One Leader, One Voice!

[Editorial]

In any dangerous, high-stress incident, there must be one leader and one voice.

I was never a police officer, nor did I serve in the military. But I completed 40 hours of HAZWOPER training—hazardous waste operations and emergency response—and one principle was drilled into us from day one: one leader, one voice.

I have watched a number of videos related to the killing of Ms. Good. One thing stands out clearly in my mind.

One officer was telling her to go, while another officer was yelling, “Get out of the car!”

She obeyed the officer telling her to go—and it cost her her life.

How many times have we seen videos of officers yelling contradictory orders with their guns drawn? Adrenaline is pumping. Stress is high. Chaos takes over.

The Missouri Sheriffs’ Association addressed this exact issue in “Stop the Shouting – and Cops Respond”, writing:

“Consider another common occurrence: multiple officers shouting conflicting orders to a suspect believed to be armed. Again, what might the impressions be? Clearly officers are not working as a team. Will allegations arise that they are so emotionally focused they cannot hear each other’s conflicting orders? I once saw a suspect cry out, ‘Don’t shoot me. I don’t know what to do!’ when several officers simultaneously and repeatedly shouted at him to ‘Don’t move!’ ‘Get on the ground!’ ‘Show me your hands!’”

Others with a more refined understanding of human predatory behavior observe that a screaming officer often appears extremely fearful and is compensating by shouting. That fear can make them vulnerable and slow to respond, while a calm officer is actually more dangerous.

At least, that’s what one very dangerous parolee—an Aryan Brotherhood associate named “Cory”—told me just two weeks after his release from San Quentin. He said that when a frightened cop screams orders, it signals fear. A calm cop, on the other hand, commands respect and caution.

Hardened gang members often dismiss shouting officers with comments like, “Yeah, he’s just going typical.” They’ve experienced shouted threats from violent people with little impulse control, for whom violence was the first option, not the last. They are not impressed by yelling. Worse, they may see it as an advantage to exploit.

But Ms. Good was not a hardened gang member.

She was a mother.

So the questions that must be asked are these:

• Was the officer yelling “get out of the car” aware another officer was telling her to go?
• Was the officer telling her to go aware of the conflicting command?
• Where was the Officer in Charge—or was there one at all?
• Were there operational orders for this incident, or was it simply “go raid this address”?
• What training did each officer receive, and when?
• I want to see the training records for everyone involved.

I was certified as an incident commander for hazardous waste accidents. My factory needed someone authorized to sign a Bill of Lading for hazardous chemicals—that person was me. I underwent a week of training, and one lesson was hammered into us repeatedly: one leader, one voice!

Because there must be:

• A clear chain of command
• No freelancing
• No contradictory instructions

So that:

• Everyone knows who to listen to
• Everyone knows not to override the leader

Why?

Because people die from confusion.

That is not politics.

That is safety.

[/Editorial]

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