Blog 22 - Independent Component 2

City in where I patrol with other Police Officers

Content:

LITERAL

(a) Include this statement: "I, Jennifer Aguilera, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 44 hours of work."
(b) Cite your source regarding who or what article or book helped you complete the independent component.

• Gazzar, Brenda. "Sharp Rise in Officers Killed in the Line of Duty in First Half of 2014." LA Daily News. LA Daily News, 22 July 2014. Web. 22 Apr. 2016. <http://www.dailynews.com/article/LA/20140722/NEWS/140729866>.
• Johnson, Kevin. "19 of 50 Slain Police Killed in Ambushes." USA Today News. USA Today, 25 Aug. 2011. Web. 03 Apr. 2016. <http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2011-08-25/19-of-50-slain-police-killed-in-ambushes/50138148/1>.
• Officer Mendoza. Ride Along. 
• Officer Pagtakhan. Ride Along.
• Officer Viers. Ride Along.
• Thomas, Adams F. Police Field Operations. Seventh Edition. 
• Winton, Richard. "U.S. Police Officer Deaths Jump Nearly One-Third in First Half of 2014." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 22 July 2014. Web. 25 Mar. 2016. <http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-In-police-officers-killed-california-2014-20140722-story.html>.
• Wyllie, Doug. "Remembering the Lakewood Four." PoliceOne. PoliceOne.com, 29 Nov. 2010. Web. 13 Mar. 2016. <https://www.policeone.com/police-heroes/2977043-Remembering-the-Lakewood-Four/>. 

(c) Update your Independent Component 2 Log

• Done

(d) Explain what you completed. 

• For my Independent Component 2 I decided to take a Law Enforcement related class at Mount San Antonio College. My Administrative Justice class is every Thursday from 3:30 pm to 6:40 pm. The class started on February 25th, 2016 and it does not end until June 09th, 2016. So far, every week a new chapter is covered and in that chapter videos as well as pictures are shown as an example. Professor Kirk Smith who is a retired LAPD Sergeant is filled with knowledge about the Law Enforcement career. I have shown up to class every week and I learn different things every week. I have learned so many facts, statistics and court law cases that impacts law enforcement. I have also learned the do's and do not's of the career. Professor Smith is constantly reminding us that this career takes a lot of dedication and it is not for everybody. Police Officers have lost their lives in the line of duty while protecting others. It only takes one split second to end a life. 
• The class has taught me so much and has also opened my eyes about several events that are seen in the media. Now I watch the news more often because anything that happens in the nation and is related to Law Enforcement affects it one way or another. Besides taking a class I decided to ride with different Police Officers because every Police Officer has their own way of handling things or their own way of performing under pressure. Not everyone is the same therefore, every Police Officer has their own way of taking control of the situation. I have learned different ways of how to handle a call for service and I have also learned different tactics that can be used in the field. 

(e) Defend your work and explain the component's significance and how it demonstrates 30 hours of work. Provide evidence (photos, transcript, art work, videos, etc.) of the 30 hours of work.   

• By taking a College level course and going on ride alongs with different Police Officers I have learned that there are different ways to approach a situation. My essential question is, How can a Police Officer make safe and ethical calls in high pressure situations?. Therefore, taking an Administrative Justice course benefits me in having a better understanding of several procedures, tactics, and other concepts. Learning more about the Law Enforcement career has given me a bigger picture on how to view things while being on patrol. The class has also shown me the things that a Police Officer should not do and something that a Police Officer should always do when being on patrol or anywhere with a uniform on. 

Above is my Student Schedule for my Administrative Justice class

Ride Along form with Officer Mendoza

Ride Along form with Officer Pagtakhan

Ride Along form with Officer Viers 

(f) How did the component help you answer your EQ? Please include specific examples to illustrate how it helped. 

