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In reply to the discussion: I work with teens Michael Brown's age and the number one rule is [View all]brer cat
(27,323 posts)Has anyone here been through the training? I spoke this week with a woman who was a LEO in Atlanta for many years. She brought up the Michael Brown shooting and said she wished she could have asked some questions of Wilson. First, she said that during her time at the academy, rule #1 was to use the LEAST possible force. Also stressed constantly was DO NOT escalate, followed by DO NOT go it alone if the situation is getting out of hand...always call for backup and wait until they arrive. I would guess that she is in her 50's so she would have been trained some time before Wilson. Maybe training has changed during that time, but clearly Michael Brown would be alive today if Wilson had followed the training this former LEO had.
She also brought up the number of shots fired and said she could not get her mind around that...how in the world could he shoot that many times at someone not firing back at him.
If LEOs are currently being trained in a manner that would lead to "take control at all costs" mentality, maybe that is a way Holder and DOJ could help in the future. Some overhaul of the training programs might make a difference some day. That assumes training can penetrate a brain like Wilson's, which might be a stretch, but I try to be an optimist.