24-147 Department General Order 5.01 "Use of Force" Update Packet #113

The purpose of this directive is to announce the revision of Department General Order 5.01 Use of Force, adopted by the Police Commission on September 4, 2024. Members will be held accountable for this policy starting Saturday, October 19, 2024.

The major updates in this policy include, but are not limited to the following:

5.01.07, Types of Force, revisions are as follows:

• Type I [non-reportable]: the following language was removed: "(1) is reasonably unlikely to cause pain or injury".
• Type II [reportable]: the following language was removed: "is reasonably likely to cause pain or injury, or (2) cause transitory pain or injury".
  • Language was added in Type II to now state "reported complaints of pain should be reported on BWC or CAD". However, complaints of physical injury must be documented in a written report (5.01.09).
    • A complaint of pain and a complaint of injury are different. Examples include:
      • Complaint of pain"these handcuffs hurt" can be documented with BWC.
      • Complaint of injury "I think the handcuffs broke my wrist" needs to be documented in writing.

5.01.08 Force Options, Section G.5 Drawing and Exhibiting a Firearm revisions are as follows:

• Sections Sa and Sb were combined into a new section Sa. The language was amended and now reads in full "the officer shall document and articulate the justification for the Drawing and Exhibiting of the firearm on B WC or CAD or in the corresponding incident report and shall notify a supervisor".
• A new section Sb was created and now reads "When multiple officers Draw and Exhibit in the same incident, and an incident report is required, a single reporting officer who is in the best position to provide an accurate and concise report may write the report on behalf of all officers involved. The reporting officer shall identify all officers on scene and indicate whether they articulated the justification for their Drawing and Exhibiting on BWC'.

5.01.09 Use of Force Reporting, Section A Reportable Uses of Force revisions are as follows:

• Reportable Use ofForce was amended to now include, "Officers shall be required to provide a written report for uses of force only when (1) the use of force resulted in a physical injury, including where the officer believes the use of force is likely to have caused a physical injury or where a person has complained of a physical injury; or (2) an officer removed a firearm from a holster and pointed the firearm at a person or used it to compel a person to comply. In all other instances involving a reportable use of force, the officers shall satisfy these reporting requirements using body-worn cameras, to the maximum extent possible".

5.01.09 Use of Force Reporting, Section B Procedures revisions are as follows:

• Section B (1), Officer's Responsibility now includes an exception that reads "Type II uses of force only resulting in complaints of pain shall be reported to a supervisor and shall be documented on B WC or CAD"
• Section B(I )(c) was created. It now reads "When multiple officers use force in the same incident, all reportable uses of force shall be documented by a single reporting officer who is in the best position to provide an accurate and concise report. Witness officers are authorized to use their body worn camera recordings as documentation of what occurred. The reporting officer shall identify all officers on scene and indicate whether the B WC of a witnessing officer or an officer using force was activated and whether it captured footage related to the incident.
  
  Depending on the level of force used and the nature of the incident, involved officers other than the reporting officer, may submit their own written statement form or supplemental incident report if the officers deem it necessary or at the direction of a supervisor
  
  Witnessing officers who fail to activate their B WC are required to explain the reason for non-activation in their report or statement pursuant to DGO 10.11".

Lieutenants, sergeants, and training coordinators should read, review, and discuss this policy during line-ups.

Further training to supplement DGO 5.01 will be forthcoming.

Members are expected to have a working knowledge of all directives applicable to their respective assignment and comply with their provisions, per DGO 3.01, Department Written Directives. Members shall obey all written orders, policies, and procedures of the Department, per DGO 2.01, General Rules of Conduct.

Department General Order update packet #113 is attached to this Notice and is available to members on the PowerDMS site.

/s/
WILLIAM SCOTT 
Chief of Police

Per DN 23-152, all sworn & non-sworn members shall electronically acknowledge this Department document in PowerDMS within (30) thirty calendar days of issuance. Members whose duties are relevant to this document shall be held responsible for compliance. Any questions regarding this policy should be sent to [email protected] who will provide additional information.