Any officer who has been around a while has heard of the 10 Deadly Errors. They have been posted on bulletin boards of police stations all over the country. There have been countless articles written in law enforcement magazines and posted on all of the popular web-sites aimed at police officers. What most of us who are still on the job don't know is the origin of this list. Where did they come from? Well, they came from a book called "...officer down, code three." It was written by Pierce R. Brooks and published in 1975. What I have found out is if you were remotely interested in police training in the pre-Internet 1970's, you had this book on your shelf. I couldn't even find it in print any more. I had to pay over $70 on Amazon for a copy which was used, but still in great condition.
The author, Pierce Brooks was a legend. Had he never written this book he would still be a legend. He was a WW2 veteran of the US Navy and joined the Los Angeles Police Department in 1948. He worked every unit you could imagine and ended up in homicide. He worked the Onion Field murders of two LAPD officers. They were kidnapped and murdered. It was such a horrific crime, it was written about by Joseph Wambaugh, at the time still a LAPD officer and already the writer of two best-selling police novels called The New Centurions and The Blue Knight. Wambaugh's non-fiction treatment of the Onion Field murders lead to a movie starring a pair of future stars in James Woods and Ted Danson. How many detectives can lay claim to their work being turned in to a book AND a movie?
But wait! There's more! In 1957, Brooks worked a series of rape & torture murders of young women in southern California that convinced him to think police detectives would benefit from some system of collecting facts from unsolved violent crimes in the hopes that other detectives in other areas would recognize similar crimes in their own jurisdiction. This thought in the wake of a multi-jurisdiction murder in the 1950's lead to the creation of VICAP, or the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program in 1980's.
Brooks retired from LAPD in 1969 and ended up being a police chief in Springfield, Oregon and Lakewood, Colorado, before heading back to Oregon to serve as Chief for the Eugene Police Department. He passed away in 1998 at 75 years of age after having suffered from Alzheimer's disease. Before his death, Brooks donated his files on the Onion Field murders to the Springfield (OR) Police Department. This knowledge has been protected and is displayed proudly by Springfield PD
http://www.bakersfieldnow.com/news/local/Onion-Field-Murder-case-files-preserved-at-Oregon-police-station-167067295.html
With all these great accomplishments in his career, it's hard to single out one thing to celebrate. His observations of the 10 deadly errors came out of a career of observations and investigations of some of the most violent crimes one could imagine. He noticed when police officers were murdered, often there were things they did which contributed to their own demise. At the risk of striking a nerve, he pointed them out in a general way. Not to ridicule, but to save lives! While first written in the 70's, these 10 errors he observed over a career that began in the late 1940's. They were true then, they were true in the 50's and through the 70's. I submit they are still true today. These 10 deadly errors are:
1) Failure to maintain proficiency and care of weapon, vehicle, and equipment
2) Improper search and use of handcuffs
3) Sleepy or asleep
4) Relaxing too soon
5) Missing the danger signs
6) Taking a bad position
7) Failure to watch their hands
8) Tombstone courage
9) Preoccupation
10) Apathy
Over the next few weeks, I will write about each of these errors and explain how I think they are still valid today. Even with new equipment like security holsters, in-car computers with GPS, walkie-talkies, widespread use of kevlar vests and seat belts, stress inoculation training, modern medical science, advanced life support ambulances, helicopter ambulances, and more, officers are still getting killed. My point is this job we do is unpredictable. I have said more than once, police work is a job where you can do everything right and STILL have fatal consequences. It's risky, but risk can be managed. Pierce Brooks pointed out 10 things all police officers can do to manage this risk. In recent years, the Below 100 program pointed out five specific things officers can do to manage risk.
As I said, I will write about each of these 10 deadly errors in the coming weeks. I hope you learn something to point out to some young officer.
Stay Safe!
No comments:
Post a Comment