Note: #BlackLivesMatter activist DeRay McKesson was the closing keynote speaker at Politifest2016, all-day public affairs conference held at SDSU on September 24, featuring workshops and sessions about the November ballot.
By Anne Haule
Talking with DeRay McKesson was the highlight of my day. He has an engaging, low-key candor that put the mostly white audience at ease. He’s a good-looking 31 year old man with a unique style – wearing a preppy Patagonia vest with slim jeans and European style pointed shoes with colorful socks. He’s soft-spoken with an indistinct diction and fast flowing words.
He has an impressive background having taught underprivileged students through Teach for America and currently holding an executive position with the Baltimore school system.
I asked him how white people could help the cause of ending violence against black people. He suggested we use our “White Privilege” to disrupt it. Campaign Zero, the campaign DeRay McKesson and fellow activists started, provides strategies for doing this.
Mr. McKesson emphasized that solutions are local and recommends police departments implement policies on use of force, reporting, investigation, discipline, accountability and transparency and publish such policies on-line.
According to Campaign Zero, a Use of Force Policy should require officers to:
- use minimum force to apprehend a subject, with specific guidelines for the types of force and tools authorized for a given level of resistance (Ex: Seattle PD Policy)
- de-escalate first (Ex: Seattle PD Policy)
- carry a less-lethal weapon (Ex: Seattle PD Policy)
- ban using force on a person for talking back or as punishment for running away (Ex: Cleveland PD Policy)
- ban chokeholds, strangleholds (i.e. carotid restraints), hog-tying and transporting people face down in a vehicle (Ex: NYPD Policy)
- intervene to stop other officers who are using excessive force and report them to a supervisor (Ex: Las Vegas Metro PD Policy)
- have first aid kits and immediately render medical assistance to anyone in police custody who is injured or who complains of an injury (Ex:New Baltimore PD Policy)
As for the use of deadly force, Operation Zero provides the following advice:
- Authorize deadly force only when there is an imminent threat to an officer’s life or the life of another person and such force is strictly unavoidable to protect life as required under International Law. Deadly force should only be authorized after all other possible means have been exhausted. (Ex: International Deadly Force Standard)
- Require that an officer’s tactical conduct and decisions leading up to using deadly force be considered in judgments of whether such force was reasonable. (Ex: LAPD Use of Force Policy)
- Require officers give a verbal warning, when possible, before using deadly force and give subjects a reasonable amount of time to comply with the warning (Ex: Las Vegas Metro PD Policy)
- Require reporting of police killings or serious injuries of civilians (Ex: The PRIDE Act; Colorado law)
- Require the names of both the officer(s) involved and victim(s) to be released within 72 hours of a deadly force incident
In reviewing the SDPD’s website, I did not find reference to any of the aforementioned policies. Perhaps pressuring the SDPD to adopt these policies is a starting point for using our white privilege to disrupt it.
It was heartening and instructive to meet a notable leader of the new wave of the civil rights movement. I applaud the Voice of San Diego and its partners for producing Politifest and having the foresight to invite Deray McKesson to address its audience of politically engaged citizens.
***
UPDATE: Activist Lowell Waxman sent along the following amplifications of Campaign’s Zero’s police reform program as it applies to the San Diego Police Department. Rather than run it as a comment, I’m adding it at the end so the formatting is more obvious. (dp)
San Diego Falls Short on Police Use of Force Recommended National Standards
Anne Haule has introduced the SDFP readers to Deray McKesson’s Campaign Zero’s ambitious program for police reform and Campaign Zero’s very informative, interactive research reports. What is especially of interest is how this relates to current policy in San Diego.
Anne has reported two of the critical areas of model public policy on “use of force” and “use of deadly force” with links to recommended model policy used by police departments. A little deeper dive into the website provides critical insight into how San Diego stacks up versus proposed policies.
Campaign Zero’s Police Use of Force Project Report reviewed the rules governing police “use of force” in 91 of America’s 100 largest city police departments to determine whether they include meaningful protections against police violence. For each city the interactive chart provides the current City policy when you click on the relevant policy box in chart for any city. Additionally there is a comprehensive Use Of Force Database with the official policy memos for almost every city cited in the study for the public to peruse.
San Diego fails on 6 of 8 policy recommendations as of latest available policy from 2012 per Campaign Zero.
♦ The Use of Force Policy Recommendation: REQUIRES DE-ESCALATION
34 of the 91 police departments reviewed require officers to de-escalate situations, when possible, before using force.
San Diego Score: FAIL
Policy cited: States that de-escalation or disengagement may be used but does not require it. “Disengagement or de-escalation is a tactic that an officer may employ in an attempt to resolve the situation. If an officer does not have adequate recourses to safely control a situation, or if disengagement or de-escalation would assist in resolving a situation with a lower force level, an officer may disengage from the incident or de-escalate the force option. Disengagement or de-escalation may require an officer to move to a tactically sound position and wait for additional resources. Disengagement or de-escalation may not be possible. “
♦ The Use of Force Policy Recommendation: HAS USE OF FORCE CONTINUUM
77 of the 91 police departments reviewed have a Force Continuum or Matrix included in their use of force policy, defining the types of force/weapons that can be used to respond to specific types of resistance.
