Use of Force & Public Safety Updates
This week, we are focusing on a series of presentations in Tuesday's 1pm Planning and Public Safety (PPS) Committee meeting relating to Public Safety. This week's presentations focus on the Lexington Police Department's (LPD) Use of Force Policy, an Amendment to Council rules on discussing police discipline, more on the Safety Net program, and new partnerships with social service agencies.
Why is this important?
Two weeks ago, the Mayor's Office released a much-anticipated report from the Mayor's Commission on Racial Justice and Equality (MCRJE). The Law Enforcement, Justice & Accountability called for numerous wide-sweeping changes.
The items touched on in this week's PPS presentations directly relate to the recommendations made by the Law Enforcement Subcommittee of the MCRJE.
This week's meeting is the last of the PPS Committee for this year. This means additional legislative changes to Public Safety policies are unlikely to happen until the new Council is seated in 2021.
Also:
The Lexington Police Department - and America's policing system more generally - has come under increased scrutiny in the wake of the killings of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and many others.
In response to public calls for more accountability over the Police, Lexington pushed forward several policy changes, including creating a Police Discipline After Action Review Commission and the mentioned Commission on Racial Justice & Equality.
Use of Force Policy
As of November 2020, the Division of Police is currently soliciting feedback for its UoF policy. You can provide feedback through the City of Lexington website here. This link may no longer be active in the future.
The Policy overview for UoF is:
It is the policy and primary principle of the Lexington Police Department that all employees recognize and value the importance of the preservation of human life and to respect basic human rights. Officers shall use only the force that is objectively reasonable to effectively bring an incident under control, while ensuring the safety of the officers and others.
It is the policy of the Lexington Police Department that after any response to resistance incident, and when safe and possible to do so, officers shall immediately render aid consistent with the officer’s training and experience to any individual who has visible injuries, complains of being injured, or requests medical attention and request appropriate emergency medical assistance.
LPD Officers are required only to use "force which is reasonable to gain control of the subject."
Officers train to follow a "Resistance Control Continuum," which delineates what levels of force are applicable for an Officer to use.
This is the Resistance Control Continuum:
| Citizen Action | Officer Action |
|---|---|
| Psychological Intimidation | Officer Presence |
| Verbal Non-compliance | Verbal Direction |
| Passive Resistance | Soft Empty Hand Control |
| Defensive Resistance | Hard Empty Hand Control |
| Active Aggression | Intermediate Weapons |
| Deadly Physical Force Assault | Less-Lethal Weapons |
| Deadly Physical Force |
Once a subject is under control, officers are required to restrict their force to "that which is reasonable to maintain control."
Officers are also asked to "bear in mind the legal principle of 'lesser force.'"
Law Enforcement Officers are the only civilian jobs allowed to use deadly force to take other people's lives - they are allowed to do so in Lexington when "the officer reasonably believes that the action is in defense of human life, including the officer's own life, or in defense of any person in immediate danger of serious physical injury."
The Lexington Police Department last updated its UoF Policy in 2016. As of 2020, it is under Administrative Review.
2016 updates to the policy include:
Adding Preservation of Life language
Removing the ability for Law Enforcement Officers (LEO) to use Choke Holds, Shoulder Pins, and Body Weight
A requirement to render first aid if possible and requested
An emphasis on De-Escalation
A recommendation for LEOs to identify themselves and warn of their intent to use deadly force.
Reporting, Training, & Accountability
Law Enforcement Officers in Lexington must undergo 1062 hours of training certified by the Kentucky Law Enforcement Council and 15 weeks of Field Training.
Law Enforcement Officers must report any Use of Force under the following circumstances:
Officer Points a Firearm at another person.
Discharge of a Firearm as an application of force, or utilizes any other method of defense during a deadly physical force encounter.
Injures a subject, or the subject claims injury.
Strikes with, or uses an impact weapon.
Strikes a blow, or exerts a level of control that is likely to result in injury.
Thinks, for any reason, that a report may be beneficial at a later date.
Sprays a person with OC pepper spray or other chemical agent.
Uses a CEW (Taser) to deliver a contact exposure to a person in any manner.
Discharges or uses any less-lethal weapon or intermediate weapon.
Uses the WRAP restraint system.
Oversight of UoF incidents occurs through several means, including:
The LPD Critical Incident Review Committee – Reviews Response to Resistance Incidents
The LPD Public Integrity Unit – Integrated Alert Tracking System
Agreement of Conformity Amendment to Council Rules
This proposed amendment would create an "Agreement of Conformity" for any matters related to Police Discipline. This Agreement would: "provide sufficient detail about the nature of the offense for which the officer is being disciplined to enable Council to form a judgment about the adequacy of the proposed discipline."
If passed, Council would place this amendment in Section 4.109, Chapter IV, Appendix A of the city's Code of Ordinances.
There are currently no rules in the Code of Ordinances to determine how the Council would handle this issue.
Agreements of Conformity (AoC) would be created for violations of Police policies, procedures, or General Orders. AoCs would include the disciplinary measures recommended by the Division of Police; these measures would be voted upon by the Council for approval.
The method for presenting disciplinary measures to the Council would depend on if the violation involved a member of the public:
No public involved: A representative of the Division of Police would make a presentation to Council about the disciplinary action. Current council rules and State Law would prohibit the Police representative from making statements about the discipline's justification.
Public involved: The Chief of Police would be required by Council rules to present to the Council. The amendment would allow the Chief of Police to make general statements about their rationale for the recommended level of discipline.
This amendment would prohibit Council Members from discussing any AoC until the Division of Police makes the discipline recommendation to the Council.
State Law currently restricts the Division of Police from making public statements about discipline matters until a final judgment is made.
Crisis Support for First Responders
The Division of Police and other first responders currently have four main support systems for dealing with individuals experiencing a crisis resulting from homelessness, mental health issues, or substance abuse. These are:
Lexington Police Department's Crisis Intervention Team Training
Lexington Police Department's De-escalation Training
Office of Homelessness Prevention & Intervention
And the Paramedicine Program
To prevent occurrences & recurrences of arrest and direct individuals to appropriate community- based services, the City of Lexington is adding two additional support systems to this list:
New Vista's Crisis Outreach Team will provide a 24/7 crisis line, telehealth services, and in-person assessments/support.
The University of Kentucky's College of Social Work will provide graduate student practicum placements and faculty member expertise.
The Division of Police is also instituting a new tracking mechanism to label incidents when a social worker would have been helpful or appropriate at the incident. This tracking mechanism will help the Division of Police and City of Lexington understand how a social worker's presence at public safety incidents could improve public safety and public health outcomes.
How can I get involved?
Want to listen to this meeting live?
Tune in on Tuesday at 1pm on LexTV.
Want to weigh in on these issues?