Use of Force Training

The Basic Training curriculum includes 590 hours of training, which ranges from laws of arrest
to firearm courses.
Question to be answered:
1. How are officers trained about the use of force in Basic Training?
2. What training is given on de-escalation?
3. What is taken into account; or, what is done to reevaluate/change the training of
officers?
4. What training scenarios are officers exposed to in Basic Training?

1- How are officers trained about the legal/authorized use of force the Basic Training
curriculum?

Statutes authorizing the use of force and level of force to use when affecting an arrest or stopping
violent behavior are presented in two courses: Law of Arrest (4 hours) and Laws of Reasonable
Force (2 hours).
 

(1) A peace officer, or any person acting by his command in his aid and assistance, is justified
in using deadly force when:
(a) the officer is acting in obedience to and in accordance with the judgment of a competent
court in executing a penalty of death under Subsection 77-18-5.5(3) or (4);
(b) effecting an arrest or preventing an escape from custody following an arrest, where the
officer reasonably believes that deadly force is necessary to prevent the arrest from
being defeated by escape; and
(i) the officer has probable cause to believe that the suspect has committed a felony
offense involving the infliction or threatened infliction of death or serious bodily
injury; or
(ii) the officer has probable cause to believe the suspect poses a threat of death or
serious bodily injury to the officer or to others if apprehension is delayed; or
(c) the officer reasonably believes that the use of deadly force is necessary to prevent death
or serious bodily injury to the officer or another person.
76-2-404.  Peace officer's use of deadly force.

(2) If feasible, a verbal warning should be given by the officer prior to any use of deadly force
under Subsection (1)(b) or (1)(c).

(1) The person making the arrest shall inform the person being arrested of his intention, cause,
and authority to arrest him. Such notice shall not be required when:
(a) there is reason to believe the notice will endanger the life or safety of the officer or
another person or will likely enable the party being arrested to escape;
 (b) the person being arrested is actually engaged in the commission of, or an attempt to
commit, an offense; or
(c) the person being arrested is pursued immediately after the commission of an offense or
an escape.
77-7-6.  Manner of making arrest.

(2) (a) If a hearing-impaired person, as defined in Subsection 78B-1-201(2), is arrested for an

alleged violation of a criminal law, including a local ordinance, the arresting officer
shall assess the communicative abilities of the hearing-impaired person and conduct
this notification, and any further notifications of rights, warnings, interrogations, or
taking of statements, in a manner that accurately and effectively communicates with the
hearing-impaired person including qualified interpreters, lip reading, pen and paper,
typewriters, computers with print-out capability, and telecommunications devices for
the deaf.
(b) Compliance with this subsection is a factor to be considered by any court when
evaluating whether statements of a hearing-impaired person were made knowingly,
voluntarily, and intelligently.
77-7-7.  Force in making arrest.
     If a person is being arrested and flees or forcibly resists after being informed of the intention
to make the arrest, the person arresting may use reasonable force to effect the arrest. Deadly
force may be used only as provided in Section 76-2-404.

2-What training is given on de-escalation? De-escalation starts with mindset prior to a given
situation. Therefore, we build a foundation to help develop this mindset of de-escalation through
the following courses:
 Community Relations (5 hours): The cadet will develop an understanding of the concept
of ethics and leadership as it relates to the law enforcement profession and service to
Utah’s communities. The cadet will realize how vital leadership, ethics, and
professionalism are in a peace officer’s life both on and off duty. Cadets are also taught
to recognize implicit biases and embrace diversity as they serve Utah’s communities.
o Empathy
o Seek practical, logical and ethical solutions
*These course objectives for this course were researched and written by University of
Utah Center for Public Policy and Administration
 Conflict Resolution (12 hours): The cadet will demonstrate a working knowledge and
understanding of how to successfully resolve conflict using the principles taught in this
course. Since conflict is a central feature of the profession, successful resolution of
different types of conflict are an expectation of the public, peers, and offenders. During
this course, cadets a constantly reminded the importance of slowing down a situation in
an attempt to find a mutually beneficial outcome for all involved parties.
 Ethical
 Logical
  Practical
 Identify hooks and triggering mechanisms
 Adjust what you say to compensate for the uniform/presence
 How to reframe success from what decision/action is justified to what is necessary
with a given situation

