The Untold Secret To De-escalation Training What they dont teach in de-escalation training: Finally a solution to officer-involved shootings.
With all the officer-involved shootings, video evidence of excessive and deadly force, I asked myself, “How is abuse of power different from domestic violence? Is there a correlation?” Here is the difference that I found. Abuse of power is different from domestic violence because their abuse does not involve an intimate partner. But more interestingly, police officers that engage in abusive behavior are more dangerous than most abusers because they benefit from institutional power. Our society established police officers as authority figures and their power is reinforced with a badge, gun, and institutional power. Police officers are privileged to advanced training, investigative techniques, and have a more in depth knowledge of the law compared to most citizens. They know how to justify use of force and have a better chance of protecting themselves from facing criminal charges. Abusive police freely exercise power and control and have the ability to intimidate, beat, or possibly kill a citizen without consequence. This makes abusive officers extremely dangerous in the line of duty and in their intimate relationships. Due to social conditioning, an abusive officer can feel entitled and have less tolerance and patience. Disagreements with an intimate partner, children, or a stranger on the street can easily escalate. Entitlement combined with cognitive distortions and institutional power, an abusive officer may perceive challenging or assertive behavior as disrespect. This can lead to a violent altercation. Domestic violence is defined as abusive behavior that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over another intimate partner. Domestic violence can be physical, emotional, sexual, economic, psychological actions or threats. According to this definition, there are similarities between domestic violence and an officer’s abuse of power. Due to this, I feel that it is important that police departments screen applicants thoroughly, by means of polygraph testing, personality assessments, and collateral information to identify potential abusers. Domestic abusers have the ability to infiltrate the police force if gone unchecked. These types of officers may have inferiority complexes, personality disorders, or a history of un-resolved trauma or abuse. They join the police force for the wrong reasons and can take out their frustrations on citizens justly or unjustly. In no way am I saying that “all police officers” are abusers. I’m just trying to help the police departments and communities avoid loss of life, rioting, and potential lawsuits due to the actions of mentally disturbed officers.
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