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Police Oversight Reports and Recommendations

October 13, 2021

Community Feedback and Final Recommendations: Warn before shooting

Warning before shooting is a tactic that can help to slow down tense interactions and provide community members with another opportunity to comply before officers use deadly force. Campaign Zero’s 8 Can’t Wait initiative recommends that police departments “[r]equire officers to give a verbal warning in all situations before using deadly force.” I

APD’s current policy on this topic is unclear and lacks specificity. Additionally, as it relates to warnings, APD’s current policies on less-lethal force are more detailed than its policies on lethal force.

Background

The Office of Police Oversight (OPO) developed final recommendations to revise the Austin Police Department’s (APD) use-of-force policies. The policy areas covered in this report include restricting shooting at moving vehicles, exhausting all alternatives before using deadly force, de-escalation, duty to intervene, banning chokeholds and strangleholds, and warning before shooting.

OPO’s final recommendations incorporated community feedback and compared APD’s current use-of-force policies to national best practices in policing. This report concludes OPO’s three-phase approach to facilitating the rewrite of APD’s General Orders related to six use-of-force policy topics. The revision of the Austin Police Department’s General Orders is a part of the City Council resolutions passed in June 2020.

Read the full report here.

Read the preliminary recommendations here.

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Warn Before Shooting
Warning before shooting is a tactic that can help to slow down tense interactions and provide
community members with another opportunity to comply before officers use deadly force. 125
Campaign Zero's 8 Can't Wait initiative recommends that police departments "[r]equire officers to
give a verbal warning in all situations before using deadly force." "126
In Resolution 95, Council directed that "[u]se of force shall incorporate de-escalation tactics in all
Circumstances." Warning before shooting is considered a de-escalation tactic. 127
APD's current policy on this topic is unclear and lacks specificity. Additionally, as it relates to
warnings, APD's current policies on less-lethal force are more detailed than its policies on lethal
force. 128
Click here for OPO's Phase I analysis of this policy topic.
Analysis of community feedback on warn before shooting
Quantitative data
49% of individuals responded that APD's current policy on warning before shooting makes
them feel safe, while 47% stated they do not feel safe
55% of respondents believe that policy must specify how an officer should warn before
shooting
Qualitative Data
Overall, respondents expressed diverging concerns about this policy area. Many responded
that disabilities and language barriers should be considered, while others believed that some
people who interact with the police don't merit a warning if a potential crime has been
committed.
Those who support changing APD's policies reasoned that the current policy doesn't account
for situations where a person may not hear or understand an officer's warning, including
those who don't understand English and people living with a mental health condition.
Community members responded that the potential for officers to kill someone by discharging
their firearm is great, and there should be more clearly defined steps taken to ensure that a
person understands that they are facing this risk.
Those who responded that a change wasn't needed reasoned that there may not be enough
time for an officer to provide a warning in every situation and that it may put them in danger.
Further, community members not in support of OPO's proposed changes repeated concerns
that warning before shooting could place an officer at a tactical disadvantage.
Office of Police Oversight
Warn Before Shooting
Below are selected comments from community feedback:
"
"Much more warning must be given before using force. My daughter for
example has a diagnosed listening comprehension disorder related to
her ASD which has a documented effect on her ability to accurately
follow directions in a timely manner. She doesn't look disabled but I am
not confident that given certain scenarios people like her (especially men
and people of color) would be safe from getting shot at by the police."
"I think that a warning should be mandatory and I think we should think
broadly about people with different abilities as to how we give a warning
so a verbal warning won't work for everybody. I think how a warning is
given should have a standard of consistency across officers training,
consistent with comprehensive training around different abilities so that
there is a range of ways you warn people before you end their life."
Recommendations from community feedback
Adopt OPO's preliminary recommendations.
OPO's preliminary review of APD's policy on warning before shooting highlighted three concerns:
Without further detail in policy, feasibility language is ambiguous
The policy is more robust for less-lethal force warnings
The policy does not specify how a warning should be given
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
Warn Before Shooting
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.
Table 10. Comparing OPO's Proposed Recommendations and APD's Current Policy on Warn Before Shooting
OPO's Proposed Recommendations
APD's Current Policy
Aligns with information from:
Aligns with information from:
129
!
Police Executive Research Forum*
Police Executive Research Forum * 133
!
YES International Association of
NO International Association of Chiefs
134
Chiefs of Police 130
of Police
131
135
YES 8 Can't Wait
NO 8 Can't Wait
YES Austin City Council
NO Austin City Council
Resolution 95 132
Resolution 95 136
*The Police Executive Research Forum has not publicly taken a clear position on this topic, but the
concept of warning before shooting appears to align with broader de-escalation recommendations from
the Police Executive Research Forum; providing warnings is considered a key de-escalation tactic.
137
Office of Police Oversight
Warn Before Shooting
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. After
examining this information, OPO recommends that APD adopt OPO's preliminary recommendations.
OPO's recommendations incorporate community feedback and/or the City of Austin's official position
by:
Requiring that officers provide a warning before shooting except in limited circumstances
Permitting officers to shoot without first issuing a warning when the use of deadly force is
immediately necessary to prevent imminent death or serious bodily injury to officers or
bystanders on scene and giving a warning will create additional risk.
Requiring officers to include specific information in a warning
OPO's recommendations incorporate guidance from law enforcement research and policy
organizations by:
138
Requiring that officers provide a warning before shooting except in limited circumstances
Permitting officers to shoot without first issuing a warning when providing a warning would
139
negatively impact officer or community safety
140
Requiring officers to include specific information in a warning
Office of Police Oversight