When verbal de-escalation fails

This collection of bodycam footage shows Los Angeles Police Department officers responding to a 911 call involving an armed suspect who had threatened bystanders with a handgun. The suspect refused to obey commands and eventually traded gunfire with LAPD before dropping the weapon. Seeing this, the LAPD officers do an excellent job of "reining it in." While physically combative, the suspect was detained without further incident and no one was harmed by the gunfire of either party. However benignly it may have ended, this incident highlights some common issues in verbal de-escalation. Firstly, "You're not in trouble," is a bit of a tough sell from an officer with his weapon drawn. From an officer safety standpoint, not having his weapon drawn is a no-go, so something more transitional may have been appropriate- "We can get through this with no one getting hurt," for example. It's a true statement that establishes a common cause and doesn't seem contradicted by the actions taking place. Secondly, and related to contradictions: Albeit he's doing it with a gun, the first officer is taking a conciliatory approach. This is completely countermanded by the second officer: "Drop it or I'm going to shoot you." Giving the armed suspect conflicting information is great for overclocking the OODA loop, but bad if you want him to focus on or follow the commands of either officer.

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