Teachers Hear How To Keep Peace Police Tell Group That Acknowledging Person’s Anger Is A Good Place To Start

Teachers took lessons from veteran cops Friday on how to keep violence from erupting in their classrooms.

Never tell an angry student to calm down. Don’t turn your back. If all else fails, ask about his dachshund.

“Just calm down” is the most ineffective - although common - advice a schoolteacher can give, said Jim Hatch, an officer with the Spokane Police Department.

“That’s like walking into a doctor’s office with gangrene and the doctor looks at you and says, ‘Get well.’

“It’s extremely condescending and can escalate a situation.”

About 60 teachers and counselors from Eastern Washington schools listened intently as Hatch and Sgt. Judi Carl shared some of the tips “baby police officers” learn.

“The general population isn’t aware of how much verbal abuse teachers take without knowing how to defuse it,” said Mary Pegg, a Riverside High School teacher.

Pegg spent the day at the “Targeting Violence” workshop sponsored by the Spokane County Medical Society and Educational Service District 101.

It’s not only about students, Pegg added. “We get very angry parents …”

A good place to start, Carl said, is by acknowledging the person’s anger. “That’s what they want,” she said. “It sounds like this: ‘Man, you are really angry.”’

Forget the ‘70s advice on adopting a melodious, soothing voice, said Carl, a graveyard shift patrol supervisor. Try to sound just a bit less intense than the angry person.

“You know when someone talks to you like this,” she said quietly, “you want to reach over and rip out their tongue.”

If a student is extremely angry, watch his body language closely, Hatch said. A cold stare or a quick once-over could mean he’s sizing up a teacher for a fight.

“That’s when you need distance from that person. It may go beyond talk,” Carl said. Some police officers feign confusion, an “excellent tactic” to move someone from blind anger to a stage where they begin to think logically, Carl said.

“I’m not really sure I understand …” is one such approach, she said.

“Your goal here is problem-solving, keeping them in the reasoning portion of their brain.”

Then there’s the puppy ploy, successfully used by one police officer sent to interview an angry homeowner who wouldn’t let other cops past his front gate, Carl said. He approached the homeowner, and thinking quickly, focused on the dachshund at his feet.

“Is that your wiener dog?” the officer asked enthusiastically. Within minutes, he was in the living room.

, DataTimes