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Spokane City Council condemns controversial ‘killology’ police training
Spokesman Review (Spokane, WA) ^ | August 24, 2020 | Adam Shanks

Posted on 08/25/2020 9:47:43 AM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom

The Spokane (Washington) City Council voted Monday to formally condemn a controversial law enforcement training planned by “Killology” founder David Grossman in Spokane County. Although it was not organized or hosted by the city of Spokane, City Council members said it was important to vocally oppose the “mindset bootcamp” training that will be open to local police officers.

Grossman, founder of the Killology Research Group, is a prolific law enforcement trainer whose critics argue promotes a “warrior” mindset among officers and predisposes them to using violence. The training has been under scrutiny in the wake of the killing of George Floyd and protests over police brutality throughout the country, including in Spokane. Thousands of people signed a petition opposing the training in Spokane County earlier this year.

The training has been ardently defended by Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich, whose office will host Grossman. He has argued that the media and activists have misrepresented Grossman’s training. The training was originally scheduled for October but is in limbo primarily due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Knezovich has pledged to host a community forum with Grossman prior to the training, but the exact date depends on the level of COVID-19 restrictions on gatherings in place.

The training was not organized by the Spokane Police Department, and Spokane police officers have not been ordered to attend. Sheriff’s deputies are also not required to attend the training. Still, “what happens in the county does affect what happens in the city,” Burke argued.

The term “killology” does not fit the city’s aspirations, Councilwoman Betsy Wilkerson argued, and policing “does not stop at borders or street names.”

“Killology is not the word that inspires us going forward as a community in a healing mode,” Wilkerson said.

(Excerpt) Read more at spokesman.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Government; News/Current Events; US: Washington
KEYWORDS: killology; police; training
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The furor over the "Killology" police training program has been underway in Spokane for several months. Supposedly, it is a good LEO training program, but you really have to wonder about a company owner who would name a program "Killology." The brouhaha seems to be focused solely on the name of the program and not so much on the program's content. The optics of the name are not good.

Here is a definition of "Killology" from the "Killology Research Group":

KILLOLOGY, (n): The scholarly study of the destructive act, just as sexology is the scholarly study of the procreative act. In particular, killology focuses on the reactions of healthy people in killing circumstances (such as police and military in combat) and the factors that enable and restrain killing in these situations.

Here is the bio of the director of the Killology Research Group. Lt. Col. Grossman has quite a resumé...

LT. COL. DAVE GROSSMAN, U.S. Army (Ret.)
Director, Killology Research Group

In their description of Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, Slate Magazine said, “Grossman cuts such a heroic, omnicompetent figure, he could have stepped out of a video game.” He has five patents to his name, has published four novels, two childrens’ books, and six non-fiction books to include his “perennial bestseller” On Killing (with over half a million copies sold), and a New York Times best-selling book co-authored with Glenn Beck.

He is a US Army Ranger, a paratrooper, and a former West Point Psychology Professor. He has a Black Belt in Hojutsu, the martial art of the firearm, and has been inducted into the USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame.

Col. Grossman’s research was cited by the President of the United States in a national address, and he has testified before the U.S. Senate, the U.S. Congress, and numerous state legislatures. He has served as an expert witness and consultant in state and Federal courts. He helped train mental health professionals after the Jonesboro school massacre, and he was also involved in counseling or court cases in the aftermath of the Paducah, Springfield, Littleton and Nickel Mines Amish school massacres.

Col. Grossman has been called upon to write the entry on “Aggression and Violence” in the Oxford Companion to American Military History, three entries in the Academic Press Encyclopedia of Violence, Peace and Conflict and has presented papers before the national conventions of the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Since his retirement from the US Army in 1998, he has been on the road almost 300 days a year, for over 19 years, as one of our nation’s leading trainers for military, law enforcement, mental health providers, and school safety organizations.

Interestingly, KRG site provides zero information about the content of their LEO training program. The only hint of what the LEO program contains is this...
Lt. Col. Grossman most often presents one of two different perspectives on his research. One for professionals who may have to use deadly force, ensuring they make sound decisions before, during, and after the precipitous moment. And the other offering teachers and school officials vital information to keep their students safe. ​

"The Bullet Proof Mind"

Psychological preparation for combat. Bringing together current trends in violence, from terrorists to aggravated assaults, Col. Grossman coalesces his research into a presentation affirming the life that all law enforcement and military professionals have chosen to lead. Within that context, Grossman presents a model for action that ensures profes-sionals can train for and overcome the unique mental stressors of possible violence. Find out what to expect when your heart rate rises and blood drains from your face, and how to avoid it. ​

A cornerstone for professional training if you might come into contact with inter-personal violence. Knowing what strange and wonderful things might happen to your body in these stressful situations is the first step to making the correct decision in the heat of the moment... and after.

Citizens are objecting to the notion of training LEOs for combat.

What do you think?

1 posted on 08/25/2020 9:47:43 AM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

i do not think the state should spend taxpayers monies on ways to kill the taxpayers.

if a police officer wants training, they can pay for it themselves.


2 posted on 08/25/2020 9:53:36 AM PDT by teeman8r (Armageddon won't be pretty, but it's not like it's the end of the world)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

“The term “killology” does not fit the city’s aspirations, Councilwoman Betsy Wilkerson argued”

Baaaa said the sheep. The Sheepdog looks a lot like the wolf and it scares me!


