April 2025. Blues Vol 41 No.4

GUEST

GUEST COMENTARYPreventing Recruit Deathspolicemag.comEarlier this year, the AssociatedPress published a disturbing reportsaying that 29 police recruits havedied in training since 2015. I have noreason to doubt the veracity of thisreport. POLICE has covered some ofthese incidents on PoliceMag.com.And the AP says it compiled its datafrom official law enforcement deathreports, workplace safety records,and news reports.The AP says recruit deaths duringacademy training tend to be causedby three main factors: old fashionedattitudes about hydration and heatinjury, the fact that some recruits arenow much older than they were inthe past, and sickle cell trait.So, let’s address each of theseconcerns.If you are restricting water duringtraining, you are gambling with thelives of your recruits and in-serviceofficers. I know, you think it makesthem tougher. And it might. But therisk is huge and not worth it.There was a time when coachesand athletic trainers believed thatthe best way to toughen up footballplayers, soldiers, and cops was towork them hard in oppressive heatand deny water. Back in 1954, legendaryfootball coach Bear Bryant camevery close to killing some of his playerswith that attitude. For 10 days, hisplayers practiced four hours straightin 100-plus heat without water. A lotof them reached their breaking pointand quit the team. One nearly died.Today, football coaches don’tdo such reckless things, and youshouldn’t either.The AP report tells the story of arecruit who asked for water duringan exercise, and the instructor deniedit, saying, “You can’t get water in a30 The BLUES - APRIL ‘25fight.” That’s true. But a law enforcementtrainer must always weigh thebenefits of the intensity of trainingagainst the potential for injury duringthat training. Injuring recruits doesnot benefit the recruit or the agency.The medical impact of intensetraining can be even more severe forolder recruits. And it’s no secret thatthe days of all your recruits being intheir early 20s are long gone. Officershortages remain a very real problemat most agencies, and it’s hardto find enough traditionally aged recruitsto make up for retirements andresignations. So, more agencies arehiring second career recruits in their30s, 40s, and even 50s.Does that mean that training methodsneed to change? Perhaps. Doesthat mean that training standardsneed to be revised? Maybe. I knowthat’s blasphemy. But I think it wouldbe a very good idea for law enforcementtrainers to put their headstogether and come up with bettermethods for training older recruits.The final factor identified in theAP report is something that some ofyou have probably never heard of. It’scalled sickle cell trait.Like the name implies sickle celltrait is a genetic trait. And mostpeople who have it are unaware thatthey have it. A person with sicklecell trait does not have sickle celldisease. They may appear very fit.They are, however, because of thistrait more prone to life-endangeringemergencies from intense exertionand/or dehydration than people whodo not have it.As with sickle cell disease, sicklecell trait is most often found inpeople with African ancestry. That’sprobably why the majority of lawenforcement recruits who have diedin training over the last decade havebeen black.Law enforcement agencies arebehind the curve on testing for sicklecell trait and managing its effects.The AP says the U.S. military testsrecruits and the NCAA tests collegeathletes for the trait. The test reportedlycosts and it could save lives.So, I would recommend that agenciesand academies start testing.Preventing recruit deaths shouldbe a very high priority for the lawenforcement profession. Trainersneed to throw out outdated ideasabout things like restricting water orforcing recruits to exert themselvesbeyond their breaking points. Theyalso need to learn how to recognizethe difference between medicalemergency and fatigue.Back in 2010, law enforcementtrainers created a program calledBelow 100 with the goal of reducingpolice line-of-duty deaths to lessthan 100 per year. The law enforcementprofession needs a similarprogram for recruit training with thestated goal of zero training deaths.I know that zero is probably animpossible goal to achieve. But youmust strive for it. Even the Below 100goal was ambitious and has neverbeen achieved, but that does notmake it any less noble.Preventing training deaths, preventingtraining injuries while providinghigh-quality training for future officersshould be the mission of all lawenforcement academies and trainers.That’s the least that’s owed to themen and women who are still willingto sign up to serve their communitiesin a dangerous, difficult, and oftenthankless profession.

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