Unconventional delivery of deadly force

Tracy E. Barnhart and Gary T. Klugiewicz

Here’s a sentence you probably never thought you’d see in print:

This article will address the unconventional delivery of deadly force in a correctional facility and how to defend your actions when you do.

This is not about giving officers a green light to use force indiscriminately. This is not about feeling good about killing someone using unconventional means — indeed, the taking of a life should not be entered into lightly but with great understanding and a sense of duty. Officers who have committed this ultimate seizure and were not properly prepared and debriefed afterwards have resigned due to the stress and turmoil it can cause.

The intention here is to give officers a clear understanding of the when, where, and how to use force capable of taking a life. Since most corrections officers are not trained or equipped with weapons designed to deliver deadly force, the techniques we are going to discuss must be considered unconventional. The following information is the kind of stuff we talk about before roll call when we hear about an assault on an officer from the previous shift.

It’s a fact that everyday corrections officers around the world are assaulted — and sometimes killed — by inmates in their care and custody. This type of violent assault against a corrections officer could happen at any facility. It could happen to a friend. It could happen to someone you went to the academy with. It could happen to you:

This headline appeared in the May 1st edition of the Cleveland Plain Dealer: “Corrections officer William Hesson dies at Cuyahoga County Juvenile Correctional Facility after incident with youth”

Hesson was described as a “highly respected and very professional” individual. No one could have seen the incident coming.

We wrote this article for Hesson, for his co-workers and for all the officers out there who have had to deal with similarly unfortunate situations.

Knowing when to act
Threat assessment is the act of becoming aware of a situation directly through the senses and making a reasonable determination about the risks involved. Because any inmate can potentially be assaultive and, ultimately, could use deadly force against you, you must treat every inmate as a potential threat.

Your goal should be to develop an “unbeatable attitude” that can be maintained throughout your entire career.

Some officers say, “It could never happen to me like that,” but the facts say it could.

Thus, you must plan for a life-threatening encounter. This is the only way to be truly mentally prepared.

The proper survival mindset should be built with this axiom as its foundation: “I know it’s going to happen, I just don’t know when.”

With this mindset you will be more alert, knowing that each inmate encounter could be the ultimate test of your training and experiences.

Use the Calibre Press Street Survival Positive Self Talk Phrase and say to yourself: “I WILL SURVIVE AND KEEP GOING — NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS!”

Survival mode
To survive is defined as “to remain alive or in existence.” This essential training element is often overlooked.

Our ego might tell us that we can take on an assaultive inmate alone because we are in better shape or know a particular technique, martial art, or high percentage move. In truth, however, the chaotic nature of real attacks and real fighting presents far too many variables. Sometimes the best option is to disengage or call for more assistance before it turns bad.

It is critical to know the difference between the two options: fight or flight

Remember, if the decision is fight, in a correctional institution you very well may not have the traditional weapon (i.e. a firearm) to “stop the threat.” Are you ready to take a life to save your life, the life of another staff member or an inmate’s life? You had better decide in advance and know what you “can” do once you decide that you “may” use deadly force.

In order to test your survivability in a life threatening physical assault on you or another person, ask yourself the following questions:

1. You and your partner are in a dayroom making a walk through. An inmate goes berserk and stabs you partner and then turns on you. Could you, and may you (legally), use deadly force to stop the inmate from stabbing you too by picking up a chair and driving the chair leg into the inmate face?
2. Your partner is being beaten to death by three gang members. The other officers on the shift are responding to a different disturbance. No one is coming soon enough to help. It’s your call. Could you, and may you, use deadly force by striking the first inmate multiple times in the back of the neck to stop his assault on your fellow officer?
3. You are escorting a couple of inmates when, suddenly, at the top of a staircase they assault you. You take a couple of punches in the head and you know that you can’t hold out much longer. No one else is coming. You can’t even get to your radio. You grab one of the inmates in desperation. You spin him around so he is moving towards the staircase. Could you, and may you, use deadly force to save your life by throwing him down the staircase before turning to deal with the other inmate?
4. You are being choked out in a chair by a much larger and stronger assailant. You are feeling yourself “fading to black.” You will soon be unconscious. No one else is coming. It’s your call. Could you, and may you, use deadly force to stop this threatening assault by stabbing the inmate in his eyes with your pen?

