[DV_listserv] Denver Shooting -- DV and Dangers to LEOs

[Domestic Violence issues]

Today (12/31/17), at least one law enforcement officer in Denver was killed responding to a Domestic Violence incident. At the time of this report, four other law enforcement officers were injured. Here is an article about the incident:
http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/31/us/colorado-shots-fired/index.html

In Oregon (Clackamas County), we recently had an officer-involved shooting that resulted from officers responding to a reported Violation of Restraining Order. The Suspect/Respondent was also pending a criminal trial on DV charges set for early 2018. That perpetrator was killed in gunfire exchange with officers.
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/oregon-man-killed-in-police-shootout-was-awaiting-trial-on-domestic-violence/


**In 2015, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF) entered into a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice COPS office to study officer line-of-duty deaths. This report is a five-year study analyzing line-of-duty deaths in which a total of 684 cases were reviewed.

Here is a link to the study:

http://www.nleomf.org/assets/pdfs/officer-safety/Primary-Research-Final-10-0.pdf

Some key findings from this report reveal that calls related to domestic disputes and domestic related incidents represented the highest number of fatal types of calls for service and were also the underlying cause of law enforcement fatalities for several other calls for service

Domestic Dispute Calls: As most law enforcement officers have been informed during their training or know intuitively from working the streets, and as this data supports, Domestic Dispute calls, or intra-family offenses, were the most dangerous type of call for the responding officers.

The analysis of calls for service that were classified as Domestic Dispute accounted for 20 of the 91 calls for service, or 22 percent, that resulted in an officer fatality.  In all but one of the cases studied, the responding officers were killed with a firearm.

Red Flags and Recommendations
1. Officers responding alone to a domestic-related call: Dispatchers and supervisors must be cognizant of the inherent dangers posed by domestic-related calls for service and ensure that officers are not sent alone, even for a report or a call where the "suspect is no longer on the scene."  In one of the cases examined, an officer dispatched alone was shot and killed when the suspect returned. This recommendation applies to the seemingly routine calls for service such as "Assist with Clothing," "Assist in Serving a Protection Order," or "Child Custody Disputes." There must be regular checks by the dispatcher on the welfare of the officers on scene.

2. Officers not waiting for their backup and entering before assessing the situation: Fellow officers, supervisors and dispatchers who become aware of officers handling calls without waiting for their assistance must address these actions.  Supervisors must counsel their subordinates, take proactive steps, and reinforce training and adherence to policy.  They must also monitor and, if necessary, document such instances and take corrective action.

3.  Not providing responding officers with accurate information or full information: Officers should be made aware of all the call information and, when possible, get a call history and any suspect information prior to making contact.  Further, officers should discuss any pertinent information such as threats, prior weapons charges or mention of weapons before handling the call.   Special emphasis should be placed on dispatchers and call takers to obtain accurate information.  Officers who are provided the wrong lookout or a poor suspect description are at a disadvantage when handling such calls. Not properly sharing relevant information regarding the call to assisting officers is problematic, especially when officers are responding from different jurisdictions and they may not be working from the same call information or history of the location and occupants.



*****CONFIDENTIALITY  NOTICE*****

This e-mail may contain information that is privileged, confidential, or otherwise exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If you are not the addressee or it appears from the context or otherwise that you have received this e-mail in error, please advise me immediately by reply e-mail, keep the contents confidential, and immediately delete the message and any attachments from your system. 

************************************
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://omls.oregon.gov/pipermail/dv_listserv/attachments/20171231/62ef8cb7/attachment.html>