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Use of Force Policy Certification

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Use of Force Policy Certification Use of Force Policy Certification Agency: New London Police Department Assessor: Lt. Matthew Wagner Date: 11/20/2020 The Assessor is to review all relevant policies to determine compliance with the below listed mandatory requirements. The Agency’s use-of-force policies adhere to all applicable federal, state, and local laws. Context Compliance can be achieved by incorporating the above language into policy. If language is not present the assessor can find compliance if there are no procedures in their policy that would be in violation of the law, such as having procedures in violation of Graham v Connor, procedures in conflict with the Wisconsin DAAT Manual, etc. In Compliance Not in Compliance The Agency maintains use-of-force policies that prohibit the use of choke holds, except in those situations where the use of deadly force is allowed by law. Context Policy must include a prohibition of chokeholds for compliance. The agency may elect to allow the exception for chokeholds in those situations where the use of deadly for is justified by law, or to ban chokeholds completely. Agencies choosing to maintain the use of a Vascular Neck Restraint as a force option must clearly identify the differences between a Choke Hold and a Vascular Neck Restraint in their policy and address any procedures, restrictions, or limitations on the use of the Vascular Neck Restraint. Choke Hold – A physical maneuver that restricts an individual’s ability to breathe for the purposes of incapacitation. Vascular Neck Restraint – A technique that can be used to incapacitate individuals by restricting the flow of blood to their brain. In Compliance Not in Compliance Findings of Non-Compliance The Assessor is to document reasons for non-compliance in the space below. WISCONSIN LAW ENFORCEMENT ACCREDITATION GROUP Challenging Wisconsin’s Law Enforcement Agencies to Pursue Excellence U.S. Department of Justice’s Standards for Certification on Safe Policing for Communities. January 11, 2021 Dear Chief Jeffrey A. Schlueter, On behalf of the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Accreditation Group, this letter confirms we are certifying that the New London Police Department meets certain eligibility requirements, set forth by the U.S. Department of Justice, for discretionary federal grants. The New London Police Department is qualified to receive federal grants for three years from the date of this letter. Pursuant to Section 2 of the Presidential Executive Order on Safe Policing for Safe Communities, dated June 16, 2020, Executive Order No. 13929 (the “Executive Order on Safe Policing”), the U.S. Department of Justice’s discretionary grant funding is only available to state, local, and university or college law enforcement agencies that have obtained (or are in the process of seeking) credentials certifying that they meet certain standards on use of force. The Executive Order on Safe Policing empowers the U.S. Attorney General to designate independent credentialing bodies — including the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Accreditation Group — to certify that a law enforcement agency meets the conditions of eligibility for federal grants. Following our review, we have determined that the New London Police Department meets the mandatory conditions for certification. Accordingly, the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Accreditation Group will include your agency going forward within our database of certified law enforcement agencies. On or before January 31st of each year, we will provide the name of each certified law enforcement agency to the Director of the COPS Office. If you would like to discuss further, please do not hesitate to contact me either by email at or by phone at . Respectfully, Chief Mark Ferguson, Glendale Police Department President, Wisconsin Law Enforcement Accreditation Group POLICY & PROCEDURE NEW LONDON POLICE DEPARTMENT SUBJECT: USE OF FORCE NUMBER: 5.01 ISSUED: 01/01/2016 SCOPE: All Department Personnel EFFECTIVE: 01/01/2016 DISTRIBUTION: Policy & Procedure Manual RESCINDS AMENDS 1/18/21 REFERENCE: WI State Statutes: 66.0511(3), 939.22(14), WILEAG 4TH EDITION 939.45, 939.48, and Chapter 941; DAAT STANDARDS: 5.1.1, 5.1.2, 5.1.3, Incident Response and Disturbance 5.1.4, 5.2.1, 5.3.1, 5.3.2, 5.3.3, Resolution Model 5.3.4 INDEX AS: Control Devices DAAT (Defense and Arrest Tactics) Deadly Force De-escalation Firearms Foot Pursuits Less Lethal Weapons Non-Deadly Force Ramming with Police Vehicles Rendering Medical Aid, Use of Force Use of Force Use of Force Reporting Use of Force Review Warning Shots PURPOSE: The purpose of this Policy & Procedure is to establish policies and procedures for the New London Police Department regarding: the use of force and identifying the responsibilities of officers using force or after it has been used; to provide guidance to officers when persons become injured due