Archive for EDP
More On EDPs: Please Be Careful Out There
Posted by: | CommentsI’ve talked a bit before about recognizing the emotionally disturbed person (EDP) and offered some tips on dealing with an EDP. If I haven’t stressed the importance of how dangerous an EDP can be, let me do so now.
EDPs by there very nature are unpredictable and unlikely to deal with you in a completely rational manner. As a result, a calm EDP can instantly become violent without any discernible trigger. So, do not be lulled into complacency when dealing with someone who may be disturbed.
EDPs frequently perceive reality differently, and understanding that may help explain their behaviors. For example, several years ago I dealt with a man who went off his meds and began thinking that the people he was seeing were aliens wearing “human suits.” And this was before Men in Black
The point, though, is to look at things through his perception of reality. This EDP felt completely justified in shooting some people because he thought he would be killing alien invaders. So, what if I came up on him and he thought I was a bug in an Edgar suit? Suddenly it is game on. But, I could be talking to him and everything seem ok, and then he suddenly realizes I am an alien. If I have relaxed, he may very easily get the drop on me.
A rookie on my shift tonight spots a guy walking down the road who is wearing only socks, shorts, and heart monitor leads. The rookie is smart enough to figure out that the guy may be an escapee from the psych ward of one of the nearby hospitals and gets out with the subject. His backup officer rolls up about two minutes later to find the rookie and EDP rolling on the ground and the EDP is trying to grab the officer’s gun. Fortunately, the rookie is in solid shape and the backup officer was able to provide a bit of overwhelming force to get the guy in custody. Just another example of how an encounter with an EDP went downhill fast.
About eight hours before I went on shift tonight, a deputy with another county here in Florida was shot and killed by an EDP. It seems this EDP was taken to a psych facility for a mental health evaluation (called a Baker Act here) the previous evening. At some point the EDP escapes and then is recaptured. Then the EDP escapes from this ’secure’ facility again. When the deputies go to pick him back up, he is armed and barricaded inside a house. Eventually the decision is made to have the special response team make entry, and ultimately, a deputy and the subject were both shot and killed.
So, don’t get complacent. Read the tips I posted and make sure you are using all of your officer safety tools and tactics. You never know when an EDP will decide its time to try and kill you.
Stay safe!
Recognize A Deadly Force Situation: Tasers Are Not Appropriate
Posted by: | CommentsPolice officers have enjoyed the use of the Taser X26 (and the effective M26 before that) as an excellent intermediate force option that allows the quick incapacitation of an offender while minimize the chance of harm to the suspect and officers involved. Tasers tend to be effective where pain compliance techniques are not.
However, Tasers are not 100% reliable. For the Taser to work properly there has to be a completed circuit with electricity flowing through a wide section of muscle mass. The failure of a Taser to effectively work can happen if only one probe hits the suspect, or the probes land too close together, or there is a faulty battery, or thick clothes do not allow the probes to get close to the skin. I’ve seen Tasers fail to incapacitate in each of these situations. The point is: the X26 is effective but not 100%.
There is an understandable reluctance by police officers to use deadly force. Cops are not evil people and they do not want to harm or kill anyone. So, many times when a police officer faces a situation in which deadly force is the appropriate level of force, the officer may hesitate or seek some other lower level of force, which generally decreases their own safety. While in some respects this is admirable, the fact is the officer must survive and win the encounter, not just for his or her own well being, but for the community as a whole. For if the officer is incapacitated or killed due to their attempt at a lower force option, their killer is now free to harm other innocents…perhaps even with the officers own weapons.
If a police officer encounters a suspect armed with a deadly weapon, the officer’s appropriate response will be deadly force, not a Taser. A suicidal subject armed with a knife or a gun needs to see the business end of your AR, shotgun, or pistol…not the blast doors of a ‘green’ X26 cartridge. If you have appropriate deadly force cover (say your two zone partners are in a position of advantage covering the suspect with .223 rifles), then you might –in certain circumstances– attempt to use a Taser to subdue the suspect. The idea is that your backup can employ deadly force should the Taser attempt go wrong.
