Officer-Involved Shooting and Use-of-Force Investigations

Instructor: Mark Kollar

Duration: 3 Days | Professional Development Hours: 24 PD hours

Cost: $475.00

Schedule Note: This is a full-day training course running from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM local time each day.

Course Overview

Law enforcement officers occupy a unique position as the only government officials authorized to exercise deadly force against citizens based on split-second decisions grounded in judgment. With this authority comes the critical responsibility to demonstrate that any application of force was both justified and proportionate to the circumstances. Absent rigorous investigation and full transparency, community relationships deteriorate and public confidence in law enforcement agencies erodes significantly. The thoroughness and professionalism of your investigative efforts will face intense scrutiny alongside the officers' conduct itself. The stakes are substantial—public trust, potential civil litigation, departmental credibility, and the freedom or imprisonment of involved parties all depend on competent and comprehensive criminal and administrative investigations.

Course Purpose and Content

This comprehensive three-day program explores contemporary investigative best practices and establishes a systematic, standardized methodology for examining use-of-force incidents. Participants will study an investigative framework designed specifically for officer-involved shooting and use-of-force cases, complete with practical checklists, templates, forms, report samples, and policy examples ready for immediate implementation within your agency. The instruction emphasizes current approaches aligned with modern technology and contemporary social and political contexts.

Key instructional areas include:

• Social media implications and considerations
• Video evidence analysis (body cameras, dash cameras, cellular phone recordings, and surveillance footage)
• Media relations and public communication strategies
• Legal implications and requirements
• Crime scene processing and investigative reconstruction
• Advanced documentation methods using three-dimensional scanning and aerial drone imagery

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this training, attendees will possess the knowledge, practical skills, and professional confidence required to thoroughly investigate and properly document any use-of-force incident, including those involving serious injury or fatality. Participants will be prepared to present investigation findings to stakeholders in clear, compelling formats that facilitate comprehensive understanding of the incident and investigative conclusions.