A REPORT ON THE USE OF FORCE BY BETHLEHEM POLICE July 13, 2020 CHIEFS OF POLICE ASSOCIATION 4.1353114' ?353. 10?5?. ?Jn 9mm wit? owl. Community? This report contains information on the Bethlehem Police Department and its Use of Force Directive. Mark A. DiLuzio Chief of Police - r53" g?h CITY OF BETHLEHEM DEPARTMENT OF POLICE 10 East Church Street, Bethlehem, 18018-6025 A REPORT ON USE OF FORCE BY BPD OFFICERS Police Of?cers are trained and authorized by law to use force under certain circumstances. Each state has its own laws, case law and regulations addressing the use of force. The Federal Government and the Department of Justice also have case law and guidelines on the use of force for law enforcement. Each police department thus should have a written use of force policy that is in compliance with their state law, federal laws, guidelines and standards. The policy should specify under what conditions force is authorized, the type of force authorized, the level of force authorized and de-escalation techniques that should be utilized. Every police citizen contact is different. Some are very casual and some become very violent very quickly. No two situations are the same, nor are any two of?cers the same. According to independent research sources, it is estimated that police agencies in the US. handle approximately 192,851,292 calls and made approximately 11,000,000 arrests a year. Today, use of force is being questioned because of several questionable police - citizen incidents involving force that resulted in deaths and serious injuries. To understand Police and the use of force by police of?cers, we ?rst must understand what force is, what is unreasonable force, what is deadly force and what the law in is about the use of force. l?What is force? Force is the amount of effort required by a police officer to compel compliance by an unwilling subject. 2-What is unreasonable force? Law enforcement of?cers should use only the amount of force necessary and reasonable to mitigate an incident, make an arrest, or protect themselves or others from harm. The levels, or continuum, of force police use range from basic verbal commands and physical restraint, less-lethal force, and lethal force. 3-What is deadly force? Deadly force is force which, under the circumstances in which it is used, is readily capable of causing death or serious bodily injury to an individual. 4?What is the Law in Pa.? Use of force in law enforcement. Pa. C.S., Title 18, Section 508, Peace of?cer's use of force in making arrest. (1) A peace of?cer, or any person whom he has summoned or directed to assist him, need not retreat or desist from efforts to make a lawful arrest because of resistance or threatened resistance to the arrest. He is justi?ed in the use of any force which he believes to be necessary to effect the arrest and of any force which he believes to be necessary to defend himself or another from bodily harm while making the arrest. However, he is justi?ed in using deadly force only when he believes that such force is necessary to prevent death or serious bodily injury to himself or such other person, or when he believes both that: such force is necessary to prevent the arrest from being defeated by resistance or escape; and (ii) the person to be arrested has committed or attempted a forcible felony or is attempting to escape and possesses a deadly weapon, or otherwise indicates that he will endanger human life or in?ict serious bodily injury unless arrested without delay. (2) A peace of?cer making an arrest pursuant to an invalid warrant is justified in the use of any force which he would be justified in using if the warrant were valid, unless he knows that the warrant is invalid. When utilizing force, context counts. You must remember that no two situations are the same, nor are any two of?cers. In a potentially threatening situation, an of?cer will quickly tailor a response and apply force, if necessary. Situational awareness is essential, and of?cers are trained to judge when a crisis requires the use of force to regain control of a situation or requires de?escalation techniques to be used. In most cases, time becomes the key variable in determining when an of?cer chooses to use force. Bethlehem Police Of?cers follow a force continuum outlined in our Use of force directive. This force continuum, along with de-escalation, is part of our use of force policy. The following are the five main components of our use of force continuum: 1. Police presence (using the effect of the presence of an authority ?gure on a subject) 2. Verbalization (commanding a subject) 3. Empty hand control (using empty hands to search, relieve weapons, immobilize, or otherwise control a subject) 4. Intermediate weapons (using non-lethal chemical, electronic or impact weapons on a subject) 5. Deadly Force (using any force likely to cause permanent injury or death to a subject) A full un-redacted copy of BPD Directive 3.1.1, Use of Force, was released on Wednesday, June 17, 2020 to the public. Our policy on the use of force complies with federal and state laws, guidelines, case laws and both national and state