Garner Police Department Annual Report 2018 Published July 2019 | Page 22

U se of F orce
G
ARNER POLICE DEPARTMENT POLICY
dictates that police officers will use
only that force necessary to protect life
and affect lawful objectives. In addition to the
use of physical force, police officers in Garner
are equipped with and trained to use batons,
conducted electrical weapons (better known by
the name brand “Taser”) and, if necessary, their
firearms when performing their lawful duties.
USE OF FORCE REVIEW
During 2018, there were a total of 23 incidents
that resulted in a total of 44 separate applications
of force by individual officers, which is 38% less
than 2017. There were multiple incidents in which
more than one officer was required to use force or
a single officer used more than one type of force
in order to subdue an individual. However, the
vast majority of our incidents continue to involve
one officer and one offender.
Every incident in which force is used or a firearm
or Taser is pointed at a suspect by a Garner
Police Officer is thoroughly investigated and
documented by supervisory staff and is reviewed
through the department’s chain-of-command.
In addition to the review of the individual incident,
the Garner Police Department has implemented
an “Early Intervention System” (EIS) to more
effectively evaluate employee performance. An
EIS is a data-base police management tool that
is designed to monitor officer activity to identify
patterns and to provide for consistent, proactive
intervention and assistance when appropriate.
STATISTICAL SUMMARY
There were 997 arrests for 2018, a decrease of
169 from 2017. There were 44 total uses of force,
including weapon pointings; this results in a use
of force rate of 4% for all arrests. This is a 2.1%
decrease from 2017.
Excluding the 32 weapon pointings there were 12
uses of physical force or K-9 deployment in the 997
arrests in 2018. This results in a physical use of
force rate of 1.2% for all arrests. In comparison to
the 20,717 documented interactions with citizens
in 2018, we used force in less than 0.2% (two tenths
of one percent) of all documented contacts.
B ias - based P olicing R eview
G
ARNER POLICE DEPARTMENT POLICY
820.09, Bias-Free Policing, establishes our
commitment to ensuring fair and equitable
treatment of all persons. The policy states, “The
Garner Police Department is committed to
preserving the peace and maintaining order in
our community by practicing bias-free policing
and respecting the rights and dignity of all. No
member of this department shall engage in
bias-based profiling in any arrests, asset seizure/
forfeiture efforts, field contacts or traffic stops.” of 2018 traffic stop data and review of other data
did not indicate bias in our interaction with those
we serve. The Garner Police Department received
zero complaints of a race-based arrest in 2018.
Each year the Garner Police Department reviews
traffic stops and other areas where bias may be
present. We are pleased to report that our analysis For more information, please contact the
Administration Bureau Captain at lsmith@
garnernc.gov.
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The Garner Police Department is committed to
treating all persons with respect and dignity. Our
thorough review of traffic stop data, use of force
reviews, and complaint investigation practices
ensure that we continue to police without any bias
or prejudice towards others.
GARNER POLICE DEPARTMENT 2018 ANNUAL REPORT