4.2.1 (LE1) Reporting Uses of Force

4.2.1 (LE1)

(M M M M) (LE1) Reporting Uses of Force

A written report is submitted whenever an employee:

a.discharges a firearm, for other than training or recreational purposes;

b.~~takes an action~~ applies force that results in, or is alleged to have resulted in, injury or death of another person;

c.applies force through the use of lethal or less lethal weapons; or

d.applies weaponless physical force at a level as defined by the agency.

Commentary

The intent of this standard is to establish use of force or response to resistance reporting systems within the agency for effective review and analysis. The reporting systems should help identify trends, improve training and employee safety, and provide timely information for the agency addressing use of force issues with the public. Early and accurate reporting helps establish agency credibility.

Software programs may be used to generate the necessary reporting elements of this standard or the agency may choose to use a variety of reporting methods to document use of force or response to resistance incidents, based on severity or other established criteria.

This standard could include documenting the pointing of weapons or using weaponless, hand-to-hand control techniques. These techniques include, but are not limited to: physical touching, gripping or holding, frisking, pain compliance measures, pressure point application, come-alongs, handcuffing, or other custodial procedures. It should be noted that some agencies have had success documenting this type of information, using a standard checklist report format associated with the arrest or incident report.

In deciding the threshold of when to generate a use of force or response to resistance report and how extensive the report needs to be, the agency should carefully examine all incidents wherein its employees have caused, or are alleged to have caused death or injury to another, have accidentally or intentionally discharged a firearm, or have applied weaponless force upon another to the extent it is likely to cause or lead to unforeseen injury, claim of injury, or allegations of excessive force, e.g., the use of neck holds, four point restraints (commonly referred to as the hog-tie restraint), punches, or kicks. The agency should also consider who is required to write reports when multiple employees were engaged in the same use of force incident.

If physically able, the primary employee involved should be required to verbally report his/her involvement within a specified time period. The verbal report should be committed to writing as soon as practical, thereafter. Written procedures should state by whom, when, and how the report will be submitted. The standard is not intended to document actions taken to euthanize animals. Time sensitive standard. (M M M M) (LE1)