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Liability Management for Tactical, SWAT, & Emergency Response Operations
Length of Seminar:
2 Days
Instructor: Jack
Ryan, J.D. or James F. Desmarais, J.D.
Course Overview:
One of the most critical tasks in law enforcement involves
the use of tactical officers to accomplish high risk
operations.
While the success of these operations requires extensive
training and proper equipment; success also requires
sound
decision making from the moment the decision is made to
utilize a tactical response to a police event. The decision
itself may even be scrutinized with twenty-twenty hindsight.
Over the last decade, tactical operations have come
under
the scrutiny of the courts. This scrutiny is largely
the
results of lawsuits filed against agencies and officers
following a tactical operation. The purpose of this program
is to highlight the state of the law with respect to
tactical
operations. Much of the developing law can be found in
reported decisions of the federal courts.
The course
utilizes the
case-study approach in order to identify the important
policy and practice considerations that will assist
tactical commanders;
supervisors and officers make legally defensible decisions
without compromising operations during tactical events.
The program takes a three-tier approach. First, Participants
will be presented with the legal cases
that impact tactical operations and ultimately, liability.
Second, participants will be presented with policy issues
that may be considered for implementation. Finally, the
training turns toward the practical implementation of the
legal and policy issues in a manner that does not compromise
tactical operations or officer safety.
The course is unique in the fact that it
takes a practical approach to legal principles impacting
tactical operations and provides a road map to an operational
implementation of the legal principles without hindering
operations or compromising officer safety.
Upon Completion:
Participants will gain knowledge in the following areas:
Liability in Law
Enforcement Operations: This session focuses on civil
liability for individual officers in the various law enforcement
tasks. Using the task oriented approach; the session will
be limited to those areas that are also applicable to the
tactical officers.
Agency Liability:
This session reviews the law with respect to agency
liability. Students will be presented with the law relating
to civil rights claims brought against an agency as the
result of an officer’s conduct.
Training:
This session examines the law relating to an agency’s
failure to train officers for recurring (foreseeable) police
tasks.
Liability in Tactical
Operations: This session utilizes the principles
from the previous sessions in reviewing cases with direct
application to tactical operations.
Selection and Training:
Case review with respect to how selection of candidates
for specialized tactical units may impact liability as a
result of operations. The session will incorporate the legal
implications of entry-level and on-going training for specialized
operations.
The Failure to Plan:
The subject of discussion during this portion of the course
involves cases where agencies failed to plan the tactical
response, notwithstanding having the time to do so. A second
category of legal issues will be reviewed involving cases
where a plan was made, but developed in light of poor intelligence
and leading to a failure of the mission as well as liability.
Tactical Issues:
The session will begin with an examination of recent cases
which consider the events leading up to the need to use
deadly force as impacting the ultimate use of force. This
section will also examine court decisions relating to various
tactics utilized during tactical operations i.e. distraction
devices; bean-bag rounds; tasers; chemical deployment and
other less-lethal options.
Supervisory Liability:
A supervisor may have liability where they actively participate
in tactical operation. Supervisors also have liability when,
although not participating in the incident giving rise the
lawsuit, they have failed to supervise a subordinate tactical
officer over a period of time leading up to the incident.
This session focuses on the elements of supervisory liability
in the tactical operations function.
Special Considerations:
Several of the varying types of tactical circumstances that
a team may face have already been the subject of legal scrutiny.
This section utilizes the case-study method to examine the
developing law in the following areas:
Emotionally Disturbed
Persons: The developing law with respect tactics
utilized when dealing with emotionally disturbed persons.
Suicide by Cop:
Legal issues applicable to tactical operations with known
suicidal persons
Hostages:
The legal realities of a duty to protect hostages.
High Risk Warrant
Service/No Knock Warrants: The legal implications
of utilizing a tactical unit for high risk warrant service.
Regional Tactical
Units - Who takes the liability when things go bad?
Policy Development:
Developing the most defensible policy and training for tactical
teams. Making you and your agency a difficult target for
plaintiff’s attorney.
Applying the legal principles to an operational
model that does not hinder tactical operations or compromise
officer safety.
Why Have a Tactical Team?
The Cost of Having an Ostrich Approach to
the Selection of Team Members.
Policies v. Tactics, which One is your team
following?
Targets dictate Weapons, Weapons dictate
Liability: Weapons evaluation - Are we using the right weapon
for the right reason?
Training - How much training does the tactical
team require - Agencies want to operate at 90 MPH but only
want to give 10 MPH training.
The dangers of having the one-minute mind-set:
Respond and liability goes down/React and Liability goes
up.
Operational Philosophy: “I would rather
be prepared for something that may never happen, then have
it happen and not be prepared.”
Putting it all together: Winning in the streets
and winning in court.
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