The Washington Post - USA (2021-10-25)

MONDAY, OCTOBER 25 , 2021 .THE WASHINGTON POST EZ RE A

CALIFORNIA

Storm floods highways

and causes mudflows

Apowerfulstorm roared
ashore SundayinNorthern
California, flooding highways,
toppling trees and causing
mudflows in areas burned bare
by recentfires as forecasters
predictrecord-breakingrainfall.
Drenchingrain andstrong
winds accompanied the arrival
of anatmospheric river—along
and wide plume of moisture
pulled in from thePacific Ocean
thatwas predicted to move south
over the next fewdays. The
NationalWeather Service’s
Sacramento office warned of
“potentially historicrain.”
Flooding was reported across
the SanFrancisco Bayarea,
closingstreets in Berkeleyand
inundating the BayBridgetoll
plaza in Oakland. By sunrise on
Sunday, MountTamalpais just
north of SanFrancisco had
recorded over6inchesofrainfall
during the previous 12 hours, the
Weather Service said onTwitter.
About 150 miles to the north,
the CaliforniaHighwayPatrol
closed State Route 70 in Butte
Countybecause of multiple
mudslides and debris flows
within the massive Caldor Fire
burn scar.
South of SanFrancisco,
evacuation orders were ineffect

in the Santa CruzMountains

over concerns thatseveral inches

of rain could triggerdebris flows

in the CZU Lightning Complex

Fire burn scar.Farther south, in

parts of Santa BarbaraCounty,

evacuation warnings were

upgraded to orders in the area

burned by this month’s Alisal

Fire. Strong winds were also

expected, with gusts of up to

60 mphat the windiestspots in

Northern California. Elevations

above 9,000 feetinthe Sierra

Nevada couldget18inchesof

snow or more from Sundayuntil

Mondaymorning.

—Associated Press

FLORIDA

State surgeon general

refuses to wear mask

Florida’stop health official

was asked to leaveameeting

after refusing to wearamaskat

the office ofastate senator who

told him thatshe hadaserious

medical condition, officials have

confirmed.

Florida Senate leader Wilton

Simpson,aRepublican, sent a

memo to senators Saturday

regarding the incidentat the

office ofstateSen. TinaPolsky

(D), asking visitorsat the

building to be respectful with

social interactions.Polsky, who

represents parts of Broward and

Palm Beach counties, had not yet

made public her breastcancer

diagnosis.

Polskytold theAssociated

Press about the tenseexchange

withstateSurgeonGeneral

JosephLadapo, which wasfirst

reported by the news site Florida

Politics. She saidLadapo andtwo

aides were offered masks and

asked to wear them when they

arrived for theWednesday

meeting.She did not tell him

thatshe had breastcancer but

said she hadaserious condition.

Ladapo had asked to meether

in Ta llahassee as he seeks

confirmation in the Senate after

being named to the postbyGov.

Ron DeSantis (R) lastmonth.

Ladapo offered togo outside,

but the senator said she did not

want to sit on the metal picnic

tables onawarm daywhen her

office was nice and spacious. She

said she asked if there was a

reason he couldn’t wearamask,

but he wouldn’t answer.

TheFlorida Department of

Health did not respond to

emailed requests for comment.

Democratshaveopposed the

appointment ofLadapo,

criticizing him for comments

and actions related to the

pandemic.

—Associated Press

INDIANA

Twitter suspends

lawmaker’s account

Twitter suspended anIndiana

congressman’s official account

after removingapostabout a

transgender Biden

administration official over a

violation of the social media

company’srules.

Twitter’s action Saturdaycame

after Rep.JimBanks (R) posted

tweets lastweek regarding

RachelLevine becoming thefirst

openly transgender four-star

officer in theU.S. uniformed

services.Levine is also the

nation’s assistant secretaryof

health.

Banks had responded to the

U.S. surgeongeneral,

congratulatingLevine on her

promotion in theU.S. Public

Health Service Commissioned

Corps by writing:“The title of

firstfemale four-star officergets

taken byaman.”

Thepostwas removed with a

reference toTwitter rules that

includeaban on“targeted

misgendering”oftransgender

people. Banks’sofficialTwitter

account remained online

Sunday, but he wasn’t allowed to

add newposts.Hispersonal

account with fewer followers

remained active.

