bad_training unhinged 'like the officers in the above accounts, officers frequently cite factors learned in bpd's training on 'characteristics of an armed person' such as 'grabbing one's waistband' or 'wearing loose clothing.' officers appear to use these factors to justify the force they use during or following pursuits, asserting that they believe individuals who exhibit any one of these factors to be armed. bpd provides their training on 'characteristics of an armed person' to teach officers to identify when person may be armed, which may provide reasonable suspicion for a stop. bpd training instructors warn students that there may be false positives, and informed us that they instruct students that EIGHTY PERCENT (!!!!!) of individuals who show characteristics of an armed person - such as wearing loose or baggy clothing, or grabbing their waistbands while running - will NOT be armed (105). despite purportedly being trained on false positives, BPD officers nevertheless frequently engage in foot pursuits and use force on individuals based solely on factors such as 'wearing loose clothing.' we found that this results, at times, in the use of excessive force.' (105) it is highly unlikely that only eighty percent of individuals who are wearing loose or baggy clothing are unarmed. nevertheless, this training gave officers clear notice that even a person who is displaying some of the characteristics of an armed person is most likely to be unarmed. BPD officers also appear to be relying too heavily on only a single characteristic of an armed person, rather than a set of characteristics that, when combined, together indicate that a person is armed. - from the united states department of justice report on the baltimore police department 170815 what's it to you? who go blather from