Well, what do you think? Can you do what you need to do to keep yourself and others safe and alive? If you said no, or even hesitated in saying yes, to any of the above questions you need to get your mind right.

The photos below show techniques that probably aren’t taught in your academies, but this doesn’t mean they can’t be justified.

These are three types of force responses that may be considered justified:

1.) A trained technique
2.) A dynamic application of a trained technique
3.) A “not trained but justifiable under the circumstances” technique

These photos are examples of the third type of technique — the “not trained but justifiable under the circumstances” technique. These are the wild, grasping for straws, attempts by officers to keep themselves and others safe when what they’ve been taught doesn’t work or isn’t appropriate for the level of threat.

When to use these not-trained, extreme measures
You know you’ve talked about it. After a serious officer assault or hearing about an officer being killed, we talk about what could have been done, if we would have done it and how it would be judged by our administration.

We’ve all said we would do it, but do we know when we can do it?

The answer is this: “It depends on the totality of circumstances.”

Any use of force decision, including your use of deadly force, must be made within an assessment of the “totality of circumstances” surrounding each specific incident the officer confronts, every time.

The State of Wisconsin Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board Principle of Subject Control Student Text states: “According to the general principles of the Graham v. Connor decision, the factors which — in general — affect whether or not force used in a correctional setting was ‘objectively reasonable’ include:

- Whether the person on whom the force was used posed an imminent threat to the safety of jail staff, other inmates, visitors, etc.
- Whether the person on whom the force was used was actually resisting or attempting to flee
- The severity of the alleged crime at issue”

By this standard, if an inmate is trying to kill you or another person, you are justified in defending your life with all means available — trained and, if reasonable and necessary, untrained techniques.

There are many considerations within this “Totality of the Circumstances” that influence the necessity to use reasonable and appropriate levels of force. They may include but are not limited to:

1.) What is the level of threat presented by the inmate?
2.) Does the officer have the ability to disengage?
3.) What are the ability, age, gender, physical condition, and size of the officer compared to that of the inmate?
4.) What is the correctional experience level of the officer?
5.) What are the numbers of officers, compared with the numbers of inmates?
6.) What is the distance from the officer to the inmate?
7.) What is the background or history of the inmate?
8.) What is the officer’s intended or desired result from the escalating force?

See the Explaining the Rapid Escalation of Force and Reporting the Whole Story – UOF Documentation Checklist to learn more about this.

Answering these questions will assist the officer in justifying and/or determining the necessity for the escalating or de-escalating of the reasonable use of force level up to, and including, lethal force. The officer must keep in mind that these considerations can change at any time.

They must be mentally aware and able to adapt to the changing circumstances:

- Do you actually know when to pull out all the stops and escalate high enough to control the inmate during a use of force incident?
- Do you fall into a “condition black” and lose all mental faculties when an inmate attacks you?
- Are you prepared to take a life one night in the middle of your shift?

An officer is not required to place themselves or another officer in unreasonable danger of death or serious physical injury before using deadly force.

Determining whether deadly force is necessary may involve instantaneous decisions that encompass many factors. Thus, an inmate may pose an imminent risk or danger even if he or she is not in possession of a weapon. For instance, if he or she has a weapon within reach or is running for cover carrying a weapon or running to a place where the officer has reason to believe a weapon is available for the inmate to use.

Gordon Graham, a nationally known law enforcement trainer, risks manager, and attorney, likes to put it this way: “Treat everyone you meet like a million bucks, but have a plan to take them out if necessary.” Graham’s philosophy may be drastic, but, on the flip side, a complacent mindset can get you and your fellow officers killed.

Remain alert, be decisive, and have a preplanned practiced response for doing what you need to do to keep yourself, your fellow staff members, and the inmates in your care and custody safe for when — not if — that day when you have to deliver deadly force comes.