Course Overview:
The Use of Force Instructor Course is designed to prepare law enforcement, jail and corrections instructors to teach legally sound, tactically practical, and professionally responsible use-of-force decision-making.

The course is not designed to teach officers to “win fights” through unnecessary force. Rather, it is designed to help instructors teach officers how to control resistance, stop threats, reduce unnecessary injury, preserve life, and explain their decisions clearly and professionally.

Completion Requirements:
To successfully complete the course, participants must attend all required training blocks, actively participate in practical exercises, and successfully pass both a written examination and a practical skills examination.

Topics Include
1. The constitutional standard for evaluating law enforcement use of force.
2. Factors that influence objective reasonableness.
3. Human performance variables.
4. Decision Making Under Pressure.
5. Psychological & Physiological Use of Force Factors.
6. Seeing Under Stress – How Vision & Attention Work.
7. Sound & Perception – How Hearing Alters What We See.
8. Body-worn Cameras – Limitations & Legal Implications
9. De-Escalation and the Duty to Intervene.
10. Instructor & Agency Liability.
11. Designing safe, realistic, and legally defensible force-on-force training scenarios.

Who Should Attend
1. Defensive Tactics or Firearms Instructors
2. Training Coordinators or Academy Staff
3. Supervisors or Command Staff

Walk away with:
1. A deep understanding of legal standards and force accountability  and tools to evaluate and improve force-related training at your agency.
2. Confidence in courtroom-defensible instructional delivery
3. Certification as a Use-of-Force Instructor

COST: FREE!

Date: October 27 to 29, 2026

Location:
Stoddard County
Sheriff’s Office
207 S. Prairie
Bloomfield, MO 63825

POST Credit: 24 Hours
12 Hours Legal Studies
6 Hours Technical Studies
4 Hours Skill Development
2 Hours De-Escalation