SLC police report officers using less force
Feb 25, 2022, 5:56 PM | Updated: Dec 29, 2022, 11:44 am
SALT LAKE CITY -- In a Twitter post, SLCPD says they're responding to a shooting near 100 South State Street. At this time SLCPD says no threat to the community is present and the scene is being secured. (Scott G. Winterton/Deseret News)
(Scott G. Winterton/Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake City Police Department says its officers are using less force when responding to emergency calls.
Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown says officers used force in less than 1% of calls last year.
He says the majority of the time officers are using physical force, not force with a weapon.
“We’re reactionary to the compliance or the non-compliance of those subjects we’re dealing with,” Brown said. “If they’re very compliant, there’s no use of force. If they’re non-compliant, then we have to take the necessary steps to take them into custody and do it safely.”
Numbers down from 2020, despite more assaults on police
“There were 154 fewer instances of use of force in 2021 than what we would have expected from 2020,” he said. “When taking into account the increases in calls handled, the number of arrests, the increases in resisting arrest, and assaults on police officer cases.”
Brown credits policy, training, and the officers with the numbers staying so low.
The average person who police are using force on is a 34-year-old white man.
Police using less force
“I appreciate the Salt Lake City Police Department’s commitment to transparency, and I’m also pleased to see ‘Use of Force’ numbers are down,” said Mayor Erin Mendenhall in a statement. “The commitment to training and updated policies my administration enacted in 2020 are paying off and it is evident they are keeping our law enforcement officers and the public safer.”
You can request a hard copy of the report here.
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