Lindsey MacLeod

March 9, 2015
English 2010
Professor Bown
Profile
Major Scott Stephenson
Introduction

Scott Stephenson is a law enforcement professional

who has served in many different ways. He has
been involved in corrections, patrol, special
emergency response team, basic training, and even
more (URMMA). His current position is as a
director of Peace Officer Standards and Training,
or POST. He describes his responsibilities there as:
designing basic in-service training for peace
officers
Major Stephenson picture source:
URMMA

throughout

the

stateinvestigating

officers who violate state and/or federal laws.

Stephensons job is very important, and his position is one that is pretty high up on the chain of
law enforcement. He does what he does so that he can help people. He said It is very rewarding
when people turn to you for help and guidance. Being a law enforcement professional means
that people are going to turn to you, and because he has chosen to do this, the lives of many
people will be bettered. Part of his job also includes speaking to the media and public about
many things. He has been included on the news in many different stories.
The media and public
The media and public can be brutal when something is said or done. Many different views can be
taken and facts can be distorted. Even with this fact, Stephenson speaks to the public about many
issues. When asked what the most challenging part of talking to the media and public about
lethal force is he states: The most challenging aspect of working with the media is attempting to
get your message across, so that it is accurate, succinct, and meaningful. Scott Stephenson

wants the public to become informed about the use of lethal force used by police officers, and
that is what he tries to do when he talks to the media. Knowledge is very important and without
the knowledge that Stephenson shares the media is contorting stories and situations where lethal
force is used and placing quite a bit of the blame on the officers. A well-known example of this
currently is Ferguson. The public doesnt truly know what the story behind all of it because there
have been so many different stories put out by the news and other media that have been twisted.
Stephenson thinks that so much of the blame is placed on officers because of the lack of
education. He says that many officers have made some bad decisions, but it is having a lasting
and adverse perception within the communities they serve. It isnt very often that we hear
stories about the good that our officers have done if it involves lethal force, because it has come
to have such a negative connotation in the public. Stephenson believes that when the media
attacks a police officer for a situation, they are attacking the establishment or the uniform. He
said that the most important thing the public should know regarding lethal force would be that it
has an effect on the officers as well. The officers dont want to shoot people, or take lives. They
want to keep the people in the communities safe, and it is their job to do that through what is
necessary in the situation.
Personal experience/opinion
Scott Stephenson has removed his weapon from his holster and armed at a person more than
once. He says Fortunately, I am very blesses to say that I have never fired my weapon in the
direction of another human being. Not only is this fortunate for him but also his family, the
people training to become officers, and also the public. Stephenson is a long-time family friend,
and from personal experience it is easy to say that he is a genuinely great and kind man. I have
never known him to be angry, or hostile, and I couldnt imagine him even hurting a fly. Even

though he hasnt shot at anyone, these experiences have had an impact on his opinion on life. He
has learned that life really is fragile, and is a nanosecond it can be changed by someones wrong
decision. His opinion, for lack of a better word, is that It is also a necessary option due to the
many weapons that are on Americas streets and the violent nature of our society. The number
of people that carry guns in America truly has gone up, and some people are deciding to use
them in a way that is unlawful. In this situation an officer is faced with a very hard decision,
which they probably dont want to be faced with in the first place. Having to use lethal force is
likely one of the hardest choices and experiences an officer could go through. Not only is it
killing another human being, but a family is losing a member, or a friend is being lost.
Stephenson says that this decision really isnt one that any officer would ever want to be faced
with, likely because of all of the repercussions that are going to come with it. It is a decision
between the life of a human and the safety of many.
POST
POST stands for Peace Officer Standards and Training; their goal is to provide professional
standards and training, leadership and certification for peace officers and dispatchers as we work
to protect the rights and privileges of Utahs citizens while elevating the integrity of the
profession. (Utah Department of Public Safety). POST is where people go if they want to
become a police officer. They go through their training and all they have to do there. They have
to go through many scenarios and physical/ mental health exams before they are allowed to
become an officer. Stephenson said that recruits are taught to be compassionate, empathetic and
understand human behavior they are taught defensive tactics, firearm skills, conflict resolution
(verbal skills and de-escalation techniques). Police are taught to do everything they can in a
situation before they shoot their weapon. In a news article Stephenson was interviewed for, he

specified that officers arent trained to shoot and kill. He said We dont train to kill. We train to
stop the behavior. (Reavy). Shooting a moving target can be very difficult, and making that
target smaller by aiming for a hand or foot could possibly lead to the officer missing and the
lives of the public being in danger. An officers job is to protect the public so they wouldnt want
anything like that to happen. Part of Stephenson being the POST director is that he has to deal
with investigations of those officers who might have disobeyed federal or state laws. In an article
he notes that less than 1 percent of Utahs nearly 9,000 peace officers ever become the subject
of a POST misconduct investigation. (Liesik). That number is pretty great when thinking about
how many officers that really is.
Conclusion
Scott Stephenson is a great man, father, and law enforcement professional. He, like most other of
these professionals, picked that career so that they can help people and keep their communities
and families safe. Officers dont become officers so that they, technically, have the right to shoot
a person. Lethal force is a very serious thing, and no officer should ever have to be put into that
situation. Unfortunately, there are people here who decide to break the law, and the officers have
to keep the people safe. Luckily for our officers, it isnt all the time that a case where lethal force
is required comes up. Officers dont want to deal with it, and neither do the families or friends of
either the officer or the subject of the lethal force.

Works Cited
Liesik, Geoff. "POST Council Sanctions 12 Officers, 2 Dispatchers." Deseret News 27 Mar.
2014. Deseret News. Web. 7 Mar. 2015.
<http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865599667/POST-Council-sanctions-12-officers-2dispatchers.html?pg=all>.
Reavy, Pat. "More Question Police Tactics, but Solutions Aren't Easily Apparent." Deseret News
17 Jan. 2015. Deseret News. Web. 6 Mar. 2015.
<http://www.deseretnews.com/aboutus#about>.

"URMMA Serving Utah Municipalities." URMMA Serving Utah Municipalities. 25 June 2014.
Web. 6 Mar. 2015. <http://www.urmma.org/cal_events/summerconference2014.html>.
"Utah Department of Public Safety." Training Utah's Finest. 1 Jan. 2014. Web. 8 Mar. 2015.
<http://publicsafety.utah.gov/post/index.html>.