Ask a cop about his last deadly force encounter and how it affected him, his family, and his career, and he will proably tell you that the encounter itself wasn't the most trying part: it was the aftermath, when Internal Affairs investigators, lawyers, the brass, and a frenzied media all descended upon him en masse. You'll also likely hear about the trauma suffered by his family. Some cops survive the onslaught, others don't. Could you survive?

Now, in this one-of-a-king book, two of America's most respected law enforcement experts reveal to you the hidden dangers of the deadly force encounter. Career cop Loren W. Christensen and police psychologist Dr. Alexis Artwohl show law enforcement officers how to stay alive when faced with a kill-or-be-killed situation and then help them survive the personal and professional pandemonium that is bound to follow. From critical debriefs and family support systems to training scenarios and real-world accounts from cops who have survived deadly force encounters and their aftermath, this remarkable book tells you everything you need to know about deadly force encounters and is absoutely must reading for the cop on the beat, undercover narcotics officer, detective, and supervisor.

This book should be in every cop's wall locker.

Contents

Introduction
Part One
Chapter 1 The survival triangle
Chapter 2 Are we fueling the fire here?
Chapter 3 Sudden violence
Chapter 4 Those who can't shoot
Chapter 5 Fear
Chapter 6 The four Rs of deadly force training
Part Two
Chapter 7 Beyond the headlines
Chapter 8 Psychological injuries
Part Three
Chapter 9 When the shooting is over
Chapter 10 Traumatic incident debriefings
Chapter 11 Psychologically surviving the aftermath of a traumatic event
Chapter 12 Famiy and trauma
Chapter 13 Investigating oficer-involved shootings
Conclusion Components of a police trauma survival program
References and suggested readings (bibliography)