What We Do

Customized Training & Consulting for

Tactical De-escalation Solutions

Threat Assessment  /  De-escalation

Crisis & Suicide Intervention  /  Use of Force

Law enforcement tactics cover a variety of topics. While every agency has their own policies, procedures and training regiments, core tenets and best practices such as Time, Distance, and Shielding, Contact & Cover, or Exposure vs Effectiveness tend to be woven throughout. Good training employs reality-based training and follows the principle of creating tactical thinkers, rather than trying to provide a codex for every possible scenario. 

De-escalation is the use of words and actions to reduce a heightened emotional and physical state, mitigate potential risk, and facilitate calm and rational interactions. Police use de-escalation as a tool when they recognize a person’s state of behavioral escalation prevents effective communication and objective problem-solving. 

De-escalation is a response option and should only be attempted when it is safe to do so. 

Tactical De-Escalation combines the two principles; providing tools and techniques to recognize and navigate crisis situations. There is no 100% guaranteed approach to ensure every encounter is successfully de-escalated.  Implementing the strategies of tactical de-escalation will ensure that practitioners  have the tools available to mitigate emotionally charged situations in a safe manner.

Eric was a Lieutenant overseeing the Directed Outreach Section in the Collaborative Policing Bureau for the Seattle Police Department – to include the Crisis Response Unit (CRU) and the Homeless Outreach group. Eric also served as the Crisis Intervention (CIT) Coordinator for the Department. The CIT Coordinator is responsible for implementing and sustaining all aspects of the Department’s crisis intervention program. 

Lt Pisconski served on the Force Review Board as a subject matter expert (SME) related to crisis intervention / de-escalation tactics and the intersection with force applications. He previously spent 5 years as the Sergeant of the Crisis Response Team (CRT). Their mission is to support patrol field operations utilizing a co-responder model (partnering a Mental Health Professional (MHP) with an officer) and applicable follow-up in criminal and non-criminal cases involving a behavioral health nexus.  CRT also develops individually tailored response plans and pursues Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPO’s) for individuals meeting established criteria. 

Over 10,000 cases annually are routed to the CRU. 

Eric was actively involved in the Crisis Intervention aspect of law enforcement since 2007; and assigned as the lead for Crisis/De-escalation in the Seattle Department’s Training Unit in 2014. Eric was a lead instructor and created various training courses for Tactical De-Escalation and ‘Officer Approaches to De-Escalation and Interacting with Persons in Crisis’ for the BJA sponsored VALOR training nationally and the Seattle branch of the FBI.  

He was also a member of Washington’s “Safer Homes – Suicide Aware” Taskforce and served as a subject matter expert for multiple State legislative forums. 

Lt Pisconski has presented at the National Co-Responders Conference, the CIT International Conferences, NAMI- annual conferences, and the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) – Integrating Communications, Assessment, and Tactics (ICAT) seminar as a subject matter expert. 

Eric has also served as a moderator for both the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission - Basic Law Enforcement Academy Crisis Intervention and the Federal Bureau of Investigation Hostage Negotiator trainings.