Experts: The lead up to and aftermath of a police shooting

Many factors can lead to a police officer firing their weapon at a potential suspect and at least as many theories about how to lower the risk of a fatal encounter

“These things are never easy,” said Jon Shane, a former Newark, N.J., police captain and associate professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Former Superior Court Judge Charles Gill — coauthor of a book about a 1998 fatal police shooting in New Milford — said better training and better hiring protocols could help reduce the number of fatal police shootings.

“We can make improvements to police training,” Gill said, adding more psychological testing should be done in the hiring process and potential officers should be quizzed in how they would de-escalate a tense situation.

Shane agreed with part of Gill’s observation, saying de-escalation training has become more prevalent..

Shane did argue a police officer undergoes a substantial amount of training to prepare for law enforcement, from practical exercises to classroom lectures to simulation training.

Once out of the academy, police officers typically go for regular retraining and refresher courses, he said. Part of that includes updates on the law or department policy.

On the street, training can only go so far. In a real-life scenario where an officer fires a weapon, Shane said, it is hardly ever a quick decision. Most officers, he said, will have an idea of what they’re walking into based on initial information from dispatch. Surprises still exist — if an officer is on a medical call and someone comes out of another room and points a gun at an officer, for instance.

“I hesitate to say it’s a split-second decision,” he said. “Most police shootings don’t take place in a split second.”

After an officer fires a weapon, two investigations immediately begin: a criminal investigation to determine if the shooting was justified, and an administrative or internal investigation to see if the officer violated department policy or practice.

The internal investigation is essential.

“You do it as a matter of transparency,” Shane said. “You make sure if there are gaps somewhere, that police officers undergo training, the organization crafts a new policy that patches up any weaknesses that are there.”

Typically after a police shooting, the officer who fired a weapon will be put plalced on some sort of administrative status.

“It gives the department time to reflect on what happened and start to make any changes that need to happen,” he said.

Also, he said, the department needs to deal with a public that often forgets more than one side is involved in a fatal shooting.

“Sometimes police officers who undergo these shootings never recover,” Shane said.