—Associated Press

Orthodoxspiritual leader

hospitalized:Thespiritual

leader of the world’s 200 million

Eastern OrthodoxChristians was

hospitalized Sundayin

Washington on thefirstfull day

of aplanned 12-dayU.S.visit and

willstay overnight, the Greek

OrthodoxArchdiocese of

America said.Thearchdiocese

said EcumenicalPatriarch

Bartholomewwas preparing to

leave foraserviceat the

Cathedral of St. Sophia when he

felt unwell“due to the long flight

and full schedule ofevents upon

arrival.”

—From news services

DIGEST

Politics &the Nation

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Jan. 2021

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Feb. 29, 2020

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7-dayavg.

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As of8p.m.Sunday

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413,645,4 78

733,

Yesterday 184

Yesterday 789,

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CASES

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BYJAMIETHOMPSON

lagrange,ga. —Afundamental
tenetofpolicetrainingin theUnit-
ed States is that officers whofire
their weaponsinresponse to a
deadly threat should always aim
for“centermass,”generallythe
chest.That’s the biggest target and
so theeasiest to hit. Butabullet
thatfinds its mark there is likely to
kill.
Thepolice chief in this pictur-
esque Deep Southcitysaysthere’s
abetter approach.Louis Dekmar,
whohas runtheLaGrangePolice
Departmentfor 26 years, is train-
inghis officers to shootfor the
legs, pelvisor abdomen in situa-
tions where theythinkit could
stopadeadly threat withoutkill-
ing thesourceof that threat. Do-
ing so, he believes, could make a
differenceinthemore than 200
fatal police shootings nationwide
everyyearthatinvolve individuals
armed with something otherthan
agun.
“Everytime weavoid takinga
life,”Dekmar says, “wemaintain
trust.”
Thechief’s “Shoot toIncapaci-
tate”programhas drawninterest
fromacademics who sayitmerits
furtherstudy.Inthe national law
enforcementcommunity, howev-
er,ithas elicited harsh, wide-
spreadcriticism.
Other police leaders inGeorgia
found the ideasocontroversial
thattheymade itafocus of their
annual conferenceinAugust, fly-
ing in nineexpertstodiscuss the
prosandcons.One group’s execu-
tivedirector will soon release a
position paper advising depart-
mentsthroughout thestate not to
follow Dekmar’s lead.
While suchapolicymightbe
supported by the public, ex-
plainedJohn B. Edwards of the
Peace Officers Association of
Georgia, mostagencies wouldfind
itimpossible to implement. “It’s

openedPandora’s box,”hesaid.

This isn’tthe firsttime Dekmar

has championed theunorthodox

in LaGrange.

In the late 1990s,heinstituted

mandatoryaudiorecordings of of-

ficer-citizen interactions.In 2004,

he began sending his entire force

to crisis intervention training so

thateveryone would knowhow to

de-escalate encounterswithpeo-

ple affected by mental illness.In

2009, he purchasedbodycameras

for his officers, and in 20 17 he

madenational headlines for apol-

ogizing for his agency’srole in a

194 0lynching—byall accounts,

thefirsttimeaSouthernpolice

chief had done so.

Cityleaders haveconsistently

invested in the department during

histenure.

“We’reveryproud of the work

ChiefDekmarhas done here,”

LaGrangeMayorJimThornton

saidearly thismonth. “He’sapro-

fessional withhighstandards,and

we fullysupporthis efforttoex-

plore newoptions.”

T

he basics of deadly force

traininginU.S.lawenforce-

ment have notchangedfor

decades, thoughthepractice once

termed“shoot to kill”nowis called

“shoot tostop the threat.”The

primegoal is tokeep officers safe.

It was inIsrael duringa2 004

policeexchange thatDekmarfirst

sawhow agencieselsewhereprac-

ticed shooting beyond center

mass to incapacitate suspects —

aiming forareasof the bodylike

the legs and hips.He was in-

trigued but thought the idea

would never workincitiesback

home, partly becausesomany

Americans have guns.

Overthe next decade, though,

he traveled to other countries and

learned aboutsimilarpoliciesthat

allowed policetoshootat nonvital

areas in certain circumstances. By

2019 ,amidcontinuedupheaval

overpolicekillings in theUnited

States, Dekmar decided to look

more closelyat the approach for

LaGrange.Histrainingsergeant

was dubious.

