Skip to main content

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychol., 17 January 2022
Sec. Educational Psychology
This article is part of the Research Topic Police Education and Training Revisited: Drawbacks and Advances View all 15 articles

A Reasonable Officer: Examining the Relationships Among Stress, Training, and Performance in a Highly Realistic Lethal Force Scenario

Simon Baldwin,
Simon Baldwin1,2*Craig BennellCraig Bennell1Brittany Blaskovits&#x;Brittany Blaskovits1Andrew Brown&#x;Andrew Brown1Bryce Jenkins&#x;Bryce Jenkins1Chris Lawrence&#x;Chris Lawrence3Heather McGale&#x;Heather McGale1Tori Semple&#x;Tori Semple1Judith P. AndersenJudith P. Andersen4
  • 1Department of Psychology, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada
  • 2Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Ottawa, ON, Canada
  • 3Police Research Lab, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada
  • 4Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON, Canada

Under conditions of physiological stress, officers are sometimes required to make split-second life-or-death decisions, where deficits in performance can have tragic outcomes, including serious injury or death and strained police–community relations. The current study assessed the performance of 122 active-duty police officers during a realistic lethal force scenario to examine whether performance was affected by the officer’s level of operational skills training, years of police service, and stress reactivity. Results demonstrated that the scenario produced elevated heart rates (i.e., 150 beats per minute), as well as perceptual and cognitive distortions, such as tunnel vision, commensurate with those observed in naturalistic use of force encounters. The average performance rating from the scenario was 59%, with 27% of participants making at least one lethal force error. Elevated stress reactivity was a predictor of poorer performance and increased lethal force errors. Level of training and years of police service had differential and complex effects on both performance and lethal force errors. Our results illustrate the need to critically reflect on police training practices and continue to make evidence-based improvements to training. The findings also highlight that while training may significantly improve outcomes, flawless performance is likely not probable, given the limits of human performance under stress. Implications for the objective reasonableness standard, which is used to assess the appropriateness of force in courts of law, are discussed.

Introduction

Police officers encounter critical incidents that have the hallmark characteristics of a situation that would cause a physiological stress response: namely – they are unpredictable, potentially uncontrollable, novel, and often involve time pressure (Sapolsky, 2004; Alison and Crego, 2012; Violanti, 2014). Under these circumstances, officers are occasionally required to make life-or-death decisions, often in a split-second, to preserve and protect the lives of both the public and themselves (Artwohl, 2002). Video footage of certain police–public encounters highlights deficits in officer performance, including errors in the decision to use lethal force. Such incidents can have tragic consequences, including serious injury or death and strained police–community relations. Occasionally, such incidents can also lead to the incarceration of police officers and legal liability for law enforcement agencies (LEAs) that have not adequately prepared their officers for critical incidents (e.g., Public Prosecution Service of Canada, 2018).

Existing research and theoretical knowledge indicate that stress can adversely impact performance, but that training and experience can moderate stress reactivity and improve performance through the appraisal process (e.g., Driskell and Salas, 1996). Thus, using a sample of Canadian police officers, the aim of the current study is to examine the level of performance that can reasonably be expected under conditions that elicit high levels of stress, based on officers’ years of experience and the level of training they have received. Critical reflection on training practices and evidence-based improvements to training may be called for if systemic errors or deficiencies in performance are observed in realistic scenarios. Results from this study may also provide new evidence to inform the objective reasonableness standard, which is used to assess the appropriateness of force in courts of law (Cyr, 2016; Zamoff, 2020).

Use of Force and the Objective Reasonableness Standard

The authority for police to use force in Canada is granted under section 25 of the Criminal Code (1985), whereby police officers who are acting on reasonable grounds are authorized to use as much force as necessary to enforce the law. In the case of R. v. Nasogaluak (McLachlin et al., 2010, p. 208), the Supreme Court of Canada further established that the “allowable degree of force is constrained by the principles of proportionality, necessity and reasonableness.” Where lethal force is concerned, the force must also be necessary for the purpose of self-preservation or the protection of others from death or grievous bodily harm (Criminal Code, 1985). To assess the appropriateness of an officer’s use of force, several guiding principles from international case law have become entrenched in the Canadian criminal justice system. Foremost is the U.S. Supreme Court case of Graham v. Connor (Rehnquist, 1989, p. 387), which established the objective reasonableness standard, instructing that the “…‘reasonableness’ of a particular use of force must be judged from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene, and its calculus must embody an allowance for the fact that police officers are often forced to make split-second decisions about the amount of force necessary in a particular situation.” In essence, given the totality of the circumstances known at the time and without hindsight bias, would other reasonably prudent officers respond in the same or similar way (Alpert and Smith, 1994; International Association of Chiefs of Police, 2020)?

Scholars have provided research evidence of neurophysiological factors (e.g., cognitive and perceptual distortions) that might frame the perceptions and actions of a reasonable officer on the scene (e.g., Klinger and Brunson, 2009). However, the use of such research in court may be the exception rather than the rule (DuCharme, 2002). Indeed, critics argue that the objective reasonableness standard lacks an evidence-based foundation and that assessments of reasonableness focus too much on the general dangers and stressful nature of policing (Fagan and Campbell, 2020; Zamoff, 2020). To remedy this, Zamoff (2020) recently proposed that in determining the perspective of a reasonable officer, the courts should more heavily weigh the officer’s experience and training, as well as the extent to which they adhered to or deviated from their training and the agency’s policies. While valuable, this approach also lacks evidence of the extent that these factors are related to performance and errors or are influenced by stress (Engel and Smith, 2009).

Psychophysiological Threat Response

When presented with a threat, whether real or perceived, the body implicitly (i.e., below conscious awareness) engages in a series of physiological processes, colloquially known as the “fight-or-flight” response (Thayer and Sternberg, 2006; LeDoux and Pine, 2016). This evolutionary adaptive response promotes survival by immediately preparing the body’s physiological and cognitive capacities to meet the demands of the situation, while suppressing unnecessary functions, such as reproduction and digestion (Kemeny, 2003; Artwohl, 2008; Anderson et al., 2019). During the fight-or-flight response, the sympatho-adrenal response is triggered, which leads to a wide-spread release of catecholamines and hormones to power the survival response (McEwen, 1998; Lovallo, 2016). Specifically, the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis is activated, which results in the rapid release of epinephrine (i.e., adrenaline) and cortisol (De Kloet et al., 1998; Lovallo, 2016). Cortisol increases blood sugar and prepares the body for energy expenditure by stimulating glucose production and mobilizing fatty acids (Lovallo, 2016; Tsigos et al., 2020). Concurrently, the autonomic nervous system (ANS) is engaged, stimulating the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and suppressing the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS), which is associated with modifying the sympathetic response when necessary (e.g., focused attention) and performing “rest and digest” (i.e., recovery and repair) functions (Berntson and Cacioppo, 2004; Fridman et al., 2019). When the SNS is activated, stress hormones such as norepinephrine and epinephrine are released (Lovallo, 2016).

The cascade of these catecholamines, hormones, and glucose in the bloodstream from the stress system response stimulates increased heart rate (HR), blood pressure, and respiration (Tsigos and Chrousos, 2002; Chrousos, 2009). The rapid rise in energy, oxygenation, and blood flow is directed in greatest concentration to the heart, brain, and large muscles, while they are inhibited to other areas not required to respond to a threat, such as the digestive system (Tsigos and Chrousos, 2002). Therefore, activation of this sympatho-adrenal stress response improves chances of survival in the short term, by increasing resistance, strength, and focused attention (Tsigos and Chrousos, 2002; Artwohl, 2008; Fenici et al., 2011).

While fight-or-flight is an automatic behavioral and physiological response that is engaged without the need for higher-order cognitive processing, it can be sustained and moderated through psychological processes, such as threat appraisal, fear, and anxiety (Thayer and Sternberg, 2006; LeDoux and Pine, 2016; Chan and Andersen, 2020). The degree of SNS arousal depends primarily on the type of threat encountered and one’s perception of how severe it is (Kalisch et al., 2015; LeDoux and Pine, 2016). For example, when the threat of harm during an encounter with a subject is perceived by the officer as outweighing their ability to cope with the situation (e.g., based on experience and training), then the subject may continue to be appraised as a threat, maintaining the intensity of the emotional and physiological response (Folkman et al., 1986; Driskell and Salas, 1996; Anshel et al., 1997). While there is significant evidence that the body implicitly responds to a threat, what is less clear is the extent to which this response varies as a function of experience and training, as well as the impact it has on various aspects of performance.

The Impact of Stress on Police Performance

Studies demonstrate that the impact of SNS arousal on performance is complex. The type of threat stimulus encountered, and the strength of the resulting threat response can improve or impair perceptual, cognitive, and motor performance depending on context (Arble et al., 2019; Bertilsson et al., 2019). Adaptive SNS arousal, which meets the demands of the situation, can be beneficial to performance (Yerkes and Dodson, 1908), such as shooting accuracy (e.g., Vickers and Williams, 2007), and threat-related decision-making (e.g., Akinola and Mendes, 2012). However, maladaptive stress arousal (i.e., too much or too little) is considered one of the main causes of human performance failure (Vine et al., 2016) and can result in degradation of task accuracy and increased task errors (Driskell and Salas, 1996; Nieuwenhuys et al., 2012). Growing evidence also suggests that performance deficits are related to both maladaptive SNS arousal and the suppression of the stress modulating parasympathetic influence (Saus et al., 2006; Andersen et al., 2018; Spangler et al., 2018). For example, impairments to response inhibition, resulting in more lethal force errors, can occur when the PNS is suppressed (Spangler et al., 2018).

Generally, stress-induced deficits primarily affect cognitive functions, such as perception, attention, and decision-making (Driskell and Salas, 1996; Di Nota et al., 2020). However, motor performance, in particular fine motor skills, is also affected (Staal, 2004; Nieuwenhuys and Oudejans, 2011a; Anderson et al., 2019). Since manipulating stressful real-world encounters for research purposes is unethical (Giessing et al., 2019), results from realistic scenario-based experiments form much of the existing knowledge about the impact of acute stress on performance among police officers. To date, this literature has revealed that stress inducing scenarios result in impairments to various aspects of police performance including shooting accuracy (Nieuwenhuys and Oudejans, 2010; Taverniers and De Boeck, 2014; Landman et al., 2016a), quality of skill execution (Renden et al., 2014; Nieuwenhuys et al., 2016), proportionality of force applied (Nieuwenhuys et al., 2012; Renden et al., 2017), and memory (Hope et al., 2016). The stress response also appears to have differential effects, whereby rehearsed and automated skills are influenced to a lesser degree (Vickers and Lewinski, 2012; Renden et al., 2017; Arble et al., 2019). These findings from experimental research with simulations are extremely important to draw conclusions about what might reasonably happen to performance in real-world stressful encounters (Giessing et al., 2019).

While few real-world studies exist, examinations of officer-involved shootings (OIS) have also uncovered stress-induced performance issues. For example, average hit rates ranging from 14 to 38% have been observed in OIS (Morrison and Vila, 1998; Morrison and Garner, 2011; Donner and Popovich, 2018), which is in stark contrast to the almost 90% hit rate reported in range-based annual firearms qualifications (Anderson and Plecas, 2000; Brown et al., 2021). In OIS incidents, officers have also reported experiencing perceptual distortions, impaired cognitive function, and reduced motor dexterity (e.g., Honig and Sultan, 2004; Artwohl, 2008; Klinger and Brunson, 2009). For example, Artwohl (2008) surveyed 157 police officers within a few weeks of being involved in an OIS. Findings demonstrated that most officers experienced perceptual narrowing, including diminished sound (84%) and tunnel vision (79%), and that the majority of officers (74%) responded on automatic pilot (i.e., with little or no conscious thought). Other studies have reported similar findings (e.g., Honig and Sultan, 2004; Klinger and Brunson, 2009).

Attentional control theory adds additional explanatory power to understanding performance impairments (Eysenck et al., 2007). This theory suggests that when exposed to a threatening stimulus, attention is drawn (or distracted) away from task relevant processes (e.g., decision-making) to the threat-related stimuli via psychological and neurophysiological responses (Eysenck et al., 2007; Nieuwenhuys and Oudejans, 2017; Di Nota and Huhta, 2019). Since attentional capacity is limited, it is difficult to attend to two things at the same time (Vickers, 2007). Therefore, when attention is focused on the threat, cognitive overload is more likely to occur, resulting in less attention available for mental and perceptual-motor processing (Driskell and Johnston, 1998; Eysenck et al., 2007; Hope, 2016).

These attentional, perceptual, and stress reactivity-related deficits mean that when presented with a threat, officers may be more prone to compromised performance, decision-making errors, and perceptual challenges (e.g., missing relevant cues, such as a subject pulling out a cellphone, not a gun; Easterbrook, 1959; Driskell and Salas, 1996; Vickers, 2007). Overall, the effects of stress on performance may be particularly detrimental during a critical incident, when officers are expected to demonstrate sound judgment and proficient performance. However, research in this area is limited, as studies tend to examine only narrow aspects of performance (e.g., shooting accuracy), use subjective measures of stress (e.g., self-report), or lack robust methods and measures for assessing performance.

