Tactical De-escalationNAMI California Conference 2018

Sgt. Spencer Fomby• 18 years of experience in patrol, narcotics, community involved policing

• 14 years of experience on SWAT

• CIT Officer- 40 hour course (Oakland PD)

• Certified use of force instructor

• Involved in over 700 high risk incidents, including 4 incidents that resulted in justified officer involved shootings

• Visiting fellow in policing, University of Derby (UK)

Current Situation

• Since the Michael Brown shooting there has been increased scrutiny of law enforcement. The primary concern is how Police deal with unarmed non-compliant suspects or suspects armed with a weapon other than a firearm.

Overview

• The goal of this training is to provide a framework for response to suspects armed with edged weapons, impact weapons, or those who are unarmed but non-compliant.

• Following basic principles will increase safety for Officers, suspects and the public.

These tactics can reduce use of force against

• People in mental health crisis

• People under the influence of drugs/alcohol

• Armed/unarmed non-compliant suspects

Berkeley

• 10 square miles

• 120,000 residents

• Approximately 1000 chronically homeless

Berkeley PD

• 181 sworn officers

• 3.25 W&I 5150 transports per day

• Mobile Crisis Team

• Crisis Intervention Team

BPD Use of Force

• BPD SWAT (SRT) hasn’t been involved in a shooting since 2002

• Department hasn’t been involved in a shooting since 2012

8 hr Tactical De-escalation Course

• Use of CIT, Negotiators, Berkeley Mobile Crisis

• Verbal de-escalation

• Suicide by cop awareness

• Use of less lethal options

• Use of sound tactics (slow down, keep distance, use cover, one officer talks, stage medical, work as a team)

• Scenario based training

Tactical Principles• Contact/ Cover

• Use of cover, position of tactical advantage

• Don’t backpedal, use lateral movement

• Identify escape routes

• Clear communication

• Sometimes less is more, too many officers can make situation harder to manage

Support Roles

• Less Lethal

• Traffic/ Crowd Control

• Support/ Arrest

De-escalation Defined

• De‐escalation more broadly refers to the strategic slowing down of an incident in a manner that allows officers more time, distance, space and tactical flexibility during dynamic situations on the street.

The trigger for application of de-escalation tactics occurs when police action is not immediately necessary to protect the officer or others from harm. If force or police action is not immediately required, then officers should apply de-escalation tactics at the earliest opportunity.

To apply trained de-escalation tactics, it is essential that officers understand and are able to recognize the signs of escalating behavior.

Time to De-escalate?

Time to De-escalate?

• Have you been in a situation where you would have been legally justified in using deadly force but chose not to?

Suicide By Cop

California Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST, 2) identifies a SBC when a subject ‘‘engages in behavior which poses an apparent risk of serious injury or death, with the intent to precipitate the use of deadly force by law enforcement personnel towards that individual.’’

Suicide By Cop (SBC)

• Spontaneous or planned

SBC Attempt (Belen N.M.)

Can We Walk Away?

• Barricaded subject

• Suicidal

• Does not have access to potential victims

(Fort Bend Co TX)

Less Lethal Options

Sgt. Spencer Fomby S-7

sfomby@cityofberkeley.info