Fear and How It Influences an Officer's Response

Recently we in law enforcement have had many high-profile cases of officers using excessive force. Recognizing the effect of fear and the role it plays will help the officers manage the fear spike more quickly and get them back to rational cognitive behavior after a violent assault has begun.

Recognizing that a sudden attack will invariably place the officer at a disadvantage and that their higher-level reasoning will be hijacked by the primitive brain response to protect the head and neck, training in fear management will permit the officer to weather the storm of an ambush then employ a variety of skills that require higher level brain functioning. In agencies that have adopted this program; there has been a demonstrated reduction in injuries and the use of force complaints.