Impact of Training and Experience on Stress Reactivity

While the body’s default response to successfully deal with a threat is to stimulate the fight-or-flight response (LeDoux and Pine, 2016), training and experience are thought to moderate stress by intervening immediately following the initial autonomic stress response (Driskell and Salas, 1996; Kavanagh, 2005; Wollert et al., 2011). Theoretically, training and experience improve one’s ability to cope with a threat, subsequently affecting the appraisal process, which sustains and moderates the fight-or-flight physiology (Driskell and Salas, 1996; Anshel et al., 1997; Kelley et al., 2019).

Research provides mixed evidence for this theory (Rimmele et al., 2007; Johnson et al., 2014; Landman et al., 2016b). For example, during UoF simulation studies, officers on specialized and tactical teams displayed lower HR during a high-pressure scenario as compared to general duty officers (Landman et al., 2016b; James et al., 2020). In contrast, when Baldwin et al. (2019) examined officers’ level of operational skills training and years of experience, neither significantly modulated stress reactivity during general duty calls for service. Instead, stress reactivity was primarily associated with situational risk factors, such as the priority of the call and whether weapons were reported, or force was used. While the evidence is limited and mixed, greater levels of on-the-job experience and police training should, theoretically, improve coping and resilience to stressors, that is the very reason why training exists.

Impact of Training and Experience on Performance Under Stress

Research demonstrates that a wide range of training techniques can improve performance, even under stressful conditions. For example, there are many training strategies that can enhance the acquisition, retention, and application of knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs), such as the use of spaced practice and providing appropriate feedback (Jenkins et al., 2021; Di Nota et al., 2021a; Bennell et al., 2021b). In addition, meta-analyses and systematic reviews across many domains (e.g., sport, military, medicine, policing) consistently identify the performance benefits produced by training under pressure or threat that replicates the operational environment (Kent et al., 2018; Gröpel and Mesagno, 2019; Low et al., 2021). As a result, contemporary operational police skills training now often includes scenario-based training (SBT) that gradually exposes officers to stress-inducing simulated encounters in an attempt to develop stress-resilient skills and performance (Reaves, 2016). Meta-analyses provide empirical support for this training approach as a way of improving performance (Saunders et al., 1996; Low et al., 2021). Accordingly, we expect that officers with higher levels of operational skills training will perform better than those with less training, as they will have had greater opportunity to acquire and practice their KSAs in SBT, making the KSAs more adaptive and stress resilient.

In addition to training, operational experience may also be important to performance and decision-making under stress. For example, through the acquisition and automation of schemas, which are forms of tacit knowledge gained on-the-job or during training, experienced individuals can discern subtleties in their environment that may be imperceptible to novices (Kavanagh, 2006; Kahneman and Klein, 2009; Klein, 2015). Using this tacit knowledge, the recognition-primed decision-making (RPDM) model suggests that under dynamic and complex circumstances, experienced decision-makers can quickly assess situations and draw on their schemas to evaluate options and determine the first workable solution through satisficing (Klein, 1997, 1999; Ward et al., 2011). RPDM is resilient to stress and more adaptable to complex and dynamic situations (Klein, 2015). Accordingly, studies have found that greater levels of policing experience are related to things like flexible rather than serial decision-making (Boulton and Cole, 2016), anticipation and cue recognition (Vickers and Lewinski, 2012; Renden et al., 2015; Suss and Ward, 2018), and reduced lethal force errors (Vickers and Lewinski, 2012; Landman et al., 2016b). However, many of these studies dichotomize experience into expert (e.g., tactical officers) and novice (e.g., cadets) categories, which may not account for the broad spectrum of training that officers receive, nor do they disentangle the distinct effects of on-the-job experience compared to training.

Current Study

In the current study, active-duty police officers participated in a complex, dynamic, and realistic lethal force scenario to examine whether performance was affected by the officer’s level of operational skills training, years of police service, and stress reactivity. The findings will speak to the level of performance under stress that can reasonably be expected from officers, based on their current police training and experience. This will allow us to recommend evidence-based enhancements to training, as well as to inform the objective reasonableness standard used in courts of law.

More specifically, we hypothesized the following:

1. Officers will display elevated stress reactivity in response to the scenario, commensurate with those observed in naturalistic UoF encounters. Elevated stress reactivity is operationalized as an increase in sympathetic activity and a withdrawal of parasympathetic activity, measured by HR and HRV, as well as an increase in self-reported perceptual and cognitive distortions;

2. Stress reactivity will vary as a function of level of police training and years of police service;

3. Highly elevated stress reactivity will be associated with poorer performance, as operationalized by performance scales and lethal force errors; and

4. Higher levels of training and experience will be associated with better performance.

Materials and Methods

Participants

In June 2018, 122 active-duty police officers from a large Canadian police agency volunteered to participate in our study. The inclusion criteria for participants were that they were considered “fit for duty”1 by their police agency and currently on active duty. Table 1 shows the basic sociodemographic characteristics of the sample (N = 122).

TABLE 1
www.frontiersin.org

Table 1. Participant demographics.

Materials

Demographic Questionnaire

A demographic questionnaire was used to collect age, gender, years of service, law enforcement experience, training, self-reported cardiovascular disease, and whether they were taking medication that could affect the cardiovascular system. Frequency of alcohol, tobacco, and caffeine consumption, as well as frequency of exercise, was also collected.

Stress Reactivity Monitoring Devices

Stress reactivity was measured using two Polar V800 Heart Rate Monitor Watches® and a Polar H7 Chest Strap Heart Rate Monitor® (Polar Electro Oy, Kempele, Finland). Together, these devices continuously record HR and R-R intervals (i.e., beat-to-beat intervals), with a sampling rate of 1,000 Hz for HRV analysis. These devices have been used in prior research when officers are on-shift or participating in realistic scenarios (Hope et al., 2016; Landman et al., 2016a; Baldwin et al., 2019). They have also been validated against hospital-grade electrocardiograms (ECG; Caminal et al., 2018; Gilgen-Ammann et al., 2019; Cilhoroz et al., 2020; Hernández-Vicente et al., 2021).2

Firearms Training System

Participants were equipped with a StressVest®, which is a non-projectile system that facilitates realistic scenario-based firearms training.3 Participants wear the StressVest® and a StressX® PRO Belt. Duty pistols are converted to fire a laser pulse that activates the StressVest® when it strikes center mass, the side, or head (with additional side panels and face sensor baseball hat). When hit, the StressX® PRO Belt delivers either a vibration or shock to the abdomen of the participant. The system has been shown to elicit stress reactivity, as measured by HR, commensurate to training with non-lethal training ammunition (i.e., Simunition® FX marking cartridges; Condon, 2015).

Video Recording Devices

In order to code participant performance, each scenario was video recorded by three ©GoPro HERO4 Silver cameras affixed in central locations around the study area. All participants also wore an eye tracker (©Applied Science Laboratories Mobile Eye-5 Glasses) and certain participants wore body worn cameras (Axon Body2®) for purposes unrelated to the current study. The video footage was used to provide multiple angles to assess performance throughout the scenario.

Measures

Phase of the Scenario

As described in more detail in the Supplementary Material A (https://osf.io/qj2cg/), participants were exposed to a lethal force scenario. The scenario occurred in a building that had been designed to appear as an apartment complex in a rural setting. All participants were dispatched to a second-floor apartment for a call from a female complainant indicating that a male subject had been drinking heavily and was in breach of his probation conditions. At that point, the facilitator said, “scenario on” and participants had the opportunity to ask dispatch for additional information, if they chose to do so.

Upon arriving “on scene” and knocking on the door of the residence, the participant was greeted by a bystander, who indicated that the subject had committed an assault. The bystander remained in the scenario room and demanded the participant remove the subject, who was seated at the dining room table at the other end of the room. A partially obscured knife was on the table and the subject eventually drew it and put it to his throat, threatening to die by suicide. After some time passed, regardless of how much the officer attempted to verbally de-escalate or intervene, the subject ultimately complied and threw the knife on the ground towards the participant.

The scenario was allowed to naturally unfold a little longer until the subject spontaneously pulled a firearm, stood up, and started to shoot at the participant. This resulted in a lethal force response from the participant. Once shot at by the participant, the subject feigned a gunshot wound to the chest while the bystander contemporaneously produced and pointed a cellphone, verbally indicating that they were video recording the situation. Participants were then provided the opportunity to prioritize and perform whatever actions they deemed necessary (e.g., request resources, secure weapons, physically restrain subject and/or bystander, search subject, administer first aid). The scenario was allowed to come to a natural conclusion and was ended by the facilitator when the participant failed to demonstrate any new actions or strategies.

For the purpose of analyzing cardiovascular stress reactivity, the scenario (M = 9:25 min; SD = 2:32) was broken down temporally into five phases: (1) dispatch phase – from beginning of the simulated dispatch call to the facilitator saying “scenario on” (M = 1:10 min; SD = 0:53), (2) approach phase – from the facilitator saying “scenario on” to the bystander opening the apartment door (M = 0:46 min; SD = 0:26), (3) encounter phase – from the bystander opening the apartment door to the participant recognizing the knife on the table and/or the subject grabbing the knife on the table (M = 1:44 min; SD = 1:22), (4) critical phase – from the participant recognizing the knife on the table and/or the subject grabbing the knife on the table to the participant making physical contact with the subject (e.g., arrest; M = 3:08 min; SD = 1:40), and (5) scene management and aftercare (SM&A) phase – from the participant making physical contact with the subject to the facilitator saying “scenario over” (M = 2:38 min; SD = 1:04).

Stress Reactivity

Cardiovascular Stress Reactivity

Empirical research supports the use of HRV as a noninvasive measure of psychological and physiological arousal (Berntson and Cacioppo, 2004; Appelhans and Luecken, 2006; Thayer et al., 2012). Thus, HR and HRV were captured using monitoring devices. Data were entered into ©Kubios HRV Premium Version 3.3.1. (Biomedical Signal Analysis Group, Department of Applied Physics, University of Kuopio, Finland), which is research software for the analysis of HRV. Samples were created for each phase of the scenario.

The PNS Index and SNS Index, computed in ©Kubios HRV software, were used as a measure of stress reactivity in this study (Sahoo et al., 2019). These indices have been used in other research (James et al., 2020; Giuseppe et al., 2021; Lundell et al., 2021). See Supplementary Material B (https://osf.io/hf9p6/) for further details on the measures and methods used.

Perceptual and Cognitive Distortions

To examine whether the scenario resulted in perceptual and cognitive distortions – an indicator of stress reactivity – a 14-item questionnaire adapted from Artwohl (2008) was administered. Each perceptual and cognitive distortion during-scenario (10 items) and post-scenario (four items) was rated on a four-point Likert-type scale ranging from 0 “not at all” to 3 “to a great extent.” Total scores could range from 0 to 42. Perceptual and cognitive distortion scores were expressed as a percentage of the total possible score (42). See Supplementary Material C (https://osf.io/nawhm/) for a list of perceptual and cognitive distortions and descriptions.

Training

Participants’ training records and the training information captured in the demographics form were used to identify and assess their level of in-service operational skills training. Eight levels of training, from basic to elite, were established based on recency, frequency, and type of training experience participants received (see Table 2). See Supplementary Material D (https://osf.io/4f8er/) for details on the agency’s training and methods for categorizing the level of training.

TABLE 2
www.frontiersin.org

Table 2. Level of training.

Performance Metrics

To provide a robust assessment of performance, a combination of objective and subjective measures (Di Nota et al., 2021c) from four separate performance metrics were used: (1) the Deadly Force Judgment and Decision-Making (DFJDM), Tactical Social Interaction (TSI), and Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) metrics (Vila et al., 2018), (2) the agency’s performance metric, (3) the Scenario Training Assessment and Review (STAR) scale (Wollert et al., 2011), and (4) lethal force errors.

Deadly Force Judgment and Decision-Making, Tactical Social Interaction, and Crisis Intervention Team Metric

The DFJDM metric was developed to assess performance in situations requiring the UoF, whereas the TSI and CIT metrics were developed for measuring performance during police–public interactions and encounters with people suffering from mental illness or who are in crisis, respectively. The DFJDM includes 105 performance indicators weighted from −6 (extremely negative impact on performance) to +6 (extremely positive impact on performance). The TSI has 78 performance indicators weighted from 1 (no impact on performance) to 7 (extremely positive impact on performance) and the CIT is comprised of 112 performance indicators ranging from −4 (strong negative impact on performance) to +4 (strong positive impact on performance).

In accordance with Vila et al.’s (2018) recommendations, the authors and a group of police trainers selected performance indicators from these three metrics that were applicable to the study scenario. This resulted in a total of 39 performance indicators from the DFJDM (20), CIT (14), and TSI (5) that were then combined into a single metric (see James et al., 2019). When rating performance, indicators were assessed as to whether they were applicable (1 – Yes; 0 – No) for each officer in the scenario. If applicable, each indicator was rated as achieved or not (1 – Yes; 0 – No; Vila et al., 2018). Weighted performance scores were then expressed as a percentage of the potential weighted score for each officer in the scenario. Where a performance indicator was not applicable, it was removed from the potential score to avoid penalizing an officer for something they could not have done (e.g., assessing ability to reload firearm, when a reload was not necessary). See Supplementary Material E (https://osf.io/4gzyd/) for list of performance indicators and weightings.

