Mission: Success - Indicators to assault

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By Tracy E. Barnhart

Published: 06/25/2007

Editor's note: Tracy Barnhart offers bold, “tell it like it is” commentary on many of today’s challenges facing COs in his Corrections.com monthly column Mission:Success

Mission:Success – Indicators to assault
by Tracy Barnhart

When we speak about the use of force, I notice more and more that officers either need or want the green light before they act. When it comes to the use of force COs deep down have an intimate fear of either reacting too soon, not at the right time, or not at all. They have a natural ingrained fear of the criminal themselves, or their administration for not supporting their actions or decisions, or of their peers for not having their backs because of those very same reasons.

They have terms thrown at them such as, “Reasonable,” “Excessive,” and “Liability” without clear cut, explained definitions, directions or leadership. It is often said that it is easier to ask for forgiveness than to request permission, but in today’s litigious society this may not be true.

In this article I will attempt to give you those green light indicators as well as other signs that warn of assault or attack. If all inmates had a green light above their heads that when activated meant force cold be utilized, we would all be better off and sleep better at night. I have gone through internal and criminal investigations relating to the use of force and let me tell you, they are not fun.

You lose sleep; you become irritable towards your family because of the stress, and your mind plays tricks on you as your peers or administration play armchair quarterback as they try to explain what could have been done. You may even start to doubt yourself and question your reasoning before it is all over with. At the very least your ideas toward using force could diminish after your reasoning and motivation are questioned.

No matter what you have done during your shift you can pretty much bet that your agency will not be disbanded for your actions or the actions of others. But you on the other hand, just may. You may lose your credibility with your peers, supervisors, and administration.

You may be disciplined and even terminated, which may not be the end but just the beginning of your issues. Depending on the incident, you may be criminally charged, or possibly civilly sued for the thirty-second decision you made to place your hands on an individual.

During this emotional and stressful time your marriage may fail resulting in divorce, which only adds to your anxiety and turmoil. Sounds like fun, don’t it? Makes you wonder why we do what we do for a living doesn’t it?

The current Supreme Court’s decisions and judgments regarding use of force clearly state that you are to be given a fair amount of latitude in your reasons to utilize force. Those allowances are to be made for the fact that your split second judgments are made in tense, uncertain and rapidly evolving circumstances. Armchair quarterbacking should not be utilized in the investigation phase or when others are considering criminal charges, but we all know you’ll be judged from the onset by your use of force.

With all of this on your shoulders, however, your personal safety and mental survival must be always on your mind. I see video tapes of officers who were assaulted by inmates and those inmates, prior to the assault, clearly exhibited signals of their intentions that were either missed or ignored.

The prevalent attitude exhibited was, “It will never happen to me.” This mentality is observed throughout the institution in some officer’s daily routines. Knowing verbal and non-verbal indicators can be helpful. When recognized, place them in your reports. Be aware of those inmates who may exhibit these signs during your shift and be prepared for what may come next.

Never ignore the following statements made by inmates:

“I’m ready to kill someone!”
“I’m going to kill myself!”
“I’m going to show everybody.”
“I can’t stand to be around happy people.”
“If you don’t...I will.”
“If you did that on the outs I would have killed you.”
“You just disrespected me!”
“I want to just punch you!”
“Don’t come near me!”

Inmates will rarely attack you without letting you know what they plan to do. They want to give you the opportunity to beg and plead them not to. Their statements are meant to prompt some sort of a response from you, hopefully fear and intimidation. Their ultimate goal is to have you fear them and hold you as their pawn to move and place across the board as they want.

Possible non-verbal signals to attack need to be constantly observed and documented in your reports.

The individual may tell you what they are about to do, “I’m going to kick your ass!”
Their face may show tension and will tighten or twitch. The jaws and lips will tense into a biting position and quiver. Mouth expressions will frown and tighten over the teeth.
Their body posture will display broadside with their hands on their hips or clasped behind their head. They will take a bladed boxers stance and will rock back and forth or bob up and down on the balls of the feet.
Their hands will pump and clench into a fist so much that their knuckles will go white.
They will deepen their voice tones and their volume increases. The more threatened or aggressive an individual becomes the lower, harsher and louder their voice turns thus the bigger and tougher they seem.
Eyebrows will come down as if to shield the eyes.
Nostrils will flare and their breathing will become rapid and deep.
The individual will seem to be looking through you; their eyes become glazed over with an empty stare. The individual will take on an uninterrupted stare with alternating eye stares and the eyelids will tighten down.
They may start sweating.
Eye blinking; the blink rate reflects psychological arousal. The normal blink rate is about 20 closures per minute. Significantly faster rates may reflect emotional stress.
Individuals will show exaggerated movements such as pacing, finger pointing, and threatening fists with bent arms. Their verbals will be relentless to get you to change your mind or change your last orders that have sent them over the edge.
The individual may shed clothing, bend down and tighten their shoes or remove items of value such as watches and hats and set them aside.
They could start to look around to assess witnesses, back-up available, escape routes or will start to target glance at the places they want to strike.
Vasodilatation and vasoconstriction or flushing of the face will also be evident at the tops of the ears by a darkening redness due to the release of adrenaline and noradrenalin into the bloodstream.

Staying alert and being aware of these verbal and non-verbal indicators will not just save you. They also could prevent you from being hurt and deter any unnecessary violence.

Next week, Barnhart discusses how an inmate might attack and appropriate response methods.

Tracy E. Barnhart is a Marine combat veteran of Desert Storm / Desert Shield. In 1992 he became an Ohio police officer. He was the youngest officer to attain the rank of Staff Lieutenant. He became Chief of Police for the Village of Edison, Ohio, and obtained his Ohio Peace Officers Training Commission as a unit instructor teaching several law enforcement and correctional courses at the state academy.

In 2000, Barnhart joined the Ohio Department of Youth Services at the Marion Juvenile Corrections Facility, a maximum security male correctional facility housing more than 320 offenders. Barnhart works with male felony offenders ages 16 to 21 with violent criminal convictions and aggressive natures.

Other articles by Barnhart:
The art of manipulation, 4/18/07

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