Bellevue Releases Police Use Of Force Report, Seeks More Feedback

BELLEVUE, WA — Bellevue city officials on Wednesday released a draft report on police use of force policies, including nearly four dozen recommended changes to department practices.

The 41-page report is the third step in a summer pledge made by the city council and signed by Mayor Lynne Robinson, committing to a "fresh look" at law enforcement policies amid summer protests against systemic racism and police killings.

Bellevue's Office of Independent Review authored the report, consulting community feedback, and is seeking further input ahead of its final recommendations.

According to the OIR, more than 200 residents registered for three virtual listening sessions leading up to the report, sharing their experiences with Bellevue police and ideas for areas of improvement.

Nine other listening sessions focused on "stakeholder groups," and the city accepted feedback online and via a survey. In the report, officials said listening sessions and e-mails addressed use of force policies and included broader feedback on things like training, law enforcement culture and civilian police oversight. The survey results, meanwhile, were "overwhelmingly" in support of the department and against calls to defund police, the OIR wrote.

The city sought feedback specific to use of force policies, including transparency, de-escalation practices, use of crowd control weapons and neck restraints. Other topics in the spotlight were establishing a "duty to intervene" policy that would compel officers to report colleagues that use excessive force.

Among the 47 recommendations are changes to de-escalation and proportional use of force requirements, prohibiting chokeholds and vascular neck restraints, outfitting officers with body-worn cameras and clarifying rules guiding the use of tear gas.

The city will accept additional feedback through Friday, Feb. 19 via e-mail, and residents are encouraged to complete a short survey online.

Here are all 47 recommendations included in the OIR's draft report:

1 BPD should incorporate a provision into its policy manual stating its

commitment to the sanctity and preservation of life and the dignity of
every individual.

2 BPD should incorporate the concept of proportionality into its Use of
Force policy.

3 BPD should finalize its de-escalation policy.

4 BPD should create policy requiring officers to include in their force
documentation any efforts at de-escalation prior to using force and if no
efforts were made, to explain the circumstances about why they were
not feasible.

5 BPD should create policy requiring supervisory review of force
incidents to evaluate any efforts officers made to de-escalate the
encounter and if they used no de-escalation tactics or techniques, to
consider whether such efforts would have been feasible.

6 BPD should devise protocols that encourage supervisors to identify and
commend officers who use successful de-escalation strategies to avoid
uses of force.

7 BPD policy should provide special guidance to its school resource
officers that recognizes the particular importance of de-escalation in the
school environment and acknowledges the additional resources
available to officers working in the schools.

8 BPD should expressly include in its policy language advising its
officers of a duty to intervene when they observe an officer use
unreasonable force.

9 BPD should expressly include in its policy language advising its
officers of a duty to promptly report when they observe another officer
use unreasonable force or have intervened in order to prevent an officer
from using unreasonable force.

10 BPD should consider revising or eliminating its duty of loyalty policy.

11 BPD should modify its force policy to require express documentation
and supervisory review of whether reasonably effective alternatives to
force were considered or attempted.

12 BPD should modify its deadly force policy to prohibit the use of deadly
force against an individual who only poses a danger to self.

13 BPD should modify its deadly force policy to include a requirement
that officers provide a warning before using deadly force, when
feasible.

14 BPD should include the dates policies are revised or adopted with its
online policy manual.

15 BPD should remove the neck hold as an authorized force option from
its policy manual.

16 BPD should modify its policy to advise officers of the dangers and
ineffectiveness of shooting at or from moving vehicles.

17 BPD should modify its policy to require officers to stay out of the path
of a moving vehicle and move out of the path of a moving vehicle and
retreat to a place of safety when feasible.

18 BPD should modify its Use of Force policy to expressly include K-9
bites as a use of force incident that is subject to all other force
principles and policies such as de-escalation and proportionality.

19 BPD should modify its policy to expressly include K-9 bites in the
Department’s force review process.

20 BPD should require a K-9 handler to obtain medical assistance for a
subject as soon as possible after a K-9 use of force.

21 BPD should place its K-9 policy online.

22 BPD should revise policy to prevent simultaneous deployment of
multiple Tasers on the same subject.

23 BPD should revise policy to restrict Taser applications to five second
activations.

24 BPD should revise policy to require officers to reassess the threat level
before redeploying the Taser and limit the number of deployments to
three or less.

25 BPD should revise policy to set out the medical assistance required
after a Taser deployment including the removal of any prongs from
subject.

26 BPD should eliminate the use of drive stun mode as a pain compliance
measure.

27 BPD should set out the documentation and review requirements for
Taser deployment including the downloading of Taser deployment
data.

28 BPD should modify its policy to clarify the type of threat that justifies
ERID deployment and make clear that they should not be used against
a passively resistive subject.

29 BPD should clarify its policy to define an “unruly” crowd or eliminate
the term from its policy.

30 BPD should modify its policy to require a warning and provide an
opportunity to comply before ERID deployment.

31 BPD should develop policy that clarifies the type of resistance and
threat that justifies CS gas use that goes beyond “necessary.”

32 BPD policy should require officers to provide a warning and
opportunity to comply before the deployment of CS gas.

33 BPD should develop a demonstration and crowd control policy,
balancing the exercise of First Amendment activity with interests in
public safety.

34 BPD should publish on its website any munitions authorized for use by
its Civil Disturbance Unit or SWAT team.

35 BPD should update its supervisory force review policy to correspond to
its current practice and incorporate the supervisor “checklist” into
policy.

36 BPD should develop policy to create a critical incident review board
that would formally examine serious incidents through the prisms of
tactics and decision-making, policy compliance, accountability,
equipment, supervision, training, and post-incident management such
as timely provision of medical aid.

37 The City should consider outfitting its officers with body-worn cameras
while also developing a policy governing their use that provides
personnel clear direction and guidance on camera activation,
supervisory responsibilities, and the use of footage for investigative,
audit and training purposes, as well as clear standards for the public
release of video footage.

38 BPD should delete its policy that indicates use of force report copies
shall not be retained after the review process is completed.

39 BPD should revise its policies to allow for the creation of an early
intervention system with regard to uses of force and remove any current
language prohibiting consideration of an officer’s frequency of force
incidents.

40 BPD should regularly publish on its website its use of force data,
broken down by types of force used, and demographics, and should
include data on the extent to which alcohol, drugs, or the subject’s
mental health status played a role in the incident.

41 BPD should post its annual use of force report on its website.

42 BPD should post its Professional Standards Annual Report on its
website.

43 BPD should draft and implement an administrative investigative
protocol for officer-involved deadly force incidents, prioritizing the
Department’s approach to administrative interviews of involved
officers, and ensuring that BPD has a timely account from those
officers.

44 BPD should modify its Firearms Review Board provisions to ensure
that witnesses are formally interviewed rather than being called before
any Board for fact gathering.

45 BPD should update the Firearm Review Board policy to provide a
comprehensive review of shooting incidents that includes the
performance of all involved personnel (including supervisors and nonforce users) as well as issues of policy, training, tactics, supervision, planning and coordination, choice of force options, and post-incident conduct and performance.

46 BPD should update its “Mentally Ill Person” policy to correspond to
current practices and expectations.

47 BPD should develop policy and protocol to ensure that its Advisory
Councils are consulted regarding use of force policy revisions prior to
being finalized.