Agency Metric

All items contained within the agencies’ performance rubrics for scenario-based training and the basic trauma equipment course were adapted into a single metric. This contained 44 items, including professionalism, law, and policy (three items), skills and techniques (five items), tactics and officer safety (28 items), and medical response (eight items). Each item was equally weighted and scored as (1 – Yes; 0 – No; Not applicable). Performance scores were expressed as a percentage of the potential applicable scores for each officer in the scenario. See Supplementary Material F (https://osf.io/8mfpq/) for a list of performance indicators.

Scenario Training Assessment and Review Scale

The Federal Law Enforcement Training Centre (FLETC) developed the STAR scale. The scale identifies eight factors considered essential to an officer’s operational performance, including: (1) situational awareness, (2) threat identification, (3) initial response, (4) scene control after the initial response, (5) application of force, (6) arrest/processing techniques, (7) communication, and (8) articulation/after action review (Wollert et al., 2011). Each item is rated on a four-point scale (1 – Not acceptable; 2 – Least desirable; 3 – Acceptable; 4 – Desirable; Not applicable). Performance scores were expressed as a percentage of the potential applicable scores for each officer in the scenario. See Supplementary Material G (https://osf.io/gmpx3/) for a list of performance indicators, ratings, descriptions, and modifications.

Lethal Force Errors

To evaluate lethal force errors, participants were assessed for whether they: (1) shot the subject while they were armed with a knife and exhibiting a threat of self-harm (i.e., decision-making error), or (2) shot the bystander who quickly produced and pointed a cellphone after the subject was shot, while verbally indicating that they were video recording the situation (i.e., mistake of fact error).

Overall Performance

To develop an overall performance measure, the average of the (1) DFJDM, TSI, and CIT metric, (2) agency metric, and (3) STAR scale was calculated.

Performance Coding and Reliability

A team of eight UoF subject matter experts and trainers coded participant performance using the metrics described above. All coders had received the agencies’ 3-week UoF instructor course and had extensive UoF training and/or review experience. Coders received 4 h of initial training on the use of the metrics and then completed four training assessments to confirm consistency and clarify metrics, where necessary. Coders were then randomly assigned to pairs and assigned a quarter of participants at random. Using scenario video footage, performance metrics for every participant were independently assessed by two coders to allow inter-rater reliability to be assessed.

Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) estimates for the total scores on each of the performance scales and their 95% CI were calculated. The resulting ICCs from the DFJDM, TSI, and CIT metric (ICC = 0.75, 95% CI [0.65–0.83]) and agency metric (ICC = 0.74, 95% CI [0.63–0.82]) were in the good–excellent (Cicchetti, 1994) or moderate–good range (Koo and Li, 2016). This indicated that coders had a relatively high degree of agreement and suggests that performance was rated similarly across coders. The STAR scale demonstrated poor-good (Cicchetti, 1994) or poor-moderate agreement (Koo and Li, 2016; ICC = 0.52, 95% CI [0.32–0.66]). To resolve discrepancies and achieve a single “most correct” assessment, independent third-party resolution was completed by another member of the coding team – neither of the original two coders (Syed and Nelson, 2015; Bakeman and Goodman, 2020). Once the independent third-party resolution was completed, the overall performance measure was calculated.

Procedure

Before beginning the study, participants reviewed and signed an informed consent form. They were then equipped with cardiovascular monitoring devices and completed the demographics questionnaire. Next, participants were outfitted with other relevant equipment, including a StressVest™ system, eye-tracker, BWC, and all the inert tools they carry in the field. They were then exposed to the lowest shock level from the StressVest™. The shock was then increased to the highest “extreme” level, which the participants were informed they would experience, if shot, during the scenario. They then completed the scenario, which was facilitated by an expert police trainer, who remained with them throughout the entirety of the scenario to act as radio dispatch and ensure their safety and that of the role players. See Supplementary Material A (https://osf.io/qj2cg) for a detailed design and description of the scenario.

After the scenario, participants were de-equipped and completed the self-reported perceptual and cognitive distortions questionnaire. A random subsample of participants were recruited to wear a HR monitor to establish a true resting heart rate during sleep. Subsequently, participants were then debriefed by the researchers and a facilitator. After the debriefing, participants were compensated with a $50.00 gift card and those who volunteered to wear the heart rate monitor while sleeping, were compensated with an additional $50.00 gift card. All participants were provided the opportunity to withdraw their data, but none chose to do so.

The study was approved by the Carleton University Ethics Committee for Psychological Research (CUREB-B Clearance # 108733), as well as the Research Review Board (2018-04) of the agency from which the officers were recruited.

Data Analyses

All measures for the current study were entered into SPSS v.27 (IBM Corp, 2020) for quantitative analysis. All dependent variables were examined for expected ranges and the presence of extreme outliers. The normal distribution of dependent variables was tested using the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, as well as an examination of histograms and Q-Q plots. All performance scales, self-reported perceptual and cognitive distortions, and heart rate measures were normally distributed. SNS and PNS indexes had nonparametric distributions.

Paired-samples t tests were used to test the mean difference between paired observations. Independent-samples t tests and Mann–Whitney U tests were used to compare parametric and nonparametric measures between independent samples, respectively. Correlations between variables were assessed using Pearson’s correlation (r) for parametric distributions or Spearman’s rank correlation (rs) for nonparametric distributions.

For repeated measures with normal distributions, General Linear Model repeated measures ANOVA were used. Greenhouse–Geisser corrected value of p were reported when the assumption of sphericity was violated, as indicated by the Mauchly test. Significant main effects were further analyzed with Bonferroni-corrected post hoc tests. For nonparametric repeated measures, the Friedman test was used. Significant main effects from the Friedman test were further analyzed with Bonferroni-corrected Wilcoxon signed-rank tests and effect sizes calculated in accordance with Pallant (2010, p. 232). To examine the effect of training on HR, self-reported perceptual and cognitive distortions, and performance, one-way between-subjects ANOVAs were conducted. Kruskal–Wallis one-way ANOVAs were conducted to examine nonparametric HRV measures.

Multiple regression analysis was used to determine the relationships among stress reactivity, experience, and training on performance. To examine the two lethal force errors with dichotomous outcomes, logistic regression was used to model the data. All assumptions were met for regression analyses.

Results

Stress Reactivity in Response to the Scenario

To measure elevated stress reactivity, we first established a true resting heart rate with a subsample (n = 29) who wore a HR monitor to sleep. A paired-samples t test was conducted to compare HRrest at the lowest 1 min while completing paperwork pre-scenario to HR while the officer was sleeping. As expected, HRrest (M = 77.11, SD = 10.76) was significantly higher than HR while the officer was sleeping [M = 55.80, SD = 6.53, t(28) = 13.665, p < 0.001, d = 2.54]. HRrest for the full sample was 75.17 bpm (SD = 11.13; see Table 3), which is in line with the resting rate found for officers (pre-scenario) in similar studies (Andersen et al., 2018), although it is 10–15 bpm higher than on-duty HRrest (Anderson and Plecas, 2000; Baldwin et al., 2019). The slight elevation may be attributed to factors such as anticipatory stress while waiting for the scenario or the officer’s body positioning during the recording (e.g., sitting upright in a chair; Miles-Chan et al., 2013).

TABLE 3
www.frontiersin.org

Table 3. Cardiovascular stress reactivity during sleep, while at rest, and during the phases of the scenario.

Table 3 presents cardiovascular stress reactivity data for officers across the scenario. In support of the first hypothesis, the results indicate that participants experienced elevated stress reactivity during the scenario. HRmean_scenario was 129 bpm (SD = 18.11). Elevated SNS Indexscenario (M = 7.8, SD = 3.39) and decreased PNS Indexscenario (M = −3.39, SD = 0.69) were also observed throughout the scenario. Average participant HRmax_critical was 149.81 (SD = 18.03), consistent with the HR reported during real world UoF encounters (Baldwin et al., 2019).

Further supporting the first hypothesis, a repeated measures analysis (n = 117) demonstrated significant differences from at-rest HR and HR across the phases of the scenario [F(3.251, 377.126) = 1091.954, p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.90]. After a Bonferroni post hoc correction (α = 0.05/5 = 0.01) was applied, it revealed that HRmax_critical (M = 150.12, SE = 1.67) was significantly higher than HRrest (M = 74.89, SE = 1.02, p < 0.001, d = 4.64), as well as HRmax_dispatch (M = 115.99, SE = 1.57, p < 0.001, d = 2.41), HRmax_approach (M = 139.87, SE = 1.51, p < 0.001, d = 0.96), HRmax_encounter (M = 142.41, SE = 1.67, p < 0.001, d = 0.80), and HRmax_SM&A (M = 143.52, SE = 1.71, p < 0.001, d = 0.59). See Figure 1 for a line chart of HR during sleep, while at rest, and during the phases of the scenario.

FIGURE 1
www.frontiersin.org

Figure 1. Heart rate (HR) during sleep, while at rest, and during the phases of the scenario. bpm, beats per minute and SM&A, scene management and aftercare. 95% CI error bars displayed.

Similarly, there was a statistically significant difference in SNS and PNS index values (n = 111) while at rest and across the phases of the scenario, χ2(5) = 316.86, p < 0.001 and χ2(5) = 370.77, p < 0.001, respectively. A post hoc analysis with Wilcoxon signed-rank tests was conducted with a Bonferroni correction (α = 0.05/5 = 0.01). There were large significant increases in SNS Indexcritical compared to SNS Indexrest (z = 9.347, p < 0.001, r = 0.61) and SNS Indexdispatch (z = 8.294, p < 0.001, r = 0.54). However, there were no statistically significant differences between SNS Indexcritical and SNS Indexapproach, SNS Indexencounter, or SNS IndexSM&A (p > 0.01, r = ±0.04–0.09). There were small to large significant decreases in PNS Indexcritical compared to PNS Indexrest (z = −9.347, p < 0.001, r = −0.61), PNS Indexdispatch (z = −9.199, p < 0.001, r = −0.61), PNS Indexapproach (z = −9.199, p < 0.001, r = −0.27), and PNS IndexSM&A (z = −2.855, p = 0.004, r = −0.19). However, once Bonferroni-corrected, there was a small nonsignificant difference between PNS Indexcritical and PNS Indexencounter (z = −2.334, p = 0.02, r = −0.15). Overall, these results provide support for our first hypothesis. See Figure 2 for a line chart of SNS and PNS index values during sleep, while at rest, and during the phases of the scenario.

FIGURE 2
www.frontiersin.org

Figure 2. Sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) index values during sleep, while at rest, and during the phases of the scenario. SM&A, scene management and aftercare. 95% CI error bars displayed.

To further assess the first hypothesis, we examined perceptual and cognitive distortions experienced by participants. The majority of participants reported experiencing the sensation of being on automatic pilot (90.9%), tunnel vision (87.6%), heightened visual clarity (82.6%), and diminished sound (70.2%) during the scenario (see Table 4). Overall, the mean perceptual and cognitive distortion score for participants was 33.6% (SD = 15.9), indicating a notable presence of distortions. These results also provide support for our first hypothesis. Perceptual and cognitive distortion scores were not significantly associated with cardiovascular stress reactivity (i.e., HR, SNS, and PNS index values) during the overall scenario and during the critical phase of the scenario (p > 0.05).

TABLE 4
www.frontiersin.org

Table 4. Self-reported perceptual and cognitive distortions experienced by participants during- and post-scenario.

Stress Reactivity as a Function of Training and Experience

To test the second hypothesis, a one-way between-subjects ANOVA was conducted to examine the effect of training on stress reactivity. There were small nonsignificant effects of training on HRrest, HRmean_scenario, and HRmax_critical. Nonsignificant results were also observed when conducting a Kruskal–Wallis one-way ANOVA for training on SNS Indexscenario, PNS Indexscenario, SNS Indexcritical, and PNS Indexcritical (p > 0.05). These results failed to support our second hypothesis, as stress reactivity was similar across levels of training. See Figure 3 for baseline and scenario heart rate as a function of training.

FIGURE 3
www.frontiersin.org

Figure 3. Heart rate as a function of level of training. bpm, beats per minute. 95% CI error bars displayed.

To examine whether years of police service was associated with stress reactivity, a series of nonparametric correlation tests were conducted with HR, SNS, and PNS index values at rest, during the scenario, and during the critical phase of the scenario. Once Bonferroni-corrected (α = 0.05/7 = 0.007), years of service was significantly associated with HRmean_scenario (rs = −0.26, p = 0.005), HRmax_critical (rs = −0.35, p < 0.001), and PNS Indexcritical (rs = 0.26, p = 0.005).

A one-way between-subjects ANOVA revealed a small non-significant effect of training on perceptual and cognitive distortion scores [F(7, 113) = 1.585, p = 0.147, η2 = 0.089]. Years of police service was also not significantly associated with perceptual and cognitive distortion scores (rs = −0.10, p = 0.258). These mixed results regarding the effect of experience on stress reactivity provide some support for Hypothesis 2.

