Practical Intervention:
Intervention Opportunities for Law Enforcement Supervisors and Prosecutors.
The duty to intervene and the attendant training have become the latest focus in a string of mandates impacting the Law Enforcement world. But what does a duty to intervene mean as a practical matter? And how should this duty be realized to protect officers and citizens alike most effectively?
Use of force events that are categorized as excessive are associated most strongly with an officer’s duty to intervene on behalf of a citizen, but these events often represent only the final stage of intervention opportunities. This course takes a closer look at the officer and agency duty to intervene along a spectrum of intervention opportunities. An understanding of these opportunities by supervisors and prosecutors is essential, as they have a moral obligation to engage in practices that position officers for success and to intervene well before the need to discipline or make a charging decision about an officer surfaces. Along with recognizing inappropriate dominance and aggression behaviors, this course will help participants to:
- Understand how law enforcement activities often create the illusion of competence in a variety of knowledge, skills, and abilities.
- Appropriately analyze a citizen contact/use of force using BWC footage.
- Recognize different stages and conditions where intervention would be beneficial, using body worn camera as a diagnostic tool.
- Appreciate how human factors impact decision making, motor skills, and memory for officers and suspects.
- Identify officers who engage in a pattern of inappropriate dominance or aggressive behaviors during police-citizen encounters or within the agency.
- Recognize the need for unambiguous communication between prosecutors, law enforcement supervision, and line officers.
This course will use video of real-world events to discuss how the influences of an agency’s hiring practices, training programs, supervisors, policies, and unique work-group cultures can impact officer behaviors.
The instructors bring over 50 years of first-hand observations of organizational dynamics and a wealth of investigative, internal affairs, training, legal, and supervisory experience to this comprehensive discussion on the duty to intervene for prosecutors and law enforcement supervision. Healthier officers create healthier communities. Prosecutors and law enforcement leadership have the ability and duty to create healthier officers/agencies.
Class sizes are kept small to facilitate discussion.
Presenters:
Brian N. O’Donnell retired as a Lieutenant with the City of Charlottesville, Virginia, Police Department. He worked in a variety of assignments to include: SWAT, narcotics, and as an FBI Task Force Officer. He has extensive supervisory and training experience and held duty assignments in patrol, the Office of Professional Standards and the Training Bureau.
O’Donnell has specialized training in use of force evaluation, including the Advanced Specialist designation from the Force Science Institute. He is currently a part of the expert witness team for Eagle Security Group, an adjunct professor for Piedmont Virginia Community College, and Training Officer for the Augusta County Sheriff’s Dept.
John Pittman is a retired FBI Special Agent John who began service in the Newark Division, Garrett Mountain RA, and primarily worked white collar crime cases. He later transferred to the Albuquerque Division, Gallup RA. where he investigated sexual abuse of children, aggravated assaults, and homicides. John transferred to the Richmond Division, Charlottesville RA, where he worked a variety of cases including drug conspiracies, homicides, murder for hire, and white-collar crime. He retired from the FBI in November 2021 after 25 years of service.
Elliott Casey is a Staff Attorney for the Virginia Commonwealth’s Attorneys’ Services Council. Elliott has 15 years’ experience as a prosecutor, having served as an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney for the County of Albemarle, the City of Alexandria and the County of Arlington in Virginia, and several more years of experience in law enforcement and as an attorney. A graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, Elliott also served as a Special Assistant United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia. Elliott specializes in Fourth Amendment issues. Elliott also instructs law enforcement agencies throughout the Virginia and D.C. area and investigators around the United States. Elliott was honored with the Virginia IASIU Outstanding Public Service Award in 2022 as well as Virginia Lawyer’s Weekly 2022 “Leaders in the Law” award.
Questions or inquiries can be sent to bluematters@odonnellpittman.
Upcoming course: Dates TBA!