“Angel of Death” Psychologist Trains Cops to Shoot First, Question Later, Cashes in at Killer Police Trials

By Cassandra Fairbanks | PINAC | August 4, 2015

Dr. William J. Lewinski travels the country explaining to cops why they should not think twice before they shoot suspects – and then charges $1,000 an hour to speak at their trials to justify it when they take his advice.

The self taught “expert” has testified or consulted in over 200 trials to date.

As the leading figure who as a behavioral psychologist trains cops to shoot first and question later, courts seem to accept both his pseudoscientific theories of policing and unlimited list of excuses presented after the fact too.

Lewinski has provided “expert testimony” in some extremely high profile and outrageous cases, such as the case of Oscar Grant by California’s BART PD.

He’s also currently working with the defense of the killers of James Boyd – a homeless man shot to death by Albuquerque police who were harassing him for “illegal camping.”

Those cops said hours before shooting Boyd that they planned to shoot him in the penis, but somehow avoided 1st a degree murder rap and are on trial for 2nd degree murder for shooting him in the midsection.

No matter what the case, even if a suspect is unarmed or shot in the back, Lewinski can be there (provided you pay the fee!) to explain why it was justified.

Lewinski owns the Force Science Institute, which has trained tens of thousands of officers to shoot first, and deal with the blowback later.

Some of the dangerous ideas that this company pushes include shooting before you see a weapon, claiming that by the time you see one it could be too late.

His beliefs have been widely criticized, with the American Journal of Psychology calling his work (which is not peer-reviewed) “pseudoscience” and even the Department of Justice has stated that his work lacks in “foundation and reliability.”

In both 2011 and 2012 the Federal Department Of Justice (DOJ) asked Lisa Fournier, an editor at the American Journal of Psychology to review his work.

Her findings stated that Lewinski lacks basic elements of legitimate research and came to conclusions unsupported by the data.

She summarized the work of Lewinski and his “Institute” as invalid and unreliable.

Despite the DOJ knowing the guy is a crock, they still shockingly hired him months later anyways, paying him $55,000 to help defend a federal drug agent who killed an unarmed teenager in California.

Then DOJ endorsed sending him to Seattle to train officers there as part of an excessive force settlement.

He was later paid $15,000 to train the US Marshals too.

When it comes down to it, the DOJ knows that he is capable of manipulating a jury, and are willing to shell out the dough for his services, even after acknowledging that Lewinski’s work is unreliable and he is only an “expert” of  his own pseudoscience.

“People die because of this stuff,” said John Burton, a California lawyer who specializes in police misconduct cases told the New York Times. “When they give these cops a pass, it just ripples through the system.”

It does not seem to matter even when there is obvious guilt and that an officer clearly lied.

“Jurors needed an explanation for how the officer could be so wrong and still be innocent,” Matt Apuzzo wrote in the New York Times.

Jurors, as we continuously see, need police to be the good guys, so that they can feel safe and protected in their little bubbles. Thankfully, it seems, those bubbles are beginning to burst.

Citizens should remain vigilant and tell their elected officials to black list the Force Science Institute and “Dr.” William J. Lewinski.

The “Angel of Death” won’t give up his meal ticket without a fight, and he might be training your police or testifying in a court near you.