Page 42 - TPA Journal May - June 2018

policymakers can reasonably be said to have been deliberately indifferent to the need for the
continuous preparation and reinforcement of personnel. In such circumstances the failure to provide

proper training may fairly be said to represent a policy for which the city is responsible and for which
the city may be held liable if it actually causes injury.

The fact that a particular police officer may be inadequately trained does not attach liability to

the city because an officer s shortcomings may have resulted from factors besides a faulty training
program. There are two ways in which a failure to train can be established. The first method occurs

when there has been a lack of training in a substantive area where there is an obvious need for some

form of instruction. For example, any armed law enforcement officer who has not received training in
the proper use of force should not be allowed to patrol the streets no matter what the physical

marksmanship skill level may be. Under the guidelines of Tennessee v. Garner (1985), training and

practice to develop firearms proficiency must be accompanied with instruction about when to shoot.
To do otherwise could only be construed as a deliberate failure by policymakers to train their

subordinates properly.
The second method of establishing a failure to train is to prove a pattern of conduct by police

personnel that would put the final policymakers on notice and that this notice to conduct specific

training was deliberately ignored to correct the behavior or proficiency level. For example, the county
prosecutor may issue a warning that local police officers have developed a pattern of including

inaccurate or misleading information on their arrest reports. Failure to address this problem
demonstrates a failure by management to perform a major responsibility; i.e. to correct a behavior

through the training effect.

Each state has a regulatory agency to oversee the training of law enforcement personnel within
that state. These regulatory agencies are primarily concerned with establishing and enforcing basic

training requirements for entry-level personnel. Most of these agencies are also charged with ensuring

that existing sworn employees satisfy the requirements of continued training. These requirements
usually address topics pertaining to relevant changes in the legal system. The amount of this mandated

training can range from 20 to 80 hours per year. The actual role of many state agencies is often limited

to being a keeper of attendance and certification records.
Only a very small number of the 50 states require specialized training for new assignments.

These assignments may include radar operator, intoxilyzer operator, K-9 handler, and training officer.

38 www.texaspoliceassociation.com • 866-997-8282 Texas Police Journal