GIVE THEM THE TOOLS
By Robert Vernon
Published in Law Officer Magazine © 2005
Early in my career, four state police officers were shot and
killed in a gun battle with two heavily armed suspects in an event
widely known as the Newhall Incident. After this heartbreaking event
was scrutinized and analyzed in hopes of preventing similar
tragedies, a critical training issue emerged: During the intense and
prolonged firefight, at least one of the officers had carefully
placed his expended brass in his uniform pocket—an action that may
have cost him his life. The investigation also determined that
during firearms training many officers collected their expended
cartridges in that very manner, which may have carried over to the
officer’s actions under stress. The bottom line: When officers
encounter an emergency situation, they usually revert to behavior
learned in training.
Clearly, training remains a very significant component of building
an excellent police organization. It’s not enough to set noble goals
or high standardsfor officers; they must be equipped to achieve
those goals and measure up to those standards. Training lies at the
very heart of preparing police officers for their difficult and
demanding role in our society.
Where & When
The time to prepare for an emergency is not during the critical
event. Savvy supervisors and training officers force trainees to
think through a variety of hypothetical scenarios, discuss them,
make contingency plans and then train for the skills that will guide
them through the test. Likewise, football players train extensively
on the skills they will use on game day. They run the plays, throw
the blocks and make the tackles over and over again. When the
challenge of the game occurs, they are ready. Their reactions are
almost automatic — like they’ve been programmed. It’s what we called
“developing muscle memory” when I was in the academy.
Everyone in leadership should assess training needs, provide
training resources and ensure training is delivered. So-called
vestibule or academy training is important, but some of the best
training and tactical preparedness is delivered at the training
officer or first line supervisory level. Often, training and
contingency planning takes place in the field or during roll call
and squad meetings. Therefore, officers in this frontline role must
understand and prepare themselves for this most important
responsibility.
Conviction Counts
Attitude is vital, too. Research has revealed that employees respond
positively to trainers who demonstrate strong conviction during the
training process. Leading or training with doubt leads to doubt in
the mind of the trainee. There is something about the body language,
tone of voice or look in the eye that reveals to the trainee the
training officer is not too sure about the direction they are
giving. On the other hand, conviction is also evident and makes the
trainer very believable and persuasive. When a training officer or
supervisor speaks with conviction it is like the old commercial for
a famous brokerage firm: “Everybody listens.”
Conviction does not grow in a vacuum. Genuine conviction is based on
facts, logic and principles; it results from research, analysis and
actual experience; and it is a by-product of disciplined preparation
by the trainer. It takes a lot of homework to develop strong
conviction.
When I entered my law enforcement career, I was taught the
then-traditional one-hand firing position. However, our experience
in Los Angeles revealed that more than 90 percent of
officer-involved shootings take place within seven yards. We
recognized the practicality of the Weaver two-hand stance and began
teaching and using it. The improvement in shooting capability from
this new technique was impressive.
Using this technique, two officers working one of our special
operations teams had been involved in several gunfights and had been
proven “by fire.” They were temporarily pulled from their field
assignment and given the responsibility of retro-training those of
us trained in the old system. I was part of a small group of staff
and command officers initially exposed to this training; I will
never forget that experience. The single factor that got my
attention at the very beginning of that exercise was the conviction
of the two officers. They exuded their belief in this new technique
and were visibly enthusiastic. They were so confident they convinced
me I would be a better combat shooter if I just followed their
direction and example. And they were right; at the end of the day, I
had made amazing progress.
The conviction of my two trainers allowed them to:
1) Use principles, not just rules or techniques to explain the scientific forces at work;
2) use a body of factual evidence to support their position;
3) demonstrate positive examples of the technique; and
4) give positive reinforcement when we did it right.
Do Your Homework
True leaders and trainers inspire students. In order to inspire, they must be inspired and really believe in what they ask others to do. They must believe strongly enough to take their belief to the point of commitment and hard work to prepare for the task. If you want to effectively train others, do your homework. Become a leader or trainer with strong conviction — on point.
Bob Vernon retired from the Los Angeles Police Department after 37 years on the force. He earned an MBA at Pepperdine University and is a graduate of the University of Southern California’s Managerial Policy Institute and the FBI’s National Executive Institute. After retirement, Vernon founded The Pointman Leadership Institute (visit http://pointmanleadership.org), which provides principle-based ethics seminars around the world for police agencies, parliament members, military leaders and a variety of other groups.