Below 100 at SHOT Show!

Law Officer will be hosting a Below 100 Train-the-Trainer session at the 2013 SHOT Show in Las Vegas next Monday, January 14. Editor-in-Chief Dale Stockton, along with Las Vegas Metro Police Department (LVMPD) Deputy Chief Marc Joseph, will present the program to officers, trainers and supervisors in order to promote officer safety and awareness within their department. This session is a must for any public safety professional interested in officer safety.

 

The Below 100 Initiative made possible by Dyneema is an awareness campaign combined with a training program that provides a commonsense solution to reducing LODDs to less than 100 across the nation. The initiative is in its third year and has successfully identified five areas where departments can make a difference and improve officer safety.

 

Below 100 training sessions, like the one being presented at the SHOT Show next week, focus on how we can reduce the number of LODDs and injuries by concentrating on the above five tenets. These tenets are easy to implement because agencies have some degree of influence and control. It’s really about changing our perspective and culture, says Stockton.

 

Attendees are given an overview of the initiative and materials to begin presenting Below 100 training at your department. You can expect to watch videos of officers making poor decisions under stress that led to criminal charges, fines, injury—and even death. Classroom discussions will immediately follow that will focus on what the officer(s) should have done differently and what can be learned. You will be able to download posters, handouts, sample policies, videos and other presentation material at Below100.com once you’ve attended a Train-the-Trainer session.

 

The SHOT Show session will also feature lessons learned from multiple LODDs at the LVMPD. “Training from tragedy is tough because it can be difficult to be objective when it comes to those we’ve lost. However, we owe it to the fallen to train the living,” says Stockton.

 

Last year during the SHOT Show Below 100 session, Capt. Travis Yates reflected on the death of Sgt. Adam Rosenthal from Delray Beach (Fla.) PD, who was involved in a patrol vehicle accident. Rosenthal was running late to a SWAT meeting, driving 71 mph in a 45 mph zone, while not wearing a seatbelt when his vehicle struck a tree. He succumbed to his injuries.

 

“Half of the officers killed in an accident aren’t wearing a seatbelt,” Yates says. “We have to change that. Our actions matter.” Watch your speed, wear your seatbelt. Below 100 aims to reinforce these simple key concepts. It’s in your best interest to come to work mentally and physically prepared. In fact, for every decision and during every situation you should be asking yourself, what's important now?

 

Good cops die each year. If we ignore this fact without attempting to learn from our mistakes, LODDs will continue to happen. “I believe officers have the power to make good choices when it comes to increasing their odds of personal safety. Officers work hard every day to help the public. In doing so, they can sometimes neglect reflecting and acting upon those things they can do to help them return home safely to their own loved ones,” says Chief Joseph. Start by evaluating your department’s culture and if it doesn’t promote officer safety, have a courageous conversation and embrace Below 100.

 

“Being part of Below 100—a national effort—gives me an opportunity to impact law enforcement personnel around the country. Family is very important to me. I can’t help but think about those officers injured and killed in the line of duty that never returned home safely to hug their loved ones. Increasing officer safety is not a sprint, it is a journey; one that I am happy to travel,” says Chief Joseph.

 

You can register now for the SHOT Show Below 100 training session (and other law enforcement educational programs) at Shotshow.org/Education/LEEP. You also register for other upcoming Below 100 Train-the Trainer sessions by visiting Below100.com/events.