"DON'T TASE ME, BRO."

“Don’t tase me, bro.”

That plea was made famous by a protesting college student caught on video during an arrest. It shows how familiar the American public is with these relatively new weapons.  The student in question even registered the phrase as a trademark to promote a book and line of t-shirts.

We get many questions about “stun guns” or “TASERS.”  The use of these weapons can provide a different twist to a story. But it’s confusing technology—I just read a novel by one of my favorite authors where a “stun gun” was used to render the victim unconscious. Doesn’t happen, folks. These devices are very painful but they do not shock you into unconsciousness.  Do your research.

Less-lethal weapons like the TASER are frequently used by law enforcement agencies to overcome suspect resistance. They have saved the lives of officers and suspects alike. Agencies equipped with TASERs have seen a significant decrease in officer and suspect injuries. I often convinced a combative suspect to surrender merely by shining the TASER’s red laser aiming dot on his chest.

TASER (all caps) is a trademarked brand name of a specific electronic control device (ECD).  The acronym stands for Thomas A. Swift Electric Rifle.  While it is the best known 

IS HE LYING?

An asset for any police officer is the ability to know when someone is lying.  Sometimes lies can be revealed when a suspect contradicts himself or provides implausible explanations.  But one of the best ways to detect lies are nonverbal cues that reveal the stress accompanying deception.  Many aspects of our bodily functions and other physical behaviors are beyond our control.  We cannot keep out bodies from perspiring or slow down our pulse rate during physical exertion or moments of stress.  It is because most suspects cannot control these actions that these cues are such effective indicators of deception.

The physical behavioral indicators described below are just some of many.  They are highly effective in helping officers detect criminal activity and protect themselves from danger.  They go beyond the simple nervousness one might experience in a 'normal' encounter with an officer, such as a traffic violation.

NO-LOOK MANEUVER:  This signal occurs before the encounter ever takes place.  At an intersection, for example, a motorist absolutely refuses to look towards the officer.  An offender who has something to hide will resort to exaggerated effort to avoid direct eye contact with a police officer in a chance encounter.

RESTLESSNESS:  A high level of stress often causes a person to be very fidgety, shifting positions frequently, pacing, crossing and uncrossing arms.  A stressed person may also try to move away, attempting to increase their comfort zone in order to reduce the anxiety. 

FALSE FATIGUE:  Signs of fatigue may actually be efforts by the body to relieve stress.  Frequent yawning and sighing are good stress relievers in these circumstances. 

WRITING YOUR CHASE SCENES

During my time on patrol, I participated in my share of car chases—or “vehicle pursuits” as we called them in official reports.  A typical report contained a meticulous recitation of every street traveled, every turn negotiated, every stop sign and red light disregarded.  Most often, the report failed to portray the danger, the urgency, or the chaos of the chase.  Although we were always directed to “paint a picture in words” for the prosecutor and the courts, our use of legalese—sophisticated coptalk—usually left the image rather cloudy.  You weren't supposed to write a thrilling novel but a “just the facts” narrative.

You want the readers of your novel to visualize your chase clearly.  Before you write, it may be helpful to diagram your chase using one of the many online navigational aids available such as MapQuest and Google Earth. Following a map lets you establish the twists and turns of a car chase realistically, even down to which street are one-ways, which have media strips, and so forth.  If your setting is a fictional place, you can select a locale

WHY DIDN'T THE OFFICER JUST WOUND HIM?

I hear that nearly every time a law enforcement officer has to shoot someone in an armed confrontation.  Why couldn't the cop shoot him in the arm or the leg?  Why did he have to kill the guy? they ask.

That the question is even asked shows a misconception of the use of deadly force by the police.  Pulling the trigger is such a grave undertaking that most officers go their entire careers without doing it.  In 36 years on the job, I've done it once--shooting at the tire of an armed robber who ran over one of our officers.  I missed.  Police officers are not trained to "shoot to kill" nor to "shoot to wound."  We shoot to stop the threat, a threat we believe will imminently result in the loss of life or serious bodily injury if not stopped. 

 

Evidence of an rampaging attack that killed three officers and
 one civilian and wounded three other officers.

