Law enforcement executives face serious fiscal and operational decisions that ultimately affect the health and safety of all stakeholders within their jurisdictions. The decision-making process is influenced by numerous factors. One such factor originates with citizens who are now more vocal, more critical and more judgmental than ever regarding their assessments of what represents professional law enforcement services. Moreover, since nearly every cellphone has video capability, many of these incidents are recorded without the full context or background, and certainly not from the officer’s point-of-view.
If making decisions on how to spend training and equipment money was choosing the lowest bid, the process would be simple. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth. Deciding how to spend money for equipment and training is a very complex process. Complicating the decision: officers now have an expectation of being included in the important decisions made by their departments. This is particularly true when it comes to the weapons they carry. Perhaps no issue is more personal for law enforcement officers than the selection of deadly force (DF) and non-deadly force (NDF) weapons.
In the United States, peace officers carry firearms—end of discussion. Most officers also have one or more options when it comes to NDF weapons. The NDF weapon surrounded by the most controversy—and more than 2.2 million field uses—is the Taser conducted electrical weapon (CEW). An Internet search will generate thousands of sites with strong and totally different opinions on CEWs. However, the question does not stop with deciding to allow or not allow the use of CEWs. If you already have a CEW program, or are about to start one, you may wish to consider the question: “Does our agency need a Master Instructor to oversee our CEW program?” This article provides information on Taser’s Master Instruction School, so agencies can make an informed assessment when answering that question.
Initial Rollout, Training & Deployments
It’s an exciting and uplifting event when the decision is made to authorize CEWs for the first time. Upgrading older analog models (M26 or X26) to the newest generation of digital models, such as the X2 or X26P, also generates considerable interest. More than 17,000 police agencies around the globe have adopted Taser’s CEW platforms. Regardless of the agency’s size, management of these systems demands an active and regular training and service commitment.
Running a good CEW program is a significant investment of time and money. The initial cost to purchase a CEW is just part of the fiscal commitment for the expected five-year service life of the weapon. There are numerous operational and financial decisions to be carefully researched and calculated before purchase orders are made. Taser CEWs need maintenance and software upgrades. Cartridges get used or expire and need to be replaced. Training classes (initial certification and recertification) need to be conducted. Policies and oversight should be reviewed and tweaked, usage records maintained and inquiries from officers, attorneys, citizens and the media need to be answered.
Officers being certified on the weapon will need at least one eight-hour course (Taser recommends a minimum of six hours, but that is not sufficient for most officers to become proficient with a CEW). Additionally, on an annual basis, officers will need to be recertified by attending a course that includes firing two cartridges.
Some high-ranking officers might think that profit is the primary motivation behind the two cartridge annual requirement, but this is not the case. Officers must receive regular training, which includes actually firing their CEWs, to ensure they are totally familiar with the system. As with all perishable physical skills, doing it once is not enough. Furthermore, when officers fail to get regular training there is an increased number of failed deployments with top probes going too high and bottom probes missing the target completely (remember officers have to guesstimate the eight-degree downward angle of the probe separation of the bottom probe). Frontal deployments should be lower center mass to avoid the dart-to-heart issues advocated by revised doctrine. Neuromuscular incapacitation will be achieved more often when you get one probe above and one probe below the waist. Without regular CEW training, officers revert back to firearms training, which focuses on targeting center mass shots to the chest.
Annual firearm requalification is an accepted practice for our profession despite the likelihood that only a small fraction of LEOs will ever use DF during their careers. This commitment to Taser’s annual qualification and recertification is critical for officers to be knowledgeable on current safety and tactical considerations. Officers need to demonstrate proficiency with what they will likely deploy as an NDF weapon once a year.
The Importance of Documentation
There are isolated incidents of misuse, overuse, rapid use, extended use and just plain stupid use—many of which defy common sense and violate Taser’s published training doctrine. While relatively few in number, the public typically only hears about the “bad events.” To minimize these, agencies need to make management of their CEW program an active process and one that remains ongoing.
It is important to accurately track the number of good outcomes (control achieved, no injuries) vs. bad outcomes (control not achieved, injuries). The best application of a Taser is not using it because displaying the Taser often gains immediate compliance. Far too many agencies fail to record when a CEW solves a problem if it was not activated.
A CEW incident recorded this morning on a smartphone may be viewed thousands of times before the sun goes down. A police chief or sheriff could be suddenly deluged with negative emails and phone calls. Sadly, many citizens will make up their minds about a law enforcement use of force incident by viewing an edited 10–15-second video clip.
Master Instructor School—An Immersion Experience
Taser Master Instructor School (MIS) is a five-day certification course for both new and recertifying Master Instructors. Areas of emphasis include legal updates, medical research, safety considerations, scenario-based training, training drills, all Taser products, CEW maintenance, crime scene investigation following CEW use, instructor development and a review of the new information contained in the training curriculum.
Taser Master Instructor School encompasses more than 40 hours of demanding physical, mental and academic training in a week. Participants conduct multiple drills and scenarios throughout the week, firing literally thousands of Taser cartridges in multiple drills and force-on-force encounters.
One outstanding enhancement of MIS is that Taser’s Axon Flex body worn cameras are integrated into the course throughout the week. From recording exposures to static non-firing and firing drills to force-on-force encounters to the stress course, officers are recording and being recorded from multiple angles. All of the week’s recordings are stored in a special account on Evidence.com for Master Instructors to review and download. These recordings are an invaluable post-MIS resource as Master Instructors train instructors across the globe. The recorded instruction allows Masters to review how a certain drill was conducted when they attended MIS. This element of the course greatly improves the consistency of instructional delivery methods.
A Master Instructor certification is not something you can buy—it must be earned. Certification is valid for two years for new Master Instructors and three years for recertifying Masters.
Training & Expertise Make the Difference
Law enforcement executives (police chiefs and sheriffs) have important questions to ask regarding a Taser program. What are the science-based realities (supported by research) as opposed to the public’s emotions and perceptions? What are the pros and cons for deploying CEWs? What are the actual costs for adopting a CEW program? What are the current legal and medical research findings? What are Taser’s recommendations for initial and renewal certification for users? What protocols and procedures should be adopted as CEW use of force doctrine is refined by ongoing medical research, judicial court decisions and industry best practices?
Law enforcement executives who are relying on their own past Taser user training may be surprised that CEW best practices continue to be refined. A Taser instructor is expected to know all of the above, but there is a lot of information to absorb in the 20-hour instructor course. A Master Instructor is a more knowledgeable and skilled expert for conducted electrical weapons.
Not every agency needs a Taser Master Instructor. For those agencies that have gone the extra mile to upgrade to this level of expertise the returns are far reaching but sometimes hard to count in dollars and cents. If you do the math, having your Taser instructors attend off-site training every two years as opposed to having that training done in-house by your own Taser Master Instructor is usually cost neutral. Agencies with Master Instructors generally find the rewards are well worth the cost. Knowledge gained by attending a Master Instructor program is an investment for the agency and the officers, so administrators should seriously consider taking this step if they wish to have the best possible Taser program.