Keep in mind that the vast majority of us have Taser cartridges that are good to a maximum of 21′ or 25′. Perhaps 21′ sounds familiar? That distance should be known to all police officers as it relates to the Tueller Drill. The Tueller Drill was developed by Sgt. Dennis Tueller of the Salt Lake City PD. Sgt. Tueller discovered that an average person could cover 21′ and begin stabbing an officer in 1.5 seconds: the same amount of time an officer could draw his weapon and put a round on the threat. That, of course, does not take into account that a fatal shot is not likely to instantly stop the attack.
So, if you encounter a violent subject armed with an edged weapon AND you have lethal force cover AND you want to try to use a Taser, you better hope it works. If it doesn’t, you will likely have a subject on top of you in less than two seconds. Your partners better be very accurate and very quick. Even then you stand a pretty decent shot at getting hurt.
If the subject has a firearm, you don’t even have 1.5 seconds, as they just have to point and pull the trigger.
So, read your department SOP’s, know your state laws of the use of force, and work out plans with your zone partners before you encounter a deadly force situation in which you may want to try a Taser.
Excited Delirium: Signs Police Officers Should Look For
Posted by: | CommentsThe nature of excited delirium is debated among medical professionals and police trainers. Whatever its causes, and no matter what we call it, excited delirium exists, and it is dangerous.
A person who is in a state of excited delirium is clearly a threat to the officers and others, but they are also in danger from themselves. Oftentimes in-custody deaths are related to a suspect being in a state of excited delirium.
The best bet for an officer to avoid an in-custody death related to excited delirium, is to recognize the symptoms and summon emergency medical assistance when you encounter it.
Some of the symptoms attributed to excited delirium as identified by the Street Survival seminar are:
- profuse sweating
- paranoia
- aggression toward objects (especially glass)
- disrobing
- running
- yelling
- hiding
- hallucinating (especially that bugs are crawling on them)
- seizure
- thrashing before/after restraint
Keep in mind that someone with these symptoms may not be in a state of excited delirium, but it is far better to have EMS respond and clear the subject, than to have him or her die in your back seat.
Stay safe!
Meth Tweakers: Officer Safety Training Tips
Posted by: | CommentsMethamphetamine is one of the more dangerous drugs on the street. The manufacture of meth in clandestine labs uses acids, ammonias, and a host of other dangerous chemicals. During the process, things like phosphene gas and yellow phosphorus can be produced with deadly results. It is a nasty process.
As dangerous as the meth lab operation is, for most police officers the danger from meth comes from dealing with the methamphetamine user. Meth users are responsible for violence toward themselves, family members, friends, strangers, and each other. Headlines such as “Father Beheads 14-Year-Old Son” are, unfortunately, a by-product of meth use.
The abuse of methamphetamine tends to go in a cycle, with the user being most dangerous when they are tweaking. During the “tweaking” phase, the abuser is driven into a severe depression, followed by extreme paranoia and aggression. The tweaker’s behavior is very unpredictable, and the effects of tweaking are intensified by other depressants, such as alcohol.
A tweaker may appear normal at first blush. Their eyes are clear and their speech is concise. However, their eyes are moving at about 10 times faster than normal. Their may be a quiver to their voice. Often the tweaker’s movements will be jerky. The tweaker may be saying weird, delusional, or paranoid things.
If you, a police officer, encounters someone you believe is tweaking, here are a few tips that can help keep you safe:
- Get backup enroute. If violence erupts, you want your backup officers already on-scene or already enroute.
- Maintain a reactionary gap. A seven to ten foot gap is a good minimum. This allows you slightly more time to react if the tweaker becomes violent. Almost as important, this does not “crowd” the tweaker. Keep in mind that he is paranoid, and by standing close to him, he feels crowded and his feelings of paranoia are intensified.
- Slow your rate of speech and lower the pitch of your voice.
- Slow your movements. Try to avoid any sudden moving.
- Avoid shining lights in his face. Bright lights can be very frightening to a tweaker. Bright lights can cause a tweaker to spontaneously fight or run.
- Keep the tweaker talking. If he is talking, he is not listening to the paranoid voices in his head. A silent tweaker often means his paranoia has encroached into reality. You are now part of his paranoid delusions, which could mean violence against you is imminent.
Stay safe!
Suicide Jumpers: An EDP Police Officers Must Train For
Posted by: | CommentsPolice officers often respond to calls involving EDPs: Emotionally Disturbed Persons. Some of these EDPs are high on drugs, mentally ill, or severely depressed about some event in their life. Suicidal subjects are one of the types of EDP that we have to deal with.
