Use of force (response to resistance) guidance, policies, and data (Seattle Police Department)
| Tracking # |
P061685-073120 |
| Multi Request | Use of force (response to resistance) guidance, policies, and data |
| Submitted | July 29, 2020 |
| Est. Completion | Dec. 16, 2020 |
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Communications
From: Beryl Lipton
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Washington Public Records Act, I hereby request the following records related to this agency's policies on and reporting of uses of force and responses to resistance:
• Policies.
Any and all policies guiding appropriate and inappropriate uses of force by any member or representative of this agency. These may also include “Response to Resistance” policies and similar guidance.
Please also provide all policies regarding the use of lethal, less-lethal, and non-lethal weapons (for example: TASERs pepper ball guns, rubber bullets, gases, sprays, water, etc.), including all policies regarding borrowing, accessing, or assuming responsibility for such weapons, tools, and ammunition.
Please also provide all policies or guidance related to reporting or tracking discharges from or uses of such weapons, as well as any other applicable policies or directives related to the acquisition, use, and reporting of weapons or tools.
Please also provide all policies and guidance used to evaluate any use of force or adjudicate administrative and internal investigations into any use of force or weapon discharge.
• Instructions for reporting. Any and all instructions and guidance related to the reporting of uses of force by any member or representative of this agency.
• Forms, coding descriptions, and other guidance.
All forms, codes, guides, and guidance used in the reporting and review of uses of force or weapons, including:
Any list of codes or definitions for terms or tags used in the reporting, collection, or review of uses of force.
A blank version of each form, log, and other documentation used to report or track uses of force by this agency.
A blank version of each form, log, and other documentation used to report or track the borrowing or use of lethal, less-lethal, and non-lethal weapons
A blank version of each form, log, and other documentation used to report or track any discharge of force from firearms, tools, or weapons employed by this agency
A copy of any guidance, requirements, laws, and policies issued by the state, including those issued as part of grant or other funding requirements, regarding this agency’s responsibilities for reportings uses of force or weapons
A copy of any guidance, requirements, laws, and policies issued by the federal government, including those issued as part of grant or other funding requirements, regarding this agency’s responsibilities for reportings uses of force or weapons
• Use of Force Data
For the period from January 1, 2019 through December 31, 2019 and the period from January 1, 2020 through July 31, 2020, data on the each use of force by representatives of this agency, including but not limited to:
Date, time: The date (month, day, year) and time of the incident
Location: Street address, block, and other relevant location information
Subject(s) information: race, ethnicity, national origin, age, gender, resultant or related injuries sustained or alleged, weapon type (if applicable) in the possession of each involved individual, arrests or charges associated with the incident
Officer information (for each involved officer): employee number or other unique identifier used for the officer, race, resultant or related physical injuries, patrol division, unit
Incident details: incident or other unique identification number for the use of force incident
Type of force details: a description of each type of force used
Body camera or other footage: Inventory of any video record was created of the incident and/or a copy of the captured footage from all present cameras
Disposition of investigation into the incident: The current or final status of each use of force incident, including whether challenges to the use of force were sustained or dismissed or if the incident had no or is currently under investigation
Please provide the information as a csv spreadsheet, if possible, and if not possible, please provide incident reports sufficient to show the requested data.
• Discharge Report Data
For the period from January 1, 2019 through December 31, 2019 and the period from January 1, 2020 through July 31, 2020, data on each discharge of a firearm and other weapons by representatives of this agency, including but not limited to:
Date, time: The date (month, day, year) and time of the incident
Location: Street address, block, and other relevant location information
Incident description and details
Tool or weapon used, including any unique identifier or identification number
Number of discharges
Subject(s) information: race, ethnicity, national origin, age, gender, resultant or related injuries sustained or alleged, weapon type (if applicable) in the possession of each involved individual, arrests or charges associated with the incident
Officer information (for each involved officer): employee number or other unique identifier used for the officer, race, resultant or related physical injuries, patrol division, unit
Type of force details: a description of each type of force used
Disposition or status of any investigation or follow-up review of the incident
Please provide the information as a csv spreadsheet, if possible, and if not possible, please provide incident reports sufficient to show the requested data.
If any portion of materials responsive to this request should be deemed unavailable or non-disclosable, please specifically identify the portions of the records or the specific information that is unavailable and the reason for the unavailability.
