Sterling police host statewide use-of-force training for officers

Sterling police brought a statewide training course into Logan County this week, hosting a one-day class focused on how human factors affect an officer’s judgment during critical incidents and use-of-force decisions.

The program, called UOF, Human Factors and the Application of Use of Force, was offered through County Sheriffs of Colorado and drew officers from across the state. For residents, the issue is not abstract: this is the training that influences what happens when a traffic stop, arrest or emergency call turns tense and an officer must decide, in seconds, whether to warn, restrain or use force.

The class was built around real-world decision-making under stress. That matters because the skills being tested on the street are not only physical, but mental. Officers are being trained to recognize how stress, fast-changing information and critical incidents can affect performance before a decision is made that may shape a resident’s safety, the officer’s safety and the outcome of the encounter.

Instructor Ed Kafel brought a long law-enforcement and military background to the session. He served with the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office from June 1998 until March 2019 and previously retired from the United States Army as a Command Sergeant Major after 22 years of service. Kafel has also been recognized as a law-enforcement use-of-force expert in Colorado district court and federal district court.

His credentials go beyond courtroom recognition. Kafel has taught more than 2,700 hours in POST-approved law-enforcement academies and helped develop use-of-force and firearms curriculum for those academies. That gives the training a direct tie to the standards officers are expected to meet as they continue their education.

County Sheriffs of Colorado says its training program is designed to provide educational and professional development for Colorado law-enforcement personnel, promote public safety initiatives and support officers and other public-safety workers. Colorado POST says its Regional Program is meant to supplement agency training budgets and help fund peace officers’ continuing education through 10 training regions statewide.

For Logan County, the value of hosting the class is measured less by ceremony than by practice. The question is whether officers return to the field better able to slow down, assess a volatile moment and explain their actions clearly when force is considered. That is the standard residents will feel most directly, in Sterling and in every nearby community where police encounters can turn in an instant.