Sergeant Coffee Needs You: Evaluation of a Police Officer Bystander Intervention Program

• Published date: 01 September 2024
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/10986111231218435
• Author: William V. Pelfrey
• Date: 01 September 2024

Article

Police Quarterly

2024, Vol. 27(3) 361–379

© The Author(s) 2023

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DOI: 10.1177/10986111231218435

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Sergeant Coffee Needs You:

Evaluation of a Police Officer

Bystander Intervention

Program

William V. Pelfrey Jr

1



Abstract

Police encounters with suspects may produce unfortunate outcomes, particularly

when defiance of authority leads to usage of force. Application of excessive force may

be interrupted, or obviated by the actions of bystander officers who become inter-

vening officers. This study evaluated officer and supervisor perceptions of a training

program which taught intervention strategies and tactics to help officers intervene with

other officers to prevent harm. Data were collected very early in program im-

plementation and approximately one year later. Survey data were collected with

officers and qualitative focus groups were conducted with officers and supervisors.

Findings indicate a marked change in perceptions by officers. Both quantitative and

qualitative findings collected in early phase indicate a high degree of officer resistance.

Late phase data indicate significantly higher endorsement of officer intervention

strategies and participants reported higher frequencies of intervening with other

officers. Findings suggest officer-based de-escalation and intervention training warrants

implementation consideration from agency decision makers.

Keywords

police use of force, policing, de-escalation, intervention, active bystander, culture

change

1

Department of Criminal Justice, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA

Corresponding Author:

William V. Pelfrey Jr, Department of Criminal Justice, Virginia Commonwealth University, 923 West Franklin

Street, Richmond, VA 842028, USA.

Email: wvpelfrey@vcu.edu

Introduction

When Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin killed George Floyd, three other

officers stood nearby and watched or provided crowd control. One officer twice asked

Chauvin whether Floyd should be turned on his side but none of the officers present

intervened in a manner that altered the excessive force administered by Chauvin.

George Floyd died, Chauvin was tried and convicted in a federal court, and the three

bystander officers were convicted of federal charges (for depriving Floyd of his rights).

Two of the officers were also convicted of failing to intervene during the killing.

When Tyre Nichols was killed by Memphis Police officers, five officers were in-

volved in beating him and were indicted with a host of charges, including second degree

murder and kidnapping. Two bystander officers were suspended and may be charged.

When Rodney King was beaten by Los Angeles Police Department officers, ap-

proximately two dozen law enforcement personnel are visible on the video, including

one supervisor. Several LAPD officers, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputies, and

California Highway Patrol personnel were present. All were bystanders while Rodney

King was kicked and beaten. The bystander sergeant on scene (Stacey Koon) was

charged concurrently with the officers who beat King.

These examples represent some of the worst moments for policing over the past few

decades. Each incident followed apprehension of a suspect who committed, or was

suspected, of minor offenses. Rodney King was speeding, then evaded police in a high-

speed pursuit. Tyre Nichols was pulled over for a traffic offense, then ran from police.

George Floyd was accused (by a cashier) of using a counterfeit twenty-dollar bill and

then resisted arrest.

An important commonality is the presence of additional officers who failed to

intervene as one or several officers utilized force on a suspect. These bystander officers

failed in their duties, obviating their responsibility to protect life, in deference to

another officer who was administering excessive force against an unarmed suspect.

These egregious failures, and other similar incidents, have damaged public perception

and trust of law enforcement.

The New Orleans Police Department developed the Ethical Policing is Courageous

(EPIC) program in response to several incidents, including some regarding excessive

force. While several police departments had developed programs that encouraged

officers to intervene in situations which were unethical, EPIC was notable in that NOPD

officers were trained to intervene in problematic situations. These situations could

include excessive force, corruption, coercive behavior, or any other inappropriate

circumstance. The EPIC program addressed three pillars: reducing mistakes, pre-

venting misconduct, and promoting officer health and wellness.

The implementation of EPIC included a training extension, the Active Bystander

Law Enforcement (ABLE) program, developed by a team of law enforcement officers,

civil rights lawyers, psychologists, academics, and curricula design specialists (Aronie

& Lopez, 2017). ABLE is a police training model which has been implemented at more

than 350 law enforcement agencies. One component of the training teaches officers to

362 Police Quarterly 27(3)