HPD Use of Force 2012

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JJunne 2001133

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Officer Response in Relation to Subject Age and Gender. Physical Contact (37.3%) and Physical Confrontation (30.7%) were most effective in incidents involving juveniles. The application of force options were applied consistently over all age groups with Physical Confrontation techniques (41.2%) then being the most commonly used option. Physical Contact technique was used most often with female subjects (43.7%) and Physical Confrontation technique was used most often with male subjects (42.5%). The Deadly Force option (unholstering of firearm) was used in a higher percentage of incidents where male subjects were involved (20.3%) versus female subjects (12.5%). Subject injuries. Of the 1,018 incidents where subject injuries were accounted for in the Use of Force report form, 683 (67.1%) subjects had no observable injury and reported none when asked. There were 86 (8.4%) subjects who had no observable injury but complained of injury. There were 243 (23.9%) subjects who sustained bodily injury, six (0.6%) subjects who sustained substantial bodily injury, and no subjects that sustained serious bodily injury. Physical Confrontation techniques accounted for 193 (19.0%) of bodily injury and substantial bodily injury sustained by subjects. This number also includes complaints of injury by suspects. No deaths were reported as a result of the use of force by police. Officer injuries. Of the 919 incidents where officer injuries were accounted for in the Use of Force report form, 829 (90.2%) reported no injuries sustained. There were 16 (1.7%) complaints of injury. Officers sustained bodily injury in 71 (7.7%) incidents and reported substantial bodily injury in three (0.3%) incidents. Physical Confrontation techniques accounted for 59 (6.4%) of Bodily Injury and Substantial Bodily Injury sustained by officers. This number includes complaints of injury by the officers as well.

Use of Batons. There were seven incidents where the police baton was used, with six of those involving only the display of the baton. One incident involved a baton strike. Use of Chemical Agents. There were 88 reports on the use of chemical agents. Of those reported, all were oleoresin capsicum (OC) spray incidents. These numbers also include three incidents where the OC spray was displayed only and not discharged. Of the OC incidents, 85 officers reported discharging the spray. Electric Gun Use. Based on the Use of Force reports submitted by officers, there were 26 incidents where the electric gun was used. Of those incidents, 17 were display only. Eight incidents were probe deployments and one was drive stun; of those, all subjects reported bodily injury as a result of probe and drive stun deployments. On the other hand, the Professional Standards Office (PSO) reported there were 49 electric gun deployments, including three drive stun deployments and four injuries as a result of electric gun deployments. The PSO received only one citizen complaint regarding the unnecessary or improper use of the electric gun. Use of Firearms. Firearms, including handguns, shotguns, rifles, and less-lethal weapons were reported in 230 force incidents in 2012. These numbers include unholstering of the weapon and when the weapon was actually discharged. Based on the Use of Force reports submitted by officers, there were no incidents where a weapon was fired. However, the PSO reports that firearms were discharged in three incidents. All Force Incidents. The PSO received six complaints relating to the use of force by officers. It is unknown how many complaints were reported to the Honolulu Police Commission as a result of force by officers. All force incidents resulted in investigations. Of the six complaints, two were not sustained. Tables on the following pages summarize some of the observations in this section.

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