If any portion of this request is unclear or if this request could be modified to reduce the burden of producing responsive documents or provide them more efficiently or expeditiously, please reply with a request for clarification or a proposed modification.
This request is being made by a reporter as part of a journalistic investigation. It is being submitted as part of a project to better understand uses of police force nationwide, which has been of public interest for many years and which is of particular interest to large new swaths of the public following the widely-seen death of George Floyd and the First Amendment-protected demonstrations and public discussion that have followed. There is no commercial interest in the submission of this request or the release of these records.
In the event that there are fees appropriately assessed in association with this request, 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 5 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Beryl Lipton
From: Seattle Police Department
At this time, the Seattle Police Department’s Legal Unit is operating under an extreme backlog of requests, staffing shortages, the redeployment of supporting units to SPD’s frontline COVID-19 response, and, pursuant to CDC recommendations and City direction, reassignment to remote access. For these reasons, our ability to process new requests is substantially limited; we are currently estimating minimum response timelines, depending on the volume and complexity of requests, in excess of 6-12 months. Current requests should likewise anticipate that it will take additional time to process records and respond. We apologize for any inconvenience, and deeply appreciate your understanding as we all pull together, in the face of this unprecedented, pandemic public crisis, to manage as best we can our business operations.
Dear Beryl Lipton:
Thank you for using the Seattle Police Public Records Request Center.
Your request was received on July 31, 2020and the reference number is P061685-073120.
If the City's representative entered your request into the system and you didn't specifically register:
* Access the Police Public Records Request Center
* Access the "My Records Request Center"
* Access the "View My Requests"
* Enter the E-Mail below (should be the E-Mail you gave the representative)
* At the login prompt click the forgotten password link
* You will be sent a temporary password to login and then change to a permanent password
Please use the center to track the progress of your requests, pay for your requests online, and download your records!
Here is your login: requests@muckrock.com
Request Summary Incident Information (if provided):
* Incident Number:
* Incident Date:
* Incident Time:
* Incident Location:
* Investigating Officers:
Request Description and Details (as provided):
* Overall Description:
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Washington Public Records Act, I hereby request the following records related to this agency's policies on and reporting of uses of force and responses to resistance:
• Policies.
Any and all policies guiding appropriate and inappropriate uses of force by any member or representative of this agency. These may also include “Response to Resistance” policies and similar guidance.
Please also provide all policies regarding the use of lethal, less-lethal, and non-lethal weapons (for example: TASERs pepper ball guns, rubber bullets, gases, sprays, water, etc.), including all policies regarding borrowing, accessing, or assuming responsibility for such weapons, tools, and ammunition.
Please also provide all policies or guidance related to reporting or tracking discharges from or uses of such weapons, as well as any other applicable policies or directives related to the acquisition, use, and reporting of weapons or tools.
Please also provide all policies and guidance used to evaluate any use of force or adjudicate administrative and internal investigations into any use of force or weapon discharge.
• Instructions for reporting. Any and all instructions and guidance related to the reporting of uses of force by any member or representative of this agency.
• Forms, coding descriptions, and other guidance.
All forms, codes, guides, and guidance used in the reporting and review of uses of force or weapons, including:
Any list of codes or definitions for terms or tags used in the reporting, collection, or review of uses of force.
A blank version of each form, log, and other documentation used to report or track uses of force by this agency.
A blank version of each form, log, and other documentation used to report or track the borrowing or use of lethal, less-lethal, and non-lethal weapons
A blank version of each form, log, and other documentation used to report or track any discharge of force from firearms, tools, or weapons employed by this agency
A copy of any guidance, requirements, laws, and policies issued by the state, including those issued as part of grant or other funding requirements, regarding this agency’s responsibilities for reportings uses of force or weapons
A copy of any guidance, requirements, laws, and policies issued by the federal government, including those issued as part of grant or other funding requirements, regarding this agency’s responsibilities for reportings uses of force or weapons
• Use of Force Data
For the period from January 1, 2019 through December 31, 2019 and the period from January 1, 2020 through July 31, 2020, data on the each use of force by representatives of this agency, including but not limited to:
Date, time: The date (month, day, year) and time of the incident
Location: Street address, block, and other relevant location information
Subject(s) information: race, ethnicity, national origin, age, gender, resultant or related injuries sustained or alleged, weapon type (if applicable) in the possession of each involved individual, arrests or charges associated with the incident
Officer information (for each involved officer): employee number or other unique identifier used for the officer, race, resultant or related physical injuries, patrol division, unit
Incident details: incident or other unique identification number for the use of force incident
Type of force details: a description of each type of force used
Body camera or other footage: Inventory of any video record was created of the incident and/or a copy of the captured footage from all present cameras
Disposition of investigation into the incident: The current or final status of each use of force incident, including whether challenges to the use of force were sustained or dismissed or if the incident had no or is currently under investigation
Please provide the information as a csv spreadsheet, if possible, and if not possible, please provide incident reports sufficient to show the requested data.