accreditation standards and practices. Many of the issues raised because of the recent death of George Floyd in Minnesota have long been addressed in use of force policy and other directives. BPD Officers do not train to use or utilize chokeholds of any type. BPD Officers are required to report and intervene if the of?cer observes any violation of any violation of any directive. Our use of force policy is restrictive, but comprehensive, so that if an of?cer utilizes any degree of force and/or deadly force, it is reported to his/her Supervisor and a use of force report shall be completed by that of?cer. An un-redacted copy of use of force policy is available on the City?s website or through the City?s Right to Know Office When force is used by an Officer, the Of?cer?s use of force report, in car dash, body camera and any other documentation of the incident, is reviewed by our Professional Standards Division (PSD), headed by Captain Michelle Kott. This review involves interviews, testing of equipment if needed, review of all forms of digital communication and any documentation related to the incident. After use of force review is complete, the use of force report and all documentation is then reviewed by the Deputy Chief and the Chief of Police. The Administrative review is very thorough. At any time during our internal review, if anything is found to be in violation of state or federal law, the investigation is immediately turned over to the Of?ce of the District Attorney for independent investigation. If the ?ndings are in violation of a department directive, the officer faces and re-training and/or internal discipline The Bethlehem Police Department takes the use of force, the documentation of that use of force, the review and any deviations from our use of force policy very seriously. Please remember that each and every police department has its own use of force policy. The use of force laws and guidelines in are different than those in California, Maine, Florida, Alaska or any other state, thus each and every police department?s use of force policy differs in some manner. What you see and hear on television by major networks might be true in one state, but incorrect in or other states. Each year and during the year, the Professional Standards Diversion reviews our use of force policy along with other policies. This is to make sure that our policies and directives comply with the best standards and practices possible. As society changes, so does case law, rules, standards and practices. Our use of force reporting form is a good example. As the types of information collected changed, so did our recording form to records those changes. The following information and statistics represent 10 years of use of force ?ndings and information by the Bethlehem Police Department. Over the 10 years, the gathering of use of force information has changed. In 2019, we gather and study more information than we did in 2010, ten years ago. I believe that when you review the attached information, it will be useful in understanding police use of force incidents in the City, when and to what degree force is utilized. A MULTI YEAR STUDY USE OF FORCE BY BPD HOW MANY TIMES DO BPD OFFICER USE FORCE ON ANOTHER Year Force used 2019 143 2018 131 2017 128 2016 104 2015 129 2014 116 2013 52 2012 73 2011 115 2010 124 The observable rise in reports completed between 2014 to present is attributable to the Department adopting a more comprehensive policy that requires of?cers to submit Use of Force reports when a subject is taken to the ground during the course of taking the person into custody and/or during an arrest. Whenever a BPD Of?cer utilizes force of any type; discharges a ?rearm, takes any action that results in, or is alleged to have resulted in, injury or death of another person, applies force through the use of lethal or less lethal weapons, or applies weaponless physical force at a level as de?ned in the BPD Use of Force Directive, the of?cer ?shall? report the use of force and ?shall? complete a ?Use of Force Report.? This is mandatory for all of?cers. A ?Use of Force Report? is required, regardless of any injury occurring. This mandatory reporting of all use of force incidents is required under both CALEA and PLEAC accreditation standards and per Bethlehem Police Directive 3.1.1, Use of Force. USE OF FORCE INCIDENTS INVOLVING 2 OR MORE OFFICERS Many times, a use of force situation may involve more than one of?cer. In these cases, each individual of?cer is required, mandated by policy, to report and document what course of action, use of force, he or she utilized. Each use of force report is reviewed separately to establish if the actions of the of?cer were within the guidelines of the department?s use of force policy. Year Incidents Involving 2 or More Total Use of Force Incidents Officers 2019 25 143 2018 17 131 2017 20 128 2016 18 104 2015 25 129 2014 26 116 2013 13 52 2012 15 73 2011 27 115 2010 124 Data not collected TOTAL USE OF FORCE AND TOTAL ARRESTS MADE Was Individual Arrested? Year Yes *No Total Use of Force 2019 118 25 143 2018 112 19 131 2017 118 10 128 2016 93 11 104 2015 103 