Community Feedback and Final Recommendations: Duty to intervene in cases of improper or excessive use of force

Duty to Intervene in Cases of Improper
or Excessive Use of Force
A duty-to-intervene policy creates an affirmative obligation for police officers to stop fellow officers
from engaging in certain conduct prohibited by law or department policy. 82 Campaign Zero's 8 Can't
Wait initiative recommends that police departments require officers to intervene and report
unnecessary or excessive force used by other officers. 83 The murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis
Police Department Officer Derek Chauvin brought this issue to the forefront of public discourse in
2020. It reinforced the dire need for police departments to require that officers hold each other
accountable and intervene in cases of excessive force and other misconduct.
In Resolution 95, the Austin City Council said it was the official policy of the City that APD policies
"
...requiring officers to intervene to stop improper or excessive uses of force by their fellow officers
should be appropriately enforced."
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APD's current policy in this area lacks the specificity necessary to make it enforceable in many cases
when it should apply.
Click here for OPO's Phase I analysis of this policy topic.
Analysis of community feedback on the duty to intervene in cases of improper or
excessive use of force
Quantitative Data
47% of respondents said current policy on the duty to intervene in cases of improper or
excessive use of force does not make them feel safe
66% of respondents said that they believed that policy should list the different ways an officer
can intervene
80% of respondents said that any officers who witness improper or excessive use of force by any
other officer and do not interfere should be required to report the full circumstances of the
incident
Qualitative Data
The majority of respondents who mentioned this policy were supportive of OPO's proposed changes,
with support expressed for more clarity and specificity as to how the reporting should be done.
Respondents favored giving officers a way to hold those in their ranks accountable, with realistic
considerations for protecting officers who do the reporting.
Feedback on this policy showed overwhelming support for officers having a duty to intervene for
professional and ethical integrity reasons. Some respondents expressed concern for officers who
intervene and recommended that protections be put in place to prevent their careers from being
negatively impacted due to intervening or reporting excessive force.
Office of Police Oversight
Duty to Intervene in Cases of Improper
or Excessive Use of Force
Below are selected comments from community feedback:
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"We frequently hear the argument that police brutality is caused by a
few bad apples. If good officers don't protect us from the bad ones,
who will?"
"I agree intervention should be defined. And, I believe there should be
a whistleblower protection so that people calling out these issues do
not become targets themselves of a culture of not reporting this. So, I
think reporting requirements should be defined, intervention should
be defined, and I think it should be outside the chain of command to
protect those that do come forward."
"Should follow the chain of command or ranking officer should be the
final word. Any issues that come up should be reported."
Recommendations from community feedback
Adopt OPO's amended recommendations
OPO's preliminary review of APD's duty-to-intervene policy highlighted five concerns:
Under current policy, terms used are vague or undefined
The policy does not specify the means for intervening
The policy's scope is too narrow
Department hierarchical issues are not addressed
Reporting requirements are not defined
In its Phase I report, OPO made a series of recommendations to improve APD's policies. The
table below compares APD's current policies and OPO's proposed recommendations with
Austin City Council Resolution 95, 8 Can't Wait, and best practices from leading police
organizations.
Office of Police Oversight
Duty to Intervene in Cases of Improper
or Excessive Use of Force
Table 7. Comparing OPO's Proposed Recommendations and APD's Current Policy
on the Duty to Intervene
OPO's Proposed Recommendations
APD's Current Policy
Aligns with information from:
Aligns with information from:
YES Police Executive Research
NO Police Executive Research
85
Forum
Forum 89
YES International Association of Chiefs
NO International Association of Chiefs
90
86
of Police
of Police
87
91
YES 8 Can't Wait
NO 8 Can't Wait
YES Austin City Council
NO Austin City Council
Resolution 95 88 88
Resolution 95* 92
*APD's current policy does not align with Resolution 95 because it lacks the specificity necessary to be
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enforceable in many cases when it should apply.
Since OPO made preliminary recommendations in January 2021, there have not been any updated
best practices contradicting this information.
