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The Officer A. Wilburn Shooting, Dallas PD Dec 9, 2013 Prepared by: The Blake Consulting and Training Group Abstract: Dallas PD has been quoted as saying Officer Wilburn could not have been reasonably in fear for her safety as she ran up to an occupied vehicle she had just pursued. It also remarks on other tactical errors as proof of her lack of fear prior to shooting the passenger in the vehicle. The remarks were based on some of the poor tactical decisions made during the incident. The question then becomes whether poor tactics equates to having a lack of fear when in reality it should be just the opposite. High stress events have been proven scientifically to cause severe cognitive deficits thereby making unreasonable behavior reasonable. The following is intended to refute the Dallas PD comments and show how a high intensity stressful situation such as a police pursuit can easily produce unreasonable responses simply based on the human factors present in all of us. A review of this incident through a wider lens points to poor tactics being employed by several officers (not just Wilburn), a potential cognitive overload surpassing any expectation of reasonable action, and a factual basis to find Officer Wilburn did not act consciously negligent an important concept in deciding disciplinary action.

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Use of Force White Paper

The Officer A. Wilburn Shootin g, Dallas PD Dec 9, 2013 Prepared by: The Blake Consulting and Training Gr oup

Stress, Cognition, and Human Performance: A literature Review

This link directs you to one of the better Human Factors documents available (in my opinion). A great introduction for those who want to understand how officers sometimes perform poorly and make mistakes which are often described as intentional by those who

SYNOPSIS:
The dashcam video of this incident and the official remarks of the Dallas PD can be found through this link. The brief synopsis is that Officer Wilburn was engaged in a pursuit of a vehicle containing potentially armed individuals. The dashcam video later shows the driver of the pursued vehicle fleeing on foot as the vehicle slowly roles towards a dwelling. Officer Wilburn is seen running up to the drivers side of the vehicle, reaching in, then backing out, drawing her sidearm, reaching back in with the noise of a gunshot occurring shortly after. She then backs out, holsters and reaches back in to do something that apparently stops the vehicle. While she is doing so a second officer is standing cover right over top of her back. She also apparently drops her sidearm inside the car after the shooting which is later handed back to her by a fellow officer.

would judge them.

Dallas PD internal affairs had this to say in support of Wilburns termination: Officer Wilburn approached the vehicle alone after two other officers began to chase the driver of the suspect vehicle on foot. Officer Wilburn approached the vehicle without proper cover or with her weapon at the ready position. A reasonable officer in fear for their safety would not have approached a vehicle containing possible armed suspects in this manner. Officer Wilburn opened the driver's side door of the still moving vehicle, observed Mr. Kelvion Walker in the passenger seat and immediately drew and fired her weapon. As she approached the passenger door where Mr. Walker was seated, she exposed herself to a possibly armed suspect, an action which a reasonable officer in fear for their safety would not have done.

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Officer Wilburn dropped her weapon in the car before running to the passenger side. In the video, a second officer is seen reaching into the vehicle, removing Officer Wilburn's gun and handing it to her over the roof of the car. Officer Wilburn then holstered her gun and failed to stay on target as a reasonable officer would have with a potentially armed and dangerous suspect. Mr. Walker stated he had his hands in the air when Officer Wilburn approached the vehicle and was not resisting nor reaching for anything. An independent witness who observed the entire incident stated Mr. Walker had his hands up in the air the entire time, indicating surrender, and did not lower his hands until he was shot. After the shooting incident, a search was made of the vehicle and no weapons or contraband were found in the location.

Proper Tactics?
The time has come for the common police phrase of, "don't second guess another officers actions because you weren't there" to come to an end. Sliding bad tactics and poor performance under the table is a form of conscious negligence and only increases the chances of future incidents of similar nature. We dont know all the facts all the time, but what we do know should be open to open discussion and critique. As we entertain the concept of this critical incident review, it is important to not make the incident an attack on the officer, but rather a discussion on why the entire situation (from start to finish happed as it did). In this particular case the IA investigators point out that Wilburn acted unreasonably due to her running up to the car (lack of fear). They comment on her lack of cover as more proof of her negligent act and seemingly lack of concern for her own safety. Yet, one can clearly see not one, but two officers run either up to or past the suspect vehicle. Dallas PD IA investigators faulted Wilburn for not affecting a high risk stop yet, what about the two other officers who ran up or past eh vehicle? Were these two officers disciplined? Were they also accused of not having a reasonable sense of fear based on their poor tactics? I dont support the tactics employed here (by Wilburn or others), but since three officers seemed to violate standard operating procedure (high risk stop), I have to question why Wilburn is the only person who is being singled out.