• Discharge Report Data
For the period from January 1, 2019 through December 31, 2019 and the period from January 1, 2020 through July 31, 2020, data on each discharge of a firearm and other weapons by representatives of this agency, including but not limited to:
Date, time: The date (month, day, year) and time of the incident
Location: Street address, block, and other relevant location information
Incident description and details
Tool or weapon used, including any unique identifier or identification number
Number of discharges
Subject(s) information: race, ethnicity, national origin, age, gender, resultant or related injuries sustained or alleged, weapon type (if applicable) in the possession of each involved individual, arrests or charges associated with the incident
Officer information (for each involved officer): employee number or other unique identifier used for the officer, race, resultant or related physical injuries, patrol division, unit
Type of force details: a description of each type of force used
Disposition or status of any investigation or follow-up review of the incident
Please provide the information as a csv spreadsheet, if possible, and if not possible, please provide incident reports sufficient to show the requested data.
If any portion of materials responsive to this request should be deemed unavailable or non-disclosable, please specifically identify the portions of the records or the specific information that is unavailable and the reason for the unavailability.
If any portion of this request is unclear or if this request could be modified to reduce the burden of producing responsive documents or provide them more efficiently or expeditiously, please reply with a request for clarification or a proposed modification.
This request is being made by a reporter as part of a journalistic investigation. It is being submitted as part of a project to better understand uses of police force nationwide, which has been of public interest for many years and which is of particular interest to large new swaths of the public following the widely-seen death of George Floyd and the First Amendment-protected demonstrations and public discussion that have followed. There is no commercial interest in the submission of this request or the release of these records.
In the event that there are fees appropriately assessed in association with this request, 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 5 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Beryl Lipton
From: Seattle Police Department
07/31/2020
Beryl Lipton
requests@muckrock.com
RE: Public Disclosure Request #: P061685-073120
Dear Beryl Lipton,
This communication is in response to your public disclosure request.
The purpose of this correspondence is to provide you a status update. Your request status is: Assigned.
If you have any questions, you may send messages using the Police Records Request Center or call the Public Disclosure Desk at 206-684-5481.
Please add seattle@mycusthelp.net to your E-mail contacts/address book to ensure delivery of the record center E-mails to your Inbox. (mailto:seattle@mycusthelp.net)
This is an auto-generated email and has originated from an unmonitored email account. Please DO NOT REPLY.
SPD receives between 7000 and 8000 public records requests annually and is processing between 1400 to 1500 open requests at a time. This may result in a slower than anticipated response to your request. Thank you for your patience.
From: Seattle Police Department
--- Please respond above this line ---
08/07/2020
Beryl Lipton
requests@muckrock.com
RE: Public Disclosure Request#: P061685-073120
Dear Beryl Lipton,
This communication is in response to your public disclosure request received on July 31, 2020. At this time, the Seattle Police Department’s Legal Unit is operating under an extreme backlog of requests, staffing shortages, the redeployment of supporting units to SPD’s frontline COVID-19 response, and, pursuant to CDC recommendations and City direction, reassignment to remote access. For these reasons, our ability to process new requests is substantially limited; we are currently estimating minimum response timelines, depending on the volume and complexity of requests, in excess of 6-12 months. Current requests should likewise anticipate that it will take additional time to process records and respond. We apologize for any inconvenience, and deeply appreciate your understanding as we all pull together, in the face of this unprecedented, pandemic public crisis, to manage as best we can our business operations.
