CHAPTER 51 USE of FORCE June 2017
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VOL II: CHAPTER 51 USE OF FORCE June 2017 USE OF FORCE VOL. II, CH. 52. WEAPONS. I. POLICY II. CHECKLIST (N/A) The use of force by law enforcement is a matter of III. DEFINITIONS critical concern to the public and the law enforcement community. Officers are involved on Active Aggression: Any physical action(s) a daily basis in numerous and varied encounters against a police officer(s) and/or another person, with people, and when warranted to do so, may with less than deadly force. use force in carrying out their duties. Active Resistance: Any action by a subject(s) It is the policy of the Department that each that attempts to prevent a police officer(s) from incident involving the application of any degree of gaining control of the subject(s). physical force upon the person of another must be evaluated based on the facts known to the officer Critical Firearm Discharge: Any discharge of a at the time of the incident. The totality of the firearm by a Cheverly Police Officer with the circumstances will be considered when reviewing exception of range/training firings and discharges use of force incidents. at animals for the purpose of humanely destroying them. Under no circumstances may the use of physical force be more than that which is necessary to Force: Any physical coercion used to effect, achieve a lawful purpose. Officers are permitted influence, or persuade a subject to comply with an to use only the amount of force that is objectively order from an officer; the term shall include the reasonable and necessary to protect themselves or use of chemical irritants and the deployment of others from what is reasonably believed to be a canine, but shall not include ordinary, unresisted threat of death or bodily harm, to make an arrest, handcuffing or unresisted use of the Hobble strap. or gain compliance with a lawful order. Verbal commands should be used to gain compliance. Hard Personal Weapons: Strike applied and Whether the use of force is objectively reasonable intended to overcome a physical assault or active shall be judged from the perspective of an officer threat of assault upon the officer or another (a at the time of the incident, based upon facts strike with a closed fist or a kick). known or reasonably available to him or her. Less Lethal Force: Any force that is neither Every member of the Police Department shall likely nor intended to cause death or serious refrain from using force unnecessarily and shall physical injury. prevent similar conduct by others. The use of excessive force will subject officers to discipline, Deadly Force: Any force likely to cause death or possible criminal prosecution, or civil liability. serious physical injury, including, but not limited The use of chokeholds and similar carotid holds to, the use of a firearm. by members of the Department is prohibited. Passive Resistance: Any type of non-physical The use of reasonable physical force by officers is resistance where a subject(s) will not voluntarily authorized in situations that cannot be otherwise comply with verbal or physical attempts at control controlled. by a police officer(s). Any time an officer uses force, he or she shall Personal Weapon: Any use of hands, elbows, ensure that appropriate medical treatment or first knees, and feet to deliver strikes for the purpose of aid is provided to the subject of the force without stunning or distracting a suspect to overcome unnecessary delay. resistance NOTE: For restrictions and prohibitions on the Reasonable Belief: Facts or circumstances that an use of specific weapons including Firearms, See: officer knows or should know, that cause a CHEVERLY POLICE DEPARTMENT Vol II-51 1 of 10 GENERAL ORDERS MANUAL VOL II: CHAPTER 51 USE OF FORCE June 2017 reasonable and prudent officer to act or think in a options available to officers. It is a fluid similar way under similar circumstances instrument, which attempts to depict the dynamics of a confrontation. The continuum is only a guide Serious Physical Injury: Bodily injury that and cannot take into consideration every possible creates a substantial risk of death, causes serious situation that an officer may face. permanent disfigurement, or results in long-term impairment of the functioning of the body Certain factors, when considered collectively, may influence an officer's determination of how Serious Use of Force: Is an incident in which an much force to use to overcome a subject's officer's action resulted in: resistance. Examples of factors include, but are not limited to: Death, or the likelihood of death Hospitalization Officer/subject factors such as age, size, A broken bone strength, injury, exhaustion, and number of Loss of consciousness officers versus number of subjects Serious disfigurement Whether the subject is under the influence of Disability drugs or alcohol All incidents where a person receives a bite Proximity to weapons from a police canine Availability of other options Firearms discharge directed at a person Type or seriousness of the offense All Critical Firearm