Uncpd Force 2009

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THE UNIVERSITY

4 NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF


at CHAPEL HILL PUBLIC SAFETY

l'UllLIC SAFETY llUILlllNG T 919.962.3951


CAMPUS DOX 1600 F 919.962.2572
CHAPEL HILL, NC 27599-1600 www.dps.unc.t:du

To: Chief Jeff McCracken


Director of Public Safety

From: Captain Ollie Bowler


Professional Standards Commander

Date: January 20, 2010

Subject: Use of Force Analysis 2009

The following is a summary of the Use of Force Analysis for the calendar year 2009.

INTRODUCTION
Pursuant to Accreditation Standard 1.3.13 I have completed an analysis and review of all use
of force reports from January - December 2009. Data for this report was obtained through
OSSI, use of force report forms, and a manual search of arrest and incident files. This data
was analyzed for patterns or trends that might reflect the need for modifications to training,
equipment, and policy.

CALENDAR YEAR ANALYSIS


Officers used force to achieve lawful custody on fourteen occasions during the past calendar
year. Chemical spray was used one time. The TASER was deployed three times and utilized
once and the handgun was drawn twice. In eleven of the incidents subjects were criminally
charged for their actions. The remaining three incidents involved an involuntary commitment,
an EMS call and assisting UNC Hospital Police with their arrest of a subject. No serious
injuries were sustained by officers or suspects as a result of force used by officers of the
department.

A review of all force related incidents revealed that no officer discharged a firearm for
other than training or recreational purposes. All departmental use of force report forms
were forwarded through the chain of command in a timely manner. Any medical
examinations that were needed were conducted by EMS or hospital personnel and
documented on the use of force reports. No significant trends or training needs were
identified as a result of this analysis.

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COMPARATIVE DATA

The following table depicts four-year comparative data pertaining to the use of force by
officers of the department:

Year/Incidents 2006 2007 2008 2009


Incident Reports 1,349 1,292 1,220 1,205
Persons Arrested 188 165 134 128
Use of Force Incidents 12 12 9 14
Use of Force: Incident Reports 0.9% 0.9% 0.7% 1.2%
Use of Force: Arrests 6.4% 7.3% 6.7% 10.9%
Use of Force% Over Prior Year NIA 0% -25% 55.6%
Use of Force 3-Year Change 16.7%

Analysis of data revealed an increase in the use of force actions by members of our agency
compared to the calendar year 2008. There were fourteen (14) use of force incidents reported
:from January - December 2009 as compared to nine (9) for calendar year 2008. This was an
increase of 55.6% over 2008 use of force incidents. The study revealed in the fourteen (14)
use of force actions reported during calendar year 2009, twenty-two (22) different officers
were involved.

There were five (5) use of force incidents that involved at least three (3) officers. The first
incident involved a firearm on campus in which the responding officers drew their handguns
on the subject. In the second incident officers were involved in a protest situation and multiple
uses of force were used to clear the building. Officers used both chemical and electronic
control devices. While chemical spray was used by officers, the electronic control devices
were not utilized on any individuals. Officers removed the cartridge and pointed the device
toward the ceiling of the building and pulled the trigger causing a loud arcing sound which
also could be seen. . In the next two incidents officers used empty hand control techniques to
subdue the subject. In the final incident officers drew their handgun on a subject wielding a
knife. The subject followed verbal commands, dropped the knife and officers were able to
take the subject into custody. Similarly, there was one incident in 2006 and two incidents in
2007 and two in 2008, in which at least three officers were involved in a single use of force
incident. In three of those incidents officers used empty hand control techniques, in one a
TASER was deployed and in one the TASER was used.

MULTI-YEAR ANALYSIS

The following provides a narrative summary of all incidents involving the use of force since
2006:

• The majority of incidents (68.1 %) occurred on Monday, Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday.
The vast majority (38.3%) took place during the hours of9:00 PM to 3:00 AM.

2
• Alcohol and/or drugs were considered to be significant contributing factors in only 42.6%
of all incidents.

• Cases involving females accounted for 19 .1 % of the total number of incidents.

• Minorities were involved in 38.3% of the overall incidents.

• Juveniles accounted for 2.1 % of the entire number of incidents.

• The average age of the arrestees/suspects was 27.3 years.

• Individuals affiliated with UNC comprised of 40.4% of the total cases.

• Injuries, usually minor in nature, occurred in 19 cases (40.4%).

• Some type of weapon was utilized or displayed by officers in 34% of all the incidents.
Chemical agent was used in three cases (6.4%). A conducted energy weapon was activated
or displayed in eight incidents (17%). Firearms were drawn from the holster in five
incidents (10.6%).

