Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40AMERICAN POLICE BEAT: JULY 2016 7 by Eric Jones I n 2014, during broad daylight at a busy Stockton intersection, three heavily armed assailants robbed a bank, took three hostages, and fled in a vehicle, shooting one hostage almost immedi- ately in the car. For one hour, the assailants led police on a lengthy pur- suit while continually firing hundreds of bullets at officers. Unfortunately, a hostage was killed by police at the conclu- sionary shootout scene. Looking back at the situ- ation, this was not a typical bank robbery, vehicle pur- suit, or hos- tage situa- tion. I n s t e a d , it was an hour-long hostage-re- lated active- shooter inci- dent where the assailants set ambushes along the way. Never before had all of these factors been seen bun- dled together. And no policy could cover all of these dy- namics effectively. Plans and policies must exist, but not in concrete. With the Stockton incident, two pursuing police units and a supervisor, the stan- dard police pursuit protocol clearly would have been insufficient. This is not to say that we shouldn’t have or follow plans, but rather we must follow them when the situ- ation is appropriate and we must be prepared to enact new plans when the need arises. Policing requires us to be rigid at times and fluid at others. A plan is a mental map that is based on experiences. As author Laurence Gon- zales notes in his book Deep Survival, mental maps are really bookmarks of experi- ences and ideas. Future memories are shaped based on these expe- riences and we apply these memories to future situa- tions. But these maps can get us into trouble if we rely on them if they are outdated because of new information. Gonzales examined hu- man survival stories and found that survivors were able to pick up cues and update their mental models quickly; they were able to re-map under stress. Even in policing there is a tendency to make a plan, and then worship the plan and stick with it no matter what the circumstances. Instead of re-mapping for new environments and situ- ations, we often resort to bending a map to try to make it fit. But chaos is relentless in the world of policing. The slightest difference in initial conditions can yield wildly diverging outcomes that thwart long term predictions and plans. Since we often operate in that area between order and chaos, we frequently train to imprint mental maps into individuals based on organi- zational intelligence. Imprinted mental models are needed because during a police chase an officer can’t whip out a pursuit policy to review. The Police Foundation research team studied Stock- ton’s rolling active-shooter incident and recommended that agencies invest in train- ing that creates “highly un- usual, complex incidents that sharpen response skills and creative active problem solving under stress.” This in theory is the abil- ity to re-map, to reshape new plans that are smart and effective, based on the unpredictability of the real world. We must continue to cre- ate plans and hold onto plans, but with a gentle grip. We must train our officers to be ready to re-map if the existing map just won’t fit the reality they are facing. Eric Jones is the chief of the Stockton, California Police Dept. Chief Jones Stockton PD “Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” – George Bernard Shaw Adaptation is key • Precision molded from Kydex® • Tuckable 360™ C-Clip affords unlimited mounting options • Features a rugged nylon clip • Ambidextrous Slim-Tuk™ Slim-Tuk™ Tuckable™ 360 MSRP Style 137 3999 $ desantisholster.com desantisholster.com 800-GUNHIDE 631-841-6300 Dept #AP66 800-GUNHIDE 631-841-6300 Dept #AP76 431 Bayview Avenue Amityville, NY 11701 431 Bayview Avenue Amityville, NY 11701