares me more than a recent college grad with no life experience.

Accountability. Works wonders with kids. Wonder how it works with adults?

I did some time on the privatized side of corrections. I think the experience did me a lot of good and made me a better street cop.. I got to observe how the criminal element interacts with each other. I observed how differently they interacted with us. I got to see how they manipulate people to try and get what they want. I got to observe the sub-cultural mannerisms, speech and lifestyle that they acquire as a result of being part of the incarcerated society. As a result, I can spot an ex-con from a mile away without ever talking to them.

That said, regardless of CO experience or not, lethal force is either legally justified or it's not. The post-shooting investigation and evidence will reveal whether it is or not.

Seems to me if you had trouble out of thuglife1 and cracker5 it be easier to handle than a random night traffic stop of Joe Q. Public.

You have a higher likelihood of getting killed on the street. Your chances of having a use of force or a coercing someone into cuffs is more likely in prison. If you want to see pros putting on restraints, watch prison guys.

The only time you start on top is when you're digging a well my friend. What you just said can apply to a cherry C/O as well.

How about a kid that grew up on the rough side of town and has forgotten more about what happens on the streets then a cop or c/o will ever know. He'll have more life experience dealing with bad people then most that haven't lived in that type of area ever will. Lets just say he never got in trouble. Him being fresh out of college doesn't make him a good candidate to be a cop? If you get hung up on age and what you perceive as life experience because he's just out of college, you'll lose a lot of good people. YMMV.

NYH1.

I'll restate: recent college grads who aren't straight outta Compton, scare me!

Dogs......problem solved.

Why is this a problem?

Last year cops shot 38 unarmed black men, some of whom, like the Ferguson perp, were violently attacking the cops.

About 8,000 blacks were murdered by other blacks.

Let the coops shoot first