OPO has analyzed the community's feedback. OPO has also considered current best practices and
research into the role of peer intervention in enhancing safety for community members and
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officers.
After examining this information, OPO recommends that APD adopt OPO's preliminary
recommendations with the following amendments:
Office of Police Oversight
Duty to Intervene in Cases of Improper
or Excessive Use of Force
Table 8. OPO's Preliminary and Amended Recommendation to APD's Policy on the Duty to Intervene
OPO's Preliminary Recommendation
OPO's Amended Recommendation
GO 200.1.3
GO 200.1.3
GO 200.1.3 DUTY TO INTERVENE
GO 200.1.3 DUTY TO INTERVENE
(b) Intervening officers shall make every effort
(b) Intervening officers shall make every
to safely intervene by verbal and physical
effort to safely intervene by verbal and
means as the situation requires; if verbal
physical means as the situation requires; if
intervention is not enough to stop the act(s),
verbal intervention is not enough to stop
intervening officers shall make every effort to
the act(s), intervening officers shall make
safely intervene through physical means.
every effort to safely intervene through
Examples of physical intervention methods
physical means.
include, but are not limited to, the following:
Examples of verbal intervention methods
1. Physically positioning oneself in
include, but are not limited to, the
between the officer(s) whose
following:
conduct is in question and the other
1. Redirecting the officer's attention to
involved individual(s);
something else;
2. Using physical force to remove an
2. Direct confrontation or direct orders,
officer from a particular area; or
as applicable.
3. Using physical force to stop an
officer's physical contact with an
Examples of physical intervention
involved individual.
methods include, but are not limited to,
the following:
1. Physically positioning oneself in
between the officer(s) whose
conduct is in question and the other
involved individual(s);
2. Using physical force to remove an
officer from a particular area; or
3. Using physical force to stop an
officer's physical contact with an
involved individual.
Office of Police Oversight
Duty to Intervene in Cases of Improper
or Excessive Use of Force
Table 8. OPO's Preliminary and Amended Recommendation to APD's Policy on the Duty to Intervene (continued)
OPO's Preliminary Recommendation
OPO's Amended Recommendation
GO 200.1.3
GO 200.1.3
(f) Notwithstanding General Orders 110.4.3
(f) Notwithstanding General Orders 110.4.3
and 110.4.4, this policy creates an affirmative
and 110.4.4, this policy creates an
duty to intervene regardless of rank or
affirmative duty to intervene regardless of
whether the intervening officer is of higher or
rank or whether the intervening officer is of
lower rank than the officer(s) whose conduct
higher or lower rank than the officer(s)
is in question.
whose conduct is in question. Employees
will not, in any way, cause or conspire to
cause retaliatory action against an
employee who intervenes or attempts to
intervene.
(g) Regardless of their role during a call or
(g) Regardless of their role during a call or
original purpose for being in the vicinity, it is
original purpose for being in the vicinity, it
the duty of every on-scene witness officer to
is the duty of every on-scene witness
intervene unless and until the conduct in
officer to intervene unless and until the
question has been stopped.
conduct in question has been stopped. In
those situations that trigger a duty to
intervene, officers shall accept, without
question, the intervention of another
officer.
NOTE: New OPO recommendations are shown in bold, underlined text.
Click here for more information about OPO's preliminary recommendation.
Duty to Intervene in Cases of Improper
or Excessive Use of Force
OPO's recommendations incorporate community feedback and/or the City of Austin's official position
by:
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Implementing additional guidelines, which will support enforceability
Explicitly prohibiting retaliation against intervening officers
Describing the ways that an officer should intervene
Providing clear reporting guidelines
OPO's recommendations incorporate guidance from law enforcement research and policy
organizations by:
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Addressing hierarchical issues in police culture
Causing the duty to be triggered when officers believe another officer is preparing to engage in
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misconduct and when they witness the officer engage in misconduct
Creating a standalone policy that covers misconduct outside of the use-of-force
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Describing the ways that an officer should intervene 99
100
Explicitly prohibiting retaliation against intervening officers
Requiring officers to accept, without question, the intervention of another officer101 101
Office of Police Oversight