Performance as a Function of Stress Reactivity

All performance metrics had average scores that ranged from 50 to 66%, arguably indicating suboptimal performance under stress. Large positive correlations (r > 0.60, p < 0.001) between the three performance scales were observed. See Supplementary Material H (https://osf.io/73c4p/) for descriptive statistics and correlation matrix for performance metrics.

To examine our third hypothesis, a series of correlations between the performance metrics and HR, HRV, and self-reported perceptual and cognitive distortions were calculated (see Table 5). HR and perceptual and cognitive distortions were not significantly associated with performance metrics (p > 0.05). SNS Indexscenario and SNS Indexcritical demonstrated a trend suggesting that, as participants’ sympathetic activity increased, their performance decreased. Specifically, small to moderate negative correlations were found between SNS Indexcritical and all performance metrics. However, once a Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons per dependent variable was applied (α = 0.05/7 = 0.007), only the correlation with the STAR scale and the overall performance rating remained significant (p < 0.001). PNS Indexscenario and PNS Indexcritical, while not statistically significant, demonstrated small positive correlations with all performance metrics, suggesting that parasympathetic withdrawal may be associated with a deterioration in performance. Using G*Power (Faul et al., 2007), a compromise power analysis indicated that the study sample size (n = 116) was considerably underpowered (16–40% power) to detect a significant effect size of that magnitude (i.e., r = 0.09–0.16).

TABLE 5
www.frontiersin.org

Table 5. Correlations between stress reactivity and performance metrics.

Performance as a Function of Training and Experience

Our fourth hypothesis was tested with a one-way between-subjects ANOVA to compare the effects of the level of training on performance metrics. There was a significant moderate to large effect of training on DFJDM, TSI, and CIT [F(7, 114) = 3.495, p = 0.002, η2 = 0.177], agency performance metrics [F(7, 114) = 7.225, p < 0.001, η2 = 0.307], STAR scale [F(7, 114) = 5.928, p < 0.001, η2 = 0.267], and overall performance rating [F(7, 114) = 6.882, p < 0.001, η2 = 0.297]. Therefore, participants with higher levels of operational skills training displayed measurably better performance. See Figure 4 and Supplementary Material I (https://osf.io/zn6mr/) for performance scores across level of training. Years of police service was not significantly associated with any performance metrics (rs < 0.05, p > 0.05).

FIGURE 4
www.frontiersin.org

Figure 4. Performance metrics (%) as a function of level of training.

To examine the unique effects of training, experience, and stress reactivity on performance, multiple regression analysis was conducted. Due to high collinearity between cardiovascular measures (rs > ±0.80), and the nonsignificant correlations between performance and both HR and the PNS Index, only SNS Indexcritical was retained in the model. In all four models (see Table 6), level of training had a significant effect on performance (p < 0.001), whereby for every increase in level of training (eight levels), there would be approximately a three unit (Β = 2.87–3.36) increase in each of the performance metrics (%). Conversely, for every increase in years of police service, performance metrics (%) decreased by approximately 0.39 (Β = 0.28–0.50), though this effect did not reach significance for either the DFJDM, TSI, and CIT (p = 0.093), or the agency performance metrics (p = 0.054). With regard to stress reactivity, for every one-unit increase in SNS Indexcritical (M = 9.6, SD = 4.7), performance metrics (%) decreased by approximately 0.57 (Β = 0.22–0.99), though this effect did not reach a level of statistical significance for the DFJDM, TSI, and CIT (p = 0.145), or the agency performance metrics (p = 0.304).

TABLE 6
www.frontiersin.org

Table 6. Multiple regressions for training, experience and stress reactivity on performance.

Standardized coefficients indicated that the strength of the effect from the level of training (b = 0.35–52) on performance was approximately double that of years of police service (b = 0.15–18) and stress reactivity (b = 0.09–25). Overall, level of training, years of police service, and stress reactivity (SNS Indexcritical) explained approximately one quarter (R2 = 0.17–0.30) of the variance in performance in the scenario.

Lethal Force Errors

A total of 34 (27.9%) participants made one or more lethal force errors during the scenario: nine (7.4%) shot the subject while they were armed with a knife and exhibiting a threat of self-harm (i.e., decision-making error); 20 (16.4%) shot the bystander who quickly produced and pointed a cellphone after the subject was shot, while verbally indicating that they were video recording the situation (i.e., mistake of fact error); and five (4.1%) made both errors (see Figure 5).

FIGURE 5
www.frontiersin.org

Figure 5. Lethal force errors during the scenario. (A) Shooting the subject while they were armed with a knife and exhibiting a threat of self-harm (i.e., decision-making error); and (B) shooting the bystander holding a cell phone (i.e., mistake of fact error). Green crosshairs represent participant gaze (from eye-tracker) at central mass while pulling the trigger.

To examine whether training, experience, and stress reactivity predicted lethal force errors, logistic regression analysis was conducted (see Table 7). All independent variables predicted (p < 0.05) the subject being shot while they were armed with a knife and exhibiting a threat of self-harm. Specifically, for each increase in level of training, the odds of shooting the subject while they were armed with a knife and exhibiting a threat of self-harm increased by 37% and the odds increased 12% for every additional year of police service. An increase in stress reactivity (i.e., one-unit increase in SNS Indexcritical) also increased the odds of lethal force error on a subject armed with a knife and exhibiting a threat of self-harm by 25%. None of the variables significantly increased or decreased the odds of shooting the bystander who quickly produced and pointed a cellphone after the subject was shot. See Supplementary Material J (https://osf.io/2srpu/) for a breakdown of level of training by type of lethal force error.

TABLE 7
www.frontiersin.org

Table 7. Logistic regressions for training, experience, and stress reactivity on lethal force errors.

Exploratory Analysis of Behavioral Predictors of Performance

For an exploratory analysis of which individual behaviors were most associated with overall scores on the performance metrics, see Supplementary Material K (https://osf.io/vh2s6/).

Discussion

Below, we briefly discuss the results related to each hypothesis and explore their implications.

Stress Reactions to the Scenario

In support of Hypothesis 1, officers displayed significantly elevated stress reactivity in response to the scenario, including large increases in SNS arousal and PNS withdrawal, consistent with a threat response (Castaldo et al., 2015; Laborde et al., 2017). Self-reported perceptual and cognitive distortions and large increases in HR were also observed, commensurate with those reported in naturalistic UoF encounters (e.g., Anderson et al., 2002; Artwohl, 2008; Andersen et al., 2016). For example, officers’ cardiovascular stress reactivity during the critical phase of our scenario reached an average of 150 bpm (75 bpm higher than their pre-scenario resting rate). In comparison, Baldwin et al. (2019) reported stress reactivity in the range of 146 bpm when officers drew their firearm for the purpose of arresting a subject under threatening naturalistic conditions. Therefore, the HR produced during our scenario approximates with stress reactions to real world police encounters.

Over 70% of our participants also reported experiencing tunnel vision, heightened visual clarity, and diminished sound. These results closely correspond with the perceptual and cognitive distortions reported by others (Honig and Sultan, 2004; Artwohl, 2008; Klinger and Brunson, 2009). The high prevalence of perceptual distortions observed in this study also aligns with attentional control theory (Eysenck et al., 2007), which suggests that under stress, attention is directed toward the threatening stimuli, rather than task relevant processes (e.g., decision-making). These indications of perceptual narrowing are further supported by research showing that the perceptual field tends to shrink under stress (Vickers, 2007; Honig and Lewinski, 2008). Additionally, the majority of participants (91%) reported that they responded on automatic pilot. This corresponds with decision-making research which demonstrates that under dynamic and complex circumstances, responses rely heavily on intuition, which occur in an automatic manner (Kahneman and Klein, 2009; Ward et al., 2011; Klein, 2015). Our cardiovascular stress reactivity measures (i.e., HR and HRV) were not associated with self-reported perceptual and cognitive distortion scores, suggesting that self-reports of these distortions may not be a good proxy measure for stress reactivity, at least under high levels of stress. This further underscores the importance of collecting both objective and subjective measures of the phenomenon under study (Di Nota et al., 2021c).

Combined, the stress reactivity data indicate that the scenario developed for this study produced adverse physiological, attentional, and perceptual conditions. Thus, this scenario arguably provides reasonably realistic conditions under which to study and draw conclusions about what might happen to performance in highly stressful real-world police encounters. This is important, not only for assessing the efficacy of agency training, but also for informing the courts about how officers might reasonably perform when responding to a threat, given the current police training they have received. Further, the findings indicate how this performance and stress reactivity may be influenced by an officer’s level of current police training and experience.

Impact of Training and Experience on Stress Reactivity

It is believed that training and experience can improve one’s ability to cope with a threatening stimuli, subsequently affecting the threat appraisal process, which sustains and moderates the fight-or-flight physiology (Driskell and Salas, 1996; Anshel et al., 1997; Kelley et al., 2019). The current study’s results provided mixed evidence for Hypothesis 2, which examined this relationship. Specifically, in contrast to what we expected, there was no effect regarding level of training on cardiovascular stress reactivity or the extent of perceptual and cognitive distortions experienced. Current findings correspond with Baldwin et al. (2019) who did not find an effect of level of training on physiological arousal when officers from the same agency as the current study responded to general duty calls for service. Together, these findings may indicate that the agency’s training does not include or sufficiently embed techniques that have been shown to promote adaptive coping mechanisms (e.g., mental rehearsal, reappraisal; Anshel, 2000; Colin et al., 2014). Another possible explanation is that the agency’s SBT is not currently eliciting significant enough stress reactivity to replicate the naturalistic environment and result in improved coping, advanced schemas, and stress resilient KSAs. While we are not proposing that all scenarios in SBT include high levels of stress, a progressive increase in stressful scenarios, once skills have been acquired, has shown benefits for performance that generalize across novel stressors and tasks (Driskell et al., 2001; Di Nota et al., 2021a).

Research also indicates that the threat response is malleable, with specific types of training being shown to increase one’s ability to control stress reactions (Arnetz et al., 2009; McCraty and Atkinson, 2012; Andersen et al., 2018). For example, using HRV biofeedback, Andersen and Gustafsberg (2016) and Andersen et al. (2016, 2018) taught officers to modulate autonomic arousal during threat inducing SBT by evoking parasympathetic activation. This autonomic modulation training resulted in lower maximum HR and quicker recovery from critical incident stress (i.e., the time it took to return to their average resting HR) following threat exposure (a measure of PNS activation; Thayer and Sternberg, 2006). Adopting autonomic modulation training, or embedding such techniques in already existing skills training, may better equip officers to adaptively modify their stress reactivity during real-world critical incidents, and ultimately improve performance under stress (Andersen et al., 2018; Bennell et al., 2021a).

In partial support of Hypothesis 2, we did find that more years of police service reduced parasympathetic withdrawal and HR in the critical phase and overall scenario, although no effect was observed for SNS arousal or perceptual and cognitive distortion scores. This provides some evidence that on-the-job experience may be important for parasympathetic regulation, which plays a role in forming a flexible response to environmental demands (Thayer et al., 2009; Roos et al., 2017; Andersen et al., 2018). It is unclear why this mixed effect with training and experience was observed, however, research has previously found that years of police experience influenced the extent to which officers believed they could cope with stressful events (Anshel et al., 1997). Further research exploring the role of training and experience is warranted.

Impact of Stress on Performance

Given the large positive correlations that were observed between the three performance scales used, the average of the three scales was used to create an overall performance score, which captured a more comprehensive rating of KSAs essential to police work. Under the stressful conditions produced by our scenario, average participant scores for all performance scales ranged from 50 to 66%, arguably demonstrating suboptimal performance. However, it is important to note that due to the broad scope of performance indicators used in this study, it is likely beyond the ability of any officer to perform all expected tasks on their own. For example, many officers justifiably chose to prioritize providing medical care to the subject until back-up and emergency medical services (EMS) arrived. This would have resulted in lower scores for items related to scene management, such as securing weapons and evidence, which the officer may not have assessed as a priority given the circumstances (i.e., the subject suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest).

Additionally, under stress, over a quarter of officers made one or more lethal force errors during the scenario, including decision-making errors (7%), mistake of fact errors (16%), or a combination of the two (4%). Since our study did not have a control (i.e., low stress) scenario for comparison, we cannot determine the full extent to which these performance deficits and errors were stress induced. However, our study does show that SNS arousal during the critical phase of the scenario was associated with small to moderate decreases in performance, meaning that those who had higher, more maladaptive SNS arousal during the scenario displayed poorer performance than those with lower, more adaptive SNS arousal. Additionally, while it did not reach statistical significance, small effects were observed, suggesting that parasympathetic withdrawal may also be associated with a deterioration in performance. This trend adds to the growing evidence that indicates performance deficits may not only be related to maladaptive SNS arousal, but also the suppression of the stress modulating parasympathetic influence (Saus et al., 2006; Andersen et al., 2018; Spangler et al., 2018).

