Ferguson-Inspired Police Course Promises: You Can ‘Win With the Media’!

The St. Louis County and Municipal Police Academy is promising to teach officers how to “win the media” in the event of an officer-involved shooting.

The class (pdf), which was inspired by Michael Brown’s shooting death in Ferguson, Mo. in August, will be “highly entertaining” and “fast-paced,” with bonus “NO PowerPoint!”

The advertisement for the course, which is titled “Officer-Involved Shooting—You Can Win With the Media,” reads in part as follows: 

You will learn a lot, and you’ll have fun doing it! In addition to the detailed case study of Ferguson (including numerous practical tips for handling the media in an officer-involved shooting) topics will include:

* Meet the 900-Pound Gorilla
* DWI and the Media
* Feeding the Animals
* “No comment” is a comment
* Don’t Get Stuck on Stupid!
* Managing Media Assault and Battery
* Managing the Media When Things Get Ugly (think Ferguson)
* Managing the Media in a Crisis (including lessons learned from the Newtown, CT school shooting.)

It is unclear as to what “the 900-Pound Gorilla” and “Feeding the Animals” refer to, but officers attending the Oct. 24 class from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. will certainly find out.