Over the years I have heard the expression a number of times by officers who say they would rather be “Judged by 12, than carried by 6”. I am sure we are all familiar with this saying which refers to the fact that the officer would rather have their actions in a deadly force confrontation judged by a jury of 12 of their peers than lose the fight and be carried by 6 pall bearers at their funeral. The saying often comes up during discussions about the authority of the officer to use deadly force against a subject.
I agree with the principle that in a violent confrontation we need to act and win the fight rather than worry about what is going to happen following the event, however, the statement bothers me. The reason it bothers me is that it is often given in a flippant or defensive manner during when / then discussions on deadly force situations or during debriefings following scenarios.
When an officers uses this statement as articulation of what they did or ‘would do’ it tells me that the officer is unclear on their justification and authorities to take a life. That is what really concerns me.
It may sound macho to say you would rather be tried by 12 than carried by 6 but, what if the 12 send you to jail for murder because you were unable to justify your actions. As you sit in your four foot by eight foot cell with your new roomie ‘bubba’ are you still so cocky. Are you still happy with the 12 option?
The message here is that officers must know their authorities to stop, detain, search, arrest, enter a residence and to use force. They must also have the ability to articulate the reasonableness of their actions based on the totality of circumstances. By articulation I am referring to the ability to tell the story and explain to the judge or the jury why what they did at that moment in time was reasonable for them. Totality of circumstances is the ‘big picture’, all the information that factored into the officers perception of the threat up to the point that the force was used.
As trainers we need to move officers away from these historical sayings that may ultimately be setting the officers up for failure. Train your officers what they can do. Teach your officers when they can use force. School your officers in the art of articulation. Set your officers up for success both in the event and in the courtroom.
There is an article on the “Art of Articulation” by myself and Darren Leggatt in the highly acclaimed book W.I.N. 2 Insights Into Training and Leading Warriors” available at www.warriorspiritbooks.com:
Upcoming Excellence in Training Presentations and Courses:
- October 5, IALEFI RTC Bend, Oregon – 4 hour presentation for Command level leaders on Excellence Through Training and a 4 hour presentation for trainers on Excellence in Training.
- October 19 to 22, Mount Prospect, Illinois – Excellence in Training Course
- November 16 to 20, Lake Oswego, Oregon – Excellence in Training and Verbal Trauma Control Course
- November 30 to December 4, Edmonton, Alberta – Excellence in Training and Verbal Trauma Control Course
- January 19 to 22, 2010 Madison, Wisconsin – Excellence in Training Course
P.S. The archive for the LawOfficer.com Webcast Use of Force Training and What’s Important Now and the Q and A’s are now available at http://www.lawofficer.com/webcasts/Use_of_Force_and_Whats_Important_Now.html
Take care.
Brian Willis
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