Presentation to the Quality of Life Council Nova Southeastern University June 12, 2012

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Armed Encounters between Police and Citizens In Broward County: Implications for Policy and Practice Presentation to the Quality of Life Council Nova Southeastern University June 12, 2012 Tammy

1 Armed Encounters between Police and Citizens In Broward County: Implications for Policy and Practice Presentation to the Quality of Life Council Nova Southeastern University June 12, 2012 Tammy Kushner, Psy.D., Principal Investigator Marguerite Bryan, Ph.D. Kelly Armstrong, Doctoral Student/Research Assistant Gabriel Suciu, Ph.D. Nova Southeastern University Zachary Scott, Training Instructor, ICJS Leslie Taylor, Ph.D. Broward Sheriff s Office

2 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY All police departments review reports of officers killed in the line of duty Allows them to provide training that is current Agencies are unable to capture a complete picture of how they respond to armed threats The current study undertakes an analysis of armed encounters between police and citizens in Broward County ( ) Obtain data from a set of variables pertaining to officer safety and investigate 3 dimensions of armed encounters

3 GOALS OF THE STUDY The current project is a pilot study in Broward County to investigate the factors associated with outcomes of officer armed encounters. The goal is to conduct a larger and more indepth records analysis of law enforcement armed encounters through a records analysis of armed encounters kept by law enforcement agencies across the state of Florida.

4 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY Carry out a records analysis of the actions of officers and suspects in Broward County in situations of armed threats Identify possible factors that influence officer and suspect outcomes in encounters of force Serve as a foundation to review and assess the training content and methods used to prepare law enforcement officers for encounters of force

5 REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE Relevant literature of assaults on police mostly deal with studies on alleged police brutality from citizen complaints and police use of excessive force: - One of the earliest Kerner Report (1960) documenting use of police brutality - Seminal body of research from several field studies by DOJ (1999) Use of force by police is very low in occurrence

6 REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE Threat Theory - National study of police killings of civilians Jacobs and O Brien (1998) Focus on macro variables, such as minority inequality in cities Authority Maintenance Theory-Geoffrey Alpert Understanding Police Use of Force, 2004 Police-citizen encounters must be understood as interaction processes rather than discrete events

7 REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE Literature on police homicide - Killed in the Line of Duty: A Study of Selected Felonious Killings of Law Enforcement Officers (FBI, Nice guys finish last: a critical review of killed in the line of duty King & Sanders, DOJ s LEOKA (Law Enforcement Officers Killed or Assaulted) reports done annually since 1972 Concern is more with police safety rather than with police use of force

8 Research Question What are the factors associated with survival of law enforcement officers in violent encounters with civilians involving discharge of a weapon? Speculated important factors: a) Training factors content & amount of training b) Body armor protection

9 Data Collection Obtained by-in by presenting at Chief s meeting 19 different departments within Broward County: Coconut Creek,Coral Springs, Davie, Florida Highway Patrol, Ft. Lauderdale, Hallandale Beach, Hillsboro, Hollywood, Lauderhill, Lighthouse Point, Margate, Miramar, Pembroke Pines, Plantation, Sea Ranch Lakes, Seminole Indians Reservation, Sunrise, Wilton Manor PD, Broward Sheriff Kelly (NSU doctoral student) met with contact person to gather data

10 CURRENT SURVEY

11 CURRENT SURVEY

12 Analysis of Data Extent of injuries sustained to officer Extent of Injury Percentage Frequency Fatal 5.3% 5 Serious 1% 1 Minor 5.3% 5 No Injury 88.4% 84 Total 100% 95 Officer Survive Percentage Frequency Died 5.2% 5 Survived 93.8% 90 Total 100% N=95

13 Analysis of Data Descriptive Data of all officers N Min Max Mean Median Age Height Weight Distance Hrs into shift Training/year Academy training ,440 1,249 1,363

14 Analysis of Data Ethnicity, Race and Gender of Officers Ethnicity Percentage Hispanic 8% Non-Hispanic 92% 100% (n=95) Race Percentage Black 3% White 97% 100% (n=96) Gender Percentage Female 3% Male 97% 100% (n=96)

15 Prior Military 35% (74) Analysis of Data Uniform Worn Class A 71% (87) Non Class A 29% (87) Primary Assignment Road Patrol 52% (85) Specialized Unit 37% (85) Other 11% (85) Secondary Assignment CIT 4% (42) SWAT/HBT 61% (42) Field Force 4% (42) Other 31% (42)

