Use-of-Force

Town of Hayward Police Department USE OF FORCE POLICY ADOPTED/EFFECTIVE DATE February 10th, 2018 SUBJECT Use of force I. Purpose NUMBER Item #14 REVIEWED DATE REVISED/EFFECTIVE DATE December 2021 July 1st 2022 II. The purpose of this policy is to provide the Town of Hayward Police Department officers with guidelines in determining the proper use of force, as required by §66.0511(2) of the Wisconsin State Statutes. This will be based upon the standards provided by the State of Wisconsin Department of Justice Law Enforcement Training and Standards Bureau and provided to each officer through training. Policy The Town of Hayward Police Department recognizes and respects the value of human life. Officers have the privilege to use force when it becomes necessary in the performance of their official duties. It is the policy of the Town of Hayward Police Department that officers will use only that amount of force that is reasonably necessary to effectively bring an incident under control, while protecting their lives and the lives of others. The decision to use force and the amount of force to be used will be based on the totality of the circumstances of the incident. The preferred method to attempt and maintain control is through the use of presence and dialogue. In instances where physical level(s) of force is used to control a subject, that level of force will be dictated by the subject's actions, the facts of that incident, and the responding officer's assessment of the scene. It is not the intent of this policy to direct officers that they must attempt each of the modes of the Intervention Options before escalating/de-escalating the level of force. Proper assessment of each situation will dictate which option an officer will use. Nothing in this policy should be interpreted to mean that an officer is required to engage in prolonged hand-to-hand confrontation before resorting to a level of force that will more quickly, reasonably and safely bring a resistive person under physical control. Wisconsin State Statutes $939.45; Privilege and §939.48; Self-defense and Page 1 of 5 defense of others, establish standards for police use of force. The department trains officers to use force consistent with these standards. III. Definitions A. Use of Force Incident- Use-of-force incident means any of the following: 1. Any incident involving the discharge of a firearm by a law enforcement officer at or in the direction of a civilian. 2. Any incident involving the discharge of a firearm by a civilian at or in the direction of a law enforcement officer. 3. Any incident in which an action taken by a law enforcement officer as a response to an act of resistance results in great bodily harm or death. 4. Any incident in which an act of resistance taken by a civilian against a law enforcement officer results in great bodily harm or death. B. Choke Hold- the intentional and prolonged application of force to the throat, windpipe, or carotid arteries that prevents or hinders breathing or blood flow, reduces the intake of air, or reduces blood flow to the head. C. De-escalation/De-escalate- The reduction of an application of force. De- escalation is a concept that involves an officer's use of time, distance and relative positioning in combination with Professional Communication Skills to attempt to stabilize a situation and reduce the immediacy of threat posed by an individual. De-escalation may not be a viable option in every situation as there are many factors that influence its applicability. An officer must have the position of advantage to apply the concept of de-escalation. D. Great Bodily Harm - As defined in §939.22(14) of the Wisconsin State Statutes: Bodily injury which creates a substantial risk of death, or which causes serious permanent disfigurement, or which causes a permanent or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ or other serious bodily injury IV. Specific Procedures A. In determining the amount of force that is reasonably necessary to make an arrest, the officer, based upon their training and experience, must consider the guidelines set by the State of Wisconsin Department of Justice Training and Standards Board in the Disturbance Resolution Model. B. Where deadly force is not authorized, officers may use only that level of force Page 2 of 5 V. that is objectively reasonable to bring an incident or subject(s) under control. Once the incident or subject(s) have been controlled, officers will de-escalate their level of force to only what is needed to maintain control. This is a fluid concept and needs to be constantly re-evaluated based on the facts presented at the time of the incident. Force should never be used as punishment. Rather, it is a method to gain or maintain control of a subject(s) that has displayed a level of resistance or assaultive behavior. C. Officers are authorized to use force to: 1. Achieve and maintain control of resistive subjects. 2. Detain persons reasonably suspected of criminal behavior. 3. Make lawful arrests. 4. Defend themselves or others. 5. Prevent escape. D. When an officer uses force as part of his/her legitimate law enforcement duties, the force used must fit into one of the following three (3) categories: 1. It must be a trained technique, or 2. A dynamic application of a trained technique, or 3. Not a trained technique but justified under the circumstances. E. The use of chokeholds is prohibited, except in life-threatening situations or in