Page 20 - November2018

Protect yourself after the use of deadly force
Law enforcement officers involved in a deadly force situation cannot afford to presume that their department supervisors will protect their in- terests in the aftermath of a shooting. Those
days are gone.
I was involved in a shooting in 1996. Af-
force. Officers should avoid giving an immediate statement and must discipline themselves from giving “unofficial” com- ments. Anyone you talk with about a shooting who does not have a legal privilege of confidentiality can be sub-
terward, our tact lieutenant and district commander were called at home and im- mediately responded to the scene. A pair of
dicks who primarily focused on police shoot- ing cases arrived within minutes. The street deputy
was a former homicide detective and extremely knowledgeable about the law governing the use of deadly force. Even though my partner and I both came from police families, we were sur- prised at the level of support provided to us. It was a good shoot- ing, and justification was crystal-clear; however, the process was made very smooth as a result of the experience and skill of the various supervisors.
Today there are still many excellent supervisors; however, the shooting officer must do everything within his or her ability to protect himself or herself. Attorney Scott Wood, who represents law enforcement in Ohio, recently provided some advice for of- ficers who use deadly force. To begin with, all officers must have a good understanding of state and federal law concerning dead- ly force. Moreover, officers should remember their use-of-force training and be able to justify their legal presence at the time of the incident and explain their legal foundation for using deadly
FOP
LegalReport
poenaed to testify at a subsequent legal proceeding.
In the current setting, each and every deadly force encounterwillbereviewedforpossiblecriminalcharges against the shooting officer. But being subject to your department’s rules and regulations does not deprive you of
your constitutional rights.
Prior to giving a formal statement, make sure that you have
noted and can articulate the totality of circumstances which led to the decision to use deadly force. This is made difficult due to the physiological changes to your body resulting from the traumatic experience; however, it is important to list everything from memory, even if additional circumstances are recalled at a later time. Finally, always be truthful. Try not to fill in memory gaps with what you believe “must have happened.” Even being discredited on a minor point may be enough for a trier of fact to conclude that you lack credibility.
We can’t control what other people think about our split- second decisions, but nobody can prevent you from taking all steps necessary to prepare and protect yourself in the aftermath of the use of deadly force.
DANIEL HERBERT
20 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ NOVEMBER 2018