combined-10th-11th-report.pdf

Negotiated Settlement Agreement, Combined Tenth and Eleventh Semi-Annual Report December 2008 Settlement Agreement Language “By July 20, 2004, OPD must develop and implement a policy to enhance the Use of Force Review Board. The Settlement Agreement sets forth certain criteria that must be included in this policy.” Status: In Policy, Training, and Partial Practice Compliance During the current reporting period, the IMT conducted a review of Task 26 and found OPD to be in partial compliance. Deliverables ¢ Revised Departmental General Order K-4, Reporting the Use of Force ¢ Revised Departmental General Order K-4.1, Investigating the Use of Force e Training Bulletin III-H, Use of Less Lethal Force e Newor revised Report Writing Manual insert Implementation Activities The Use of Force policies were published on February 18, 2006. IMT Audit Summary During this reporting period, the IMT conducted a compliance assessment of Task 26 and found OPD in partial compliance with this task. Task 26.1 requires the OPD Force Review Board (FRB) to review all Level 2 Use of Force Investigations following completion of investigation of the incident by a supervisor. Under current policy, the following types of force are considered Level 2 uses of force: any strike to the head (except for intentional strikes with an impact weapon which are considered Level 1 uses of force); carotid restraints that do not result in the loss of consciousness; uses of impact weapons where contact is made; unintentional firearms discharges that do not result in any injuries; police canine bites; and any use of force which results in injuries to the subject requiring emergency medical treatment or hospital admittance. During the time period for the cases the IMT reviewed, use of a taser was also considered a Level 2 use of force subject to review by the FRB. The IMT found that the FRB reviewed cach of the investigations in the IMT audit sample following completion of an incident investigation by a supervisor. Accordingly, the IMT found OPD in compliance with Task 26.1. However, the IMT noted that some FRB reviews seemed perfunctory, perhaps due to the lack of a consistent high-level command presence at the FRBs. After the IMT brought this to the Department's attention, a change was made to require that a deputy chief, patrol captain, or other experienced captain attend the board. The IMT praised this positive development as critical for the Department. Task 26.2 requires the FRB to make a recommendation regarding whether the use of force was in or out of policy for every Level 2 use of force. The FRB made a recommendation in all of the Level 2 cases assessed. Accordingly, OPD is in compliance with Task 26.2. Task 26.3 requires that all FRB determinations that a use of force is out of compliance with OPD policy be forwarded to the Internal Affairs Division for investigation. Since the FRB did not 55