Police Chief Magazine|Columns|Chief's Counsel
Chief’s Counsel: The Second Amendment and Electronic Control Devices

Historically, cases invoking the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution have involved firearms. However, the March 21, 2016, U.S. Supreme Court decision in Caetano v. Massachusetts has changed that limited view and brought what the court identified as “stun guns” into the Second Amendment analysis. The court used “stun guns” to refer to the class of weapons law enforcement generally categorizes as electronic control devices. The case facts and legal analysis are fairly straightforward; however, the case may have a substantial impact in police operations. This would be especially applicable in determining when it is appropriate to deploy an electronic control device in use-of-force situations.

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Chief’s Counsel: Asking Right Question

Much avoidable policing liability does not begin with bad intent. It begins with answering the wrong question.    Officers, supervisors, and chiefs are often asked after the fact to explain why...
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Chief’s Counsel: Where Policy Meets the Law

Police officers are intimately familiar with the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution.1 The terms contained in that amendment—and how judges interpret those terms—dictate how officer...
Investigations
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Chief’s Counsel: ICE Detainers and Warrants

Failure to understand the distinction between so-called immigration warrants issued by an immigration judge or traditional arrest or search warrants issued by a federal court judge can lead to liabili...
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Chief’s Counsel: Patrolling the Digital Street

For today’s police officers, the first sign of a serious threat increasingly appears not on a street corner or in a call for service, but on a screen. Posts, comments, livestreams, group chats, and ...
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Chief’s Counsel: The Price of Readiness

The practice of placing officers "on call" raises questions concerning a municipality’s obligation to pay officers, as well as the ability to restrict such officers’ activities while on an "on-cal...
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Chief’s Counsel: Are After-Action Reports Privileged?

In 2011, this author wrote an article for the Chief’s Counsel section of Police Chief magazine titled “Critical Incident Review Board: Creation and Refinement.” The purpose of the article was ...
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Chief’s Counsel: Immigration Enforcement by Local Police

Immigration enforcement in the United States is generally a civil matter, handled exclusively by federal agents working for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or Customs and Border Patrol....
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Chief’s Counsel: The Algorithm Trap

Imagine this: a qualified applicant submits a résumé for a position in a department. Before anyone on the team lays eyes on it, an artificial intelligence (AI) system screens them out. No interview....
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Chief’s Counsel: Beyond Law Enforcement and Guardians

Words matter. The terms used to describe police work—law enforcement, public safety, guardian, protector, or warrior—do more than signal a philosophy. They define the profession’s purpose, s...
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Chief’s Counsel: SCOTUS Affirms Totality Standard in Use-of-Force Cases

On May 15, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark decision in Barnes v. Felix, fundamentally altering the legal evaluation of excessive force claims under the Fourth Amendment. The ruling reje...
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