Before someone can understand what is reasonable in a use of force incident, they must first understand human performance factors and what the human mind and body can realistically do. A firm understanding of the complex interplay between perceived variables in the subject’s behavior, the circumstances which bring the subject an officer together, environmental conditions, and law enforcement officer response is necessary.

Training complexity.

Time is not an infinite resource. It is also not “Always on your side.” as is often stated in law enforcement training and operations. Time is a finite, ever changing resource. One second you “have” time. The next second, you “have” no time. Here is a great article by Michael Musengo, Lon Bartel, and Lynn Westover discussing the issues of time in high stress, high consequence events.

With the different methods subjects may use to attack, we need to examine what “cover” is and move beyond its classical definition.

If we redefine cover, as an object or structure that impedes a specific attack- how many “forms” of cover are in the photograph above- depending on the method of attack?

Lon Bartel and I wrote an article for Calibre Press (link provided) arguing for the redefining of the concept of cover. Looking at the photograph above, in conjunction with the article, depending on the type of attack, how many forms of “cover” might there be?

From a training perspective, if an officer is consistently and historically taught that cover only stops bullets, one could argue that under the stress of the moment, the officer might not recognize some of the “structures” and “objects” in the photograph above as “cover.”

Can the instructor and the learning environment they create positively or negatively affect the learner?

Yes and Yes.

It’s not a matter of if an officer will have to transition between weapon systems, it’s a matter of time. In the linked article, Lon Bartel and I discuss the importance of training weapon transitions.

How cost, quality, and time affect law enforcement training development.