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May 13, 2008 7:47 pm US/Eastern
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Off-Duty Officer's Death Prompts Calls For Change
Christopher Ridley Was Killed In Friendly Fire Shooting
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (CBS) ―
The tragic friendly fire death of a suburban police officer leads to a call for change in police training.
Tuesday marked day two of weapons of mass destruction training for recruits at the Westchester County Police Academy. By contrast - recruits here get just a half-day training on so called off-duty confrontations - when on-duty officers respond to calls involving off-duty cops.
One such confrontation ended tragically last January, when Mt. Vernon Detective Christopher Ridley was shot dead by four county cops who mistook him for an armed suspect. On Tuesday, a panel that reviewed police training in the aftermath of Ridley's death issued a report calling for change.
The 'use of force' report calls for a dramatic increase in off-duty confrontation training, the creation of a dispatch warning system to alert cops there may ben an off-duty officer involved in an incident and the holding of a county-wide police training summit.
The summit would focus on the in-service training, continuing education, that all Westchester County Police receive after they leave the academy.
The panel harshly criticized Westchester's 43 police departments for failing to standardize in-service training.
"All agencies in the county should really be doing the same thing, same content, same approach, same procedures when it comes to the teaching," said panel chairman Paul O'Connell.
At Tuesday's 'Police Week Ceremony,' Ridley's mother said the recommendations should resonate beyond Westchester.
"They ened to re-train every police officer nationwide, this issue is happening more and more, numerous times, it needs to be stopped," said Felita Rucker Bouche, Ridley's mother.
The family is suing the county, claiming inadequate training contributed to Ridley's death at the police academy. The panel did find that training at the Westchester Academy meets or exceeds every standard set by the state.
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