Local policing expert urges analysis of supervisors when it comes to use of force by rank and file

Dr. Stan Stojkovic,Dean at the Helen Bader School of Social Welfare at UW Milwaukee says it's not just the actions of the officer who pulled the trigger that should be examined in excessive force investigations.

"The question is are they properly trained? And most importantly, are they supervised?" Dr. Stojokovic tells CBS 58's Michele McCormack. "Is there good leadership? Good management? That is the key, much more so than training. Training is important. I don't want to mininmize that. But going forward not just accountability of the rank and file but the people who lead and manage those organizations."

The interview coming on the heels of a controversial deputy-involved shooting along Milwaukee's lakefront and a mass shooting at Congressional baseball practice in Virginia.

Police Departments across the country could very well be assessing their training and asking themselves are they ready should the worst happen in their own backyard.

Especially in light of the heroics by two Capitol Police Officers who were wounded when they brought down the gunman who opened fire on Republican members of congress.

They were there because Republican Whip Steve Scalise was part of the group. Scalise was critically wounded. Doctors say he's better than he was when he first came in but that they won't give a prognosis for his recovery just yet.

"They were there and that was more luck than anything else,"" acknowledged Professor Stojkovic. 

For those who study criminal justice trends, this is an example of the success laid our years ago  when communities started seeing active shooter training as a necessity not a luxury.

But there are challenges given the growing segment of the population that because of excessive force cases, worries about a militarization of local police.

"I think the training out there now is much better than it was years ago," the Professor tells CBS 58 News. "And there have been many more resources. And the expectations of communities sometimes justifiable when there was a wrongful shoot. Now we have the opportunity to say do you have the training and the training is what you're held accountable."

The professor does not think the increasing attention given to mass shootings will impact recruiting.

He says those who are called to this line of work accept the risk from the onset.