Even when controlling for level of training and experience, SNS arousal was still associated with performance deficits and increased odds of lethal force decision-making errors, though not mistake of fact error. With SNS Index values that ranged from 2 (low – more adaptive) to 25 (high – more maladaptive) during the critical phase of the scenario, model estimates indicate that maladaptive stress-induced deficits could decrease performance upwards of 5–23%, depending on the performance metric. Similarly, the odds of making a lethal force decision-making error would be 5.7 times higher for those with the highest SNS arousal, compared to those with the lowest SNS arousal. These findings and trends are consistent with real-world studies and scenario-based experiments, which demonstrate that maladaptive stress arousal can result in degradation of task accuracy, increased task errors, and deficits in motor skills and cognitive functions, such as perception, attention, and decision-making (e.g., Driskell and Salas, 1996; Johnston et al., 1997; Morrison and Vila, 1998). These findings provide strong evidence in support of Hypothesis 3.

Conversely, HR was not found to be associated with performance. Thus, while HR is the most easily monitored physiological proxy of stress, we must caution that this is not an absolute measure of an individual’s stress reactivity, nor does it unequivocally predict individual performance under stressful conditions, as HR is influenced by a variety of factors (Meyerhoff et al., 2004; Brisinda et al., 2015; Arble et al., 2019). Additionally, self-reported perceptual and cognitive distortion scores were not associated with performance, which may indicate that while they may be maladaptive for certain aspects of performance (e.g., situational awareness), they may also be adaptive for other aspects, such as officer safety. Therefore, caution should be used when inferring things about an individual’s in-the-moment performance based on post-incident self-reported distortions, particularly given what we know about memory distortions during stress and inaccuracies in self-reports (Di Nota et al., 2020). Based on these findings, future studies examining the relationship between stress and performance should use robust measures of stress reactivity (e.g., HRV, antithrombin), which have shown predictive value (e.g., Taverniers and De Boeck, 2014; Arble et al., 2019; James et al., 2020).

Impact of Training and Experience on Performance Under Stress

In support of Hypothesis 4, there were moderate to large effects of training on all performance scales. For example, overall performance scores increased steadily from 50% for novice officers or those with basic training, to 74% for elite tactical officers. In fact, when controlling for years of police service and stress reactivity, training was the largest predictor of performance, with model estimates showing a 3% rise in performance for every increase in level of training (eight levels). This indicates that while overall performance was low, significant improvements in performance under stress can be achieved through greater levels of operational skills training.

Conversely, when controlling for training and stress reactivity, years of police service was negatively associated with performance, with model estimates showing that for every 5-year increase in years of service, performance decreased approximately 2%. This finding was somewhat unexpected as research shows that experience can improve performance, including decision-making and cue recognition (e.g., Renden et al., 2015; Boulton and Cole, 2016; Mangels et al., 2020). Since experience and training are inevitably related, our findings may be a result of using regression analysis to determine the distinct effect of on-the-job experience, while controlling for level of training. Our findings may then indicate that minimum qualifications and skills maintenance training, absent of additional or supplemental training and practice, are not sufficient to retain KSAs in the long-term (O’Neill et al., 2019). This may be particularly true for certain KSAs that are rarely used in the field, such as the UoF and medical care for a gunshot wound (Baldwin et al., 2020; Singh, 2020). Therefore, years of police service may be a crude measure of experience, as it is not necessarily indicative of exposure to critical incidents (Klein, 1999).

While greater levels of training improved global performance in the scenario, more advanced training, as well as higher years of police service, were both predictors of increased lethal force decision-making errors, even when controlling for stress reactivity. In contrast, with regard to the mistake of fact errors, neither training nor years of police service predicted shooting the bystander who quickly produced and pointed a cellphone after the subject was shot. These findings do not support Hypothesis 4, nor do they align with previous research that has shown a reduction of lethal force errors with greater levels of training and experience (Vickers and Lewinski, 2012; Landman et al., 2016b).

Research related to decision-making in naturalistic environments is helpful for understanding these unexpected results. According to this body of research, both the decision-making and mistake of fact lethal force errors observed in this study would be classified as rule-based (or misdiagnosis) errors (Reason, 2000; Taylor, 2019). This type of error involves an intended behavior (e.g., discharging a firearm at a perceived threat) that results in an unintended outcome (e.g., shooting an unarmed subject) due to a misdiagnosis of the situation and application of the wrong rule or schema (Taylor, 2019). Recall from our earlier description of RPDM that individuals rely heavily on cognitive shortcuts (e.g., satisficing) to quickly assess situations, evaluate options, and determine the first workable response (Klein, 1997, 1999; Kahneman and Klein, 2009). While this type of response is resilient to stress, requires less attentional resources, and enables a quick response to a perceived threat, it does not always result in the selection of the best response (Kahneman and Klein, 2009; Ward et al., 2011; Klein, 2015). Thus, with regard to the mistake of fact error, given the context of just being shot at by the subject, when the officers in our study saw the bystander quickly pulling an object from his pocket and raising it, this pattern was congruent with, and likely to be recognized as, a threat.

Implications for Training

Given the sub-optimal performance observed in this study, it is recommended that LEAs and their trainers reflect on their current training and further incorporate evidence-based best practices from recent reviews (e.g., Jenkins et al., 2021; Di Nota et al., 2021a; Bennell et al., 2021b), in hopes of achieving better performance. Importantly, the exploratory analysis found in the supplemental material identified several behaviors that were highly associated with positive performance. These behaviors included things like assessing the situation, recognizing threat cues, competence with intervention options, de-escalation, and maintaining tactical advantage (i.e., time, distance, cover, concealment). Thus, greater integration and focus on these behaviors in training could result in positive impacts in overall performance.

Regarding the decision-making errors observed in this study, Andersen et al. (2018) cautioned against use of force models (and associated training) that may reinforce if-then contingencies, such as relating a weapon or the threat of grievous bodily harm or death to the use of lethal force. While it is certainly important for public and police safety for an officer to draw their firearm in response to a weapon or lethal threat in relevant instances, if use of force models do promote if-then thinking, maladaptive heuristics may be relied on that are inappropriate in certain circumstances. For instance, in our study, we observed a significant number of officers discharge their firearm at a subject who was armed with a knife but was exhibiting a threat of suicide. The odds of doing so also increased with more training and experience. Therefore, it is possible that the current UoF model and related training, are inadvertently creating and reinforcing inappropriate mental shortcuts that may be used under dynamic and highly stressful situations. Thus, LEAs should examine evidence-based training and models that target decision-making (e.g., Vickers, 2007; Klein and Borders, 2016; Engel et al., 2020) and problem-solving abilities (e.g., Rajakaruna et al., 2017; Belur et al., 2019; Blumberg et al., 2019).

Lastly, agencies need to ensure adequate amounts and frequency of training are provided to achieve mastery and retention of evidence-based KSAs (e.g., O’Neill et al., 2019; Bennell et al., 2021b; Di Nota et al., 2021b), as rehearsed and automated skills are influenced to a lesser degree by stress (Vickers and Lewinski, 2012; Renden et al., 2017; Arble et al., 2019). Training should also include appropriate amounts of representative practice that is commensurate with real-world settings, to allow officers the opportunity to practice and integrate a wide-range of KSAs under stressful conditions (e.g., tactics, de-escalation, decision-making, perceptual-motor movement, medical aftercare). Several studies have demonstrated that training under stress can improve police performance, enhance officer safety, and reduce use of force errors (e.g., Nieuwenhuys and Oudejans, 2011b; Taverniers and De Boeck, 2014; Andersen et al., 2018).

Implications for the Objective Reasonableness Standard

Critics have argued that the objective reasonableness standard lacks an evidence-based foundation and focuses too much on the general dangers and stressful nature of policing (Fagan and Campbell, 2020; Zamoff, 2020). As the courts’ interpretation of what is reasonable is not static, research of the type reported here can advance the standard by “injecting a consistent dose of evidentiary rigor” (Zamoff, 2020, p. 585).

Performance under high levels of stress in this study was sub-optimal, with overall performance scores of 59% and over a quarter of officers making one or more lethal force errors during the scenario. While proper training may significantly improve performance, threat-induced performance deficits and lethal force errors in police officers are persistent, even with training (Nieuwenhuys et al., 2015). For example, even the sample of highly trained tactical officers in this study had performance scores of 74, and 14% made lethal force errors under stressful conditions, despite a quarter of their shift time being devoted to training (Cyr et al., 2020). These findings suggest that a reasonable officer, regardless of the amount of training and experience they have received, will likely not perform flawlessly under the unpredictable, novel, and potentially uncontrollable circumstances of a critical incident.

While this information is necessary to inform judgments concerning the reasonableness of an officer’s actions, the purpose of this research is not to excuse sub-optimal performance or errors by the police. Instead, the aim is to paint a realistic picture of human performance under stress, identify the extent to which current police training and experience can improve performance, and promote police accountability. Accordingly, the results suggest that unless there is a significant investment in more frequent and evidence-based training, police officers are likely not sufficiently prepared to deliver optimal performance in critical incidents, which can impact both public and police safety. Thus, absent of evidence of bias, malice, or gross incompetence on the part of an officer, responsibility for poor performance or lethal force errors lies with LEAs and governments who are responsible for setting evidence-based training standards and ensuring that they can be met. Currently, many police services identify significant barriers to providing training, such as limited funding, resources, and facilities (Rojek et al., 2020). At this critical juncture in time, when trust and confidence in policing are being significantly tested (e.g., Leger, 2021), a concerted effort is required to address these challenges.

Study Limitations

While we are optimistic that our research findings can improve police training and inform the courts understanding of reasonable performance under stress, we caution readers to interpret and use the findings with consideration to various study limitations presented.

While the results of this study paint a stark picture of performance under stress, which may cause some alarm, these results must be considered within the context of what is actually occurring in the agency’s operational environment. For example, with over 16,000 officers policing approximately 8 million people, the agency’s OIS are relatively rare, with an average of 21 per year; accounting for 0.0008% of their police occurrences or one OIS in approximately 130,000 occurrences. These incidents also make up less than 1% of the number of times officers from the participating agency displayed or pointed their firearm at a subject, demonstrating that the vast majority of these high-risk situations are resolved without lethal force. Thus, while we can draw conclusions about what might happen to performance in highly stressful real-world police encounters, we must caution that it does not necessarily mean that it is occurring in naturalistic settings.

This study also involved only a single scenario, which was specifically designed to be complex and dynamic, and left the officer to respond on their own without backup. Such scenarios are known to elicit significant cognitive load (Mugford et al., 2013; Hope, 2016), which could inflate the sort of performance deficits we observed. While the scenario was designed to be as realistic as possible to cause high levels of stress in participants, it is also important to note that even a realistic scenario does not completely mirror the stress induced by a critical incident. For instance, in a training or research scenario, officers are aware they will not be seriously injured or killed, nor be subjected to post-OIS stressors (e.g., external civilian oversight investigations, risk of criminal liability, job loss). Therefore, we caution that no scenario-based study can truly replicate the naturalistic police environment or officer performance within it.

The current assessment of performance was also based on a single snapshot in time with one sample of officers from a specific agency. Consequently, the results may not generalize to other scenarios, other officers, or other agencies. On average, officers from the participating agency receive in-service training that aligns with other LEAs (i.e., 40 h annually; Reaves, 2010), their pre-service and supervised field training are significantly longer (i.e., 6 months each). Additionally, the agency is known to provide high quality training according to industry standards, as exemplified by its dedicated teams of experienced and expert learning designers (civilian and police), standardized training, centralized oversight of instructor training, and collaboration with academics to embed best training practices. Therefore, the results of this study may be reflective of performance with above-average quality training.

Lastly, measurements of HRV can be influenced by respiration and physical activity, which may obscure linkages between psychological and physiological processes (Laborde et al., 2017). However, to increase confidence in the study findings, the current study used measures which are relatively free of respiratory influences, reported baseline measures, used a scenario room with confined space to restrict movement, and followed recently proposed HRV reporting guidelines (Quintana et al., 2016; Laborde et al., 2017). As cardiovascular stress reactivity is only one aspect of the stress response system, future research should include as much biological sampling (e.g., HPA activity, blood markers) as is logistically and ethically possible (Supplementary Material L (https://osf.io/egkf6/)).

Conclusion

Based on the robust methodology and relatively large sample of active-duty police officers used in this study, the results provide important insights into the general relationships between stress, training, experience, and performance in critical police incidents. The findings provide LEAs the opportunity to critically reflect on current training practices and offers a roadmap for making evidence-based improvements to training. The results also provide important evidence which may inform the reasonableness standard used in courts of law and paint a more realistic picture of police performance under stress given the current training available to officers. However, perhaps most importantly, we identify a need for a concerted effort to increase police training standards and ensure the necessary infrastructure is in place to achieve them. In this way, we should be able to enhance police performance in stressful police–citizen encounters and significantly reduce critical lethal force errors.

Data Availability Statement

The datasets presented in this article are not readily available because of privacy and ethical restrictions. Requests to access the datasets should be directed to SB (simonbaldwin@cmail.carleton.ca).

Ethics Statement

The studies involving human participants were reviewed and approved by the Carleton University Ethics Committee for Psychological Research (CUREB-B Clearance # 108733), as well as the Research Review Board (2018-04) of the agency from which the officers were recruited. The patients/participants provided their written informed consent to participate in this study. Written informed consent was obtained from the individual(s) for the publication of any potentially identifiable images or data included in this article.

Author Contributions

SB, CB, and BB conceptualized the study and JA advised on stress measures during conceptualization. SB, BB, AB, BJ, CL, HM, and TS completed the data collection. SB performed the data analysis and interpretation with guidance from JA and under the supervision of CB. SB drafted the manuscript. CB, JA, BB, AB, BJ, CL, HM, and TS provided critical revisions. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.

