Expert: Police Try To Prevent 'Bad Officers' From Harming Public

By Pam DeFiglio, Patch.com

The case of Skokie Police Officer Michael Hart, who is being sued by Chicago resident Cassandra Feuerstein after a surveillance video showed him forcibly shoving her, has gotten worldwide attention.

Because Feuerstein is suing Hart and the Skokie Police Department, Village of Skokie spokeswoman Ann Tennes said Monday the village cannot answer questions at this time about how the police department handled Hart's case.

Earlier: Feuerstein Sues, Had Broken Bones, Titanium Plate, Severe Ongoing Pain, Loose Teeth, Misshapen Face

Earlier: Skokie Police Officer Arrested, Charged With Felony In Feuerstein Case

However, Dennis P. Rosenbaum, Ph.D., a criminal justice professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Executive Director of the National Police Research Platform, explained, in general, what police departments do to prevent officers from losing control or becoming what he termed problem officers.

"It starts with who we recruit to be police officers, how we select them and how we train them," he said. 

As far as training, there has been a movement within policing to improve what Rosenbaum called procedural justice. He said many police departments across the country have been training officers to give citizens they are interacting with a voice, treat them with dignity, refrain from judging people on the basis of sex, race, gender, age, sexual orientation or other such criteria and showing basic human concern for them. 

And many police departments have set up feedback that alerts them if officers are not following these guidelines.

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"There are early intervention systems--databases that are introduced so supervisors can be aware of those at risk of becoming problem officers, so they can be identified," he said. 

Those systems might flag citizen complaints, job absenteeism, and other factors that come up in an officer's performance.

"At minimum, supervisors can talk to them. We shouldn't see this as a response to deviant behavior, but maybe they need more training and supervision.

"I can't stress enough the importance of first-line supervisors," he continued. "They set the tone, the police culture."

Middle managers and the police chief also play an important role in setting that tone and culture, he added.

Besides training, technology--including the constant video surveillance of police in stations and squad cars, and, coming soon, body cameras--has played a role in keeping police officers on good behavior.

"It's a very unusual officer who's oblivious to these constraints," Rosenbaum commented.

While the basic guideline is that the more force someone is using against (the police officer), the more force the police officer is allowed to use control the situation, "There are officers who shouldn't be police officers, but that's true in every profession," the professor commented.

For the most part, Rosenbaum said, most police officers do a good job every day interacting with people who in many cases may be aggressive, drunk, mentally ill, high or dangerous.

"The vast majority of police officer are like the rest of us--good people trying to do their jobs," he concluded. "And it's a difficult job."