Start the video at 3:14:00 to see the discussion of the report at the Wednesday Commission Meeting.
TALLAHASSEE, FL (#WTXLDigital) – An outside review of the Tallahassee Police Department took a detailed look at many of the agency's policies. The department's use of force procedures were front and center in the report; a nod to the pressure being put on police departments across the country to re-evaluate how officers respond to incidents that turn dangerous.
Police Chief Michael DeLeo presented the findings of the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) to the Tallahassee City Commission on Wednesday.
The report looks over six policies and procedures at the department; use of force, incident report writing, the department's field training program, Internal Affairs investigations and complaint resolution, high-risk operations, and special investigation and confidential informants.
One seemingly small change the report recommended that could have a big impact on the department was adding more precise definitions to many of its policies.
For example, the report says to change the definition of force from "the amount of 'active power, strength or energy' necessary to overcome a suspect's physical resistance," to, "Force means the following actions by a member of the department: any physical strike or instrumental contact with a person, or any significant physical contact that restricts the movement of a person. The term includes, but is not limited to, the use of firearms, electronic control weapons (ECW), chemical spray, bean bag shotgun, pepper ball gun, hard empty hands, the taking of a person to the ground, or the deployment of a canine. The term does not include escorting or handcuffing a person with no or minimal resistance."
DeLeo explained to commissioners at the meeting that this change would provide clarity between officers and supervisors, regardless of whether or not they were working together during an incident.
One recommendation that DeLeo says the department is still deciding whether or not they want to implement is a ban on shooting at moving vehicles and shooting from moving vehicles, if the vehicle is the only weapon in the incident.
This is a type of incident the department has encountered in the past. In 2014 at Cheek's Lounge, TPD officers fired their weapons at the driver of a moving vehicle, shooting and killed 18-year-old Duane Strong Junior. A grand jury ruled that the officers were justified in using deadly force and an Internal Affairs investigation into the shooting also cleared the officers of any wrongdoing.
Another hot-button issue brought up in the report is that TPD should consider implementing bodycameras. The report says, "Many agencies at the local, state and national level are in the process of studying, piloting and implementing body-worn camera programs as a method of maintaining and restoring the public trust. For this reason, the TPD should consider deploying body worn cameras."
The department is still evaluating and implementing some of the recommendations but DeLeo told the Mayor, City Manager and City Commission that the department is working with officers to make sure they fully understand the policy changes.
"What we are trying to build at the police department is a model agency established on best practices. [We are] really trying to become a leader in the field so when other people are looking at what they should do, they are saying well what does the Tallahassee Police Department do," said DeLeo.
WTXL has reached out to the Tallahassee Police Department to see which policies are being implemented and where they are in the process.