Often times a suicidal subject does not have any real intent to harm themselves; they are just looking for help and don’t know how to ask. However, there are some EDPs who have the intent and will to die by their own hand. One method they may use is jumping from a tall structure.
Someone who is standing on a rooftop, a bridge railing, or a window ledge is a heartbeat from falling to their death. Even the most hardened cop is unwilling to let this person fall without making an attempt to save them.
Start thinking about where in your zone, beat, or jurisdiction are you likely to encounter a situation of a suicide jumper. Even if you don’t have skyscrapers, you probably have a bridge overpass, multi-story commercial building, or radio tower.
Once you have identified where you may encounter the EDP, think about:
- How will you approach the subject?
- Can you approach the subject from cover?
- Will the location allow for more than one officer to approach?
- Will there be a lot of ambient noise that will interfere with talking to the subject?
- Can you safely talk to the person at the location? If not, can you do anything to make it safer?
- Is there any special equipment that you may need access to?
Bridge overpasses seem to be a frequent location for suicidal subjects. This probably is because of ease of access. Anyone can walk across a bridge, whereas accessing a building roof is generally a bit harder.
Ohio troopers encountered a suicidal subject on a bridge last year. The subject was on the railing, and appeared to be ready to jump. The video is here. Watch the trooper as he talks to the woman, and works his way around to (about) her 5-o’clock position. From this position, he gives himself a fraction of a second more time to get to the EDP and pull her to safety. A job well done!
Keep in mind, however, not all suicidal subject will want your help. You must be prepared for witnessing a tragic incident.
A friend of mine with a neighboring department saw a woman parked in the break down lane of a bridge over an Interstate highway. Thinking that the woman was broken down, my friend pulled her patrol car around and parked behind the woman’s car. As the officer was getting out, the woman glanced at my friend, and then jumped right off of the bridge, hitting the pavement 20+ feet below. The woman did not survive.
Pay attention to what’s out there, and plan ahead for everything you can imagine. By thinking things through before you encounter them, you increase your likelihood of doing the right thing when the feces hits the windmaker.
Stay safe!
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For more on dealing with EDPs:
Recognizing Emotionally Disturbed Persons
Tips For Dealing With EDPs
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Recognizing Emotionally Disturbed Persons
Posted by: | CommentsEmotionally Disturbed Persons, or EDPs, are common encounters for the street level police officer.
EDPs fall into three general categories: chemical abusers, short term, and long term. Recognizing what category the EDP falls into may help you in how you deal with the subject.
The first category is the chemical abuser. The folks in this category include your crack-heads, meth-freaks, and drunks. Name any chemical, and I’m sure I can find someone abusing it. Police officers often deal with these people, especially drunks, and may become complacent because of this. Complacency can get you and your partner hurt. Anyone who is in a chemically-induced altered mental state has lowered inhibitions (they are more likely to attack you), and will most likely have a much higher tolerance to pain. Not really a good combination.
The short term EDP is generally out-of-control because of something going on in their life right now. For example, the loss of a loved one may push someone into a frenzy. Many times these folks aren’t dangerous, but they need some level of intervention to stabilize. A short-term EDP may be dangerous in some situations, though. Say, for example, a father has found out his daughter has been raped by a neighbor. That father may lose rational thought and be walking down the street with his hunting rifle to find him when you roll up.
The long term EDP is someone who has on-going mental health issues. Someone who is bi-polar or schizophrenic, for example, is a frequent example of an EDP police officers often encounter. A lot of times officers know in advance of the mental health issues because of prior calls to the residence. Sometimes, though, you may roll up on a trespassing or suspicious person call, completely unaware of the skewed reality of the person with whom you are about to deal.
Pay attention to the person’s behavior. Are they withdrawn? Are they acting as if they are being persecuted by people? Is their behavior erratic, or does their mood shift sharply? Do they have repetitive behaviors, such as snapping their finger every minute, or doing things in multiples? If you are seeing any of these behaviors, recognize them as clues that the person may be an EDP.
Many human services agencies offer free training in how to better recognize EDP’s, and how to deal with them. If you can, take some of this training, and learn to integrate it with your officer safety training.