• This independent component helped me answer my essential question by having a class as well as a Professor that specifies in Law Enforcement and the concepts. My professor has first hand experience with good and bad calls for service. He has also been exposed to high pressure situations and knew how to act accordingly due to his training and experience. Professor Smith was also an instructor who would teach other Police Officers safe tactics and ways to handle a situation. My class has taught me to always stay alert, never think that a call for service will be the same thing as last time and to always be prepared for the unexpected. As a Police Officer they undergo a lot of stress and sometimes that stress can fog their mind when handling a high pressure situation. All Police Officers train and training because it is their lives that are at stake when confronting a suspect with a gun or knife. In class, Professor Smith showed us videos of a Police Officer unsafely approaching a vehicle at a traffic stop and being killed right there because the suspect had a gun on him. Another video shown was a Police Officer who was in a confrontation with a person who had a gun. That Police Officer did not take control of the situation and in his voice you were able to hear the nervousness. That Police Officer was shot and killed, the suspect ran away and was arrested hours later. It is important to keep Officer safety at all times because if that fails then the Police Officer has a much greater possibility of dying.  

This Independent Component was a job well done!

Blog 21 - Fourth Interview Reflection

Learning will be better understood when the mind is clear and open to it.

1. What is the most important thing I learned from the interview?

• The most important thing that I learned from the interview is to never believe that every single call for service will be the same because not everyone will be able to predict what will happen next. Out in the field a Police Officer should always reflect back to their training when encountering a high pressure situation. One should always remain calm and keep in mind the goal of the situation. Police Officers are hired to serve and protect the community as well as their property. They are also needed in times of keeping the peace between to parties involved in an incident. No single police officer can say that they are excellent at what they do because eventually they will make a mistake and sometimes newer police officers perform better than those who have been in the field longer. Every police officer has their preference in the different calls for service that they much rather do because they can say they are good at it. Officer Pagtakhan at the end mentioned that new police officers should keep an open mind because even though they receive training on certain things they will not know everything or see everything first hand. Experiences comes with the amount of times a police officer has assisted on calls for service because that is the only way they will get better at assisting and performing.

2. How will what I learned affect my final lesson?

• What I learned will affect my final lesson by improving it because the interview did tie in nicely with my senior project question. Officer Pagtakhan provided his own personal opinion which made me look a things differently than before. Now for my final lesson I can talk about something's he said that in my opinion hold a great value. I can also add to my presentation some examples that I came up with because the interview gave me a different perspective on things such as training, experience, learning, and stress.

Interview 4 audio.
Please start at 8:48. 

Blog 20 - Interview 4 Preparation

Coming up with good questions can be difficult for some, like me.

1. Who do you plan to interview? What is this person's area of expertise?

• The person who I plan to interview for the upcoming interview is, Officer Pagtakhan. He has been a Police Officer for more than 15 years and has worked in several different tasks. Some tasks are as followed; Gangs, narcotics, and patrol. Officer Pagtakhan has worked with Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department in assisting with narcotics and gangs task force. Officer Pagtakhan has more experience than some of the Officers in his squad, he has been exposed to several critical calls for service as well as assisting with community services.  

2. Post 20 open-ended questions you want to ask an expert in the field concerning your senior project. Your focus should be finding answers to your Essential Question.

• To start off, state some background information and your current line of work?
• Being a Police Officer can be very stressful for some. So, on a daily basis how do you deal with stress when being exposed to it?
• How do you tend to perform in stressful situations? Like active shooters, high risk vehicle stops, vehicle pursuits, man with a gun, etc.
• My essential question is, "How can a Police Officer make safe and ethical calls in high pressure situations?" How would you answer the previous stated question?
• What is your current perspective on my essential question and how do you interpret it. So, once again my essential question is, "How can a police officer make safe and ethical calls in high pressure situations?"
• Do you know of any research sources that would benefit me in my senior project?
• Do you know of any research sources that would help me in answering my essential question?
•  Have you witnessed a police officer who was in a stressful situation that they could not handle?
• What comes to your mind when I ask you to define "safe and ethical"?
• When performing under stress what do you rely on? Any tactics?
• How can police officers perform well in high pressure situations?
• How do you go about your training simulations?
• Do you think all the training you undergo has helped you one way or another? If so, why? If not, why?
• Character defines a person. So, do you think that depending on the type of person one is that is how they will perform?
• What is the most high pressure/stressful call for service you have assisted on? How did you go about your performance?
• Reflecting back to the beginning of your career as a Police Officer. How is your performance from then compared to your performance as of now? By that I mean the way you act under pressure, deal with several calls for service, have you improved on something's, etc.
• Do you recommend anybody that I can talk to for further research on my project?
• What are something's that has improved Law Enforcement as of today?
• What are some activities that I can have my audience do so they can understand my answers to my essential question? My answers are; training, experience, and character.
• What is some advice that you would give an inexperienced police officer?

