Reporting, Reform, and Legal Standards

Does force have to be sequential?

No. Responses are dynamic and are not necessarily sequential.

What standard guides the response in the Massachusetts example?

Objective reasonableness based on the totality of circumstances.

What factors are included in the Totality Triangle?

Environment/prior knowledge/situational factors; subject behavior; and available options, effectiveness, and proportionality.

What is the “dark figure” of police use of force?

Force that may go unreported or be missing from official records.

Why might official use-of-force records be incomplete?

Definitions vary, documentation differs, multiple officers may be involved, and accounts may be incomplete.

What did the slides report about department policies prohibiting chokeholds?

92% of departments

What percentage of departments require intervention against excessive force?

93%

What percentage require attempting de-escalation before force?

79%

What percentage adopted some version of a necessity standard?

48%

What percentage designate deadly force as a last resort?

54%.

What percentage restrict pepper spray against handcuffed individuals?

41%.

What change in chokehold policies followed George Floyd’s death, according to the slides?

Departments prohibiting chokeholds increased from 22% in 2015–2016 to 92% in policies collected through 2023