Pursuant to RCW 42.56.520, this is notification that the Seattle Police Department has received your public disclosure records request and needs additional time to respond.
At this time, we anticipate having a response or a status update to you on or about 10/21/2020.
We are initiating the process of researching your request, collecting responsive records, and/or preparing records for dissemination.
If you have any questions, you may send a message using the Police Records Request Center or call the Public Disclosure Desk at 206-684-5481.
Sincerely,
Dianalynn Oreiro
Seattle Police Department
Legal Unit
SPD receives between 7000 and 8000 public records requests annually and is processing between 1400 to 1500 open requests at a time. This may result in a slower than anticipated response to your request. Thank you for your patience.
As a reminder you can login at the Police Records Request Center where you can access Police online information, manage your profile, submit record requests, track your request status, receive and send messages, make payments, view frequently asked questions, and download your records.
Please add seattle@mycusthelp.net to your E-mail contacts/address book to ensure delivery of the record center E-mails to your Inbox. (mailto:seattle@mycusthelp.net)
From: Seattle Police Department
08/07/2020
Beryl Lipton
requests@muckrock.com
RE: Public Disclosure Request#: P061685-073120
Dear Beryl Lipton,
This communication is in response to your public disclosure request.
The purpose of this correspondence is to provide you a status update. Your request status is: Being Researched/Reviewed.
If you have any questions, you may send messages using the Police Records Request Center or call the Public Disclosure Desk at 206-684-5481.
Please add seattle@mycusthelp.net to your E-mail contacts/address book to ensure delivery of the record center E-mails to your Inbox.
This is an auto-generated email and has originated from an unmonitored email account. Please DO NOT REPLY.
SPD receives between 7000 and 8000 public records requests annually and is processing between 1400 to 1500 open requests at a time. This may result in a slower than anticipated response to your request. Thank you for your patience.
From: Seattle Police Department
--- Please respond above this line ---
10/26/2020
Beryl Lipton
requests@muckrock.com
RE: Public Disclosure Request#: P061685-073120
Dear Beryl Lipton,
The purpose of this communication is to provide a status update regarding your request.
The Seattle Police Department needs additional time to respond to your request. Due to our current workload and backlog, we are still processing your request.
At this time, we anticipate having a response/installment to you on or about 12/16/2020.
If you have any questions, you may send a message using the Police Records Request Center or call the Public Disclosure Desk at 206-684-5481.
Sincerely,
Dianalynn Oreiro
Seattle Police Department
Legal Unit
SPD receives between 7000 and 8000 public records requests annually and is processing more than 2000 open requests at a time. This may result in a slower than anticipated response to your request. Thank you for your patience.
As a reminder you can login at the Police Records Request Center where you can access Police online information, manage your profile, submit record requests, track your request status, receive and send messages, make payments, view frequently asked questions, and download your records.
Please add seattle@mycusthelp.net to your E-mail contacts/address book to ensure delivery of the record center E-mails to your Inbox. (mailto:seattle@mycusthelp.net)
From: Seattle Police Department
This email is in further response to your public disclosure records request P061685-073120. The Seattle Police Department has records ready to be released pending payment.
You have 30 days from today's date to pay for your records. If the City does not receive your payment within this time period, your request will be considered abandoned, and you will need to submit a new request.
SPD strongly encourages online payments during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
To pay online, please follow these steps:
* Navigate to the Public Records Request Center.
* Select 'My Records Request Center'.
* Select 'View My Requests'. You may be asked to login.
* Find this request: P061685-073120.
* Select the 'View Invoices' button.
* Opens a pop-up window showing your invoice: INV20-P061685-1.
* Click on the invoice and then the 'Pay Now' button.
* Continue processing your payment.
* Select 'Done'.
* Once the payment process is done, you are returned to the Public Records Request Center.
* After your payment is successful you will receive an email from our payments center. After we receive your payment through the Police Records Request Center Secure Payments, the Public Disclosure Unit will release your records within one to two business days and send you a notice with instructions on how to download the records.
Please add seattle@mycusthelp.net to your E-mail contacts/address book to ensure delivery of the record center E-mails to your Inbox. (mailto:seattle@mycusthelp.net)
This is an auto-generated email and has originated from an unmonitored email account. Please DO NOT REPLY.
Files
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