Blog 19 - Third Answer

Ethics are build as one keeps growing up and experiencing life situations.

Content:

Just like you did for answer 1 and 2 post your:


1. Essential Question

• How can a Police Officer make safe and ethical calls in high pressure situations?

2. Answer #3

• The third answer to my essential question is Character. By character I mean the Police Officers integrity, motivation, dedication, etc. An officer's ethics are not created as they grow up. In fact, they are built when they are born. Several factors affect an individuals ethics just like the environment they are in, their parents behavior, and the way they are raised. in order to make safe calls a Police Officer must be able to refer back to their ethics in order to make a good or the best decision in high pressure situations. Not only in high pressure situations but also when being on patrol. 

3. Three details to support your answer

• If it is 102 fahrenheit outside and a vehicle passed by then suddenly it is stopped by a Police Officer. The Officer must make the call if to take away the vehicle due to the small infraction and leave the driver, who is a mother and has her three children with her; to walk home. An option can be to take away the vehicle and take them home or not take it away at all and give the driver a warning. 
• If there is an active shooter at a school and the first responder is only one Police Officer. Will that Officer right away go in and possibly die or wait for their backing units. An Officers morals affects the way they make decisions and think about how to control and solve the situation. 
• If an Officer is shot and is in critical pain; should his partner help him or continue with the situation that they were sent for which is to eliminate the threat. Officers are trained in scenarios that have to do with an Officer being down. There will always be more than 5 Officers in high priority calls. So, an Officer is never left behind and will always have the help that he or she needs. 

4. The research source(s) to support your details and answer

• Book "Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking" by Malcolm Gladwell.  
• Horban, Jack E., Bruce J. Goorlie. "The Ethical Warrior and Warrior Creed" 

5. Concluding Sentence

• Ones moral values affects how to act, think, and solve a situation. When being under stress the mind tends to make decisions faster but one must choose if to go with the first decision made or continue thinking about the situation. Officer do not have a lot of time to make decisions that will always lead to the safer way out. Sometimes in this career lives are lost because split-second decisions are not made properly or the situation is not handled the way it should of been. The minute one is born the environment that surrounds us is a key element that affects the way we will be when we grow up. 

Blog 18 - Answer 2

Experience and Training makes a difference in determining if a Police Officer dies or live on the line of duty 

1. What is your EQ?

• My essential question is, "How can a Police Officer make safe and ethical calls in high pressure situations?"

2. What is your first answer?

• My first answer to my essential question is, Training. It takes a lot of training for a Police Officer to be able to make safe and ethical calls in high pressure situations. Continuously training will help any police officer because they will always refer back to muscle memory and what they did or how to perform in certain situations. 

3. What is your second answer?

• The second answer to my essential question is, experience. It makes a huge difference when it comes to Police officer who has been working for 2-3 years in comparison to a Police Officer who has worked for 10 or more years. The more a Police Officer is exposed to the better because it will better prepare them for anything out of the ordinary and they will know how to react. 

4. List three reasons your answer is true with a real-world application for each.

• If a Police officer who has worked for 2 years is involved in a shooting he or she may not know how to react to the situation because that is their first encounter to an active shooter. In the other hand, a Police Officer who has worked for 10 years and encounters and active shooter they will know how to better react to the situation due to the exposure they have had in the past and all the out of the ordinary encounters. 
• Experience may make or break a Police Officer because all Police Officers are human beings and if a newer Police Officer with little experience has to roll up to a high priority call and does not know what to do it will affect them greatly. It also places their life on the line or even other people's life on the line. The main duty of a Police Officer is to protect those in need and help in any situation where the individual feels like they cannot handle it themselves. If a Police Officer were to place others at risk then this may not be the best career for them. 
• Being a Police Officer takes a lot of courage, motivation and dedication. The process is difficult  and the goal takes time to achieve. For those newer Police Officer (Rookies) who graduated from the Police Academy and are starting their field training which is 6 months; go through so much such as stress under pressure, be able to do their duties, know how to talk on the radio, how to write reports, etc. If that rookie does not pass their 6 months of Field Training then they cannot be a Police Officer because after those 6 months are over they are on their own. A Police officer must be able to think fast as well as act fast and to make sure that all the calls they give are the right ones. one wrong move and their career may come to an end. Trainees are exposed to a lot of information during their field training but eventually understand the ropes.  In the city of Pomona which is known to have high crime rates, a Police Officer must always stay on the look out because in a split second their life can end due to an encounter of shots being fired. Another scenarios that may happen is a when a vehicle is stopped and the license of that vehicle comes back as "Stolen" then that traffic stop would then become as "high risk vehicle stop". So, commands must be given, the people in the vehicle have to come out and must be searched, and the vehicle must be searched; for any guns, weapons, drugs, or anything out of the ordinary like a kidnapped person. 