16 Analysis of Data Body Armor77% (56) Combat Trained 18% (68) Why officer arrived Call for service 51% (92) Regular patrol 45% (92) Serve warrant 4% (92) Work Shift Day 33% (88) Night 32% (88) Swing 35% (88)

17 Variables Found To Be Statistically Significant Associated With Officer Survival

18 Analysis of Data Variables associated with officer survival 1. Primary Assignment 2. Number of yearly in-service training Hours 3. Number of hours in entry academy training 4. Reason why officer was at incident 5. Number of gunshots fired by officer 6. Number of hits on suspects made by officer 7. Number of hours officer had been working before incident

19 Analysis of Data Variables Found To Be Statistically Significant Associated With Officer Survival Primary Assignment & Survivability Primary Died Survived Total Assignment Road Patrol 2 (4%) 42 (96%) 44 (100%) Specialized Unit 0 (0%) 30 (100%) 30 (100%) Other (Investigator/Supervisor) 3 (30%) 7 (70%) 10 (100%) N = 84 Pearson Chi-Square= , p=.002, Asymptotic sig.(2-sided) Fisher s Exact sig.=.006

20 Analysis of Data Variables Found To Be Statistically Significant Associated With Officer Survival Yearly In-Service Training & Survivability Number of Yearly In- Service Training Hrs Received Died Survived Total 10 Hours 5 (15%) 29 (85%) 34 (100%) 20 Hours 0 (0%) 4 (100%) 4 (100%) 32 Hours 0 (0%) 13 (100%) 13 (100%) 40 Hours 0 (0%) 43 (100%) 43 (100%) N = 94 Pearson Chi Square=9.319, p=.02, Asymptotic sig.(2-sided) Fisher s Exact sig.=.04

21 Analysis of Data Variables Found To Be Statistically Significant Associated With Officer Survival Academy Training Hours & Survivability Number of Entry Academy Training Hrs Received Died Survived Total 930 Hours 0 (0%) 4 (100%) 4 (100%) 1120 Hours 5 (15%) 29 (85%) 34 (100%) 1210 Hours 0 (0%) 5 (100%) 5 (100%) 1360 Hours 0 (0%) 4 (100%) 4 (100%) 1366 Hours 0 (0%) 29 (100%) 29 (100%) 1370 Hours 0 (0%) 6 (100%) 6 (100%) 1440 Hours 0 (0%) 13 (100%) 13 (100%) Kendall s tau b=.215, p=.02 Spearman correlation =.237, p.=.02

22 Analysis of Data Variables Found To Be Statistically Significant Associated With Officer Survival Reason Officer at Scene & Survivability Why was the Officer at the Scene Call for Service Regular Patrol/Self- Initiated/ Other Service of Warrant Died Survived Total 0 (0%) 47 (100%) 47 (100%) 4 (10%) 37 (90%) 41 (100%) 1 (33%) 2 (67%) 3 (100%) N = 91 Pearson Chi-Square = 8.644, p=.01, Asymptotic sig. (2-sided)

23 Analysis of Data Other Variables (Scale) Associated With Officer Survival Number of gun shots fired by officer Number of hits made by officer Number of hours worked that day before the incident Test Statistic (Mann- Whitney U) (Mann- Whitney U) (Mann- Whitney U) Statistical Significance p=.000 Asymptotic sig. 2 sided p=.012 Asymptotic sig. 2 sided p=.041 Asymptotic sig. 2 sided

24 Analysis of Data Variables NOT associated with officer survival 1. BODY ARMOR 2. PRIOR COMBAT TRAINING 3. PRIOR MILITARY EXPERIENCE 4. UNIFORM WORN 5. WORK SHIFT 6. SECONDARYASSIGNMENT(SWAT/NONSWAT) 7. OFFICER EFFECTIVENESS AGAINST SUSPECT 8. AGE 9. WEIGHT 10.HEIGHT 11.DISTANCE (from suspect)

25 IMPLICATIONS FOR POLICY AND PRACTICE Impact how police officers are trained to reduce serious injury and death. Increases the likelihood of citizens to be better protected. Influence departmental policies in training, standard operating procedures. Community benefits because better training for officers leads to less dangerous encounters with suspects and citizens.

26 Lessons Learned Data collection difficulties of gathering complete data. Possibly review public records. No option for agency to enter data themselves.

27 Dissemination Initial presentation to Broward Chiefs Presentation at the Southern Criminal Justice Association Plan: Submit for publication, Police Practice & Research. Chief s meeting in August 2012 Report sent to all 19 participating agencies Present at Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, Dallas, TX (March 2013)

28 Sustainability May 30, 2012 submitted NIJ grant to expand Armed Encounters study to the state of Florida.

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