Deëscalation tip #44

Paying attention to deëscalation in key moments of rising conflict can literally be a matter of life and death. I was just an expert witness on it in a civil case and helped convince a jury of 12 regular folks that police, in particular, have a high bar in this regard, by law and by good sense. 

The case involved an unfortunately familiar 911 call, dispatch of emergency workers, and mental health crisis conflict exacerbated by use of meth. 

One officer on the scene was primary, or contact officer. He was young, and was following best practices, establishing a rapport with the fellow--who had himself called 911 for help--but the second officer, a big man, fingered his weapon and then just bulled in and started barking commands. The fellow, who had been sitting down as requested by the first officer, stood up and pulled out a screwdriver and the cop shot him dead.

The jury got to see that footage. It didn't take much to convince them of the obvious, that one cop's work to deëscalate was ruined permanently by another's failure. That shooting might have generated no big notice years ago, but deëscalation efforts are expected now, sometimes by law. And while this shooter was cleared criminally by a grand jury, the bar is different in a civil case. Instead of "beyond a reasonable doubt," it's "preponderance of the evidence," in other words, was the plaintiff's case made so that a jury felt convinced that at least 51 percent of the case was made?

We convinced the jury and they awarded a $million. Deëscalation counts. https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2024/05/jury-awards-1m-to-family-of-suicidal-man-fatally-shot-by-portland-police-in-2021.html