Police Academy aims to reduce use of 'excessive force'

Police chiefs from across the Maritimes were on P.E.I. on Friday to tackle the problem of excessive use of force by police officers.

They gathered at the Atlantic Police Academy in Summerside, P.E.I., to hear from a leading expert.

"The whole idea is to do what is necessary to avoid the use of force and in particular, trying to avoid the use of lethal force," said Terry Coleman, a policing consultant and retired police chief.

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Coleman is on P.E.I. to assess the Atlantic Police Academy's efforts to teach cadets to use minimal force, especially when dealing with people who have mental illnesses.

"It takes time to change police culture," said Coleman. "In fact it could take a generation."

Cadets learn 'de-escalation' skills

Incidents of civilian deaths caused by police have put stark light on the issue, among them, the death of a man in Vancouver airport after being Tasered by RCMP, and the 2013 street car shooting of a knife-wielding man by a Toronto police officer.

Instructors at the Atlantic Police Academy now teach "de-escalation skills" as part of the use-of-force training supplied to cadets.

Those new skills include talking, listening and using body language to give and receive information that could prove critical in a crisis situation.

Deal with the situation verbally, then go from there.- Rick Blouin, Atlantic Police Academy

"We're teaching cadets to assess situations better," said Rick Blouin, a use-of-force instructor at the Atlantic Police Academy."That tells officers what they're dealing with. Is it mental health? Is it emotional? We want officers to deal with the situation verbally and go from there."

Several police chiefs who attended Coleman's presentation said they want to see national standards set for de-escalation training.

The Atlantic Police Academy also offers training to conservation officers and other public safety professionals.

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