By Khalida Sarwari
Lately it seems that police officers have been in the news for all the wrong reasons. From the shocking videos that have emerged of the New York Police Department to the jaw-dropping actions of officers in Ferguson, Mo., strong mistrust toward law enforcement in some communities is not all too surprising or unfounded.
The recent shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown sparked national outrage and raised questions about the militarization of police departments across the country. But Ed Flosi would say that the news media and TV shows like CSI don’t always get it right, and as such, cause the general public to have a distorted perception about how cops respond in situations that call for use of force.
Flosi is an adjunct professor at West Valley College with more than 27 years of experience as a police officer in California. He is also a use of force trainer and qualified expert witness for police use of force in both the state superior and federal courts.
Flosi’s company, Proelia Defense and Arrest Tactics, which according to its website is “a complete system for all law enforcement, loss prevention and security personnel developed by working cops,” will be holding a series of seminars in conjunction with WVC, on use of force in law enforcement based on current legal principles and training standards.
Specifically, the seminars will address urban myths people might have about use of force versus the reality. Each session will tackle different topics. Some of the questions Flosi will attempt to answer are: Does a camera always see what an officer sees? Why did the officer have to shoot so many times? Why was the subject shot in the back? Why didn’t the officer just use his Taser device?
“People that think that police officers are doing a horrible job, I highly encourage them to come,” Flosi said. “We’re going to keep it very professional, very matter-of-fact, very non-antagonistic.”
For the third and final session, community members are invited to the San Jose Police Department’s force options simulator facility. There, participants will be able to go through various scenarios to get a feel for how fast things happen on the field and see a demonstration of how officers are trained in a force response event.
Each session builds on the next, so Flosi recommends attending more than one if not all three. They’re free and open to the public. Flosi said he realizes the program won’t change every participant’s opinions, but his hope is that they’ll at least walk away a little more educated and with “a fair and balanced knowledge of the legal standards that officers are involved in, the training that they get and also the awareness of human performance issues.”
“They may not like it, but they’ll understand it,” he said. “I wouldn’t expect everybody to leave the seminar thinking like I do, but at least they’ll have more of an educated viewpoint.”
The seminars take place Sept. 20, Oct. 11 and Nov. 1. Each one is from 8 a.m. to noon. The first two are at West Valley College, in room 120 of the Fox Center, and the third session will be held at the San Jose Police Department.
To register, contact Renee Paquier at renee.paquier@westvalley.edu or 408.741.2180.
Link: West Valley professor holds seminar on law enforcement use of force