“I thought,‘This is stupid,’”

JoshuaClower,40, recounted re-

cently, standing beneathacanopy

of pines on the agency’sgun range.

He had hoped the chiefwould

drop the idea,but when thatdidn’t

happen,Clower grudgingly began

research, mostly seeking to de-

bunk it.He calledarespected

doctor in townwho thought the

strategyhad promise. He re-

viewed police shootingvideos that

showedchest shots did not always

immediatelystopathreat.Some

peoplewere abletokeep advanc-

ing,while those hit inthe legor

pelvis usuallycouldn’t.

Though specialized unitssuch

as SWATteamsalreadyusedthis

ta ctic,Clower couldfind no de-

partment thatapplied it to line

officers. Over 12 months of

research, he and Dekmar looked

at data on the approximately1,

people fatallyshot each year, a

disproportionate number of them

Black.In roughlyaquarter of cas-

es, theyhad heldknives, screw-

driversorother itemsthatmight

have givenofficers moretime to

maneuver.Those were the in-

stances Dekmar wantedtoad-

dress.

Thetwo men assembleda503-

pagedocumenttitled “LaGrange

Police DepartmentIncapacitation

Shots,”andatraining teamcreat-

edaprogramthatincluded class-

roominstruction, videos of police

shootings,various scenarios and

firearmstestingat agunrange.To

pass, officers had to accurately

place 80 percent of 20 shots to

various body parts on color-coded

silhouettes.

Thedepartment began training

its 94 officersinFebruary.Clower,

nowaconvert,stressed the intent

was to provide each withabackup

option for threateningsituations

—one less likely to causedeath.

This wasn’taboutAnnie Oakley-

style sharpshooting,hesaid, justa

shiftofaim ifan officer had to take

ashot.Itwould never be required

policy, he added.

Theskepticism was near-

universal initially.Attitudes have

since changed.

“Weneedto trynewthings,”

saidBryantMosley,31, oneof

LaGrange’sfew Black officers,

who hasdegreesinpsychology

and counseling.Hedecided togo

intolawenforcement afterGeorge

Floyd died lastyearunder the

knee ofaMinneapolis officer —

specifically to help transformlaw

enforcement —and he joined

Dekmar’sdepartment becauseof

the chief’sreputation asan inno-

vator.

“This is change,”Mosleysaid.

“A nd changemakes peopleun-

comfortable.”

In lateSeptember, the town had

itsfirstpolice-involved shooting

since the trainingbegan. Officer

DavidHorseman, 29, confronted a

man wieldingamachetedown-

town,firstfiringhis Ta ser and

then, whenthatprovedineffec-

tive,raising his gun in his other

hand andfiring.

Accordingto the department,

the man was hit in the abdomen

andlegs.Horseman remembers

targeting his pelvic area and plan-

ning to “walk” thebullets up

toward hischest as needed.

“Hefelltothegroundbefore I

gottocenter mass,” Horseman

said, “and that’s essentially what

saved his life.”

Theofficer went home that

night grateful fortheoutcome.“I

don’t want to be the reasonany-

one dies,” he said. “I want to be

abletosay Idid everything Icould

to prevent that.”

L

aGrange, population31,000,

is anchored byaprettytown

squareandcolumned ante-

bellumhouses. It’s about70 miles

southwestofAtlanta in the middle

of theBibleandfootballbelts,and

peoplewant to know whatchurch

youattend andwhatteam you

rootfor.The local newspaper

printsadailyBibleverse belowthe

weather forecast.

DekmargrewupinOregon,

spent thefirst10years of his police

career inWyomingand was hired

as LaGrange’stop copin1995.He

doesn’t like theterm“lawenforce-

ment”and instead tells people he

works in “police services.”Less

than10percentofwhatofficers do

results in arrest,Dekmar notes,

and he says police should empha-

sizetheirrole as helpers. What

elsewherewouldbecalledaSWAT

team is an “EmergencyServices

Unit”here.

Thechief hasano-profanity

rule,arelativerarity among police

departments. Cursinginfrontofa

member of the publicwillget offi-

cersamandatoryday’s suspension

and lostpay.And he doesn’t like

officerswearing sunglasses while

interacting with the community.