to the use of force by an officer; and to provide guidelines for officers for the reporting and review of any officer-involved critical incident. This Policy & Procedure consists of the following numbered sections: 1 5.01 I. POLICY II. DEFINITIONS III. DEFENSIVE AND ARREST TACTICS (DAAT) IV. USE OF FIREARMS V. USE OF VEHICLES - BLOCKADES, BARRIERS, AND RAMMING VI. USE OF NON-DEADLY FORCE VII. USE OF RESTRAINTS VIII FOOT PURSUITS IX RENDERING MEDICAL AID X REPORTING THE USE OF FORCE I. POLICY A. It is the policy of the New London Police Department that its duty is to value and preserve human life therefore; officers shall use only the force, including less lethal force that is reasonably objective to gain control, while protecting the lives of the officer or others. Officers may include in their decision to use this force option, information known to the officer(s) at the time of the incident or conduct or statements by the subject or a prior history of resistive or assaultive behavior. Deadly force SHOULD only be used as a last resort and shall never be resorted to unless the force by the officer is objectively reasonable given the totality of the circumstances given to the officer. 1. All sworn Officers are required to follow the State of Wisconsin’s Law Enforcement Training and Standards’ system of Defensive and Arrest Tactics when making all use of force decisions. 2. Officers shall use only force that is reasonably necessary to effectively bring an incident under control, while protecting the lives of the officer and others. 3. Any person injured through the use of force by one of its officers, shall receive medical aid for such injuries. 4. It is the responsibility of any officer who uses physical force or any of the enumerated weapons, items or devices indicated below to complete an Incident Report on the incident involved and to specifically note the circumstances necessitating, and manner of, such use of force. 5. Chokeholds and the use of Lateral Vascular Neck Restraints are prohibited except in those situations where deadly force is allowed by law. 2 5.01 6. All cases where force is used shall be reviewed by the Chief of Police on a documented annual basis. II. DEFINITIONS A. DEADLY FORCE: The intentional use of a firearm or other instrument, the use of which would result in a high probability of death or great bodily harm. B. DEFENSIVE AND ARREST TACTICS (DAAT): A system of verbalization skills coupled with physical alternatives. C. DE-ESCALATION: DE-ESCALTION- Taking action or communicating verbally or non-verbally during a potential force encounter in an attempt to stabilize the situation and reduce the immediacy of the threat so that more time, options, or/and resources can be called upon to resolve the situation without the use of force or without the reduction of force necessary. D. ELECTRONIC CONTROL DEVICE (ECD): A non-lethal force weapon that causes electro-muscular disruption to a combative, violent, or potentially combative, violent subject. The use of this device is intended to incapacitate the subject with a minimal potential for causing death or great bodily harm. E. GREAT BODILY HARM: “Bodily injury which creates a substantial risk of death, or which causes serious permanent disfigurement, or which causes a permanent or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ or other serious bodily injury.” WI State Statute 939.22(14) F. NECK RESTRAINT: an action taken by the use of any force or device to the neck area to restrain a person, including but not limited to: 1. Choke Hold – A physical maneuver that restricts an individual’s ability to breathe for the purposes of incapacitation. 2. Vascular Neck Restraint – A technique that can be used to incapacitate individuals by restricting the flow of blood to their brain. G. NON-DEADLY FORCE: That amount of force which does not meet the definition of deadly force, but which is an amount of force which, in normal circumstances, can cause bodily harm. H. POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER: An anxiety disorder that can result from exposure to short-term severe stress, or the long-term buildup of repetitive and prolonged milder stress. I. REASONABLE FORCE: That force which an ordinary, prudent, and intelligent 3 5.01 person with the same knowledge of the particular situation as the officer would deem necessary. III. DEFENSE AND ARREST TACTICS A. The New London Police Department adopts the Defensive and Arrest Tactics System. This is a system designed for all police officers for the primary purpose of self-defense. This system includes the Incident Response and Disturbance Resolution Models which provide general guidelines that define the degree and type of force to be used in controlling suspects. All New London Police Officers shall be trained in the DAAT system per State Training and Standard Bureau standards. 1. An officer shall only use that amount of force which is objectively reasonable to gain control in the performance of his/her law enforcement duties.
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