Discharges Risk of escape Training and experience of the officer(s) Soft Personal Weapons: Strike applied to a nerve Exigent circumstances. motor point as a stunning or distraction technique to cause a motor dysfunction and balance It is important to note that an officer does not displacement in order to control a resistant subject need to use the lowest level of force on the (an open hand strike or knee strike to a nerve continuum when the officer can articulate that a motor point) higher level of force was reasonable. This continuum should be viewed as a sliding scale, IV. FORMS not a ladder. An officer may use force at any level on the continuum, provided that the force selected Commander's Information/Use of Force is objectively reasonable. Report CEW Use Report 2. Tactical Options Continuation Report Incident Report Engagement V. PROCEDURES Whenever possible, officers should use communication skills to attempt to control Officers may use force to: situations. Verbal communication is essential throughout the arrest process to deescalate the Effect an arrest situation. Distance gives an officer more time to Prevent escape evaluate and react appropriately to a threat. An Overcome resistance to a lawful order or officer should continually reassess his or her action options throughout an incident and take into Protect others or themselves from bodily account that high-risk incidents are fluid and harm continually changing. An officer should look for indicators of imminent assault. An officer should 1. Use of Force Continuum Overview consider using cover and concealment when it is available and movement (dynamic cover) when it The use of force continuum is designed to provide is not. Whenever possible, subjects should be an overview and visual representation of the force allowed to submit to arrest before force is used. CHEVERLY POLICE DEPARTMENT Vol II-51 2 of 10 GENERAL ORDERS MANUAL VOL II: CHAPTER 51 USE OF FORCE June 2017 Identifiable Off-Duty or Plain Clothes Disengagement Officer) Command presence including the display of authority as a peace officer, and Rushing in to make an immediate apprehension is non-verbal communication such as body not always necessary or appropriate. Frequently, language and manner of approach; verbal such action reduces an officer's range of available direction includes statements and commands options. Methods of tactical disengagement given to the subject include, but are not limited to: Low Level Control (Escort Techniques): Low Level Control includes escort Area containment techniques used to remove a non-cooperative Surveillance subject; far example, open hand escort to Waiting out a subject direct movement Summoning reinforcements Intermediate Level of Control (Chemical Requesting specialized units agents, ECD, Pressure Points, Joint Manipulation, and Control Holds): 3. Use of Force Continuum Includes the use of Departmentally issued chemical agents, the E.C.D., and the use of Subject's Actions approved pressure points, joint control holds, and takedowns; it may also include soft Conduct observed or intentions reasonably personal weapons strikes used to stun or perceived by the officer. distract prior to applying control holds; the use of soft personal weapons in this instance Cooperative or Compliant: Complies with is not a means intended to defeat resistance, verbal commands or other directions but rather to gain control; for example, an Passive Resistance or Non-Compliant: open hand strike to the upper torso or a knee Uncooperative when taken into custody or strike to nerve motor point in the leg for the fails to respond to verbal commands or other purpose of stunning and distracting a subject directions in order to apply a control hold Active Resistance: Physically evasive High Level of Control: Includes the use of movements to defeat the officer's attempt at hard personal weapon strikes, control, to include bracing, tensing, pushing, Departmentally issued tactical baton, less or verbally signaling an intention not to be lethal launchers, and a police canine; the use taken into or retained in custody, provided of hard personal weapons strikes in this that the intent to resist has been clearly instance is intended to overcome a subject's manifested aggressive resistance when necessary to gain Active Aggression: Physical assault, or control; for example, a closed fist strike or active threat of assault, upon the officer or kick delivered to neutralize an active assault another on an officer Life Threatening Assault: An attack or Lethal Force: Includes the use of a firearm threat to attack wherein an officer reasonably or any force which has a reasonable believes that the assault will result in serious likelihood of causing death or serious physical injury or death physical injury, officers may only use lethal force when they have an objectively Officer's Actions reasonable belief the suspect poses an imminent threat of death or serious physical Conduct designed to overcome resistance through injury to the officer or another person force that is objectively reasonable and necessary to achieve a lawful objective.