January 2023 Blues Vol 39 No. 1

USMS UNITED STATES

USMS UNITED STATES MARSHALS SERVICE presenting classes regarding use of force. My proudest moments were at graduation, seeing the way the candidates had grown and applied the training and tools we, as instructors, provided. I have testified as an expert in USMS involved shootings in Los Angeles, CA., Medford, OR., Louisville, KY., Oklahoma City, OK., and Salt Lake City, UT. While with the USMS, I have earned two post graduate degrees: a master’s degree in Criminal Justice and a master’s degree in public administration. Upon retirement, I have continued to provide law enforcement instruction in use of force to the Walton County Sheriff’s Office (Florida), Air Force Office of Special Investigations, Escambia County Sheriff’s Office (Florida), Cherokee Nation Marshals Office (multiple occasions), Fulton County Sheriff’s Office (Georgia), USMS Special Operations Group, and the Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force. I am under contract to provide an expert opinion and testimony regarding officer involved use of force for the US Attorney’s Office in Oklahoma City (multiple occasions) and most recently provided a legal opinion and consultation for the successful defense of a law enforcement officer in Shreveport, Louisiana. I continue to serve as a consultant with Group Nine Security Consultants and am contracted with the USMS as a District Security Officer mirroring the duties and responsibilities of a DUSM absent the enforcement functions. The false narrative regarding the role and actions of law enforcement, created and perpetuated by the media and others, which has allowed for the vilification of law enforcement and lionization of the criminal element. The increase in ambushes of law enforcement, injury, and death which can be attributed to, in part, with the comment above. The recent spikes in crime in various jurisdictions which, in part, is associated with this false narrative. Certain law enforcement managers willingness to adopt policies more restrictive than the law, bowing to pressure from groups like the PERF. Policies should be judged not by their intent but by their results. Holding an officer to the law, determining their actions were legally reasonable, but then holding them administratively responsible to a more restrictive policy creates confusion and leads, in part, to the mass exodus of seasoned, knowledgeable, and experienced officers. It also created hesitation on the part of law enforcement as exhibited in Uvalde, Tx. Prosecutorial misconduct and judicial activism are also an issue. Examples of prosecutorial misconduct are present in Atlanta, San Francisco, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. Education is the key. Efforts must be made to educate / inform the media and, when the media inevitably continues exacerbating the societal rift they have helped create, offer an experienced voice / face as a counter point. Elect and/ or appoint experienced law enforcement managers that can balance the needs of law enforcement with the expectations of society and avoid policies that hinder their officers. You can love the agency but 78 The BLUES The BLUES 79