The Minneapolis Police Department is in the process of enacting a Use of Force policy that is 72 pages long. Considering that the defining case law on the issue, Graham v. Connor, is much less in length with the objective reasonableness standard just a paragraph, you may be asking why the policy is so long.
The answer is quite simple.
The longer the policy, containing very specific language combined with extremely vague language, gives the agency the best possible chance to discipline, fire, and even prosecute a police officer that has been tasked with making a split second decision under extreme amounts of stress.
Here are just some of the examples within the policy that are not present in case law and designed to confuse and even harm law enforcement officers.
Sanctity of life and the protection of the public are the cornerstones of the MPD’s use of force policy. Officers must recognize and respect the sanctity of life and value of all human life, and the need to treat everyone with dignity and without prejudice.
Of course “sanctity of life” is the primary mission of all first responders but after a use of force incident, often made with limited information, who will be judging the officer on this section?
Officers shall engage in interactions with community members and resolve incidents without resorting to the use of force, including through de-escalation strategies, when feasible.
Once again, who is making the determination of “when feasible?”
The United States Supreme Court (Graham v. Connor) clearly says that the “reasonableness of a particular use of force must be judged from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene, and its calculus must embody an allowance for the fact that police officers are often forced to make split-second decisions about the amount of force necessary in a particular situation.”
“When feasible” is hardly what the court was saying.
Officers shall only use force consistent with a critical decision-making model, and only when that specific type of force is objectively reasonable, necessary, and proportional to the threat as reasonably perceived at the time.
Read what the court said above and compare it to this convoluted statement. You won’t find “critical-decision making model, perceived, proportional, necessary, etc” being said by the court.
Officers shall act in a manner that promotes trust between MPD and the communities it serves.
Using legal force has nothing to do with promoting “trust” and everything to do with officer and community safety. Remember, “shall” means no flexibility and this statement is nothing more than a catch-all for any citizen or group to moan about the next viral video and give the agency reason to fire those involved.
Community trust is of course vital for law enforcement. We can’t “make” anyone trust us and this has no business in a use of force policy.
Officers have a clear affirmative duty to de-escalate and use de-escalation techniques and tactics to minimize the need to use force and increase the likelihood of voluntary compliance with legitimate and lawful orders.
Once again, de-escalation is important as long as it doesn’t place additional risk on the officer or community but this IS NOT what is being said here.
Sworn MPD employees shall use the lowest level of force needed to provide for the safety of any person or MPD employee, stop an attack, make an arrest, bring a person or situation safely under control, or prevent escape.
This sounds like Groundhog Day but who decides “lowest level of force?” Remember, police officers make decisions based on objective reasonableness and the courts acknowledge that they make these decisions with limited information and during stress. If an administrator is watching camera footage in their cozy office with days to consider lower levels of force, that is an issue.
While MN Statute includes Choke Holds as legally permissible in Deadly Force situations, MPD officers are prohibited from using such techniques, including in Deadly Force situations.
This is classic stupidity from the highest level. MPD can shoot someone but they can’t use choke holds…ever.
Run Away From Minneapolis
Frankly, we’ve seen enough and we only got through 14 pages. You can read the policy here. The lack of leadership in Minneapolis has been well documented and while this was expected, it makes us wonder how any police officer in the city can continue serving under the first 14 pages of the policy.
Once we upgrade our server, we will detail the remaining 58 pages…
