NEWS RELEASE
Chicago Police Department
Eddie T. Johnson Anthony Guglielmi
Superintendent Director
312-745-6110 · 3510 South Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60653 · Fax 312-745-6999
For Immediate Release Contact: Office of News Affairs
September 19, 2016 312-745-6110
CPD Launches New Scenario-Based Training Focused on Force
Mitigation and Mental Health Awareness
CHICAGO – As part of its commitment to restore accountability and public trust, the Chicago
Police Department has launched a newly developed 16 hour course focused on force mitigation
skills and tactics.
Designed to incorporate national best practices, the training better equips officers to display and
develop the skills and abilities that allow them to have a better understanding and recognition of
people dealing with a mental health crisis and regularly resolve confrontations without resorting to
deadly force. Upon completion of the course, officers will be able to:
• Identify when an individual is experiencing a mental health crisis;
• Demonstrate different methods in communicating with someone dealing with a mental
health issue;
• Recognize pertinent case law as it pertains to use of force related issues;
• Articulate the proper use of force under various circumstances;
• Effectively employ tactics utilizing distance and cover while under stressful conditions;
• Utilize “time” as a tactic to mitigate scenarios;
• Effectively transition through all force options available to officers.
“Every day, Chicago police officers put themselves in dangerous situations to protect all of us,”
said CPD Superintendent Eddie Johnson. “It is important to provide them the training necessary
that will help them evaluate every scenario and apply the appropriate response. This training is a
valuable tool that will help us build the public trust that is vital to making our city safer.”
In order to ensure that the training would provide the most effective benefit to CPD officers, the
Department developed the course based on feedback from national experts in the field and
technical assistance from the Los Angeles Police Department.
“I was very impressed with the the content of the force mitigation training and its delivery by
the CPD training staff in the pilot I observed in July,” said Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police
Chief Cathy Lanier. “The subject is one of the most important in law enforcement today. The
course reflects recent advances in law enforcement education, with less emphasis on lecture and
more emphasis on facilitated discussion, drills, and real-world scenarios. Chicago will be wellserved
by having CPD officers go through this thoughtful and effective 16-hour training course.”
This course represents CPD’s significant commitment to scenario-based training that will provide
the tools necessary for the wide range of situations officers face daily. Subjects such as applying
de-escalation techniques and choosing the appropriate force option will be covered, reviewed, and
critiqued to ensure that the training is effective. “CPD’s 16-hour course on force mitigation and deescalation is an extremely important piece of training,” said Dennis Nowicki, former Charlotte, NC
Chief of Police. “When I observed a pilot of the course in July, I thought the training staff did an
excellent job of involving the class in discussions, drills, and practical scenarios that highlighted
some of the most important issues facing policing today. The training is designed to teach officers
to take a careful, deliberate, and thoughtful approach to difficult situations and to minimize the
need to use force, especially deadly force. CPD and the Chicago community should benefit from
having CPD officers trained on these important issues in this way.”
The training has already started and will be ongoing to cover new recruits and in-service officers.
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