There is no place on the body that a gunshot does not have the potential of causing immediate death.  I've seen guys shot in the leg bleed out and die in less than a minute. I recall a South Carolina state trooper who was shot on a traffic stop.  The bullet hit him in

PARTNERS

I've gotten questions lately about whether all police officers and detectives have partners. Actually, most patrol officers and detectives do not have partners despite what you see on TV. A few very large cities are able to partner some of their officers but most law enforcement agencies simply can not afford to do so. It's terribly expensive to add an additional officer to a patrol car, not to mention a very inefficient usage of available staffing.  

Research shows that a two-officer car is not much safer than one-officer cars.  The thought is that an officer alone realizes he or she has to watch out for danger and operates at a heightened state of vigilance. With two officers, it's possible each thinks the other is watching out and thus drops his or her guard. I don't know if that's true but as a former police chief, I know most agencies can not afford to staff two officers to a car or pair up detectives.  It is not economical and it's not as effective.  Two detectives following one another around aren't going to accomplish as much as each working his or her individual cases.  Two patrol officers in two cars can cover more ground and deter and detect more criminal activity.

That doesn't mean that detectives don't often pair up to go out into the field looking for suspects or witnesses.  But they usually aren't "partners" like you see on TV and in movies (Lethal Weapon, Starsky & Hutch, Cagney & Lacey) where detectives almost always have a constant companion.  Most detective work takes place behind a desk. When detectives need to go out and need backup, they grab whoever is available to be "partner for the day."

MY PET PEEVES IN CRIME FICTION

I read as much as I can.  About 50-50 fiction to non-fiction.  When I read crime fiction and suspense novels, I can't help but evaluate it from a police veteran's perspective.  I remember starting a well-known novelist's series about a private investigator.  I frowned at her protagonist's choice of firearms for personal protection.  As a former police officer, the PI character should have known better than carry a piece of junk police officers here in the South would deem good for nothing but a "trotline weight."  The faux pas bothered me throughout the series.  Eventually the author addressed it herself in one of her books and changed to a more reliable firearm.

When I consult with writers, I have to remember "it's fiction." Authors deserve the right to a little literary license. But accuracy and realism are important in crime fiction.  Readers appreciate it.

Here's some of my pet peeves in crime fiction:

1.  Too many feds. Federal agents make up less than 1% of American law enforcement but monopolize crime fiction.  FBI agents rarely work murders, rapes, and other local crimes.  Local cops do that. In 36 years of police work, I can recall about five cases besides bank robberies where the FBI joined us in an investigation. Perhaps authors see the feds as more prestigious. I don't know. What I do know is the majority of police work is performed by dedicated local city and county officers and detectives.  I'd like to see more of them in starring roles.

Along the same line...

2.  Local uniformed cops are relegated to crashing cars and getting shot. Much like in the movies, the star is usually a detective and uniformed patrol officers secondary characters. The death of a uniformed officer may get a paragraph and then the story moves on with the hero detective. Writers don't realize that an assault on an officer brings out all the guns. It's a big deal. It's an attack on our justice system. Everyone from the small-town cop 20 miles down the road to the game warden will respond. The death of an officer is tantamount to losing a brother or sister.  It may not be the focus of your story, but don't write it off as no big deal.

3. Weapons. Get the guns right, please. "Pistol" refers to a semi-automatic handgun that uses a "magazine" loaded with cartridges.  A "revolver" has a cylinder with chambers to hold five or six cartridges.  Revolvers don't eject shells onto the ground.  Pistols do.  "Mace" is a brand name for a line of chemical weapons.  Most officers carry "pepper spray"--a chemical weapon that uses a pepper extract as its effective ingredient.  Officers who carry batons are more likely to have the metal expandable version on their belts than the long black ones of years past.

Pistol

Revolver

4.  By necessity, novels avoid the drudgery of police work--the waiting, the reports, the boredom.  But there's no need to ignore the realities. Officers are not running and gunning every moment of the day.  It doesn't hurt to mention your hero spent hours writing reports after the big arrest--just a touch of realism to give your readers an accurate picture.

5. Timing. Investigations take time. Evidence analysis takes more time than you can imagine. I've routinely waited six to nine months for DNA analysis because of the backlog at crime labs. That may not fit the timing of your story but don't give in to the tendency to have your characters perform complicated investigative procedures in a matter of minutes.  It's not like TV's "CSI."