2009 USE OF FORCE INCIDENTS


April, September and November had the most use of force incidents with three (3) occurring
during each of those three months. Tuesday involved the majority of the use of force incidents
during the week with four (4) followed by Sunday and Monday which each had three (3)
incidents and then Thursday which involved two (2) incidents. Most of the use of force
incidents occurred between the hours of 6:01 PM and 3:00 AM with a total of nine (9)
incidents followed by the hours of 9:01 AM to 12:00 Noon with two (2) incidents and 3:01
PM to 6:00 PM also with two (2) incidents.

BY MONTH DAY OF WEEK HOUR OF DAY

January 0 July 0 Monday 3 0601 -0900 0

February 0 Aug. Tuesday 4 0901 - 1200 2

March 0 Sept. 3 Wednesday 0 1201 - 1500

April 3 Oct. 2 Thursday 2 1501 - 1800 2

May Nov. 3 Friday 1801 -2100 3

June Dec. 0 Saturday 2101 - 2400 3

Sunday 3 0001 -0300 3

0301-0600 0

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Officers on D Squad were involved in 35.7% of the use of force incidents for the year
followed by officers on B Squad who were involved in 21.4% of the total use of force
incidents. Officers on A Squad, C Squad and the CRU Squad were each involved in 14.3% of
the reported use of force actions.

The use of force percentage for D Squad saw a slight increase in 2009 over 2008 from 33.3%
to 35.7%. C Squad and the CRU Squad also saw an increase in 2009 from 2008 from 0% to
14.3% and from 11.1 % to 14.3% respectively. The increase for the CRU is attributed to the
fact that those officers were often used in football game interdiction teams. There was a small
decrease percentagewise for B Squad as they went from 22.2% in 2008 to 21.4% in 2009.
The percentage for A Squad had a decrease this year from 22.2% for 2008 to 14.3% in 2009.
During the year some officers were moved to different squads which made it difficult to pin-
point any causation factors.

Two incidents involved involuntary commitments in which the officers used physical force to
gain control of the individuals which accounted for 14.3% of the incidents.

Alcohol and/or drugs were considered to be significant contributing factors in 35.7% of all the
use of force incidents.

Of the fourteen (14) incidents of use of force, medical attention was requested seven times
(50%) after force was used. Of those incidents, four (4) were taken to UNC Hospital for care.
An officer was injured in one incident and sought treatment. In two incidents subjects were
treated by Orange County EMS and in one incident the subject refused treatment.

Analysis of information regarding the subject's actions toward officers revealed in most
instances the suspect used physical resistance, (Active resistance or attacking movements
likely to cause bodily harm but not serious injury.). Statistical data also revealed officers used
physical force in nine (64.3%) of the fourteen (14) incidents to gain control of the incident.
Physical force available to the officers includes arm/wrist locks, grabbing, kicking, pressure
points, pushing/shoving, striking with hand, wrestling or any other hand-to-hand type force.
In all nine (9) incidents officers used one or more of the physical force options available to
them to obtain control of the suspect. An Electronic Control Device was used on a subject one
time (7 .1 %) during use of force incidents. The ECD was activated or displayed in two
incidents (14.3%). No other less than lethal weapons were deployed or utilized during the
year. The firearm was also deployed in two incidents (14.3%) to gain control of the suspect,
one with a firearm on campus and the other armed with a knife.

Use of Force by Officer for 2006-2009

The following provides a summary of use of force by officer during the past four years :

Officer Primary Involvement Secondary Involvement Total


0 1 1
3 0 3
0 1 1

4
2 4 6
0 1 1
1 0 1
0 1 1
0 1 1
1 0 1
4 0 4
0 1 1
2 2 4
5 0 5
0 1 1
0 1 1
2 0 2
6 0 6
1 1 2
2 1 3
1 0 1
1 0 1
1 1 2
1 2 3
2 1 3
1 0 1
1 0 1
1 0 1
0 1 1
2 0 2
0 2 2
3 4 7
0 2 2
1 1 2
0 2 2
3 2 5
0 1 1
0 1 1
Total 83

Conclusion
Based on the analysis of the information there were no patterns of abuse or mistreatment of
others by members of this department in terms of our response to active resistance. Officers
used only the force necessary to accomplish lawful objectives. Also a thorough review of the
data showed no potential areas of concern regarding use of force actions applied by members
of our agency. The agency did have one complaint of excessive force associated with all the
reported use of force actions taken during calendar year 2009. This complaint involved force
used on protesters to clear a building and the complainants refused to cooperate after filing the
initial complaint. No other use of force complaints were received. Our agency has annual
retraining during mandated in-service and during firearms qualification that focuses on high
liability issues such as impact weapons, firearms, less lethal weapons, and legal updates.

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