Funding

This research was funded by a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Insight grant awarded to CB (SSHRC# 435-2017-1354). The participating agency also provided funds to facilitate data collection, along with in-kind contributions to support the research.

Author Disclaimer

The views expressed in the submitted article are the authors’ and not an official position of Carleton University, the University of Toronto, or the participating agency.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher’s Note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to express their sincerest thanks to all the police officers who participated in the study and the agency who collaborated with us to make the data collection possible. The agency’s openness to collaborating with academics to assess their training and make evidence-based improvements is commendable. We also thank the scenario facilitators, including Cst. Blake Manning, Cst. Tyler Folz, Cst. Nick Fleming, Cst. Sean Willimott, Cst. Jeff Shanks, Cpl. Matt Janssens, Cpl. Nick Widdershoven, and Chris Lawrence, for volunteering their time to ensure the success of the study and the safety of participants. In addition, the authors would like to express special thanks to the expert reviewers, including Cpl. Nick Widdershoven, Cpl. Colin Kaiser, Cpl. Brent Halm, Cpl. Shaun Marchant, Sgt. Mirza Karimullah, Supt. Thomas Walker, and Supt. (ret.) Troy Lightfoot, who ensured the performance assessments were underpinned by strong expertise.

Supplementary Material

The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.759132/full#supplementary-material

SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL INDEX | https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/PKJNV.

Footnotes

1. ^Pursuant to an occupational health assessment, the individual is considered mentally and physically fit to perform the tasks and duties of a police officer. As this was not a diagnostic clinical study, we did not perform medical or psychiatric examinations of participants, however, we did examine self-reported cardiovascular disease (n = 4) and being on medication that affects HR (n = 10) in relation to the data. Several cardiovascular measures did significantly differ for the 10 participants who reported being on medication that affects HR, although they did not remain significant once Bonferroni corrected (α = 0.05/6 = 0.008). Out of an abundance of caution, all analysis involving stress reactivity was conducted with and without participants who reported being on medication that affects HR. An examination of the results did not demonstrate a difference in level of significance or effect size. Thus, all participants were retained in the study.

2. ^To reduce the likelihood of lost or corrupted data, participants were also equipped with a ©FirstBeat Bodyguard 2 Heart Rate Monitor (Firstbeat Technologies Ltd., Jyväskylä, Finland), which has also been validated against ECGs (Parak and Korhonen, 2013; Bogdány et al., 2016; Hinde et al., 2021). Data from the FirstBeat Bodyguard 2 were used to supplement HR and HRV data for 9% (n = 11) of participants.

3. ^StressVest® does not require the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) that is typically required when training with non-lethal training ammunition (aside from range certified eye protection). This allows participants to observe facial expressions, and does not restrict peripheral vision, nor does it impede communication, hearing, or movement. SecuriBlanks® are used to maintain the fidelity of the firearm (i.e., recoil and percussion). The StressVest® can be concealed under clothing, which avoids priming the participant (i.e., actor wearing bulky PPE) and improves decision-making by safely and flexibly enabling more actors to participate in the scenario.

References

Akinola, M., and Mendes, W. B. (2012). Stress-induced cortisol facilitates threat-related decision making among police officers. Behav. Neurosci. 126, 167–174. doi: 10.1037/a0026657

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Alison, L., and Crego, J. (2012). Policing Critical Incidents: Leadership and Critical Incident Management. United Kingdom: Routledge.

Google Scholar

Alpert, G. P., and Smith, W. C. (1994). How reasonable is the reasonable man? Police and excessive force. J. Crim. Law Criminol. 85, 481–501. doi: 10.2307/1144107

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Andersen, J. P., Di Nota, P. M., Beston, B., Boychuk, E. C., Gustafsberg, H., Poplawski, S., et al. (2018). Reducing lethal force errors by modulating police physiology. J. Occup. Environ. Med. 60, 867–874. doi: 10.1097/jom.0000000000001401

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Andersen, J. P., and Gustafsberg, H. (2016). A training method to improve police use of force decision making. SAGE Open 6, 215824401663870. doi: 10.1177/2158244016638708

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Andersen, J. P., Boychuk, E., Di Nota, P. M., Back, D., and Poplawski, S. (2018). "Decision Model for Police Encounters: A Science-Based Approach for Decision Making in Police Encounters ". (Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Mississauga).

Google Scholar

Andersen, J. P., Pitel, M., Weerasinghe, A., and Papazoglou, K. (2016). Highly realistic scenario based training simulates the psychophysiology of real world use of force encounters: implications for improved police officer performance. J. Law Enforc. 5

Google Scholar

Anderson, G. S., Di Nota, P. M., Metz, G. A. S., and Andersen, J. P. (2019). The impact of acute stress physiology on skilled motor performance: implications for policing. Front. Psychol. 10:2501. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02501

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Anderson, G., Litzenberger, R., and Plecas, D. (2002). Physical evidence of police officer stress. Policing 25, 399–420. doi: 10.1108/13639510210429437

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Anderson, G., and Plecas, D. (2000). Predicting shooting scores from physical performance data. Policing 23, 525–537. doi: 10.1108/13639510010355611

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Anshel, M. H. (2000). A conceptual model and implications for coping with stressful events in police work. Crim. Justice Behav. 27, 375–400. doi: 10.1177/0093854800027003006

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Anshel, M. H., Robertson, M., and Caputi, P. (1997). Sources of acute stress and their appraisals and reappraisals among Australian police as a function of previous experience. J. Occup. Organ. Psychol. 70, 337–356. doi: 10.1111/j.2044-8325.1997.tb00653.x

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Appelhans, B. M., and Luecken, L. J. (2006). Heart rate variability as an index of regulated emotional responding. Rev. Gen. Psychol. 10, 229–240. doi: 10.1037/1089-2680.10.3.229

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Arble, E., Daugherty, A. M., and Arnetz, B. (2019). Differential effects of physiological arousal following acute stress on police officer performance in a simulated critical incident. Front. Psychol. 10:759. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00759

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Arnetz, B. B., Nevedal, D. C., Lumley, M. A., Backman, L., and Lublin, A. (2009). Trauma resilience training for police: psychological and performance effects. J. Police Crim. Psychol. 24, 1–9. doi: 10.1007/s11896-008-9030-y

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Artwohl, A. (2002). Perceptual and memory distortion during officer-involved shootings. FBI Law Enforc. Bull. 71, 18–24.

Google Scholar

Artwohl, A. (2008). Perceptual and memory distortion during officer-involved shootings. FBI Law Enforc. Bull. 71, 18–24.

Google Scholar

Bakeman, R., and Goodman, S. H. (2020). Interobserver reliability in clinical research: current issues and discussion of how to establish best practices. J. Abnorm. Psychol. 129, 5–13. doi: 10.1037/abn0000487

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Baldwin, S., Bennell, C., Andersen, J. P., Semple, T., and Jenkins, B. (2019). Stress-activity mapping: physiological responses during general duty police encounters. Front. Psychol. 10:2216. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02216

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Baldwin, S., Blaskovits, B., Widdershoven, N., and Marchant, S. (2020). "2010 to 2019 Police Intervention Options Report ". (Ottawa: Royal Canadian Mounted Police).

Google Scholar

Belur, J., Agnew-Pauley, W., Mcginley, B., and Tompson, L. (2019). A systematic review of police recruit training programmes. Policing. 14, 76–90. doi: 10.1093/police/paz022

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Bennell, C., Alpert, G., Andersen, J. P., Arpaia, J., Huhta, J. M., Kahn, K. B., et al. (2021a). Advancing police use of force research and practice: urgent issues and prospects. Leg. Criminol. Psychol. 26, 121–144. doi: 10.1111/lcrp.12191

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Bennell, C., Blaskovits, B., Jenkins, B., Semple, T., Khanizadeh, A.-J., Brown, A. S., et al. (2021b). Promising practices for de-escalation and use-of-force training in the police setting: a narrative review. Policing 44, 377–404. doi: 10.1108/PIJPSM-06-2020-0092

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Berntson, G. G., and Cacioppo, J. T. (2004). “Heart rate variability: stress and psychiatric conditions” in Dynamic Electrocardiography. eds. M. Marek and A. John Camm (Hoboken, New Jersey: Blackwell Publishing), 57–64.

Google Scholar

Bertilsson, J., Niehorster, D. C., Fredriksson, P. J., Dahl, M., Granér, S., Fredriksson, O., et al. (2019). Stress levels escalate when repeatedly performing tasks involving threats. Front. Psychol. 10:1562. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01562

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Blumberg, D. M., Schlosser, M. D., Papazoglou, K., Creighton, S., and Kaye, C. C. (2019). New directions in police academy training: a call to action. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 16:4941. doi: 10.3390/ijerph16244941

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Bogdány, T., Boros, S., Szemerszky, R., and Köteles, F. (2016). Validation of the firstbeat teambelt and bodyguard2 systems. Magy. Sporttud. Szle. 17, 5–12.

Google Scholar

Boulton, L., and Cole, J. (2016). Adaptive flexibility: examining the role of expertise in the decision making of authorized firearms officers during armed confrontation. J. Cogn. Eng. Decis. Mak. 10, 291–308. doi: 10.1177/1555343416646684

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Brisinda, D., Venuti, A., Cataldi, C., Efremov, K., Iantorno, E., and Fenici, R. (2015). Real-time imaging of stress-induced cardiac autonomic adaptation during realistic force-on-force police scenarios. J. Police Crim. Psychology 30, 71–86. doi: 10.1007/s11896-014-9142-5

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Brown, A., Baldwin, S., Blaskovits, B., and Bennell, C. (2021). Examining the impact of grip strength and officer gender on shooting performance. Appl. Ergon. 97:103536. doi: 10.1016/j.apergo.2021.103536

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Caminal, P., Sola, F., Gomis, P., Guasch, E., Perera, A., Soriano, N., et al. (2018). Validity of the polar V800 monitor for measuring heart rate variability in mountain running route conditions. Eur. J. Appl. Physiol. 118, 669–677. doi: 10.1007/s00421-018-3808-0

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Castaldo, R., Melillo, P., Bracale, U., Caserta, M., Triassi, M., and Pecchia, L. (2015). Acute mental stress assessment via short term HRV analysis in healthy adults: a systematic review with meta-analysis. Biomed. Signal Process. Control 18, 370–377. doi: 10.1016/j.bspc.2015.02.012

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Chan, J., and Andersen, J. P. (2020). “Physiological stress responses associated with high-risk occupational duties” in Occupational Health. ed. P. Kavitha (London, United Kingdom: IntechOpen).

Google Scholar

Chrousos, G. P. (2009). Stress and disorders of the stress system. Nat. Rev. Endocrinol. 5, 374–381. doi: 10.1038/nrendo.2009.106

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Cicchetti, D. V. (1994). Guidelines, Criteria, and Rules of Thumb for Evaluating Normed and Standardized Assessment Instruments in Psychology. Psychological Assessment, 6, 284–290. doi: 10.1037/1040-3590.6.4.284

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Cilhoroz, B., Giles, D., Zaleski, A., Taylor, B., Fernhall, B., and Pescatello, L. (2020). Validation of the polar V800 heart rate monitor and comparison of artifact correction methods among adults with hypertension. PLoS One 15:e0240220. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0240220

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Colin, L., Nieuwenhuys, A., Visser, A., and Oudejans, R. R. D. (2014). Positive effects of imagery on police officers' shooting performance under threat. Appl. Cogn. Psychol. 28, 115–121. doi: 10.1002/acp.2972

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Condon, C. C. (2015). Simulated Armed Confrontation and Police Decision Making: Examining the Impact of Psychophysiological Demand on Executive Functioning. Liverpool, United Kingdom: University of Liverpool.

Google Scholar

Criminal Code (1985). “Criminal Code, R.S.C. c. C-46.” (Canada). Available at: https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-46/

Google Scholar

Cyr, K. (2016). Police use of force: assessing necessity and proportionality. Alta. Law Rev. 53:663. doi: 10.29173/alr424

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Cyr, K., Ricciardelli, R., and Spencer, D. (2020). Militarization of police: a comparison of police paramilitary units in Canadian and the United States. Int. J. Police Sci. Manag. 22, 137–147. doi: 10.1177/1461355719898204

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

De Kloet, E. R., Vreugdenhil, E., Oitzl, M. S., and JoëLs, M. (1998). Brain corticosteroid receptor balance in health and disease*. Endocr. Rev. 19, 269–301. doi: 10.1210/edrv.19.3.0331

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Di Nota, P. M., Andersen, J. P., Huhta, J.-M., and Gustafsberg, H. (2021a). “Evidence-based instruction of police use of force” in Interventions, Training, and Technologies for Improved Police Well-Being and Performance. eds. E. Arble and B. Arnetz (Hershey Pennsylvania, USA: IGI Global), 72–101.

