Thursday, October 25, 2001
Overhaul of force rules urged
Justice Dept. says reporting is flawed
By John Byczkowski
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The Justice Department said Wednesday the Cincinnati Police Division needs to overhaul almost everything about its use of force — starting with how it defines the word.
Reporting of force incidents is so flawed that the Justice Department did not make any determination as to whether Cincinnati police use force too much. The report also does not address whether Cincinnati police practices lead to greater use of force against minorities.
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USE OF FORCE
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In 1996, Cincinnati police began tracking uses of force by officers to red-flag those who might be using too much force.
By March of this year more than 4,800 incidents had been recorded.
The use-of-force database contains 4,600 records of chemical irritant used by police.
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Chief Tom Streicher and Fraternal Order of Police President Keith Fangman emphasized that the report is preliminary. Many of the investigators' beliefs need clarification with more information about procedures, they said.
Police Division and city officials, they said, have not had time to fully read and digest the recommendations, much less meet to discuss them or more fully explain them to Justice lawyers.
“It is obvious that there needs to be much more dialogue between the city, the FOP and the Justice Department,” Mr. Fangman said, “because it appears there is a lot of confusion and misunderstanding of our current policies and procedures due to anecdotal statements made by some individuals and organizations.”
Of 17 people killed in confrontations with Cincinnati police since February 1995, all but one were African-American.
Cincinnati police in 1996 began tracking uses of force as an “early warning system” to red-flag officers who might be using force too much. By March of this year — not long before Officer Stephen Roach shot and killed 19-year-old Timothy Thomas — more than 4,800 incidents had been recorded.
That system is flawed, the Justice Department said, because Cincinnati police don't consider take-downs, holds and other forms of “restraining force” to be uses of force. Take-downs are reported only if the suspect is injured, and even then, the lack of detail in injury reports makes it difficult to tell what kind of force was used.
The November 2000 death of Roger Owensby Jr., for which two Cincinnati police officers are on trial, is classified as an “injury” case and not as a use of force, an Enquirer review found.
“This artificial distinction causes the under-reporting of force,” the Justice Department wrote. “The CPD should report all physical and instrumental ... acts that impose any degree of force on a civilian, including all acts that would currently be regarded as restraining force.”
The Justice Department was especially critical of police use of chemical irritants, or mace, to overcome aggressive suspects. Police policy says mace should be used “as the primary response” to aggressive behavior.
The Cincinnati police's 56-month use-of-force database contains 4,600 records of mace used by police, an Enquirer review of the database shows.
“This (policy) suggests that chemical irritant should or must be used even when verbal commands or less serious types of force would be equally effective,” the Justice Department wrote.
Federal officials also urged Cincinnati police to develop a “continuum” of force, a progression of force from verbal commands to lethal force that would be used to control and subdue suspects.
Ted Schoch, director of the Cincinnati Police Academy, said police already have such a continuum, but they don't teach it as such.
“The real skill from our standpoint is not to use force at all,” he said. In training, “Our primary (thrust) is trying to get voluntary compliance.”
Force is taught to police as a kind of toolbox, he said.
“When we talk about use of these options, we don't teach that they're used in a continuum fashion,” Mr. Schoch said. “The circumstances may negate that. If a guy pulls a weapon on you, you don't have time to go to a chemical irritant.”
The Justice Department wants Cincinnati police to rewrite its use-of-force policies, to clarify when and how force should be used. The department also said it heard from many citizens who felt police pulled their guns unnecessarily, and recommends officers disclose every incident where a gun is removed from its holster.
Reporter Jane Prendergast contributed.
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