Officer Stallings:

This is a really good question and rather multi-faceted. For the most part, police training is not standardized across the nation. Every Police Department or “agency,” for the most part, designs and implements its own officer training. Occasionally, we can apply for and be sent to specialized training or some officers are part of specialized units that receive more training in certain areas. The choice for an officer to use force or deadly force is so subjective that it’s challenging to prepare. Every single call and situation is different and every single officer’s perception of the moment is different depending upon their personal and professional experiences and response to stress. We have an exceptional training unit at the Longmont Police Department which exceeds the minimum requirement in almost every category of standards set by the State of Colorado. We are consistently seeking ways to improve our training and mindset to reduce the use of force necessary to control a situation or outcome. I could probably write an entire paper on this topic, so please submit additional questions if you have them, and thank you for participating.