26 129 2014 107 9 116 2013 48 4 52 2012 52 21 73 2011 100 15 115 2010 85 39 124 *There are a number of reasons why an individual that force was used on wasn?t arrested. For example the victim does not wish to proceed with charges. Force could be used by an of?cer to take an individual into custody for mental or physiological reasons pursuant to a mental health commitment order or other legal court order. TOTAL AMOUNT OF ARRESTS vs. TOTAL AMOUNT OF USE OF FORCE 2015 through 2019 (past 5 years) Year Total Arrests Total Use of Force Use of Force 2015 3308 129 3.9% 2016 2675 104 3.8% 2017 2527 128 5.0% 2018 2501 131 5.2% 2019 2639 143 5.4% 5 YR.TOTAL 13650 635 4.6% *The total arrest number incorporates all types of arrests: felony, misdemeanor, summary grade, in custody, detained released, non-custody, and mailed summons, etc. WHAT MONTH AND TIME OF DAY DO USE OF FORCE IN CIDENTS MONTH Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 Total TIME OF DAY Year 0000-0300 0300-0600 0600-0900 0900-1200 1200-1500 1500-1800 1800-2100 2100-0000 2019 2018 2012 :2010 3F Data not collected A new Use of Force form was implemented in 2017. The new form included time (am/pm) when force was used. Prior to 2017, we did not record that information. WHO WAS FORCE USED ON BY POLICE - AGE OF INDIVIDUAL Year Under 18 18-25 26-30 31-35 36-40 41-45 46-50 51-55 56-60 61-65 Over Unknown 65 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 SEX 0F INDIVIDUAL Year Male Female 2019 130 13 2018 111 20 2017 113 15 2016 94 10 2015 119 10 2014 102 14 2013 51 1 2012 63 10 2011 111 4 2010 109 15 RACE OF INDIVIDUAL Year Asian Black Hispanic Other White 2019 3 45 36 1 58 2018 1 33 56 1 40 2017 0 34 44 1 49 2016 0 26 35 1 42 2015 14 62 53 2014 24 53 39 2013 9 28 15 2012 22 29 22 2011 31 40 44 2010 38 61 38 Data not collected 10 WHY WAS FORCE USED BY Force can be utilized for a variety of different reasons. It can be used during the course of making an arrest, in defense of another person or yourself, or for another person?s own safety. The ?Subject Safety? category incorporates those times where force was used by a police of?cer to take a person into custody for mental health issues, drug overdose issues, medical issues or any other issue where force is necessary to stop the person from hurting himself. 99% of these incidents of subject safety involve some type of drug or mental health issue or both issue. Reason Force Used Year Effect an Arrest Defend Self Defend Another Subject Safety 2019 98 12 15 18 2018 95 8 11 17 2017 118 3 1 7 2016 2015 3k 2014 3k 2013 at: at: 2012 2011 3k it 2010 I: at: II: In 2017, a new Use of Force form was implemented to collect this data. Prior to that, the data was not collected for this category. 11 A BREAKDOWN OF FORCE USED BY OFFICERS - 2019 2019 - Force Used by Officer Other 13 Deadly Force 5 Tire Deflation Device 0 Horse 0 K-9 0 Impact Weapon - Improvised Device I 1 Impact Weaon LL Projectile 0 Impact Weapon - Baton Taser? Laser Painted 11 Taser - Drive Stun - 5 Taser - Probe Deployment 8 Chemical Agent 5 Shoulder Pin 0 Subject Taken to Ground mm 39 Brachial Stun I 1 Kick 0 Knee Strike a 2 PalmHeeIStrike 100 DEADLY FORCE *In 2019, deadly force was used 5 times, meaning 5 times an of?cer utilized their weapon (handgun, shotgun, patrol ri?e, etc.) and covered a subject (pointed weapon directly at subject). None of the 5 cases resulted in the discharging of the ?rearm. NOTE - In 2019, out of 2639 arrests, deadly force (5) was utilized .189%. POLICE TASER In 2019, the Police issued Taser was utilized 24 times in 3 different ways. The 3 ways a Taser can be deployed are: Taser-Laser Painted the act of un-holstering and pointing a Taser at an individual and turning on the laser red aiming dot to the device is aimed at the subject and where if ?red it will hit. Many times the subject surrenders when he or she views the red dot on him or her body. 2). Taser-Drive Stun the act of un-holstering and holding the TASER device against the subject without ?ring the projectiles. 3). Taser Probe Deployment ??the act of un?holstering and aiming a taser at a subject and discharging the electric probes into that subject to effect compliance. 12 Taser - Laser painted In 2019, this action was used 11 times, meaning 11 times an of?cer utilized their Taser and covered a subject without discharge of the device. The Taser has a laser red dot aiming system on it. When the laser red dot appears on an individual?s body, many times the individual surrenders before deployment. Taser Drive Stun In 2019, this action was used 5 times, meaning 5 times an of?cer utilized the Taser by stunning or holding the stun end of the taser against an individual?s body and shocking him for compliance. Taser Probe Deployment In 2019, this action was used 8 times, meaning 8 times an of?cer fully deployed his or her taser by ?ring electric probes into an individual?s body to effect compliance. NOTE - In 2019, out of 2639 arrests, the police taser (24) was utilized NOTE - In 2019, out of 2639 arrests, a physical action (97) was utilized A BREAKDOWN OF FORCE USED BY OFFICERS A 3 YEAR STUDY Nov/Dec 2016 to 2019 - Force