Recomendación: Agotar todas las otras alternatives antes de usar la fuerza letal
Para eliminar el uso de la fuerza letal policial, la iniciativa de 8 no Pueden Esperar (8 Can’t Wait,) de la Campaña Cero (Campaign Zero) recomienda que los departamentos policiales agoten todas las alternativas antes de emplear la fuerza letal. Alternativas al uso de la fuerza letal incluyen la evitación del conflicto, técnicas de manos vacías y opciones menos letales (eg. El uso de la pistola de descarga eléctrica).
La política actual del Departamento de la Policía de Austin no requiere el agotamiento de todas alternativas, incluyendo a las opciones menos-letales y sin-fuerza, antes de usar la fuerza como última opción.
Información sobre 8 No Pueden Esperar
El departamento de la Fiscalización de la Policía presenta recomendaciones sobre políticas del uso de la fuerza como parte de un gran esfuerza para reescribir las Órdenes Generales (General Orders) del departamento de la Policía de Austin. Esta revisión a las Ordenes Generales del Departamento de la Policía es parte de las resoluciones pasadas en junio del 2020 por el Concejo Municipal de Austin.
Puede obtener mas información sobre las resoluciones del Concejo Municipal en la pagina oficial de Reimaginando la seguridad publica en la ciudad de Austin,
La primera etapa involucra analizando cómo las políticas actuales del Departamento de la Policía de Austin se comparan a las recomendaciones políticas hechas por 8 No Pueden Esperar (8 Can’t Wait), una iniciativa por la Campaña Cero (Campaign Zero) promueve las políticas que reducen el uso de fuerza letal policial.
Contenido del documento
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Introduction
Campaign Zero's 8 Can't Wait initiative recommends that police departments "[r]equire officers to
exhaust all other alternatives, including non-force and less-lethal force options, prior to resorting
deadly force."4 In other words, under this recommendation, officers should only use deadly
40
to
force as a last resort. Some alternatives to deadly force include: conflict avoidance, empty-hand
techniques, and less-lethal force options (e.g. TASER devices).41
41
This policy recommendation is intended to eliminate the unnecessary use of deadly force.
Currently, APD's deadly force policy does not require that officers exhaust all alternatives prior to
using deadly force. 42
Exhaust All Alternatives Before Using Deadly Force
Policy review findings
Under APD's current deadly force policy, there is no
requirement to exhaust all alternatives
APD's General Orders consists of both introductory sections and
conduct-specific sections. The introductory sections discuss ethics
and APD's philosophy.43 Following the introductory sections are the
chapters and sections with specific directives.
44
Currently, the only explicit language in the General Orders
pertaining to the use of deadly force as a last resort is the section
detailing APD's philosophy. 45 While articulating a police
department's general philosophy is a valuable exercise, the policy
sections with specific directives are what provide officers with
substantive information about what is required of them.
While the rest of the relevant policies listed below may tangentially
relate to the exhaustion of all alternatives, nowhere do any of them
explicitly direct officers to use deadly force only as a last resort and
only after all available alternatives have been employed. 46
Current APD policies related to exhaustion of all
alternatives
The following APD policies are relevant to the exhaustion of all alternatives:
The Philosophy of the Austin Police Department, which is located in the introductory
paragraphs to the General Orders:
200.1.1 Philosophy - Response to Resistance;
200.3 Response to Resistance;
200.4 Deadly Force Applications; and
202.1.1 Policy - Firearm Discharge Situations.4 47
To view the full excerpts of these policies, please turn to Appendix B.
Office of Police Oversight
Exhaust All Alternatives Before Using Deadly Force
Recommended policy changes
Add the following definitions to General Order 200.1.2 Definitions:
Unreasonable - Conduct which, given the totality of the circumstances, is irrational, not
warranted, or not in accordance with practical realities.
Add the following section to APD General Order 200.4 Deadly Force Applications
and 202.1.1 Policy-Firearm Discharge Situations:
(b) Deadly force shall only be used as a last resort after all alternatives have been exhausted
or when, after analyzing the situation, alternatives have been rendered impossible by the
totality of the circumstances.
1. Officers shall utilize appropriate tactical communication and decision-making as
outlined in General Order 200.2 to ensure that they have the time, distance, and
resources to properly respond to situations they encounter.
2. Officers shall not take unreasonable or unnecessary actions that escalate any
situation to one that would require a deadly force response. Examples include, but
are not limited to, the following:
(a) Standing in front of a moving vehicle;
(b) Giving unclear commands;
(c) Giving an individual an insufficient amount of time to comply with commands;
(d) Drawing weapons before the officer has an objectively reasonable belief that
it will escalate to a deadly force situation; and
(e) Using profanity while giving commands.
3. Officers shall document in an incident report all deadly force alternatives used
during an encounter and what the involved individual's response was to each
technique. If deadly force was ultimately used, officers shall document in detail why
use of deadly force was necessary and objectively reasonable.
Office of Police Oversight