San Diego Score: PASS
Policy Cited: Is a Force Continuum or Matrix included in the Policy, defining the types of force/weapons that can be used to respond to specific types of resistance? Yes.
♦ The Use of Force Policy Recommendation: BANS CHOKEHOLDS AND STRANGLEHOLDS Are chokeholds and strangleholds (including carotid restraints) explicitly prohibited, except in situations where deadly force is authorized?
21 of the 91 police departments reviewed explicitly prohibit chokeholds and strangleholds (including carotid restraints) or limit these tactics to situations where deadly force is authorized.
San Diego Score: FAIL
Policy Cited: Doesn’t mention chokehold and allows carotid restraints in non-deadly force situations: “Greater Controlling Force – the force needed to control a subject who engages in active resistance. This level of force may involve the use of techniques such as takedowns, distractions techniques, chemical agents, and the carotid restraint.”
♦ The Use of Force Policy Recommendation: REQUIRES WARNING BEFORE SHOOTING
56 of the 91 police departments reviewed require officers to give a verbal warning, when possible, before using deadly force.
San Diego Score: PASS
Policy Cited: “A verbal warning to submit to the authority of the officer shall be given prior to the use of a firearm, if feasible, and if doing so would not increase the danger to the officer or other persons.”
♦ The Use of Force Policy Recommendation: Restricts Shooting at Moving Vehicles
19 of the 91 police departments reviewed prohibit officers from shooting at people in moving vehicles unless the person poses a deadly threat by means other than the vehicle (for example, shooting at people from the vehicle).
San Diego Score: FAIL
Policy Cited: Are officers prohibited from shooting at people in moving vehicles unless the subject presents a separate deadly threat other than the vehicle itself?
Does not limit shooting at moving vehicles to situations where deadly force is being used against others by means other than the vehicle. “Officers shall not discharge a firearm at an occupant of a vehicle unless: a. The officer has probable cause to believe that the subject or the vehicle poses an immediate threat of death or serious physical harm to the officer and there is no reasonable alternative for the officer to avoid the harm; or, b. The officer has probable cause to believe that the subject or the vehicle poses an immediate threat of death or serious physical harm to other persons. 7. Officers shall not knowingly position themselves in the path of a moving vehicle.”
♦ The Use of Force Policy Recommendation: REQUIRES EXHAUST ALL OTHER MEANS BEFORE SHOOTING
31 of the 91 police departments reviewed require officers to exhaust all other reasonable alternatives before resorting to using deadly force.
San Diego Score: FAIL
Policy Cited: Officers not required to exhaust other reasonable means before resorting to deadly force. “When the officer has a reasonable belief that a subject (or animal) poses an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury to the officer or another person; c. When necessary to apprehend a fleeing suspect if there is probable cause to believe the suspect has committed a felony involving the infliction or threatened infliction of death or serious bodily injury, and the officer reasonably believes the suspect is armed with a deadly weapon and the suspects escape would pose an imminent threat to the officer or others; “
♦ The Use of Force Policy Recommendation: DUTY TO INTERVENE
30 of the 91 police departments reviewed require officers to intervene to stop another officer from using excessive force.
San Diego Score: FAIL
Policy Cited: Are officers required to intervene when witnessing another officer using excessive force? No.
♦ The Use of Force Policy Recommendation: REQUIRES COMPREHENSIVE REPORTING
15 of the 91 police departments reviewed require officers to report all uses of force including threatening another civilian with a firearm.
San Diego Score: FAIL
Policy Cited: Are all uses of force required to be reported, including the pointing of a firearm at a civilian? Pointing a weapon at a civilian is not required to be reported. “For reporting purposes, the following are considered use of force: 1. Any force option, control hold or weaponless defense technique applied to a person, or any force that causes injury or complaint of injury to either the officer or the subject being restrained. 2. Discharge of a firearm in an official capacity; 3. Discharge of a taser; 4. Use of the baton, police nunchaku (O.P.N.), or other impact weapons where the suspect has been struck; 5. Use of any type of chemical agent (mace, OC, etc.); 6. Use of carotid restraint; 7. Use of Police Service Dog when a bite or other injury occurs; 8. Use of maximum restraint with the cordcuff; 9. Use of the safety control chair as outlined in Department Procedure 6.01 (Handcuffing, Searching and Transporting Procedures); 10. Use of restraint car seats as outlined in Department Procedure 6.01 (Handcuffing, Searching and Transporting Procedures); 11. Handcuffing – When the officer overcomes physical resistance to applying the handcuffs; and, 12. Use of _specialty munitions as defined in DP 1.36.” p. 6
San Diego Police Department Use Of Force Memo 11/22/2013 contains the full Use of Force Continuum/ Matrix and is worthwhile to review. Not clear why Campaign Zero refers to 2012 policy.
It is clear that Campaign Zero recommendations are designed to eliminate ambiguity in public policy regarding police use of force as in requiring a report in every instance when a firearm is displayed and expands the responsibilities of officers is such areas as Duty to Intervene in case of excessive force. In every policy recommendation there are some police departments which have implemented the recommended policy. This should bode well for San Diego to follow precedent. It remains to be seen if the broad educated public will press to update the SDPD Use of Force Policy and whether the City has the will to get it right.