• The sanctity of human life should be at the heart of everything the agency does
• Agencies should continue to develop best politics, practices, and training on use-of-force issues that go beyond the minimum requirements of Graham v. Connor
• Police use of force must meet the test of proportionality
• Adopt de-escalation as formal agency policy
• The Critical Decision-Making Model provides a new way to approach critical incidents (collect information; assess the situation, threats, and risks; consider police powers and agency policy; identify options and determine the best course of action; and act, review, and re-assess the situation)
• Duty to intervene: Officers need to prevent other officers from using excessive force
• Respect the sanctity of life by promptly rendering first aid
• Shooting at vehicles must be prohibited
• Prohibit use of deadly force against individuals who pose a danger only to themselves
• Document use-of-force incidents, and review data and enforcement practices to ensure that they are fair and non-discriminatory
• To build understanding and trust, agencies should issue regular reports to the public on use of force
• All critical police incidents resulting in death or serious bodily injury should be reviewed by specially trained personnel
• Agencies need to be transparent in providing information following use-of-force incidents

• Training academy content and culture must reflect agency values
• Officers should be trained to use a Critical Decision-Making Model
• Use distance, cover, and time to replace outdated concepts such as the “21-foot rule” and “drawing a line in the sand”
  • 21-foot-rule: Old tests show that an adult male, armed with a knife and charging at full speed, could cover 21 feet before a police officer has time to draw, aim, and shoot a firearm. PERF’s research into recent incidents revealed examples of the “rule” being cited by officers or their attorneys to justify shootings of suspects with edged weapons.
• De-escalation should be a core theme of an agency’s training program
• De-escalation starts with effective communications
• Mental illness: implement a comprehensive agency training program on dealing with people with mental health issues
• Tactical training and mental health training need to be interwoven to improve response to critical incidents
• Community-based outreach teams can be a valuable component to agencies’ mental health response
• Provide a prompt supervisory response to critical incidents to reduce the likelihood of unnecessary force
• Training as teams can improve performance in the field
• Scenario-based training should be prevalent, challenging, and realistic

• Officers need access to and training in less-lethal options
• Agencies should consider new options for chemical spray
• An Electronic Control Weapon (ECW) deployment that is not effective does not mean that officers should automatically move to their firearms
• Personal protection shields enhance officer safety and may support de-escalation efforts during critical incidents, including situations involving persons with knives, baseball bats, and other improvised weapons that are not firearms

• Well trained call-takers and dispatchers are essential to the police response to critical incidents
• Educate the families of persons with mental illness on communicating with call-takers

Police Executive Research Forum, Guiding Principles on Use of Force (Mar. 2016), http://www.policeforum.org/assets/guidingprinciples1.pdf.

Police Executive Research Forum, Integrating Communications, Assessment, and Tactics: Training Guide for Defusing Critical Incidents (Oct. 2016), http://www.policeforum.org/assets/icattrainingguide.pdf.

Police Executive Research Forum, Re-Engineering Training on Police Use of Force (Aug. 2015), http://www.policeforum.org/assets/reengineeringtraining1.pdf.