“It’sintimidating,” said

Dekmar,whoat 66 is trimand

polite. Despite three decades in

Georgia,he still haslittle traceofa

Southern accent.

Hetells his officers thathehas

their backs,aslong as theirinten-

tions aregood and theyfollow his

policies.“Ican’t talkpretty

enough to coverfor bad officers,”

he said.

Inacommunitythattodayis

51 percent Blackand 42 percent

White, Dekmar hasparticipated

in someofits town-fundedefforts

to addressrace.Duringatrust-

buildingprogram, he became

friendswithteacher Ernest Ward,

aformer presidentofthelocal

branch of theNAACP, andWard

oftenserved asago-between for

Black residents and the chief.

Whencomplaints of policemis-

treatment arose,Ward said the

chief wasalways quick to invite

him overtoviewbody-camera

footageofthe interaction.

“If you call him and saythere’sa

concern, hestops immediately

andlooks into it,” Ward said. “He’s

earnedthe trust of this communi-

ty.”

Dekmar’s initiative hasnot

beencontroversialinLaGrange,

yetthe responsefromnationallaw

enforcement circles remains

mostlynegative and sometimes

brutal.

“Thisbirdbrain chiefisgoingto

getsomeone killed,” oneperson

wrote on the department’s Face-

bookpage.

Aneighboring police depart-

ment postedalink there to its own

recruiting video and told officersit

was hiring: “Come to an agency

whereyou areappreciated,val-

ued,respected,and areabletodo

yourjob.”

Twomonths ago, Dekmar was

in the hotelbanquetroomwhen

those assembledexperts critiqued

hisprogramfor more thantwo

hours beforeanaudience of 150

officers. Several on the panel

dwelled on the realitythatcops

are usually bad shots instressful

situations.Variousstudies place

their hit rates between 20 to

50 percent.

EricDaigle,aformer officer and

attorney whois nowalawenforce-

ment consultant in Connecticut,

saidthat“shoot to incapacitate”

addsevenmore complexitytosit-

uationsin which officers mustre-

actquicklytoprotect their own

lives.In thatmoment,hesaid,the

policyforcesthemtodecide

whether their mostdeadly weap-

on shouldbeusedinaless deadly

way.

“One thing weknowfor sure is

that’stoo muchforahuman being

to process inasplit second,” Daigle

said. Best to keep it consistent and

simple.

Seth Stoughton,aformerTa lla-

hassee, officerwho teacheslawat

theUnivers ityofSouthCarolina,

hadadifferenttake. Though he

hasgone through theLaGrange

training,heremains hesitant

about it and especially uncertain

thatitwouldwork for other agen-

cies.

PolicingintheUnited States

remainshighly localized,henot-

ed: “Policing in ademocracy

means thatacommunity gets to

definewhat ‘good’policinglooks

like, and thatdefinitionmay vary a

bitfromplace to place.”

Still, he isn’t dismissing what

Dekmar is doing.After controver-

sialpolice shootings thatend in

death, peopleoften ask whyan

officercouldn’thaveshot the per-

son inaleg or arm. Departments

arequick to recitealitanyof rea-

sons.Stoughton wondersifit’s

time toreexamine those.

Preservation of human life

should be the highestpriorityin

policing, Stoughtonstressedinan

interviewafter the conference,

andthatalone should cause lead-

ersto examineLaGrange’s policy

withanopen mind.

“Sometimespolicingisits own

worstenemy,”hesaid.“Chief

Dekmar is very comfortablewith

his base of support locally,and

thatgives him the freedom to

challengethe policingstatus quo.

He’swilling to be disruptive.”

[email protected]

In Ga., police chief adopts ‘shoot to incapacitate’ policy

Training program met

with harsh criticism from

law enforcement leaders

PHOTOS BY ELIJAH NOUVELAGE FOR THE WASHINGTON POST

TOP:PoliceChiefLouisDekmar inLaGrange,Ga.,onOct. 15. ABOVE:TeacherErnest Ward,aformer presidentofthe localbranch of the

NAACP, has often served asago-be tweenfor Black residents andthe chief. “He’searnedthe trustoft his community,”Wardsays.