Critical thinking and the ability to make quick, tactically sound, legal decisions, are essential skills for those in the profession of law enforcement. This is especially true during in-progress violent and/or life-threatening calls for service. In other words, at the scene of critical incidents.

Violence towards the general populace, as well as law enforcement, is currently approaching record levels. Police officers are forced to make split second decisions in a time where they will be heavily scrutinized and second guessed in the aftermath. This program will focus on the development of critical thinking skills needed to make quick and accurate decisions during in-progress, rapidly changing high priority and violent calls.

This course is not only designed for the first supervisor on scene, but also any first arriving officer faced with the reality of making life-threatening decisions for themselves and others.

The following are topics covered:

• First on the Scene, Remember CPR: Containment, Point & React
• Profile Recent Actual Active Shooter Events
• What went wrong at Uvalde?
• What is critical thinking?
• Characteristics of critical thinkers
• Critical thinking first line supervisors
• Stress and your ability to make decisions
• Armed barricaded subject(s) / Setting perimeters
• Approaching unknown/suspicious subject(s)
• Staging “hot calls”
• The ambush
• The mentally incapacitated
• Officer involved shootings first on scene and your response
• Active threat/shooter response and training