Oregon Public Broadcasting

Investigators are still sorting out what happened Monday, when a Portland Police Officer fatally shot 58-year old Jackie Collins at the city’s Hoyt Arboretum. Officer Jason Walters has told police detectives he was facing a suspect who refused to follow orders or drop a utility knife. April Baer has this report on how police are trained to respond to perceived threats.

OPB Reporter April Baer takes part in the Shoot / Don't Shoot Training Exercise conducted by the Portland Police

We approached a borrowed barn at Camp Withycomb. We had no idea what or who waited within. City Attorney Dave Worboril explained that’s the same question facing officers every day. "I expect you think you’re going to bring your character and your good heart and your skills and your intelligence to these situations and work through them. The problem is, no one can predict the future, the factors in these events are so numerous and so variable," he said.Worboril explains almost every police department builds force policy  - and force training - around a 1989 Supreme Court case, Graham v. Connor. That ruling says use of force decisions must be judged by what police officers know at the scene – what they perceive as threats at the time.

In the barn, Sgt. Don Livingston asks a young newspaper intern to face trainer Tracey Chamberlain.  Don Livingston: “Have you ever shot a gun before?Leah DiMatteo: “No!”Don Livingston:  “I know it’s weird, go ahead and point the gun at Tracey.” We begin with the simplest scenario: draw a gun faster than your suspect."Your job is just to focus on him, and as soon as you see that gun start to move toward you, pull the trigger," says Livingston.Even with a gun raised and fingers on the trigger – which officers aren’t supposed to do – most of us couldn’t shoot fast enough. Reaction times are even slower when we repeat the exercise, this time with Chamberlain asking us very simple questions.

Sarah Mirk: “Put that gun down sir, … I’m a police officer, please put the gun down, Sir….”

Don Livingston: “Actually you were better that time!”

Livingston says he’s run officers through this drill, also reporters, district attorneys, and the result is always the same. If you wait for the person to move to shoot you, it’s too late. That does not mean, Livingston says, officers have to shoot first. Portland’s city policy calls on police to develop skills to regularly resolve confrontation without going to the higher levels of allowable force.They’re told to look for cover, think about whether a partner can back them while they try tools like pepper spray or a Taser. And most important, they have to learn to read situations fast.  “I apologize for the darkness," said Offier Bob Pippen. I’m standing in a pitch-black trailer, before a huge video screen. Officer Bob Pippen explains I’m about to take part in a scene as an officer on call to a cabin in the Oregon woods. Pippen explains what I’m seeing.  “Just a young boy, he’s got like a knife in his hand, trying to get into the window. Suddenly turns around, the knife is immediately dropped, but there’s a gun in his waistband. He declares the gun is a BB gun, he’s been shooting birds, whether he’s to be believed or not is part of the officer’s assessment.”The goal is to show officers how their physiological reactions might get the better of them during a hot moment. This is commonly used video system. Portland runs trainees through it, so does Austin Texas. Most officers in Portland have a chance to train on something like this as professional development. But it’s not mandatory. The organization Portland Copwatch points out that police are instructed to use only the force “reasonably necessary.” The group says that term is broad enough to protect officers from prosecution in every recent case. Critics of the Police Bureau say officers’ split-second decisions whether to shoot may be of less concern than what happens leading up to a confrontation.Portland Assistant Chief Brian Martinek said constant training is the answer. “The best tool we hope they use most of the time – and most officers do - is their ability to communicate with people," he said. But he says, all the training in the world won’t prevent officers from someday having to make that split-second decision.