Use of Force Reports from 2018 Comparable to 2017

With the calendar year more than halfway through, the Southlake Police Department continues to monitor all proofs required by CALEA (Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies) to maintain our Gold Standard Accreditation.  Earlier this year, on March 24th, 2018 Southlake received our 6th reaccreditation, extending our streak to 21 years in a row.

One topic continually brought up in the profession is the Use of Force.  Use of Force in the police world is defined as the “amount of effort required by police to compel compliance by an unwilling subject.”  These efforts can be documented as soft hand control, use of a Taser or OC Spray, or use of a firearm.

Each police department has their designated “Use of Force continuum,” which shows policy and procedure for what type of force an officer is allowed to use based on the combatant’s actions.

In 2017, there were a total of 33 Use of Force incidents from January 1^st to December 31^st.  These incidents ranged from a use of OC spray, to a K-9 bite, to going “hands on” with a resisting subject.  In October of 2017, CALEA changed one of their standards to now document “unholstering a firearm” as a documentation of force.

In 2018 so far, there have been 15 Use of Force incidents from January 1^st to June 11^th, putting us on pace to match last year’s totals.  Of these uses of force, 11 came from displaying a firearm or Taser, whereas the other 4 were officers having to go “hands on” with a resisting suspect.  All 15 incidents resulted in an arrest.

Southlake Police continue to work on their de-escalation techniques and appropriate use of force to maintain the highest of standards and work in the safest way possible for officers and the public.