Police Data Collection Request (2021)

Dear Samuel Sinyangwe:

Lee County Sheriff's Office received a public records request from you on August 15, 2022. You requested the following:

" To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Florida Sunshine Law, I hereby request the following records:

1. the total number of use of force incidents, separated by type of force and year used in 2021 (for example, information that specifies the number of taser incidents in 2021, baton incidents in 2021, etc.)

2. the total number of civilian complaints alleging any form of law enforcement misconduct that were reported and the total number sustained in 2021.

3. the total number of civilian complaints alleging law enforcement use of excessive force that were reported and the total number sustained in 2021.

4. the total number of civilian complaints alleging biased policing or racial profiling that were reported and the total number sustained in 2021.

5. the total number of civilian complaints alleging criminal conduct that were reported and the total number sustained in 2021.

6. the total number of officer involved shootings in 2021, both fatal and non-fatal.

When available, I would appreciate being sent individualized data for each item in this request in spreadsheet format. If individualized data are unavailable, please send information that includes aggregate statistics for the item instead.

Note that my requests for civilian complaints are specifically for civilian complaints alleging police misconduct, please do not include complaints filed by one officer/the department against another officer.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 business days.

Sincerely,

Samuel Sinyangwe

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Sincerely,
Public Information Office / Central Records

Central Records
Central Records

--- Please respond above this line ---

Type of Force 2020
Asp  1
Chemical Agent  44
Deadly Force  14
K‐9  42
Physical Force  97
Pursuit  22
Taser  128
Takedown resulting in injury  Not tracked
Less Lethal  2
Total  350
Type of Force 2021
Asp   5
Chemical Agent 32
Deadly Force  5
K‐9  15
Physical Force  55
Pursuit  13
Taser 111
Takedown resulting in injury  28
Less Lethal  6
Total  270
2021 complaints total 283, sustained 23.
2021 Excessive Force complaints total 3, sustained 0.
2021 Bias based complaints 5 total, sustained 0.
2021 Criminal conduct complaints total 8, sustained 3.
2021 Officer involved shootings total 5, Fatal ‐ 1, non‐fatal ‐ 4.