Use of Force policies could change . . . if this bill were to pass. Please read and spread to your friends, family and colleagues around the state to support Chris Taylor and her colleagues!
LETTER EXPLAINING THE NEED
January 13, 2016
Dear Community Member:
Law enforcement standards and policies should reflect our community’s values. We must strive to do everything possible to increase safety in policing and reduce use of force incidents. For many months, our offices have researched law enforcement use of force standards from around the country that have shown success in reducing these incidents.
One of the myths perpetuated is that law enforcement agencies cannot go beyond the very vague standard of “objective reasonableness” in assessing an officer’s use of force. However, this broad phrase is the floor, not the ceiling, in more specifically defining a use of force standard. Law enforcement agencies around the country, including the U.S. Department of Justice, have further clarified and defined this standard, and have had quantitative success in reducing the use of force in law enforcement encounters.
In Dallas, for example, after instituting use of force reforms in 2010 that included emphasizing de-escalation tactics, the number of excessive force complaints and officer- involved shootings dropped dramatically. Excessive force complaints dropped from 147 in 2009, to 13 in 2015. Officer-involved shootings dropped from 23 in 2012 to 11 in 2015. Philadelphia had similar success after making changes to their use-of-force policies, and the number of officer-involved shootings dropped from 59 in 2012 to 23 in 2015.
These policies can also help keep our law enforcement officers safe. According to the Police Executive Research Forum’s Guiding Principles On Use of Force report, “changing how agencies approach certain types of critical incidents can increase officer safety in those situations.” Additionally, John Timoney, who served in leadership roles on the New York Police Department and the Philadelphia Police Department, and served as the Chief of Police in Miami, has noted that we “can reduce police shootings without endangering officers’ safety.”
Written policies matter, and they can have a huge influence on community and law enforcement safety, in addition to creating a more transparent, accountable system. We will soon be introducing the Safe Communities Act, and hope to accomplish three things: 1) Provide more specificity on when force is employed by adopting standards our communities expect; 2) Include de-escalation tactics in required annual training to reduce use of force incidents by law enforcement; and 3) Establish a state-wide database to track incidents where lethality is used by law enforcement.
These use of force policies are adopted from the best practices we saw in researching law enforcement agencies around the country, as well as those recommended by the Police Executive Research Forum and the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing. Our goal is to help create an environment where individuals, communities, and law enforcement are safe.
We need your help – To build momentum in the state legislature, we need to put together a state-wide coalition. Will you join us in our efforts and our Safe Communities Campaign? By signing on to our Safe Communities Campaign, you are joining our efforts to help reduce the use of force by law enforcement, making everyone in our community safer. These are also reforms that can be pushed by most cities throughout our state.
Inquiries can also be addressed to Representative Taylor at Rep.Taylor@legis.wi.gov.
We plan on rolling out our bill and campaign at the end of January, and would love you to join us. Your involvement is critical.
Sincerely,
Senator LaTonya Johnson 6th Senate District
Representative Chris Taylor 76th Assembly District
Representative Evan Goyke 18th Assembly District
STATEMENT TO SIGN IN SUPPORT
SAFE COMMUNITIES CAMPAIGN
I/We support the following policies:
1. All written use of force policies adopted by law enforcement, as required by Wis.
Stat. § 165.85(4), shall be designed to accomplish the following goals:
a. The primary duty of all members of law enforcement is to preserve human
life, including the lives of individuals being placed in police custody.
b. Deadly force shall only be used as a last resort. The necessity to use deadly force arises when all other available means of preventing immediate and grave danger to officers or other persons have failed or would likely fail.
c. Law enforcement shall obtain the cooperation of the public when able, with minimum reliance on using force. When force is needed, it shall not exceed that needed to address the threat posed to the officer or to the public.
d. De-escalation tactics to reduce the use of force by law enforcement officers shall be employed unless impossible.
e. Law enforcement officers have a duty to intervene when they witness a colleague using excessive force.
2. Annual, mandatory de-escalation training to reduce the use of force shall be required of all law enforcement officers.
3. Law enforcement agencies shall be required to collect and report information regarding law enforcement use of lethal force to the state Department of Justice.
________________________________________________ Name
________________________________________________ Title (if applicable)
________________________________________________ Date
________________________________________________ Organization Representing (if applicable)
It’s formatted better here. UoF Cover Letter + Statement
