Tactical medical training for police officers: lessons from U.S. special forces

• Main Author: Judge, Christopher D.
• Other Authors: Dahl, Erik J.
• Published: Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School 2013
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10945/27849

This thesis examines the question Can law enforcement officers across multiple jurisdictions benefit from lessons learned in combat environments about medical training It compares the medical training requirements of U.S. military forces with those of various police units. It specifically investigates how military lessons in tactical medicine pertain to the various police departments medical training requirements. The study finds that the main lesson police officers can take from the military is to build community-specific medical training based on unique law enforcement needs and available assets. The military attempts to use hard data surrounding soldiers work environments, access to medical care, and common modes of injury to design its medical training. Police officers should also design law-enforcement-specific medical training based on their assets and specific work environment. Additionally, a more detailed reporting system regarding police officer fatalities would support the officers data collection, which would likely help improve police officer tactical medical training.