Google Scholar

Di Nota, P. M., Arpaia, J., Boychuk, E. C., Collins, P., and Andersen Judith, P. (2021b). Testing the efficacy of a 1-day police decision-making and autonomic modulation intervention: a quasi-random pragmatic trial. Front. Psychol. 12:719046. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.719046

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Di Nota, P. M., Chan, J. F., Huhta, J.-M., and Andersen, J. P. (2021c). Considering objective and subjective measures for police use of force evaluation. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 18:5351. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18105351

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Di Nota, P. M., and Huhta, J.-M. (2019). Complex motor learning and police training: applied, cognitive, and clinical perspectives. Front. Psychol. 10:1797. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01797

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Di Nota, P. M., Stoliker, B. E., Vaughan, A. D., Andersen, J. P., and Anderson, G. S. (2020). Stress and memory: a systematic state-of-the-art review with evidence-gathering recommendations for police. Policing 44, 1–17. doi: 10.1108/PIJPSM-06-2020-0093

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Donner, C. M., and Popovich, N. (2018). Hitting (or missing) the mark: an examination of police shooting accuracy in officer-involved shooting incidents. Policing 42, 474–489. doi: 10.1108/PIJPSM-05-2018-0060

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Driskell, J. E., and Johnston, J. H. (1998). “Stress exposure training” in Making Decisions Under Stress: Implications for Individual and Team Training. eds. J. A. Cannon-Bowers and E. Salas (Washington, DC: American Psychological Association), 191–217.

Google Scholar

Driskell, J. E., Johnston, J. H., and Salas, E. (2001). Does stress training generalize to novel settings? Hum. Factors 43, 99–110. doi: 10.1518/001872001775992471

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Driskell, J. E., and Salas, E. (eds.). (1996). Stress and Human Performance. New Jersey, US: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc.

Google Scholar

DuCharme, S. D. (2002). The search for reasonableness in use-of-force cases: understanding the effects of stress on perception and performance. Fordham Law Rev. 70:2515

Google Scholar

Easterbrook, J. A. (1959). The effect of emotion on cue utilization and the organization of behavior. Psychol. Rev. 66, 183–201. doi: 10.1037/h0047707

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Engel, R. S., Corsaro, N., Isaza, G. T., and McManus, H. D. (2020). Examining the Impact of Integrating Communications, Assessment, and Tactics (ICAT) de-Escalation Training for the Louisville Metro Police Department: Initial Findings. Center for Police Research and Policy.

Google Scholar

Engel, R. S., and Smith, M. R. (2009). Perceptual distortion and reasonableness during police shootings: law, legitimacy, and future research. Criminol. Public Policy 8, 141–151. doi: 10.1111/j.1745-9133.2009.00538.x

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Eysenck, M. W., Derakshan, N., Santos, R., and Calvo, M. G. (2007). Anxiety and cognitive performance: attentional control theory. Emotion 7, 336–353. doi: 10.1037/1528-3542.7.2.336

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Fagan, J., and Campbell, A. (2020). Race and reasonableness in police killings. Boston Univ. Law Rev. 100, 951–1016.

Google Scholar

Faul, F., Erdfelder, E., Lang, A.-G., and Buchner, A. (2007). G*power 3: a flexible statistical power analysis program for the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences. Behav. Res. Methods 39, 175–191. doi: 10.3758/bf03193146

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Fenici, R., Brisinda, D., and Sorbo, A. R. (2011). “Methods for real-time assessment of operational stress during realistic police tactical training” in Handbook of Police Psychology. ed. J. Kitaeff (Florence, US: Routledge), 295.

Google Scholar

Folkman, S., Lazarus, R. S., Dunkel-Schetter, C., DeLongis, A., and Gruen, R. J. (1986). Dynamics of a stressful encounter: cognitive appraisal, coping, and encounter outcomes. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 50, 992–1003. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.50.5.992

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Fridman, J., Barrett, L. F., Wormwood, J. B., and Quigley, K. S. (2019). Applying the theory of constructed emotion to police decision making. Front. Psychol. 10:1946. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01946

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Giessing, L., Frenkel, M. O., Zinner, C., Rummel, J., Nieuwenhuys, A., Kasperk, C., et al. (2019). Effects of coping-related traits and psychophysiological stress responses on police recruits’ shooting behavior in reality-based scenarios. Front. Psychol. 10:1523. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01523

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Gilgen-Ammann, R., Schweizer, T., and Wyss, T. (2019). RR interval signal quality of a heart rate monitor and an ECG Holter at rest and during exercise. Eur. J. Appl. Physiol. 119, 1525–1532. doi: 10.1007/s00421-019-04142-5

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Giuseppe, G., Antonio, B., Luigi Isaia, L., Nicola, M., Marco, P., Mario, N., et al. (2021). HRV in active-duty special forces and public order military personnel. Sustain. For. 13:3867. doi: 10.3390/su13073867

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Gröpel, P., and Mesagno, C. (2019). Choking interventions in sports: a systematic review. Int. Rev. Sport Exerc. Psychol. 12, 176–201. doi: 10.1080/1750984x.2017.1408134

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Hernández-Vicente, A., Hernando, D., Marín-Puyalto, J., Vicente-Rodríguez, G., Garatachea, N., Pueyo, E., et al. (2021). Validity of the polar H7 heart rate sensor for heart rate variability analysis during exercise in different age, body composition and fitness level groups. Sensors 21:902. doi: 10.3390/s21030902

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Hinde, K., White, G., and Armstrong, N. (2021). Wearable devices suitable for monitoring twenty four hour heart rate variability in military populations. Sensors 21:1061. doi: 10.3390/s21041061

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Honig, A. L., and Lewinski, W. J. (2008). A survey of the research on human factors related to lethal force encounters: implications for law enforcement training, tactics, and testimony. Law Enforc. Exec. Forum. 4, 129–152.

Google Scholar

Honig, A. L., and Sultan, S. E. (2004). “Reactions and resilience under fire: what an officer can expect” in Police Chief, vol. 71, 54–60.

Google Scholar

Hope, L. (2016). Evaluating the effects of stress and fatigue on police officer response and recall: a challenge for research, training, practice and policy. J. Appl. Res. Mem. Cogn. 5, 239–245. doi: 10.1016/j.jarmac.2016.07.008

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Hope, L., Blocksidge, D., Gabbert, F., Sauer, J. D., Lewinski, W. J., Mirashi, A., et al. (2016). Memory and the operational witness: police officer recall of firearms encounters as a function of active response role. Law Hum. Behav. 40, 23–35. doi: 10.1037/lhb0000159

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

IBM Corp (2020). IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 27.0. (Armonk, NY: IBM Corp).

Google Scholar

International Association of Chiefs of Police (2020). National Consensus Policy and Discussion Paper on Use of Force. International Association of Chiefs of Police).

Google Scholar

James, L., Goldstein Michael, S., Lecy, P., and Mase, S. (2020). Testing the impact of physiological stress response on police performance during critical job tasks. Policing 44, 405–417. doi: 10.1108/PIJPSM-04-2020-0060

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

James, L., James, S., Davis, R., and Dotson, E. (2019). Using interval-level metrics to investigate situational-, suspect-, and officer-level predictors of police performance during encounters with the public. Police Q. 22, 452–480. doi: 10.1177/1098611119857559

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Jenkins, B., Semple, T., Quail, J., and Bennell, C. (2021). “Optimizing scenario-based training for law enforcement” in Interventions, Training, and Technologies for Improved Police Well-Being and Performance. eds. E. Arble and B. Arnetz (Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA: IGI Global), 18–37.

Google Scholar

Johnson, R. R., Stone, B. T., Miranda, C. M., Vila, B., James, L., James, S. M., et al. (2014). Identifying psychophysiological indices of expert vs. novice performance in deadly force judgment and decision making. Front. Hum. Neurosci. 8:512. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2014.00512

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Johnston, J. H., Driskell, J. E., and Salas, E. (1997). Vigilant and hypervigilant decision making. J. Appl. Psychol. 82, 614–622. doi: 10.1037/0021-9010.82.4.614

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Kahneman, D., and Klein, G. (2009). Conditions for intuitive expertise: a failure to disagree. Am. Psychol. 64, 515–526. doi: 10.1037/a0016755

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Kalisch, R., Müller, M. B., and Tüscher, O. (2015). A conceptual framework for the neurobiological study of resilience. Behav. Brain Sci. 38:e92. doi: 10.1017/s0140525x1400082x

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Kavanagh, J. (2005). "Stress and Performance: A Review of the Literature and its Applicability to the Military ". (Santa Monica, California: RAND Corporation).

Google Scholar

Kavanagh, E. L. (2006). A cognitive model of firearms policing. J. Police Crim. Psychol. 21, 25–36. doi: 10.1007/BF02855682

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Kelley, D. C., Siegel, E., and Wormwood, J. B. (2019). Understanding police performance under stress: insights from the biopsychosocial model of challenge and threat. Front. Psychol. 10:1800. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01800

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Kemeny, M. E. (2003). The psychobiology of stress. Curr. Dir. Psychol. Sci. 12, 124–129. doi: 10.1111/1467-8721.01246

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Kent, S., Devonport, T. J., Lane, A. M., Nicholls, W., and Friesen, A. P. (2018). The effects of coping interventions on ability to perform under pressure. J. Sports Sci. Med. 17, 40–55.

PubMed Abstract | Google Scholar

Klein, G. (1997). “The recognition-primed decision (RPD) model: looking back, looking forward” in Naturalistic Decision Making. eds. G. Klein and C. E. Zsambok (Hillsdale, NJ, US: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.), 285–292.

Google Scholar

Klein, G. (1999). Sources of Power: How People Make Decisions. Cambridge, Mass: The MIT Press.

Google Scholar

Klein, G. (2015). Reflections on applications of naturalistic decision making. J. Occup. Organ. Psychol. 88, 382–386. doi: 10.1111/joop.12122

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Klein, G., and Borders, J. (2016). The shadowbox approach to cognitive skills training: an empirical evaluation. J. Cogn. Eng. Decis. Mak. 10, 268–280. doi: 10.1177/1555343416636515

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Klinger, D., and Brunson, R. (2009). Police officers' perceptual distortions during lethal force situations: informing the reasonableness standard. Criminol. Public Policy. 8, 117–140. doi: 10.1111/j.1745-9133.2009.00537.x

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Koo, T. K., and Li, M. Y. (2016). A guideline of selecting and reporting intraclass correlation coefficients for reliability research. J. Chiropr. Med. 15, 155–163. doi: 10.1016/j.jcm.2016.02.012

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Laborde, S., Mosley, E., and Thayer, J. F. (2017). Heart rate variability and cardiac vagal tone in psychophysiological research – recommendations for experiment planning, data analysis, and data reporting. Front. Psychol. 8:213. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00213

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Landman, A., Nieuwenhuys, A., and Oudejans, R. R. D. (2016a). Decision-related action orientation predicts police officers' shooting performance under pressure. Anxiety Stress Coping 29, 570–579. doi: 10.1080/10615806.2015.1070834

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Landman, A., Nieuwenhuys, A., and Oudejans, R. R. D. (2016b). The impact of personality traits and professional experience on police officers' shooting performance under pressure. Ergonomics 59, 950–961. doi: 10.1080/00140139.2015.1107625

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

LeDoux, J. E., and Pine, D. S. (2016). Using neuroscience to help understand fear and anxiety: a two-system framework. Am. J. Psychiatr. 173, 1083–1093. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2016.16030353

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Leger (2021). Police Reputation: 2020 Community Update. (Canada). Available at: https://cacp.ca/index.html?asst_id=2494

Google Scholar

Lovallo, W. R. (2016). Stress & Health: Biological and Psychological Interactions. Los Angeles: SAGE.

Google Scholar

Low, W. R., Sandercock, G. R. H., Freeman, P., Winter, M. E., Butt, J., and Maynard, I. (2021). Pressure training for performance domains: a meta-analysis. Sport Exerc. Perform. Psychol. 10, 149–163. doi: 10.1037/spy0000202

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Lundell, R. V., Tuominen, L., Ojanen, T., Parkkola, K., and Räisänen-Sokolowski, A. (2021). Diving responses in experienced rebreather divers: short-term heart rate variability in cold water diving. Front. Physiol. 12:649319. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2021.649319

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Mangels, L., Suss, J., and Lande, B. (2020). Police expertise and use of force: using a mixed-methods approach to model expert and novice use-of-force decision-making. J. Police Crim. Psychol. 35, 294–303. doi: 10.1007/s11896-020-09364-4

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

McCraty, R., and Atkinson, M. (2012). Resilience training program reduces physiological and psychological stress in police officers. Glob. Adv. Health Med. 1, 44–66. doi: 10.7453/gahmj.2012.1.5.013

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

McEwen, B. S. (1998). Stress, adaptation, and disease. Allostasis and allostatic load. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 840, 33–44. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1998.tb09546.x

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

McLachlin, B., Binnie, W. I. C., LeBel, L., Deschamps, M., Fish, M. J., Abella, R. S., et al. (2010). “R. v. Nasogaluak, 2010 SCC 6, [2010] 1 S.C.R. 206.” Case Law. Available at: https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/7845/index.do.

