Recent Supreme Court case law has significantly altered the approach courts use to analyze police use-of-force incidents. In the landmark case Barnes v. Felix (2025), the Supreme Court rejected the narrow “moment-of-threat” standard, emphasizing instead the need for a thorough “totality of the circumstances” assessment. This comprehensive course is designed to provide law enforcement officers with essential insights into this legal shift, ensuring their practices remain both effective and constitutionally sound.

What you’ll learn:

• The critical legal shift from the narrow “moment-of-threat” assessment to a comprehensive “totality-of-the-circumstances” analysis.
• Why earlier interactions matter, including officer decisions and suspect behavior before the critical moment.
• Strategies for documenting incidents to effectively reflect all relevant circumstances, not just the immediate threat.
• How to enhance decision-making skills in high-stakes encounters to align with current Supreme Court standards.