Reports of use of force by the Des Moines Police Department more than doubled from 2015 to 2019, according to the agency's own analysis, which also showed that Black residents were disproportionately affected compared to whites.
A PowerPoint presentation titled “Use of Force Analysis” — obtained this week by the Des Moines Register through an open records request — is a review that breaks down race, gender, stated reason, type of force and other metrics.
There were 192 documented uses of force in 2015, according to the data. In 2019, that number was 422 — a 120% increase.
But the reported total number of uses of force for each year is inconsistent between slides. The presentation also does not include context about whether the numbers of calls for service increased in recent years, a factor that could affect the numbers.
The department defines use of force as "the amount of effort required by officers to achieve compliance or overcome a subject’s physical resistance to any command, arrest, or detention." However, police spokesman Sgt. Paul Parizek on Thursday said the analysis in the presentation also includes people who harmed themselves — he gave an example of an inmate who banged her own head into the ground after being taken into custody.
Parizek said that the numbers are affected by the specificity of the department's reporting as well as some people's deliberate defiance of law enforcement orders, which he said often leaves officers with no other option than to use force.
"We document everything: … (when) an individual accidentally or intentionally creates an injury to themselves, a complaint of injury whether one is confirmed or not, and every instance of ‘traditional’ use of force,” Parizek wrote in a statement.
By far the most frequent use of force cited in the analysis was an individual being taken to the ground. There were 206 instances reported in 2019, and 211 in 2018. Handcuffing followed, with 130 incidents reported in 2019 and 122 in the previous year.
The data also indicates that Des Moines police did not use a firearm against anyone in 2019, after using a firearm three times the previous year. However, officers did fire a weapon in at least one instance that year, in March, when they fatally shot Luke Swann, a Des Moines resident who police said was a robbery suspect and had shot at them.
Parizek said use of force in Swann's case may have been overlooked because it was investigated through a different process that included outside law enforcement agencies.
"I'm guessing because of that, the number was overlooked," he said.
Wendy Vasquez, Swann's mother, told the Register on Thursday that her son's autopsy revealed he was shot at least 15 times. A grand jury ruled that the use of force was justified.
Vasquez trusts that the grand jury made the right decision. However, to not include the use of force against Swann in the 2019 data makes Vasquez question the credibility of the report, she said.
"It makes me wonder how many other cases are left out," Vasquez said.
Des Moines police used force against Black people at a much higher rate than against people of other races. Although Black residents make up about 11% of Des Moines’ population, 38% of the total uses of force reported in 2019 were against Black people, according to the DMPD report.
The presentation shows that about 50% of the total uses of force reported in 2019 were against white people, who make up 75% of its population.
Des Moines city spokesman Al Setka confirmed with the Register that the DMPD created the presentation. It was initially requested by Ward 3 councilman Josh Mandelbaum, who pulled his request to speak about use of force at a Monday City Council meeting after he obtained a copy of the report.
DMPD policy requires that officers provide a use of force analysis to be completed by March 31 of each year based on the previous calendar year’s data. But that policy was published on the DMPD website only within the last month, according to Mandelbaum.
DMPD policies are beginning to be posted on the department’s website as a condition of the city’s anti-racial profiling ordinance, which was passed in June. The ordinance was a result of negotiations with civil rights groups including the Iowa-Nebraska NAACP, the ACLU of Iowa, Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement and the League of United Latin American Citizens of Iowa.
DMPD's use of force has been under scrutiny in recent months following protests where officers have used pepper spray and tear gas on some protesters.
Data for 2020 is not yet available.
Andrea Sahouri covers breaking news for the Des Moines Register. She can be contacted at asahouri@registermedia.com, on Twitter @andreamsahouri, or by phone 515-284-8247.
Shelby Fleig covers the city of Des Moines for the Register. Reach her at shelbyfleig@dmreg.com or 515-214-8933.
Your subscription makes work like this possible. Subscribe today at DesMoinesRegister.com/Deal.
"use" - Google News
September 18, 2020 at 06:04AM
https://ift.tt/35LbvF2
Report shows increase in use of force by Des Moines police, disparities in races of the people involved - Des Moines Register
"use" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2P05tHQ
https://ift.tt/2YCP29R
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Report shows increase in use of force by Des Moines police, disparities in races of the people involved - Des Moines Register"
Post a Comment