Community Meeting Coming together to discuss use of force

Agenda • How we got here: laws governing police use of force

• Use of force: around the country and in Saint Paul

• Culture shift: a 21st century approach in Saint Paul

• The draft policy: an overview

• Questions, comments and ideas

• RRA - Response to Resistance and Aggression

• UOF - Use of Force

• DT - Defensive Tactics

Please note: These terms will be used interchangeably.

Synonyms

The Chief’s Mandate SPPD officers will only use force that is:

reasonable, necessary and done with respect

State Statutes

Policy

& Training

Federal Case Law

SPPD Use-of-Force Guidelines

What constitutes reasonable force by a police officer?

Graham vs. Connor Landmark U.S. Supreme Court case governing police use of force

The severity of the crime believed to have been committed by the suspect.

Did the suspect present an immediate threat to to the safety of officers or the public?

Was the suspect actively resisting arrest or

attempting to escape ?

Key: totality of the circumstances

No 20/20 hindsight

Determine what a reasonable officer would have done at the time of incident.

Other factors that influence use of force

• Subject size, age and ability vs. officer size, age and ability

• Subjects known history

• Availability of weapons

• Number of suspects vs. number of officers present

• Environmental factors

• Weather conditions

• Officer exhaustion/injury

• Subjects behavior and actions

Levels of subject resistance

Subject’s actions don’t

necessarily intend to

cause harm

Active Resistance

Subject’s actions

intend to cause harm

Aggressive Aggravated Aggressive

Passive Resistance

Training more than tactics • Is the officer’s intervention fully legal?

• Is there an urgent need to resolve the situation?

• Is the use of force proportional to the person’s resistance?

• Does the officer’s conduct precipitate the use of force?

• Is the officer’s behavior appropriate and professional?

• Would an officer with similar training use the same amount

of force?

Use of force: what we know • More than 800,000 police officers in the U.S.

• 10’s of millions of contacts with the public each year

• Nationally, police use force in less than 1% of those

contacts (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2008)

• In Saint Paul, police use force in only two-tenths of 1%

(.2%) of contacts

• Urgency to resolve every situation quickly • Using repeated loud verbal commands • Focused on single officer techniques opposed to team

control techniques • Pressure points and striking (punches and kicks) to gain

control of subjects resisting arrest • Dependence on intermediate tools (Taser, baton and

pepper spray)

An evolution: traditionally, U.S. police training has focused on …

SPPD evolving tactics • Based on best practices and policy models

from around the country

• Our goals: 1. Increase safety for everyone involved 2. Emphasize de-escalation techniques 3. Reduce the level of force used 4. Increase technique effectiveness 5. Increase officer confidence 6. Enhance community trust

Leverage-based control techniques

vs Striking and pain compliance techniques

• Does not rely on pain compliance

• Leverage-based not strength-based

• Smaller officers can use techniques effectively against larger subjects

• Effectiveness increases when using multiple officers

• Increased the availability of lower level force options

• Requires more training time

The culture shift: beginning with the 2015 SPPD Police Academy

• New RRA curriculum introduced

• Emphasis on de-escalation skills

• Utilize team tactics

• Soft empty hand control techniques

• Included UOF scenario based training to enhance decision

making

• Officers constantly evaluate and de-escalate force when feasible

Changing the culture: department-wide RRA implementation

• In 2016, the SPPD began training all officers during

annual in-service

• In 2017, BWCs showed officers: • Using de-escalation techniques • Slowing down when possible • Getting additional resources • Using good team tactics • Using soft empty hand techniques to gain control

Draft RRA Policy • Reflects SPPD values and training • De-escalation (emphasizes time, distance and teamwork) • Distinguishes between passive and aggressive resistance • Duty to intervene more clearly defined • Medic response • Increased supervisor oversight • New model replaces outdated use-of-force continuum • Promotes critical decision making • Better aligns with shared values of community and the SPPD

SPPD RRA continuum

Draft RRA model

The Saint Paul Police Department protects people, their property, and their rights by providing

trusted service with respect every day without exception - including during encounters that require the use of force to respond to resistance or aggression. Although officers seek to resolve encounters without force whenever possible, as guardians of public safety and welfare, there are times when officers are called upon to use force to keep others, or themselves, safe. In those times, officers are mindful that they derive their authority from the community and that unreasonable force degrades the legitimacy of that authority and the public trust. This policy guides officers to use the least amount of force that is reasonable and necessary to achieve a lawful objective, and to serve all individuals with respect.

Regardless of the circumstances, officers will see the value of every person they serve and honor their human and civil rights.

Questions and Ideas