Legal Implications of Use of Force-8 hours

This course provides a concise, legally grounded examination of law enforcement use of force, emphasizing how officers and agencies should evaluate force decisions through the lens of governing law. Instruction focuses on the application of relevant federal statutes, state statutes, and controlling case law from the federal circuit and state courts in which the host agency operates. Participants will analyze how constitutional standards, statutory authority, and judicial interpretations shape use of force policies, training, and real-world decision making. The course highlights practical methods for integrating legal requirements into use of force analysis, reporting, and post-incident review to ensure actions are lawful, defensible, and consistent with current legal precedent.

Classroom with computer and projection capabilities required.

Use of Force Decision Making-8 hours

This course examines law enforcement use of force through the lens of decision making in critical incidents, with a primary focus on the moments leading up to the application of force. Participants will analyze how many use of force incidents reflect training gaps rather than force failures, and how improved preparation can reduce the likelihood of adverse encounters. The course incorporates practical training concepts and strategies designed to enhance an officer’s ability to recognize cues, slow situations when possible by making continuous incremental decisions prior to a use of force event.

This class involves hands on practical application. Classroom with computer and projection capabilities required.

The Human Police Officer-8 hours

This course examines law enforcement use of force through the lens of police officers as human beings, emphasizing the physiological and psychological factors that influence performance in high-stress encounters. Topics include the nervous system, brain function, vision, reaction time, memory, and the role of human error in critical incidents. Participants will explore how stress and threat perception affect decision making and physical responses, particularly in situations where officers must move toward danger rather than instinctively avoid it. The course further examines how purposeful, realistic training can mitigate these human limitations, enhance performance under pressure, and support more effective, defensible use of force decisions.

Classroom with computer and projection capabilities required. This class involves hands on practical application; sim pistols with blank ammunition required.

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Future Classes

An Ecological Approach to Law Enforcement Training-16 hours

This course examines law enforcement training through the lens of Ecological Dynamics pedagogy, offering an alternative to traditional linear, behavior focused training models. Emphasizing how officers interact with and adapt to their environment, the course explores how learning emerges through experience, problem solving, and perception–action coupling, resulting in skills that are more durable and transferable to novel street encounters. Topics include the application of the Constraints-Led Approach, the shift from instructor to coach, effective use of feedback, class formulation, and scenario design. Participants will gain practical insight into designing training environments that enhance decision making, adaptability, and performance in complex, real-world law enforcement contexts.

This class involves hands on practical application. This class involves hands on practical application; sim pistols with blank ammunition required.