Acting on the Decision Point

This publication expands on the UOF Decision Point.

The application of force brings potentially boiling tension to its peak. This is the most dangerous moment law enforcement professionals must face. UOF encounters can become deadly in a fraction of a second, thus recognizing and reacting on the UOF Decision Point requires decisive and deliberate action. Once force is utilized, it must be swift and deliberate - anything else exponentially increases the risk of a fatal encounter.

The Decision Point is a specific, articulable point where officers should use physical control, force, or the threat of force to control the scene. While the force used is at the discretion of the officer, the principle is universal: mitigate the likely threat in response to suspect behavior. This publication serves as the center for information and research regarding the Decision Point.

SOFT ENFORCEMENT

Possibly the greatest of all contributors to officer fatalities is that of soft enforcement. Soft enforcement plays such an integral role in fatal encounters that it must be so widely recognized that it recieves formal recognition and terminology. Most of us know it when we see it: a threat with no follow through, the complete lack of officer presence, a use of force so light that it appears playful. It must be defined so that we can clearly establish the issue and integrate it within our framework. Further, the use of official terminology will help officers to recall it, hopefully reducing its creep.

Soft Enforcement - A law enforcement approach where an officer employs commands or the threat of force in a manner that is excessively polite or hesitant, issues requests rather than direct commands, displays clear uncertainty in their actions, fails to follow through on threats of force, or employs force techniques with little or such minimal strength that a physical conflict unnecessarily spirals out of control.

Any combination of the factors described are likely to lead officers to be perceived as weak or unconvincing. Thus, the effectiveness of enforcement action is reduced and the risk for escalation is dramatically increased. At its surface, the phenomenon appears quite simple. However, we find that the level of average officer's knowledge of our UOF principles is, more often than not, slightly more than rudimentary or surface level at best. If the mere definition were capable of establishing widespread understanding, we would not find ourselves touching the topic. However, the phenomenon is somewhat more complex than it appears. There are also numerous secondary causal links such as deescalation prioritization, the presence of overly critical leadership, recent involvement in traumatic UOF incidents, etc.

WHEN IS THE DECISION POINT?

The Decision Point varies from incident to incident and by the involved risk factors. The Decision Point occurs when any one of the following subject behaviors is observed:

• a single high-risk indicator

• non-compliant for an extended period of time

• a combination of multiple low-risk indicators (generally 3 or more)*

FACTORS IN THE DECISION POINT

The most common prompts of the Decision Point are aggressive posture or retreat.

Retreat is interpreted by the officer. Note that it is retreat - a much lower requirement than mere flight. While flight is well understood, retreat can be anything that suggests a suspect's intent to flee or take flight. This could be slowly repositioning closer and closer to the exit or backing away from the officer in a non-compliant manner. If the officer is skilled and observant enough, it might even be small context cues and body language that show that the suspect is preparing to flee. Any amount of flight, no matter how small, should be seen as a caution flag. Retreat of any amount indicates a state of mind of resistance - the very thing that leads to a UOF incident. While this may seem obvious, our training provides specific scenarios where retreat was observed and officers did not act upon the decision point.

Aggressive Stance/Posture is more easily observed. However, it is extremely important as officers have become reluctant to use force or

Non-compliance is

Any method for establishing control is acceptable so long as it is reasonable and the method is applied well. This could be anything from placing an officer in a position to block a doorway (escape route), applying handcuffs, applying an electronic control weapon (ECW), or vehicle extrication.

The officer has discretion in whether or not to act on the Decision Point. However, there are very specific variables that could affect the weight of the risk. For example,

(IN PROGRESS)

Our studies show that a large portion of officer assaults or violent resistance occurs when an officer performs a tactic poorly, loosens control of the suspect, the officer loses line of sight, the officer clearly shows incompetence, or the officer demonstrates they are hesitant to follow through with commands or threats of force. There is a clear correlation between scene control and the onset of violence.

(IN PROGRESS)

Soft enforcement** is one of the leading causes of fatal encounters.

(IN PROGRESS)

Possibly the greatest indicator of violent and fatal resistance follows an officer's failure to follow through on their own threats. This is evident in the fatal traffic stop that occurred in Tulsa, Oklahoma on June 29, 2020 - where officers issued nearly 40 threats or warnings and consistently did not follow through.

TO BE CONTINUED