Training and safety: potentially lethal blue-on-blue encounters

ABSTRACT

Potentially lethal blue-on-blue (i.e. officer-on-officer) encounters result in the use-of-force against an unidentified officer, such as an off-duty or undercover officer (OD/UC), and have not been empirically investigated. A vignette involving an ambiguous situation involving a plainclothes individual with a gun and 6-item survey were used to determine (a) how officers would respond to ensure the safety of those on scene and (b) how well responses from participants with blue-on-blue training or lived experience adhered to recommendations from the New York Task Force on Police-on-Police Shootings. A secondary aim was to investigate near misses (i.e. almost using force against a fellow officer in the field). In the vignette, a uniformed officer arrives at a scene where one plainclothes individual is holding another plainclothes individual at gunpoint. Thematic analysis revealed variables perceived to maximize safety. Less than half of the sample received blue-on-blue training, and exposure to training was not significantly related to previous recommendations. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Blue-on-blue
• officer decision-making
• officer safety
• training
• use-of-force

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank John O’Neill, Chuck Remsberg, and Patricia Thiem for their contributions to the project.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Dawn A. O’Neill

Dr. Dawn A. O’Neill serves as a behavioral scientist at Force Science® Institute. Dr. O’Neill’s background is in applied behavior analysis, clinical psychology, and criminal justice. Her research interests pertain to use-of-force dynamics, behavior modification, public perception, and law enforcement skill acquisition and maintenance.

William R. Spence

Retired Lieutenant Colonel William R. Spence is the Director of Development at Force Science® Institute. Mr. Spence’s educational background is in law enforcement and business administration. During his law enforcement career, he served in numerous roles for the States of Illinois, Minnesota, and the federal government, including as an undercover officer.

William J. Lewinski

Dr. William J. Lewinski is the co-founder, director, and a behavioral scientist at the Force Science® Institute. Dr. Lewinski is a Professor Emeritus at Minnesota State University, Mankato, where he taught for nearly three decades. His current focus is on action/reaction parameters, attention, memory, and decision-making.

Emily J. Novak

Emily J. Novak serves as a researcher at Force Science® Institute. Ms. Novak’s background is in human performance and she holds a graduate degree in exercise science. Her current research interests are officer mobility and safety under conditions of load, officer-subject movement dynamics, and perceptions of police use-of-force.