By Nigel Maxwell

Author provides different view on police shooting

Aug 10, 2013 | 8:05 AM

One month after the incident, people in Prince Albert continue to ask why police felt the need to shoot a 27-year-old man.

At the time of the incident, Ryan Natomagan was reported to be carrying a knife. Police had been called regarding a reported “domestic dispute” and as a result of the altercation Natomagan would die from his injuries in hospital. A third party investigation into the incident continues.

Lance LoRusso has been training law enforcement for more than two decades. He is also the author of the book “When Cops Kill”, a book that provides some insight into what impact an incident, like the one last month, can have on the police officer who pulled the trigger.

“The law enforcement officers that are forced to use deadly force in the course of their duties live with that the rest of their lives.”

During the time writing his book, LoRusso met and spoke with officers who had been forced to make a life or death decision. Some had said that even decades later the incident was still fresh in their heads. Other officers talked about having cardiac issues in the days following the incident.

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“They could be going to a routine call, as far as going to a coffee shop that they had been to a hundred times, and if it's being robbed when they go in, that could mean going from zero to a 100 per cent stress in a micro second.”

Lorusso said the officers are trained up until the moment they pull the trigger, but the reality is that they can never be fully prepared for what they will go through physically, morally and psychologically. LoRusso added on top of their own personal conflicts, the officers are often subjected to public scrutiny.

“Not the mainstream media, but a lot of times the people on blogs or the comments left to mainstream media posts, can be very, very harsh; and it's tough for them to face that kind of criticism. You have to remember this is just the officer in the event, but their families face that kind of criticism when they pick up the newspaper or watch the TV.”

LoRusso said in his experience, often timers the police officer may leave the force if the incident is not handled properly, and they are not given enough time off. He added that people forget that the officer may not just be protecting theirself, but also the family of the victim, who in most cases are the ones who contacted police.

“I know people to this day who have been involved in shootings and are still upset that they were placed in a situation, that they didn't have any options, if they wanted to go home that night, but to take a life. Their moral compass gets turned around. They know it was the right thing to do, but they still took someone's father or husband away from them.”

Copies of LoRusso's book can be ordered online or on Amazon.

Profits from the book go to help law enforcement charities.

nmaxwell@panow.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell