Response to Resistance/Aggression Instructor (Use of Force)

In any community, the proper understanding of response to resistance and aggression is crucial to the definition, design, and delivery of effective law enforcement services. There is no question improperly responding to resistance and aggression (RTRA)can lead to confusion, conflict, and even catastrophe.

What separates law enforcement officials from other members of society is the authority to use force*, even though the profession has chosen to utilize de-escalation** tools and techniques as opposed to using force as defined*. All of the facts and circumstances surrounding an incident prove important in the evaluation of a response to resistance and aggression incident. The officers involved must ensure that they document and bring to light every relevant detail.

All agencies strive to prepare their personnel for the challenges they will face, both on the street and off. In this regard, departments must ensure that their officers receive proper training pertaining to this learnable skill. After all, the ability of police to thoroughly and accurately document a response to resistance and aggression incident benefits the individual officer, the agency, and the community they work for. Because law enforcement more than ever is being scrutinized under a microscope rather than a magnifying glass, it’s crucial we prepare officers in the proper application of de-escalation tools and methodologies.

A reasonable response is central to every officer’s duties and is officially sanctioned, but questions remain:

  • What is a reasonable response/de-escalation tool?
  • Why and under what circumstances is one response/de-escalation tool chosen over another?
  • What standards are in place to ensure all police officers are consistent in addressing potential responses to resistance/aggression?

These are tough questions that demand sound answers if public confidence in law enforcement is to be maintained. This 3-day program is designed to prepare a law enforcement organization to implement a proper Response to Resistance/Aggression Instructor Training Program.

Response to Resistance/Aggression Instructor Program will provide the following:

  • Opportunity to Assess the Needs of The Organization and Develop More Informed Personnel
  • Properly Defining Force and De-escalation
  • Understanding Human Performance Under Stress
    • For Officers and Citizens
  • Training Officers to Have Better Understanding of Objective Reasonableness
  • Creating a Path for Better Decision-Making Regarding Response to Resistance/Aggression
  • Building and Maintaining Community Trust
  • Systematic Review of Response to Resistance/Aggression Incidents

Course Outline

The 3-day course curriculum covers:

1.Instructor Leadership and Responsibility in the Classroom

  •  Understanding that as an RTRA instructor you can be directly influential in the decision-making process of the officer you are training and the thing you teach or fail to teach can jeopardize their life and their career.
  • The instructional style demonstrates inquiry based and cooperative learning that drives questions that intrinsically lead students to good reasoning strategies. Instructors take on a coaching role through-out the process to facilitate clearer understanding.
  1. Constitution / Bill of Rights / Case Law (Graham v. Conner; Objective Reasonableness Standard / Canton v. Harris / Tennessee v. Gardner)
  2. Departmental Policy and Procedures on Response to Resistance/Aggression
  1. Review and Integration of Departmental Policy and Procedures with Interactive Reality Based Training (IRBT).  Scenarios are structured to critically assess personnel decision making capabilities as it relates to the following policy and procedures:
    • RTRA
    • Reporting, Investigation and review of RTRA
    • Lethal Tools
    • Less Lethal Tools
    • Arrest Policy
  1. Interactive Reality Based Training (IRBT) that includes: customization of hands on Realistic RTRA Scenarios to evaluate understanding of Departmental Policy and Procedures as it relates to the utilization of Lethal and Less-Lethal response options such as: Close Control Tactics (Defensive Tactics), OC Spray, Taser, and Baton Scenarios.

Interactive Reality Based Training will include the following:

–  Developing IRBT

–  Evaluator Responsibilities

–  Role Player (RP) Responsibilities

–  Safety Responsibilities and protocols

–  Equipment Manager/Training Weapon Requirements

–  Equipment Check offs

  1. The most important tool an officer can use is their brain. The mission is to entwine the cognitive skills of the officer with the motor skills of the officer. This training methodology teaches an officer to select the best decision in a real-world event even under extreme stress.
  2. Development of RTRA Instructor crossed trained as a Firearms Instructor and Defensive Tactics Instructor. All High liability training is integrated as a whole.
  3. RTRA / Frameworks, how they work and when they don’t.
  4. Physiological Effect of Stress and Survival Stress Reaction
  • Knowing what to expect can help us be better prepared and therefore increases our ability to properly respond and perform the necessary tasks to survive a potentially violent encounter. The following are things to expect and how to overcome them:
  1. –  Physiological Changes
  2. –  Human Performance
  3. Legal aspects regarding RTRA
  4. RTRA Report Writing to stress the importance of factual articulation, totality of the circumstances, and facts vs. conclusions.
  5. RTRA documentation (RTRA Report preparation in conjunction with Interactive Reality Based Training to include):

            –  Assessment
            –  Observation
            –  Action
            –  Summary

  1. Verbal De-Escalation skills
  2. Science behind anger/aggression 
  3. Verbal tools
  4. Verbalization – in high and low stress situations
  5. Command Presence, while you may be present, you may not have PRESENCE.
  6. Body Language
  7. Ego Management
  8. Advanced Rapport Building
  9. Critical Incident Debriefing.

*FORCE – Power dynamically considered, that is, in motion or in action; constraining power, compulsion; strength directed to an end. Usually the word occurs in such connections as to show that unlawful or wrongful action is meant. Watson v. Railway Co., 7 Misc. Rep. 562, 28 N. Y. Supp. 84; Plank Road Co. v. Robbins, 22 Barb. (X. Y.)  607.Unlawful violence. (Black’s Law Dictionary)

violence, compulsion, or constraint exerted upon or against a person or thing. (merriam-webster.com)

De-escalate –  to decrease in extent, volume, or scope. (merriam-webster.com)

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