Once we have established a desire in seeking a peaceful conclusion, if possible, then we get into
the techniques of de-escalation, which encompasses identifying when someone is experiencing a
mental crisis. The following courses are part of the Basic Training curriculum:
Mental Health Courses
Introduction to Crisis Intervention Response (3 hours): The cadet will develop a working
knowledge of the capabilities of the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) and will be able to
identify situations where CIT should be called out. The cadet will also gain skills to assist in
successfully handling situations involving persons amid mental health crisis.
 NAMI (National Alliance for Mentally Ill)-reference used to create this course
 Read body language
 Proximity
 Tone
 Reasonable and Necessary

Understanding Human Behavior (3 hours): This course is designed to help the cadet gain
an understanding of basic principles related to the study of human behavior. This course is the
first of a series in the Mental Health Training (MHT) block. It is designed to give the cadet a
foundation of knowledge and skills to assist in responding to individuals who may be suffering
from mental illness or are in an emotional or behavioral crisis. Many people, including peace
officers have misconceptions about people with mental illnesses. Components of this block of
training are designed to clarify these misconceptions.
Response to the Mental Health Crisis (8 hours): This course is designed to help the cadet
understand that normal, abnormal, and deviant behaviors are complex matters partly determined
by societal standards and cultural contexts. The cadet will develop recognition of certain serious
disorders of behavior to help in determining the best response to the behavior. This course is the
second of a series in the Mental Health Training (MHT) block. It is designed to give the cadet a
foundation of knowledge and skills to assist them when responding to those who are suffering a
mental health crisis.
Managing Excited Delirium/Agitated Chaotic Events (2 hours): The goal of this course is
to educate cadets about excited delirium syndrome and the potential it has to lead to sudden
death. Cadets will learn to identify physical signs and behavioral cues of excited delirium or
agitated chaotic event.
 Drug Recognition (2 hours): This course exposes the recruit to the symptoms when various
drugs are ingested. This will help the recruit recognize when someone is high risk of an excited
delirium episode. With this knowledge, the recruit can arrange for the proper tactic(s) and
medical treatment that is required.

3-What training scenarios are officers put through?

Reality Based Scenarios (52 hours): The recruit will be required to respond to 30 scenarios;
5 are mental health related. The cadet will demonstrate, through reality based scenarios, an
understanding of the critical skills needed to safely and effectively function in the law enforcement
profession.
 Civil disputes
 Deadly force
 Domestic violence
 Drug themed
 High hazard traffic stops
 Investigation
 Knowledge (written)
 Mental health
 Off-duty response
 Traffic stops
 Traffic accidents

Defensive Tactics (52): This course provides recruits a skill foundation for using their hands
when attempting to stop the behavior and to gain compliance from the subject. This course also
discusses and dissects the use of force episode to teach the recruit the various options at their
disposal to stop a given behavior and gain compliance (using the lowest level of force to
influence cessation of behavior and gain compliance).
* Use of force continuum was discarded 12-14 years ago because of the perceived restraints due
to the progressive visual and delivery nature of the schematic (stair step model).
** The Utah Department of Public Safety Peace Officer Standards and Training academy’s
Defensive Tactics program does not instruct any type of respiratory or vascular neck restraint. A
review of the program will also demonstrate that no concept or principle is instructed that may
prevent or hinder breathing or interfere with the flow of blood to the brain by way of applying
pressure to  the neck, throat or windpipe.
Another area examined in the defensive tactics program is the use of restraints on a subject that
is placed in a face-down position or a prone position while restrained. These positions have been
identified as a contributing risk factor related to in-custody deaths from excited delirium and
positional asphyxia.
Within the defensive tactics program Prone Handcuff and Search DT.1030.105 and Segmenting
DT.106.104 are two objectives that make use of the prone position. The important factor in these
instances is that once the subject is restrained (handcuffed), they are immediately rolled onto
their side, their front belt line searched for weapons, and then they are assisted to their feet for a
standing search to be conducted.
4-What is taken into account, or what is done to reevaluate and change the training of officers?
 Case law
 Changes in criminal law
 Changes in criminal tactics and techniques
 POST Council and sub-committees are used to evaluate certain aspects or needs within
the curriculum. Example: CIT training development (started as a 40 certification
proposal and ended up being three hour block of instruction.

Officer contact with the public percentages from the BJA 2011 report: 16% have some form of
contact with the LE. Of that 16% less than 1% will have some form of force used against them
(up to weapon drawn).
Approximately 323 million people in the US
750,000 officers in the US according to the CJIF Division 2.5 officers for every 1,000 people