Stress Effects
Running up to the vehicle was a poor tactical decision, but why did officer Milburn and two other officers stray from policy. Did they consciously decide to be unsafe and to disregard policy? By now we should all be rather aware of the effects of stress on human performance. A pursuit of armed suspects is very likely to force many officers in to a critical cognitive overload where they rely more on survival instinct than rote memory of policy. I am most surprised that Dallas PD IA investigators would completely discount the effects of stress in this incident (none are mentioned). It is much more This document is the property of Blake Consulting and Training Group. Reproducing this material without the express permission of the Blake Consulting and Training Group is strictly forbidden.

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believable that officer Millburn acted unreasonably because she was engaged in a high stress and very unreasonable incident that overloaded her ability to truly think in lieu of her just being unafraid and unaffected by all that had occurred up to and after the shooting. The big question here is -- Did Officer Wilburn intend to shoot the unarmed passenger? Common sense, based on the totality of circumstances and the video evidence of her actions afterward scream a resounding NO! It is much more evident and also empirically supported, that her cognitive abilities were overwhelmed to the point where she was rendered only partially capable of making a rational thought (if at all). Lets briefly look at a few points and make educated remarks about why the shooting occurred (beyond simple negligence). Weve already discussed the fact that Wilburns actions of running up to the vehicle were most likely based upon stress and cognitive overload, but those issues are exacerbated as she continues to push passed her own OODA (Observe, Orient, Decide, Act) dynamic. When she runs up to the vehicle, she can be seen reaching inside (after she has her weapon drawn) and possibly grabbing the steering wheel. Its unclear if this occurred, but hypothetically, the supposed act does demonstrate how poorly her brain is functioning under the stress of the situation. Regardless, her world is moving 100 miles per hour at this point a moving car, a gun in her hand, and a potentially armed suspect in the vehicle that she reported did not realize was there. I think this might increase an officers stress level 100 fold I believe it is certainly reasonable to think this officer could be experiencing many of the scientifically documented stress factors such as; tunnel vision, attention issues, cognitive function loss, loss of fine motor skills just to name a few. Ultimately, she fires her handgun one time which is not in line with typical police shootings and certainly not in line with typical police training. It does match the criteria for a negligent discharge caused by what could be several factors but I will focus on two. One is a simple ND based on cognitive overload and lack of fine motor skills. The second is a sympathetic trigger pull do to her other hand (maybe) being on the steering wheel as the vehicle continues to roll away (causing her to increase her grip with one hand while having a sympathetic and reaction in the other). Regardless of which of these you might support I believe these possibilities much more than the IA finding describing her lack of fear. It is unreasonable to think she coolly and calmly walked up to this vehicle and shot the suspect.

Conscious Negligence
Officers should be disciplined for negligent performance when they are consciously aware of the negligent act, not when they are under extreme stress with potentially poor training, and make human errors. The Dallas PD managers and trainers should be asking are there human factors present indicating the poor performance was not intentional? Are there training issues that could or should be This document is the property of Blake Consulting and Training Group. Reproducing this material without the express permission of the Blake Consulting and Training Group is strictly forbidden.

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pursued? Or is it simply OK to terminate an officer for an ND that occurred under stress?

Reality Based Training (Stress Inoculation)

It is not okay to terminate an officer because they functioned in line with human dynamics. It is okay to provide discipline and meaningful retraining. Stress is often defined (generally) as a supply and demand concept. Does the individual perceive an ability to respond to the environmental demands being placed on them? This is where the concept of the OODA becomes evident. The ability to move through each step of the OODA seems to indicate that the subject is not overwhelmed by the task yet, pursuits and rushing in to engage, or becoming surprised at an unexpected occurrence often overwhelms our ability to deal effectively (and reasonably) with our environment. This incident shows a very clear need for a reality based training (RBT) program where officers such as those involved in this case can be exposed to similar events under very realistic, but controlled circumstances. Proper classroom training in pursuit and high risk traffic stops, along with multiple recurring practical applications of RBT mimicking similar situations would most likely prevent this type of incident from occurring in the future. Ultimately, it is the opinion of this author based upon the facts available, that officer Wilburn should be reinstated, retrained, and returned to the street after a reasonable disciplinary period. The question is whether the police department wishes to spend the time and money to revamp a training program or simply discard a 12 year veteran with over 200 commendations because she acted in line with human dynamics under stress?

This document is the property of Blake Consulting and Training Group. Reproducing this material without the express permission of the Blake Consulting and Training Group is strictly forbidden.