1 | P a g e
DATE: NOVEMBER 4, 2024
TO: HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: POLICE CHIEF ANDREW BINDER
SUBJECT: USE OF FORCE SUPPLEMENT TO IPA REPORT
This memorandum responds to the City Council’s November 2020 direction to provide use of force summary data (which encompasses all use of force incidents in which a “Supervisor’s Report on Use of Force” has been completed by the Police Department) as an attachment to each Independent Police Auditor (IPA) report. Policy Manual §300 (“Use of Force”) requires that all uses of force by Police Department members “be documented promptly, completely, and accurately in an appropriate report.”1 The policy also requires that, under certain circumstances, a “Supervisor’s Report on Use of Force” also be completed by the supervisor, and routed for approval through the chain of command up to and including the Police Chief. Most commonly, a “Supervisor’s Report on Use of Force” is completed after an officer uses some form of force that results in a visible or apparent physical injury to a subject or the subject complains of pain or alleges they were injured.
Consistent with the IPA’s expanded scope of administrative review established by the City Council in November 2020, the Department forwards the following types of use of force cases to the IPA for review and recommendations: all cases where a subject’s injuries necessitate any treatment beyond minor medical treatment in the field, and all cases where an officer uses a baton, chemical agent, TASER, less lethal projectile, canine, or firearm. The IPA’s scope of administrative review was further-expanded in July 2021 to include cases when a firearm is pointed at a subject.
Consistent with the practice established in the May 2023 iteration of this memorandum, the Department is choosing to release the race of the recipient(s) of any force used.
This summary covers the period of January 1, 2024 thru June 30, 2024.
Use of Force Cases
From January 1, 2024 thru June 30, 2024, the Police Department responded to more than 19,800 calls for service and effected more than 650 arrests. During that time, there were six cases where force requiring a “Supervisor’s Report on Use of Force” was used, one of which fell within the IPA’s scope of administrative review. The IPA’s review of that case appears in the current IPA report, along with its review of one case from December 2023.
1 The Palo Alto Police Department Policy Manual is updated quarterly and posted online at https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/Departments/Police/Public-Information-Portal/Police-Policy-Manual.
2 | P a g e
The race of the subjects upon whom force was used during the first half of 2024 was Black (3), White (1), Hispanic (1), and Other (1).
Firearm Pointed at Person Cases
From January 1, 2024 thru June 30, 2024, officers pointed a firearm at a person on four occasions. The IPA review of these incidents will appear in a future IPA report.
The current IPA report includes a review of nine incidents during which officers pointed a firearm at a person, all of which occurred in the second half of 2023 but for which administrative reports were not completed until after January 1, 2024. In their review of these nine incidents, the IPA concurred in each case with the Department’s findings that the pointing of the firearm was justified by the circumstances and consistent with policy. In the nine incidents described in the current IPA report, the race of the subjects at whom a firearm was pointed were Black (3), Hispanic (3), White (2), and Asian (1).
January – June 2024 Use of Force Summary
Type of Force Number of Cases Status of IPA Review
Physical Strength 6 Completed
Chemical Agent 0
TASER 0
Baton 0
Less-Lethal Projectile 0
Canine 0
Firearm 0