LAPD

Pioneering LAPD Psychologist Who Advised Hostage Negotiators, Spotted Officer Stress, Dies

Martin Reiser advised hostage negotiators, began officer-involved shooting debriefings and trained helped spot early signs of stress

Martin Reiser, the first full-time staff psychologist for the Los Angeles Police Department, has died. He was 87.

His daughter, Mary Brussel, told the Los Angeles Times that Reiser died Saturday at his home from leukemia.

Reiser joined the LAPD in 1968. He recalled that at the time, there was a lot of skepticism and distrust between police and mental health professionals.

Reiser advised negotiators at hostage standoffs, began debriefings for officers involved in shootings and trained field sergeants to spot early signs of stress. He developed psychological profiles in high-profile cases such as the Hillside Strangler killings of the 1970s.

He also founded an institute to teach attorneys, judges and detectives about using hypnosis to obtain crime information -- although the reliability of the procedure has been challenged.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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