Use of Force/Complaints Data (Walnut Creek Police Department)
| Multi Request | Use of Force/Complaints Data |
| Submitted | Jan. 23, 2019 |
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Communications
From: Samuel Sinyangwe
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the California Public Records Act, I hereby request the following records:
1. The total number of police use of force incidents, broken down by type of force used, between 2013-2017 (separated by year).
2. The total number of people that police used force against, between 2013-2017 (separated by year).
3. The total number of police use of force complaints reported between 2013-2017 (separated by year).
4. The total number of police use of force complaints sustained between 2013-2017 (separated by year).
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 calendar days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Samuel Sinyangwe
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following California Public Records Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Jan. 23, 2019. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From:
Hello Mr. Sinyangwe.
RE: Your PRA Request dated 1/31 (received 2/4)
We received your Public Records Act request for police use of force data (we actually received two of the same request with different email addresses). We maintain no records responsive to your specific request.
The first clarification needed in future requests would be what your definition of "use of force" is. There is no standard definition and each police department may have one that is slightly different.
We do report use of force statistics to the California Department of Justice via an online portal which are then made public. This is required since 2016 under California Assembly Bill 71. You may want to check with California DOJ although you will find they utilize a higher use of force standard (only incidents resulting in serious bodily injury or death) than many police departments.
Below I have included information we report to our City Council during an annual public meeting. Although it is "cut and paste" from a Power Point presentation, and not a traditional record, I think you will find it has much of the information you are seeking. Unfortunately, prior to 2016 we had no good digital solution to easily capture this information. We have been improving each year and now have reliable annual data.
Please let me know if you have additional questions.
Captain Steve Gorski
Walnut Creek Police Department
Administration Division
1666 N. Main Street
Walnut Creek, CA. 94596
(925) 256-3596
[cid:image007.png@01D4C1FD.08B67950]<http://www.walnut-creek.org/department-services/police-home-page>[cid:image009.png@01D0B7D3.2B27B770]<http://www.facebook.com/walnutcreekpd> [cid:image010.png@01D0B7D3.2B27B770] <http://www.twitter.com/walnutcreekpd> [cid:image011.png@01D0B7D3.2B27B770] <https://nextdoor.com/choose_address/?i=mczswaphshpjddhqeppp> [cid:image008.png@01D4C1FD.08B67950] <https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJpmRs2DbIOQjCzExF51BFg>
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TRANSPARENCY ITEM
2015
2016
2017
Phone Calls into Dispatch
82,520
83,039
84,940
Dispatched Calls for Service
51,295
46,714
42,374
Reports Taken
7,705
6,888
7,653
Average Response Time - Priority 1 (Emergency)
3:17
3:44
3:38
Priority 2 (Urgent)
4:56
5:15
5:08
Priority 3 (Routine)
6:21
6:54
6:27
Use of Force: CEW (Taser)
5
6
4
Use of Force: K9 Bite
0
2
2
Use of Force: Hands, Feet
7
11
4
Use of Force: Baton Strike
0
1
0
Use of Force: Pepper Spray
0
2
0
Complaints (Personnel)*
5
5
4
Complaints (Service)*
N/A
N/A
21
Administrative Investigation** (At least one allegation sustained)
1
1
2
Administrative Investigation** (Not sustained or unfounded)
1
1
1
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