Ambiguous Deadly Force Decisions Under Stress: Josh Shemenski’s Second Shooting
them, and then change our actions accord- ingly. It may not take more than a few mil- liseconds, but milliseconds mean everything in a gunfi ght. When milliseconds count so much and things are changing fast, mental fl exibility can make the diff erence between life and death. Nevertheless, people under stress sometimes do reckless things that ap- pear threatening to us, and there is seldom anything we can do to prevent it. But there is something we can do to improve our chances of making the right decision when that hap- pens—we can take action to improve our mental fl exibility:
Mental Flexibility Training Like any other skill, mental fl exibility can be signifi cantly improved with practice. Because of its realism and capacity to produce stress in trainees, scenario-based training that throws crucial unexpected changes into the mix is the best tool for developing this vital mental skill. However, it is very important to construct the scenarios in a way that doesn’t discourage the trainees. T is is not to say that every scenario should be easy or that no trainee should ever be allowed to fail a scenario. To the contrary, training needs to be challenging, and failure can be a valuable learning experience that highlights mistakes and emphasizes the need to improve. But the ultimate goal should be to create a learning experience that enables every trainee to leave with a positive attitude and increased confi dence. T e key is to make the scenarios increasingly more challenging, off er construc- tive feedback, and, as much as possible, gear the pace to each individual trainee. It is also important to construct scenarios that do more than just test the trainees’ obser- vation skills. While it is necessary to present scenarios that require the trainees to distin- guish between a gun and a cell phone, for example, more advanced scenarios should re- quire trainees to identify and respond appro- priately to pre-assault indicators, behavioral characteristics of armed individuals, and the body mechanics associated with threatening and non-threatening behaviors, like diff eren- tiating between how the hand is held when reaching for a gun as opposed to reaching for a wallet. Since these cues often precede the actual observation of the assailant’s weapon,
40 The Police Marksman Sep-Oct 2014
an offi cer who accurately identifi es them will have more time to make a decision, which improves his chances of making the right one. Mental imagery can be used in lieu of sce- nario-based training if necessary, but only to a limited degree. T is is because there is no way to create unexpected changes in a mental im- agery exercise. Nevertheless, it is possible to consider various key crucial decisions before they occur on the street. For example, imag- ine the circumstances in which you would have to make the transition from your fi rearm to your baton, or from your ECD to your fi rearm, or in which it would be inadvisable to shoot someone holding a gun. Consider the body language associated with handling a fi rearm with the intent to shoot someone in contrast to body language associated with the intent not to shoot. T ink not only about pre-assault indicators, but also about indica- tors that someone is calming down. T ink about these matters, and then use mental imagery to place yourself into scenarios in which you have to deal with them. While not as eff ective as scenario-based training, mental imagery can supplement it, and can also be used as a reasonable alternative to it when it isn’t otherwise available.
Observation Skills Mental fl exibility can also be enhanced by improving your observation skills. Even though we like to think of ourselves as trained observers, the truth is that few of us have ever been taught how to be better observers. Such training has traditionally been severely lacking or non-existent in law enforcement, but that has been changing in recent years. Training is now available that expands the ability to see and accurately process more of our surroundings, even when engaged in focused activities like approaching a downed assailant. Although the eyes capture images of everything within their fi eld of view just as a camera does with everything in its viewfi nder, they don’t actually see anything. Rather, the images are sent to the brain, which then inter- prets them. However, since the brain can only process a small amount of visual input at a time, it misses much of what the eyes pick up, especially when focused on something that it perceives as very important.
To overcome this problem, the aforemen- tioned training consists of a series of various visual exercises that train the brain to process more of this visual input, and to do it with greater recall and clarity. Originally devel- oped in World War II to train combat pilots to distinguish between friendly and hostile aircraft, these exercises have recently been adopted and modifi ed for use by law enforce- ment. Since then, they have proven to be very eff ective in increasing the ability to perceive and process visual input, thereby improving threat identifi cation and mental fl exibility. However, since the skills thus developed are perishable ones, signifi cant long-term reten- tion of them requires a commitment to prac- tice the exercises frequently (at least twice a week for no less than 15 minutes per session) for several months, and then to continue with regular maintenance exercises thereafter. Nevertheless, the benefi ts can be very impres- sive. Offi cers who are committed to keeping themselves and others safe will do well to take the training (available through Observation On Demand, LLC and Snipercraft, Inc. ) and follow through with the required practice.
Stress Reduction Stress clouds thinking, inhibits good deci- sion making, and can lead to rigid thinking and mental tunnel vision. T at being the case, one of the best ways to improve men- tal fl exibility is to reduce stress, and one of the best ways to reduce stress is with combat breathing (see Sidebar 2). Combat breathing requires concentration and is best learned while seated or reclining in a quiet, low-light environment. But it doesn’t take much prac- tice to master it, and once mastered, it can be done anywhere with little eff ort, includ- ing while responding to potentially danger- ous situations or any time you feel uneasy or anxious during a call or street contact. Just three breathing cycles will release stress, clear thinking, and improve observation skills, and even one or two cycles will help calm you when there isn’t time for three. More important, however, is the fact that combat breathing can be made into a habit that will enable you to use it in a wide vari- ety of situations with little conscious eff ort. Simply choose a trigger word seldom used in
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