In Jackson v. Gautreaux, we see an officer put in harm’s way while handling a mentally ill suspect. Mental health has become a very prominent topic in our society today and at times officers are put in a position where a mentally ill person tries to push for suicide-by-cop. The aggressive and violent nature of today’s case pushes a Lieutenant to defend himself with […]
Suicide-by-Cop, Fatal Use of Force Situation Continue Reading
Attorney Eric Daigle sits down with fellow instructor and friend Paul Butler to explore approaches to leadership and the key elements of team building. Paul is a renowned speaker who draws from his 27 year career as a law enforcement professional to provide unique experience and perspective on attitude empowerment, service, and what it means to be a leader. Paul Butler will also be
Guardian Mindset Podcast: Team Building and Leadership with Paul Butler Continue Reading
In Emmett v. Armstrong, we travel over to the Tenth Circuit to examine a taser and UOF case. This case is from 2020, but raises some important use of force topics regarding tasers and qualified immunity. To begin, a review of Electronic Control Weapon guidelines from IACP. According to the IACP, the ECW is authorized to be used: to protect the officer or others from reasonably perceived immediate threat of physical
A Refresher on Tasers – Tenth Circuit Continue Reading
In our review of the United States v. Arredondo, 996 F.3d 903 (8th Cir. 2021) we discuss the plain view exception. The plain view exception authorizes an officer to seize an object without a warrant if: (1) the officer lawfully arrived at the location from which he or she views the object; (2) the object’s “incriminating character” is “immediately apparent”; and (3) “the officer has a
If you have to Google it, it isn’t Probable Cause Continue Reading
We are pleased to share with you the Guardian Mindset podcast! In each episode, Attorney Eric Daigle discusses how the Guardian Mindset impacts and improves the principles that drive public safety. The Guardian Mindset was developed to educate and help improve law enforcement, corrections, fire, and EMS services. We hope you will join us and our amazing guests explore a wide range of public
Guardian Mindset – Law Enforcement Podcast Continue Reading
In United States v. Davis, 997 F.3d 191 (4th Cir. 2021) the 4th Circuit examines a routine traffic stop that turns into a chase. That chase eventually ends with several illegal possessions getting scooped up and a Fourth Amendment appeal about how the evidence was obtained. The 4th Circuit cites multiple SCOTUS cases in their argument, including Chimel v. California, New York v. Belton and Arizona v. Gant. In Chimel v. California, SCOTUS held that
Traffic Stop Turned Drug Bust – Fourth Circuit Continue Reading
After a very quiet 2019-2020 Supreme Court session on the topics of Law Enforcement operations, 2020-2021 SCOTUS session was packed with cases that are important to Public Safety operations. The following Supreme Court of the United States cases will be reviewed in this webinar: Lombardo v. City of St. Louis, Missouri, (6-3 Per Curiam opinion on June 28, 2021) The Court vacated and remanded
Webinar: Supreme Court Legal Update 2020/21 Continue Reading
Today, we review the use of the ShotSpotter gunshot detection system and a Terry stop. ShotSpotter is “a surveillance network of GPS-enabled acoustic sensors” that “use[s] sophisticated microphones to record gunshots in a specific area.” In today’s case, the use of ShotSpotter helped officers pinpoint their suspect which then led to the Terry stop. Under Terry v. Ohio, the Supreme Court held that officers may stop a citizen if
Legal Update: United States v. Jones Continue Reading
In a previous article, “They Said WHAT!?”: A Primer on Public Employee Freedom of Speech, discussed the basics of public employee free speech under the First Amendment. This article will address the issue of how agencies may restrict employees from posting certain content on social media consistent with the First Amendment. The Test As a reminder, in the previous article mentioned above, we discussed the following
“They Posted WHAT!?”: Policing the Police on Social Media Continue Reading
Today’s update focuses on a fatal use of force incident out of the 5th Circuit. Our case will review a few hot topics, including qualified immunity, mental health and use of force. To help further understand the court’s decision we have also included a link to the full video from the dashboard camera that the 5th Circuit Court of appeals strongly leaned on when deciding the outcome of
Mental Health, Qualified Immunity and the Luxury of Time Continue Reading