BELTON, TX — According to the Office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, last year there were 174 separate officer involved shootings reported in Texas that caused either injury or death.
Twenty-five of those shootings took place during traffic stops.
In an effort to promote friendly encounters, officers across Central Texas gathered for state mandated civilian interaction training.
"For interaction between police officers and citizens during traffic stops.... So it's double in that what as a violator should you expect from an officer and what should the officer expect from the violator," said Mike Gurley, retired Dallas police sergeant who instructed the class.
Officers received refresher training on the Texas 7-Step Traffic Stop process.
"And when the officer comes up, what the violator should expect is this: He or she should be cordial, explain what's happening. Because a lot of times we don't know why the officer walked up, why is he walking off, am I free to go, so it's just kind of a shared expectation," said Gurley.
- Greeting and identification of the agency
- Statement of violation committed
- Identification of driver and check of conditions of violator and vehicle
- Statement of action to be taken
- Take action stated
- Explain what violator must do
- Leave
On Wednesday, Central Texas officers will meed again for de-escalation training, also hosted by U.S. LawShield.
