In August of this year, the SCPD forwarded me its Policy 300, covering Use of Force. They also refused to respond to the substantive part of my request detailing when and where they drew their guns, shot their guns, used their tasers, initiated choke holds, used their clubs or pepper-sprayed. City Council’s “Public Safety” Committee has been spending its time wagging its tail behind the “Homeless Are Criminals” Public Safety Task Force and, as far as I know ignored this important issues that have now assumed national prominence. I include my initial Public Records Act request and the responses that followed.
Are racial stats available in regular reports that may clarify whether other police officers are disproportionately citing African-American (“black”) people in issuing citations. (See “Race and Class Bias in the SCPD: What’s the Real Story” at http://www.indybay.org/
When and where are the specific uses of force used, as described in the original Public Records Act above. Who used them? What injuries were created? Were the individuals so impacted ever charged with or convicted of crimes?
NOW IS THE TIME…. for public pressure and protest to demand answers to these questions, so Santa Cruz can separate itself from the National Shame of class and racial police abuse. With the national media focused on these issues, we are at our strongest point in raising issues long ignored here.
STRAIGHT FROM THE DARK POLICY MANUAL OF THE SCPD ITSELF:
SCPD PAIN-COMPLIANCE TECHNIQUES…”Officers may only apply those pain compliance techniques…when the officer reasonably believes that the use of such a technique appears necessary to further a legitimate law enforcement purpose.”
CHOKE HOLDS: “The carotid restraint may only be used when the officer reasonably believes that such a hold appears necessary to prevent serious injury or death to an officer or other person(s).”
DEADLY FORCE: “An officer may use deadly force to protect himself/herself or others from what he/she reasonably believes would be an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury…[or] to stop a fleeing suspect when the officer has probably cause to believe that the suspect has committed or intends to commit, a felony involving the infliction or threatened infliction of serious bodily injury or death, and the officer reasonably believes that there is an imminent or future potential risk of serous bodily injury or death to any other person if the suspect is not immediately apprehended.”
LEG RESTRAINTS, CONTROL DEVICES, AND TASERS: Go to http://www.indybay.org/
THE LONG SNAKY TRAIL AND THE STRUGGLE YET AHEAD
In August of this year in response to a Public Records Act request, the SCPD forwarded me its Policy 300, covering Use of Force. However refused to respond to the substantive part of my request detailing when and where they drew their guns, shot their guns, used their tasers, initiated choke holds, used their clubs or pepper-sprayed. City Council’s “Public Safety” Committee has been spending its time wagging its tail behind the “Homeless Are Criminals” Public Safety Task Force. Yet these issues are of particular local importance for those of us who want to restore real peace and justice in our community. Hopefully this record may be helpful in those carrying on the investigation and the struggle.
I reprint the correspondence in Comment section below as well as my latest follow-up Public Records Act Request .
2011 SCPD POLICY MANUAL IN ALL ITS GLORY
For the 2011 SCPD Policy Manual go to http://www.indybay.org/
Hopefully Jacqui will be providing the updated manual (if it has been updated) soon.
If anyone else has been having fruitful correspondence (or unfruitful correspondence for that matter) with the SCPD–please post your results.
FURTHER DOCUMENTATION AT https://www.indybay.org/