NAPO advocating for National Officer
Safety and Wellness Group
On Nov. 29, NAPO President Mick McHale partici-
pated in a meeting of the National Officer Safety and
Wellness (OSW) Group, comprised of federal, state
and local law enforcement associations, research or-
ganizations, the Community Oriented Policing Ser-
vices (COPS) Office, the Bureau of Justice Assistance
and the National Institute of Justice within the Department of
Justice (DOJ). The aim of the OSW Group is to better understand
and respond to the range of issues regarding officer safety and
wellness.
The meeting began with a discussion of research that shows
that the use of less-than-lethal technologies reduces the chance
of injury for both officer and suspect. However, the few improve-
ments that have been made to these technologies are cost-pro-
hibitive for state and local law enforcement agencies. The DOJ
is partnering with the Department of Defense on research and
development of improved technology that will be cost-effective,
efficient and safer for law enforcement.
The discussion quickly turned to cases of officers using less-
than-lethal weapons when it would have been more appropriate
for them to use lethal force, resulting from officers fearing reper-
cussions for doing so. This is a serious officer safety issue that
is not helped by current efforts by certain states and localities
to move away from the Graham v. Connor standard. The group
asked the DOJ to closely monitor those efforts.
McHale noted the importance of departments being consis-
tent with their support and policies around all uses of force —
from pepper spray to batons and sidearms. Officers need to be
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■ DECEMBER 2018
able to use all tools at their disposal to keep them-
selves and the community safe, and they need to
know that management will support their proper use
of force regardless of political pressures. McHale also
stated that officer hesitation, particularly as it relates
to the use of body cameras, must be measured to de-
termine its impact on the use of the proper level of force and
officer safety.
The remainder of the meeting focused on what departments
are doing to ensure that mental health services are accessible to
officers — not just after significant events, but also for the daily
stresses of the job.
NAPO on the Hill: Protect and Serve
NAPO continued to meet with Senate staff regarding the Pro-
tect and Serve Act to reiterate the importance of passing this bill
with this Congress. The goal in these meetings is for the senators
not to object to attaching the Protect and Serve Act to a must-
pass bill — such as legislation to fund the government. With
Congress in session for only three more weeks this year, there is
no time to bring this bill to the floor on its own.
The Protect and Serve Act, which passed the House during this
year’s National Police Week on May 16, provides for new criminal
provisions for deliberate, targeted attacks on officers. Specifical-
ly, it creates federal mandatory minimum sentences for the as-
sault, attempted assault or killing of a state or local law enforce-
ment officer when there is a federal nexus to the case, such as the
use of a firearm that has crossed state lines.