5. What printed source best supports your answer?

• Siegel, Robert. "'Be Guardians, Not Warriors': Training A New Generation Of Police." Npr. Npr, 21 May 2015. Web. 09 Sept. 2015. <http://www.npr.org/2015/05/21/408549702/be-guardians-not-warriors-training-a-new-generation-of-police>.
• <http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/investigative/2015/06/30/distraught-people-deadly-results/>.
• Leland, Fred. "Critical Decision Making Under Pressure: The Complete Article." Law Enforcement and Security Consulting. Law Enforcement and Security Consulting, 03 Dec. 2008. Web. 13 Jan. 2016. <http://www.lesc.net/blog/critical-decision-making-under-pressure-complete-article>.
• Kasper, Jody. "10 Rookie Errors To Avoid." - Article. Police Magazine, 18 May 2013. Web. 05 Feb. 2016. <http://www.policemag.com/channel/careers-training/articles/2010/05/10-rookie-errors-to-avoid.aspx>.
• Stoughton, Seth. "How Police Training Contributes to Avoidable Deaths." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 12 Dec. 2014. Web. 09 Feb. 2016. <http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/12/police-gun-shooting-training-ferguson/383681/>.

6. What other source supports your answer?

• Lowery Wesley Lowery, Kimberly Kindy, Keith L. Alexander, Wesley, Kimbrly Kindy, and Keith L. Alexander. "Distraught People, Deadly Results: Fatal Shootings by On-duty Police Officers." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 30 June 2015. Web. 15 Oct. 2015.
• Vickers, Joan N., and William Lewinski. "Performingunderpressure." Performingunderpressure. Force Science Institute Ltd., n.d. Web. 05 Jan. 2016. <http://www.forcescience.org/performingunderpressure.html>.
• Davis, Kevin R. "Leadership in Police Special Operations." Law Officer. Pennwell Corporation, 13 Aug. 2015. Web. 08 Sept. 2015. <http://www.lawofficer.com/articles/print/volume-11/issue-7/features/leadership-in-police-special-operations.html>.    

7.  Tie this together with a concluding thought.

• In Law Enforcement it takes a lot of time and effort to master something or just be good at it. It is critical that one understands what they are getting themselves into because it will place their life on the line as well as others. Police Officers must be able to eliminate the threat at any time and anywhere. They will face several encounters where the situation escalates very fast and it does not give one enough time to think and process what to do or what just happened. Experience and the amount of training that a Police Officer has gone through will make a difference in the field because their chances of survival have just increased. Rather than a new Police Officer who is still learning how to complete several tasks. One must be able to think, act and plan under pressure of what they will be doing and how they are going to control the situation. It can be difficult to think under pressure because one wrong move and everything may go downhill from there. So, Police Officer must always keep in mind that at any moment they can be involved in a high priority call like an active shooter or a foot pursuit. One must expect the unexpected, prepare for the worse and hope for the best. 

On Friday, 2/26 for Advisory, you will be presenting what you have from this blog.  The presentation is more like a share-out and should not last longer than 2 minutes. You don't need a visual, and you should not read what you have written.  

Blog 17 - Interview 3 Reflection

Good communication leads to better understanding and amazing interviews. 

Please copy these questions and answer them in your own blog. Attach a link to your video or sound file (at least 5 minutes of what you feel is your best portion). As usual, you'll want an appropriate image to lead this.  


