Helping Autistic Teens and Police Officers Avoid Negative Encounters

Autism is not a life-threatening diagnosis, but when law enforcement officers unknowingly encounter a person with autism, they can confuse the behaviors associated with autism with non-compliance, and the results can be tragically fatal.  In 2016, mental health therapist Charles Kinsey was shot in the leg by a police officer after trying to intervene during…

Read More

The Importance of Providing Proper Context in 9-1-1 Calls

When someone calls 9-1-1 to report “a suspicious person,” they are setting into motion an encounter between law enforcement officers and a citizen. The information that the caller conveys to the 9-1-1 operator, and the information that the dispatcher provides to the responding police officers establishes the context for the inevitable encounter. If the information…

Read More

The Elijah McClain Tragedy

The Elijah McClain Case Officer patrol encounters with someone who is “different” A tragic encounter between a citizen and police officers began at 10:40p.m. on August 24, 2019 after a 9-1-1 caller reported an individual who“looked sketchy” and was wearing a ski mask and waving his arms while walking through an apartment community in Aurora, Colorado.…

Read More

D.O.P.E. Spotlight Interview – Ret. Sgt. Rob High

Spotlight on Rob High A Law Enforcement Legacy Rob High’s great, great grandfather served as a US Deputy Marshall for Oklahoma Territory — long before the Sooners won their statehood. Two generations later, Rob’s great grandfather served as Sheriff’s Deputy of Shelby County, Tennessee where he enjoyed a 41-year career in law enforcement. With this…

Read More

D.O.P.E. Spotlight Interview – Stan Campbell

Spotlight On Stan Campbell, Lead Instructor D.O.P.E. Making a Difference Behind the Badge It sounds a little strange to hear a man who carried a badge for 21 years say he didn’t like police growing up. “Living in Newark, New Jersey, we had a rollercoaster ride reference to the relationship between police and citizens.” Stan…

Read More