Google Scholar

Meyerhoff, J. L., Norris, W., Saviolakis, G. A., Wollert, T., Burge, B. O. B., Atkins, V., et al. (2004). Evaluating performance of law enforcement personnel during a stressful training scenario. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 1032, 250–253. doi: 10.1196/annals.1314.031

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Miles-Chan, J. L., Sarafian, D., Montani, J. P., Schutz, Y., and Dulloo, A. G. (2013). Sitting comfortably versus lying down: is there really a difference in energy expenditure? Clin. Nutr. 33, 175–178. doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2013.11.009

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Morrison, G. B., and Garner, T. K. (2011). Latitude in deadly force training: progress or problem? Police Pract. Res. 12, 341–361. doi: 10.1080/15614263.2011.563968

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Morrison, G. B., and Vila, B. J. (1998). Police handgun qualification: practical measure or aimless activity? Policing 21, 510–533. doi: 10.1108/13639519810228804

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Mugford, R., Corey, S., and Bennell, C. (2013). Improving police training from a cognitive load perspective. Policing 36, 312–337. doi: 10.1108/13639511311329723

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Nieuwenhuys, A., and Oudejans, R. R. D. (2010). Effects of anxiety on handgun shooting behavior of police officers: a pilot study. Anxiety Stress Coping 23, 225–233. doi: 10.1080/10615800902977494

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Nieuwenhuys, A., and Oudejans, R. R. D. (2011a). Anxiety and perceptual-motor performance: toward an integrated model of concepts, mechanisms, and processes. Psychol. Res. 76, 747–759. doi: 10.1007/s00426-011-0384-x

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Nieuwenhuys, A., and Oudejans, R. R. D. (2011b). Training with anxiety: short- and long-term effects on police officers’ shooting behavior under pressure. Cogn. Process. 12, 277–288. doi: 10.1007/s10339-011-0396-x

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Nieuwenhuys, A., and Oudejans, R. R. (2017). Anxiety and performance: perceptual-motor behavior in high-pressure contexts. Curr. Opin. Psychol. 16, 28–33. doi: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2017.03.019

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Nieuwenhuys, A., Savelsbergh, G. J. P., and Oudejans, R. R. D. (2012). Shoot or don't shoot? Why police officers are more inclined to shoot when they are anxious. Emotion 12, 827–833. doi: 10.1037/a0025699

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Nieuwenhuys, A., Savelsbergh, G. J. P., and Oudejans, R. R. D. (2015). Persistence of threat-induced errors in police officers' shooting decisions. Appl. Ergon. 48, 263–272. doi: 10.1016/j.apergo.2014.12.006

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Nieuwenhuys, A., Weber, J., van der Hoeve, R., and Oudejans, R. R. D. (2016). Sitting duck or scaredy-cat? Effects of shot execution strategy on anxiety and police officers’ shooting performance under high threat. Leg. Criminol. Psychol. 22, 274–287. doi: 10.1111/lcrp.12099

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

O’Neill, J., O’Neill, D. A., Weed, K., Hartman, M. E., Spence, W., and Lewinski, W. J. (2019). Police academy training, performance, and learning. Behav. Anal. Pract. 12, 353–372. doi: 10.1007/s40617-018-00317-2

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Pallant, J. (2010). SPSS Survival Manual a Step by Step Guide to Data Analysis Using SPSS. Maidenhead: Open University Press/McGraw-Hill.

Google Scholar

Parak, J., and Korhonen, I. (2013). Accuracy of Firstbeat Bodyguard 2 Beat-to-Beat Heart Rate Monitor. Tampere, Finland: White Pap Firstbeat Technol Ltd.

Google Scholar

Public Prosecution Service of Canada (2018). RCMP Sentenced in Labour Code Trial [Online]. Ottawa, Ontario: Government of Canada. Available at: https://www.ppsc-sppc.gc.ca/eng/nws-nvs/2018/26_01_18.html (Accessed August, 2021).

Google Scholar

Quintana, D. S., Alvares, G. A., and Heathers, J. A. J. (2016). Guidelines for reporting articles on psychiatry and heart rate variability (GRAPH): recommendations to advance research communication. Transl. Psychiatry 6:e803. doi: 10.1038/tp.2016.73

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Rajakaruna, N., Henry, P. J., Cutler, A., and Fairman, G. (2017). Ensuring the validity of police use of force training. Police Pract. Res. 18, 507–521. doi: 10.1080/15614263.2016.1268959

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Reason, J. (2000). Human error: models and management. Br. Med. J. 320, 768–770. doi: 10.1136/bmj.320.7237.768

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Reaves, B. A. (2010). "Local Police Departments, 2007 ". (Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics).

Google Scholar

Reaves, B. A. (2016). "State and Local Law Enforcement Training Academies, 2013 ". (Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics).

Google Scholar

Rehnquist, W. (1989). “Graham v. Connor - 490 U.S. 386.” U.S. Supreme Court. Case law. Available at: https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/490/386/

Google Scholar

Renden, P. G., Landman, H. M., Daalder, N. R., de Cock, H. P., Savelsbergh, G. J. P., and Oudejans, R. R. D. (2017). Effects of threat, trait anxiety and state anxiety on police officers' actions during an arrest. Leg. Criminol. Psychol. 22, 116–129. doi: 10.1111/lcrp.12077

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Renden, P. G., Landman, A., Geerts, S. F., Jansen, S. E. M., Faber, G. S., Savelsbergh, G. J. P., et al. (2014). Effects of anxiety on the execution of police arrest and self-defense skills. Anxiety Stress Coping 27, 100–112. doi: 10.1080/10615806.2013.810213

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Renden, P. G., Landman, A., Savelsbergh, G. J. P., and Oudejans, R. R. D. (2015). Police arrest and self-defence skills: performance under anxiety of officers with and without additional experience in martial arts. Ergonomics 58, 1496–1506. doi: 10.1080/00140139.2015.1013578

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Rimmele, U., Zellweger, B. C., Marti, B., Seiler, R., Mohiyeddini, C., Ehlert, U., et al. (2007). Trained men show lower cortisol, heart rate and psychological responses to psychosocial stress compared with untrained men. Psychoneuroendocrinology 32, 627–635. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2007.04.005

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Rojek, J., Grieco, J., Meade, B., and Parsons, D. (2020). "National Survey on Officer Safety Training: Findings and Implications ". (Washington, DC: National Police Foundation).

Google Scholar

Roos, L. E., Knight, E. L., Beauchamp, K. G., Berkman, E. T., Faraday, K., Hyslop, K., et al. (2017). Acute stress impairs inhibitory control based on individual differences in parasympathetic nervous system activity. Biol. Psychol. 125, 58–63. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2017.03.004

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Sahoo, T. K., Mahapatra, A., and Ruban, N. (2019). “Stress index calculation and analysis based on heart rate variability of ECG signal with arrhythmia,” in 2019 Innovations in Power and Advanced Computing Technologies (i-PACT). IEEE.

Google Scholar

Sapolsky, R. M. (2004). Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers: The Acclaimed Guide to Stress, Stress-Related Diseases, and Coping. New York: Holt Paperbacks.

Google Scholar

Saunders, T., Driskell, J. E., Johnston, J. H., and Salas, E. (1996). The effect of stress inoculation training on anxiety and performance. J. Occup. Health Psychol. 1, 170–186. doi: 10.1037/1076-8998.1.2.170

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Saus, E.-R., Johnsen, B. H., Eid, J., Riisem, P. K., Andersen, R., and Thayer, J. F. (2006). The effect of brief situational awareness training in a police shooting simulator: an experimental study. Mil. Psychol. 18, S3–S21. doi: 10.1207/s15327876mp1803s_2

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Singh, I. (2020). 2020 Already a Particularly Deadly Year for People Killed in Police Encounters, CBC research shows. CBC News.

Google Scholar

Spangler, D. P., Gamble, K. R., McGinley, J. J., Thayer, J. F., and Brooks, J. R. (2018). Intra-individual variability in vagal control is associated with response inhibition under stress. Front. Hum. Neurosci. 12:475. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2018.00475

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Staal, M. A. (2004). Stress, Cognition, and Human Performance: A Literature Review and Conceptual Framework. Washington, DC: NASA.

Google Scholar

Suss, J., and Ward, P. (2018). Revealing perceptual–cognitive expertise in law enforcement: an iterative approach using verbal-report, temporal-occlusion, and option-generation methods. Cogn. Tech. Work 20, 585–596. doi: 10.1007/s10111-018-0493-z

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Syed, M., and Nelson, S. C. (2015). Guidelines for establishing reliability when coding narrative data. Emerg. Adulthood 3, 375–387. doi: 10.1177/2167696815587648

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Taverniers, J., and De Boeck, P. (2014). Force-on-force handgun practice: an intra-individual exploration of stress effects, biomarker regulation, and behavioral changes. Hum. Factors 56, 403–413. doi: 10.1177/0018720813489148

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Taylor, P. L. (2019). Beyond false positives: a typology of police shooting errors. Criminol. Public Policy 18, 807–822. doi: 10.1111/1745-9133.12460

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Thayer, J. F., Ahs, F., Fredrikson, M., Sollers, J. J., and Wager, T. D. (2012). A meta-analysis of heart rate variability and neuroimaging studies: implications for heart rate variability as a marker of stress and health. Neurosci. Biobehav. Rev. 36, 747–756. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2011.11.009

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Thayer, J. F., Hansen, A. L., Saus-Rose, E., and Johnsen, B. H. (2009). Heart rate variability, prefrontal neural function, and cognitive performance: the neurovisceral integration perspective on self-regulation, adaptation, and health. Ann. Behav. Med. 37, 141–153. doi: 10.1007/s12160-009-9101-z

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Thayer, J. F., and Sternberg, E. (2006). Beyond heart rate variability: vagal regulation of allostatic systems. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 1088, 361–372. doi: 10.1196/annals.1366.014

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Tsigos, C., and Chrousos, G. P. (2002). Hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis, neuroendocrine factors and stress. J. Psychosom. Res. 53, 865–871. doi: 10.1016/S0022-3999(02)00429-4

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Tsigos, C., Kyrou, I., Kassi, E., and Chrousos, G. P. (2020). Stress: Endocrine Physiology and Pathophysiology. Endotext [Internet].

Google Scholar

Vickers, J. N. (2007). Perception, Cognition, and Decision Training: The Quiet Eye in Action. Windsor, Canada: Human Kinetics.

Google Scholar

Vickers, J. N., and Lewinski, W. J. (2012). Performing under pressure: gaze control, decision making and shooting performance of elite and rookie police officers. Hum. Mov. Sci. 31, 101–117. doi: 10.1016/j.humov.2011.04.004

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Vickers, J. N., and Williams, A. M. (2007). Performing under pressure: the effects of physiological arousal, cognitive anxiety, and gaze control in biathlon. J. Mot. Behav. 39, 381–394. doi: 10.3200/jmbr.39.5.381-394

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Vila, B., James, S., and James, L. (2018). How police officers perform in encounters with the public: measuring what matters at the individual level. Policing 41, 215–232. doi: 10.1108/PIJPSM-11-2016-0166

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Vine, S. J., Moore, L. J., and Wilson, M. R. (2016). An integrative framework of stress, attention, and visuomotor performance. Front. Psychol. 7:1671. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01671

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Violanti, J. M. (2014). Dying for the Job: Police Work Exposure and Health. Springfield, Illinois: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher, Ltd.

Google Scholar

Ward, P., Suss, J., Eccles, D. W., Williams, A. M., and Harris, K. R. (2011). Skill-based differences in option generation in a complex task: a verbal protocol analysis. Cogn. Process. 12, 289–300. doi: 10.1007/s10339-011-0397-9

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Wollert, T., Driskell, J. E., and Quail, J. (2011). Stress Exposure Training Guidelines: Instructor Guide to Reality-Based Training. U.S.D.o.H. Security. Available at: http://www.virtualtacticalacademy.com/files/stress exposure training manual 9-26B.pdf. (Accessed March 20, 2017).

Google Scholar

Yerkes, R. M., and Dodson, J. D. (1908). The relation of strength of stimulus to rapidity of habit-formation. J. Comp. Neurol. Psychol. 18, 459–482. doi: 10.1002/cne.920180503

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Zamoff, M. (2020). Determining the perspective of a reasonable police officer: an evidence-based proposal. Villanova Law Rev. 65:585

Google Scholar

Keywords: police, stress, training, use of force, objective reasonableness standard

Citation: Baldwin S, Bennell C, Blaskovits B, Brown A, Jenkins B, Lawrence C, McGale H, Semple T and Andersen JP (2022) A Reasonable Officer: Examining the Relationships Among Stress, Training, and Performance in a Highly Realistic Lethal Force Scenario. Front. Psychol. 12:759132. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.759132

Received: 15 August 2021; Accepted: 09 November 2021;
Published: 17 January 2022.

Edited by:

Pei Sun, Tsinghua University, China

Reviewed by:

Stefano Zago, IRCCS Ca 'Granda Foundation Maggiore Policlinico Hospital, Italy
Yongliang Wang, Henan University, China
Mavadat Saidi, Shahid Rajaee Teacher Training University, Iran
Mohammad Hasan Razmi, Yazd University, Iran

Copyright © 2022 Baldwin, Bennell, Blaskovits, Brown, Jenkins, Lawrence, McGale, Semple and Andersen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Simon Baldwin, simonbaldwin@cmail.carleton.ca

These authors have contributed equally to this work

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.