3 posted on 08/25/2020 9:55:58 AM PDT by DesertRhino (Dog is man's best friend, and moslems hate dogs. Add that up. ....)
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To: teeman8r

You gonna suggest our armed forces personnel train themselves, too?


4 posted on 08/25/2020 9:57:06 AM PDT by mewzilla (Break out the mustard seeds.)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

Oh, boy. This Dave Grossman is hated in the gaming realm for blaming vidya games for school shootings and other violence. I don’t think he was too popular here, either. At any rate, I agree that the police should not be militarized.


5 posted on 08/25/2020 9:59:06 AM PDT by Rastus
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To: mewzilla
You gonna suggest our armed forces personnel train themselves, too?

"That's the fact, Jack!"

6 posted on 08/25/2020 9:59:12 AM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: teeman8r

That’s childish. The course is designed to help cops understand the psychological results of killing someone, and train them into a point where maybe they don’t blow their own heads off, drink, etc if they ARE involved in it.

You have no idea what that course is about. It is the precise opposite of what your imagination is telling you.

Are you aware that the developer of the course is famously against first person shooter video games for kids because they desensitize them? He is most assuredly NOT training cops to be fast to shoot or to reflexively shoot.


7 posted on 08/25/2020 10:01:16 AM PDT by DesertRhino (Dog is man's best friend, and moslems hate dogs. Add that up. ....)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

There might be some merit in this course, something worth learning. But the name alone - killology - puts an ugly stain on the whole thing. So the guy running the show is either shockingly tone-deaf or off his rocker.

Either way, this course should be a hard pass for any police officer.

Imagine a cop took this course, and was later involved in a civilian shooting. Maybe that shooting was righteous. But having taken a “killology” course would weigh heavily against him.


8 posted on 08/25/2020 10:05:18 AM PDT by Leaning Right (I have already previewed or do not wish to preview this composition.)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

When rioters are carrying AR type weapons, they should be met with like force and more.................


9 posted on 08/25/2020 10:06:38 AM PDT by Red Badger (Sine Q-Anon.....................)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom
Killology, I assume that is what BLM is trying to do to the police. Also drug dealers and thugs in general. So since the police are the 1st and only line between them and a civil society I say learn Killology.

Don't believe me, look at what the drug dealers have done in Mexico.

BLM is not about peaceful co-existence, it is about POWER! Pick a side now, and defend that side to the death.

10 posted on 08/25/2020 10:07:25 AM PDT by Lockbox
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To: teeman8r
The training was not organized by the Spokane Police Department, and Spokane police officers have not been ordered to attend.
11 posted on 08/25/2020 10:08:21 AM PDT by Red Badger (Sine Q-Anon.....................)
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To: mewzilla

the question as was stated was do you think LEO should be trained in combat.

am i wrong in that or are you reading more into it than you should?


12 posted on 08/25/2020 10:08:22 AM PDT by teeman8r (Armageddon won't be pretty, but it's not like it's the end of the world)
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To: Rastus

I hear a lot about militarized police. Few stop to think that it is a reaction to militarized drug gangs, and now protesters that organize, communicate, and equip in a militarized manner.

Everyone wants Norman Rockwell’s romanticized cop in the cafe, talking to the cute little runaway boy.


13 posted on 08/25/2020 10:09:02 AM PDT by DesertRhino (Dog is man's best friend, and moslems hate dogs. Add that up. ....)
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To: DesertRhino

the question as was stated was do you think LEO should be trained in combat.

am i wrong in that or are you reading more into it than you should?


14 posted on 08/25/2020 10:09:03 AM PDT by teeman8r (Armageddon won't be pretty, but it's not like it's the end of the world)
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To: Leaning Right

Very thoughtful and well-expressed post, LR. You summarized it very well.


15 posted on 08/25/2020 10:10:06 AM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom ("And oft conducted by historic truth, We tread the long extent of backward time.")
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To: DesertRhino

I don’t think he is even against FPS video games. He is against the vile ones, and he is against allowing children to play them. But I am not sure it can be said he is against them in general. I listened to his book on the subject, but I could have missed something too.

You are correct in your rebuttal. Good choice to refer to the drivel as imagination, for that’s what it is.


16 posted on 08/25/2020 10:10:51 AM PDT by JimSp
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To: teeman8r

i do not think the state should spend taxpayers monies on ways to kill the taxpayers.

```
many drug dealers and other criminals pay taxes where you are?


17 posted on 08/25/2020 10:11:04 AM PDT by PIF (They came for me and mine ... now its your turn)
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To: DesertRhino

“Everyone wants Norman Rockwell’s romanticized cop in the cafe, talking to the cute little runaway boy.”

That’s a great observation. I’ve actually had several encounters with police officers that were like that.


18 posted on 08/25/2020 10:12:22 AM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom ("And oft conducted by historic truth, We tread the long extent of backward time.")
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To: PIF

breonna taylor paid taxes. richard black. daniel kevin harris. darrien hunt. donnel thompson. daniel shaver.


19 posted on 08/25/2020 10:14:01 AM PDT by teeman8r (Armageddon won't be pretty, but it's not like it's the end of the world)
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To: Leaning Right; ProtectOurFreedom

It seems your imagination has run wild with what that word means. Don’t do irrational, emotional, knee jerk reactions to things you don’t understand. Let that for the left.

PS. Post a link to a course by Grossman named Killology. Go ahead, I’ll wait.


20 posted on 08/25/2020 10:16:36 AM PDT by JimSp
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