NTOA › Forums › Operational Leadership › SWAT Command Decision-Making And Leadership I: Federman v. County of Kern › What was the main issue of “material fact” in this case? › Reply To: What was the main issue of “material fact” in this case?

I believe that the scene was escalated beyond the use of force continuum without articulable facts. The scene was escalated with the “suspect” being sprayed with pepper spray, which should not have happened in the first place. I think the scene was poorly managed and showed a lack of understanding by operators and leadership on the dynamics of the scene. our job is to try and de-escalate a scene whenever possible, which was proven not to be done in this situation. I do not think they took the totality of circumstances into account and bad decisions were made. We are accountable for all facets of our actions and should take them seriously. I believe this is a failure to train on the command staff.