use_of_force_policy

Policy 300University of California Irvine Police Department UC Irvine PD Policy Manual Use of Force 300.1 PURPOSE AND SCOPE This policy applies to the use of force by members of this Department. This policy applies to both sworn and non-sworn members unless otherwise specified. While there is no way to specify the exact amount or type of reasonable force to be applied in any situation, every member of this Department is expected to use this policy to make such decisions in a professional, impartial, and reasonable manner (Cal. Government Code § 7286). In addition to those methods, techniques, and tools set forth below, the guidelines for the reasonable use of force contained in this policy shall apply to all policies addressing the potential use of force, including but not limited to the use of Control Devices and Techniques, Conducted Energy Devices, and Firearms. Retaliation prohibitions for reporting suspected violations of this policy are located in the Anti- Retaliation Policy (Cal. Government Code § 7286(b)(4)). 300.1.1 DEFINITIONS Definitions related to this policy include: Active Resistance - Intentionally and unlawfully opposing the lawful order of a peace officer in the form of physically evasive movements to defeat an officer's lawful attempt at control, including but not limited to bracing, tensing, running away, or verbally or physically signaling an intention to avoid or prevent being taken into or retained in custody. Deadly force - Any use of force that creates a substantial risk of causing death or serious bodily injury, including but not limited to the discharge of a firearm (Cal. Penal Code § 835a). Excessive force – Force that is objectively unreasonable based the facts and circumstances of the situation, and based on the perspective of a reasonable officer in the same situation and based on the totality of circumstances known to or perceived by the officer at the time. Feasible - Reasonably capable of being done or carried out under the circumstances to successfully achieve the arrest or lawful objective without increasing risk to the officer or another person (Cal. Government Code § 7286(a)). Force - The application of physical techniques or tactics, chemical agents, or weapons to another person, except in the following situations: (a)When applying physical techniques or tactics to escort, direct movement, handcuff, restrain or search with no visible injury or complaint of injury to a compliant subject. (b)When applying a spit mask or spit hood on a subject to prevent spitting. (c)When applying a firm grip control (e.g., wrist lock or other control holds) that does not result in injury, the appearance of injury, or complaint of injury (e.g., the use of a grip to control a person's hands while searching or handcuffing). Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2025/09/09, All Rights Reserved. Published with permission by University of California Irvine Police DepartmentUse of Force - 46 University of California Irvine Police Department UC Irvine PD Policy Manual Use of Force (d)When applying the use of physical techniques or tactics to assist an intoxicated person or a person with a physical disability that does not result in the appearance of injury, or complaint of injury (e.g., lifting an intoxicated person to a standing position). (e)When applying physical techniques on a subject who is non-compliant exhibiting passive resistance (e.g., includes subjects who remain in a sitting, standing, or limp or prone positions without holding on to fixed objects or other persons in an attempt to delay or resist arrest). Imminent - Pursuant to Cal. Penal Code § 835a(e)(2), a threat of death or serious bodily injury is imminent when, based on the totality of the circumstances, a reasonable officer in the same situation would believe that a person has the present ability, opportunity, and apparent intent to immediately cause death or serious bodily injury to the peace officer or another person. Imminent harm, therefore, is not merely a fear of future harm, no matter how great the fear, and no matter how great the likelihood of the harm, but is one that, from a totality of the circumstances known to the officer at any given time, must be instantly confronted and addressed. Intercede - Includes, but is not limited to, physical and/or verbal intervention to stop the excessive use of force when safe and reasonable to do so, recording the excessive force if equipped with a body-worn camera, notifying dispatch, notifying a supervisor and documenting all efforts to intervene. Necessary - It is the intent of the Legislature that peace officers use deadly force only when necessary, in defense of human life and based on the totality of the circumstances of a particular situation. Necessity is based on the objectively reasonable standard established by Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386 (1989). Objectively Reasonable - The legal standard used to determine the lawfulness of a use of force is based on the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. See Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386 (1989). Graham states, in part, "The reasonableness of a particular use of force must be judged from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene, rather than with the 20/20 vision of hindsight. The calculus of reasonableness must embody allowance for the fact that police officers are often forced to make split-second judgments in circumstances that are tense, uncertain, and rapidly evolving about the amount of force that is necessary in a particular situation. The test of reasonableness is not capable of precise definition or mechanical application." The force must be reasonable under the circumstances known to or reasonably believed by the officer at the