EP 38: Dr. David Klinger, former LAPD, on Officer-Involved Shootings, Managing Stress and Visualizing Success in Lethal Encounters

Our guest is Dr. David Klinger, professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Missouri at St. Louis. Dr. Klinger is a former cop with both the Los Angeles Police Department and the Redmond (WA) PD. His personal story includes his own OIS as a young LAPD officer. You've got to listen to him tell it here on the show. If you aren't familiar with him from his book "Into the Kill Zone," then you probably recognize him from CNN and many other major networks where he's recently been sought out at as a police expert. You see…Ferguson is a suburb of St. Louis, and Dr. Klinger was quickly, and rightfully, identified as having a lot of insight into police perception of threats, and reactions to threats. His book, "Into the Kill Zone" gets a Squad Room 4-star stamp of approval. I read it as a much younger cop, looking for insight into how we perceive and react to threats. Now, as a much older sergeant, I use the book to provide for briefing topics, training scenarios, and insight into what my partners are going through after a lethal force encounter. Buy the book. Just do it. Now. I'll wait. Done? We had a great conversation about perception in lethal force encounters. Dr. Klinger shares his own terrifying and harrowing stories of his time with the Los Angeles Police Department and his opinion on the use of "critical incident" as a victimization statement. Pretty interesting stuff. Stay safe, and take care of each other.