Used by Officer Other 33 Deadly Force 25 Tire De?ation Device 0 Horse 0 K-9 0 Impact Weapon Improvised Device I 5 Impact Weaon - LLProjectile I 3 Impact Weapon - Baton 4 Taser- Laser Painted 16 Taser - Drive Stun - 10 Taser - Probe Deployment 37 Chemical Agent Ell 9 Shoulder Pin 1 Subject Taken to Ground Brachial Stun I 7 Kick 5 Knee Strike 27 Palm Heel Strike 16 236 0 50 100 150 200 2le *Deadly force was used 25 times. Over a 3 year and 2 month time period, an of?cer utilized their weapon 25 times (handgun, shotgun, patrol ri?e, etc.) and covered a subject (pointed weapon directly at subject) without discharge of the ?rearm. NOTE From Nov [Dec 2016 to 2019, there were 8113 arrests. Deadly force (25) used in 0.31% of them. 13 *Taser Laser Painted Over a 3 year and 2 month period, this action was used 16 times, meaning 16 times an of?cer utilized their Taser and covered a subject without discharge of the device. *Taser Drive Stun Over a 3 year and 2 month period, this action was used 10 times, meaning 10 times an of?cer utilized their Taser to stun a subject. *Taser probe Deployment Over a 3 year and 2 month period, this action was used 37 times by of?cers upon a subject to effect compliance. NOTE From Nov [Dec 2016 to 2019, there were 8113 arrests. The police taser (63) was used in 0.78% of them. NOTE From Nov [Dec 2016 to 2019, there were 8113 arrests. A physical action (292) was used in 3.6% of them. *Note: Prior to the implementation of the new Use of Force form in November 2016, the data collected regarding force used by of?cers was generalized, therefore it is not included in the above graph. BODILY INJURIES AS A RESULT OF USE OF FORCE Of?cer Injured by Suspect during Use of Force Incident Year No 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 *Data was not collected prior to 2017 on this category. 14 Subject Injured in call prior to Police Use of Force Year Yes No 2019 33 110 2018 24 107 2017 26 102 2016 10 94 2015 9 120 2014 3 113 2013 12 40 2012 0 73 2011 21 94 2010 7 117 Subject Injured as a Result of Use of Force by Police Of?cer In the majority of times force was used by the police, individuals receiving the force were not injured Year Yes of all arrests No 2019 40 103 2018 39 92 2017 36 92 2016 35 69 2015 28 101 2014 31 85 2013 17 35 2012 18 55 2011 24 91 2010 9 115 - is amount of persons injured/sick from use of force during their arrest over that year. Example 1.5% of all arrests in 2019 (2639 arrests) were injured/sick from use of force. Per Police directives, whenever a person interacts with an of?cer in any manner and is injured or sick, complains of being injured or sick or the of?cer believes the person is injured or sick, the of?cer is mandated to contact EMS immediately and ensure appropriate medical aid is rendered. In use of force interactions, if the of?cers has any indication, however slight, that the person is sick or injured, in any way, the of?cer is mandated to contact EMS immediately and ensure appropriate medical aid is rendered. 15 SUMMARY There are many unknowns in police work. A simple call can turn violent in a split second. A traf?c stop for a summary traf?c violation can turn into a physical life or death ?ght. No two calls are the same. 0 two police of?cers are the same. No two use of force incidents are the same and no two police departments are the same. Over the past month or two, we have all seen in the media the issues going on across the country involving police citizen interactions and the use of force. To paint these incidents, all police calls, all police of?cers, all use of force incidents and all police departments with the same broad brush is wrong and an affront to all the professional and lawful police of?cers across this nation who go to work every day in their communities and conduct themselves according to the oath they took. As you see in the attached facts and statistics, incidents of force during encounters with police and arrests are signi?cantly low in the City of Bethlehem. That, I believe, is due to the accreditation process and high standards of the Bethlehem Police Department and the involvement and support of the Bethlehem community. When police and community work together, problems get solved. Bethlehem, like other communities, does have its share of issues. No one community or agency is perfect. There is always room for communication and learning on both sides of any issue. The Bethlehem Police Department believes that training, understanding and education are keys elements for a better society and for Community Policing to be successful. We have always been open to ideas and suggestions that improve our service. We will continue to engage in accreditation, improvements and the highest standards possible, to place the Bethlehem Police Department among the best law enforcement agencies in the State of Hopefully this information and the release of our Use of Force policy will answer many questions about the use of force by the Bethlehem Police Department. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact my of?ce or our Professional Standards Division. Mark A. DiLuzio Chief of Police 16