Controversial incidents remain in the news.

• Position: Law Enforcement - Brief article

High-profile "racial" incidents involving the police have been all over the news media the last few years. According to the New Orleans (La.) Times-Picayune, legal fees and settlements paid by the nation's largest police departments have reached astronomical levels. Baltimore, Md., for example, spent $5,700,000 on settlements from 2011-14. More recently, the Freddie Gray case cost the city $6,400,000.

"Police officers have an extraordinarily difficult job, and they have to walk a tightrope between their duty to protect and serve and their instinct for self-preservation. High-tension situations that can occur at any moment really put officers to the test," says Derek Collins, training facilitator for the Diversion Center, Marietta, Ga.

Collins says it is important for police officers to learn to...