1. What is the most important things that I learned form the interview?

• I learned several important things in from the interview with Officer Cooper. Something that stuck with me throughout the whole interview is how passionate he is when answering all the questions that I asked him. From that I learned that in order to be successful one must love their career and be willing to do anything that is necessary. Officer Cooper has a lot of heart and motivation to what he does. I also learned to always expect the unexpected and everyday one will learn something new. Officer Cooper told me that everyday he works and goes home he leaves with learning something new that will benefit him and prepare him for future incidents or events that may come his way. 
• In order to cope with stress one must keep a clear mind and always reflect back on all the training and hard work that was done in preparation for the real thing. There are many officers who will lose their heads because they cannot deal with the amount of stress they are exposed to. But there will always be those officers who will help their partners in any way possible. In this type of career no one is alone because there will always be that one person who has your back no matter what. It is like a family that one builds over time because you are constantly working with them and completing several tasks with them. 

2. How has your approach to interviewing changed over the course of your senior project?

• Over the course of the interviews for my senior project I believe that I have improved in the way I the questions that I have, I communicate better, I will ask follow up questions if necessary, I am a bit less shy. Having good communication or bettering my communication skills throughout the interviews has made my interviews flow smoothly from one question to the other and actually be able to comprehend what the interviewee is saying when he/she is answering my questions. A smooth flow is very important because it makes the interview sound  and look more professional and there will be no awkward pauses. As I do more interviews with different people I will learn more and improve on interviewing people better. 

Learning is food for the brain.

 Please start at 7:51 minutes  


The text of this interview should be turned in to turnitin.com. A verification form for Interview 3 can be printed out from the Senior Project Packet link on the side of the blog. Do not forget to justify your mentor as an expert in your specific topic. 

Blog 16 - Independent Component 2 Approval

Content:

Please review the component contract in the senior project packet. The Independent Component 2 is an opportunity for you to add a dimension of creativity and/or an additional outlet for research. The goal of the component is for you to explore your answers in more depth. On Friday, April 22, 2016, you will be turning in the following to your blog to prove completion of this component:

• Blog post answering specific questions posted by senior team
• Log of hours clearly delineated as Independent Component 2 on senior project hours spreadsheet (with total number of hours included)
• Evidence of the 30 hours of work (e.g. transcript, essays, tests, art work, photographs) as digital artifacts

For this blog post and approval, please answer the following questions.

1. Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours.

• For the 30 hours of Independent Component 2 I plan to take a college class that is about Law Enforcement at Mt. San Antonio Community College. Classes for Spring semester begin on the last week of February and tomorrow, Tuesday the 9th of February I will be attending an orientation to make sure that the class that I will be taking is allowed. I also plan to go on different ridealongs with several different officers who are not my mentors. I do believe that every officer has a different way of handling certain situations when they are put under stress and I do believe that we all think different. In one ridealong I can complete up to 11 hours so my goal is to go on 10 ridealongs with different officers and shifts as well as different squads. I also believe that riding with officers who have 1 to 2 years of experience is important because they are still learning just like me. But riding with officers who have been in the department for 20 or more years will be essential to my project. Depending on the class that I take the times and days to meet will differ so I will not know what days or class I will be in the class until I actually register for it.

2. Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectations of showing 30 hours of evidence.

• In order to meet or show the expectations of 30 hours of evidence I will have to take pictures of my work in class or make a professional paper where my professor and the different officers I rode with must sign it. If I take pictures of the officers and I when I am on my ridealong I will not be able to post them but I will be able to show my House teacher on the side.

3. Explain how this component will help you explore your topic in more depth.

• This second independent component will help me explore my topic in depth because I will actually take a class on Law Enforcement and there will be new and different things that I will encounter and learn about. By riding with different officers I will learn their ways of giving their service as well as their answers when I ask them my essential question of, "How can a Police Officer make safe and ethical calls in high pressure situations?". By riding with different officers it will allow me to see different perspectives and be able to distinguish newer police officers with those who have been in the department for years now.

4. Post a log in your Senior Project Hours link and label it "Independent  Component 2" log.

• Completed

Your answers to the questions should be supported with details and examples for the senior team to understand what you plan to do. Once we review your Blog Post 16, your house teacher will discuss with you the approval of your plan. If it is approved, please start working on it. If it is not approved, your house teacher will explain why. It is your job to address the concerns so you can get your component approved. Additionally, any changes requested must be addressed to your house teacher well in advance of the completion date for full credit on the assignment.

Research is important to this Senior Project!