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1. Does your Use of Force Policy allow for “chokeholds” and “strangleholds”?

No.  “Chokeholds” and “strangleholds” are, by their very definition, designed to restrict airflow.  Because of the obvious danger, these types of holds were eliminated from our use of force policy years ago.  We do allow officers, if they have been trained (only 12 of 68 commissioned police officers) and only in specific situations, to utilize a Carotid Control Hold.  The Carotid Control Hold is reserved for situations that compromise an officer’s ability to utilize other physical techniques when apprehending a violent offender to prevent harm to the officer or a citizen.  The Carotid Control Hold is a technique that does not permit body weight, including the placement of the leg, to be applied on the vascular area of the neck.  This is substantially different from a “chokehold” in that it does NOT restrict airflow.

2. Does your Use of Force Policy require a warning before shooting?

Our policy is best practice in the law enforcement field for use of deadly force- not just shooting.  A verbal warning by an officer should precede the use of deadly force, when feasible.

3. What are your department Calls for Service, Arrest, and Use of Force statistics?

• In 2019, we handled 58,900 calls for service.
• In 2019, we arrested 4,110 individuals.
  

  Race of Arrestee	Count	%
  American Indian/Alaskan Native	95	2%
  Asian/Pacific Islander	165	4%
  Black	533	13%
  Unknown	92	2%
  White	3225	78%
  Grand Total	4110

  
  
• In 2019, we used force that caused injury or complaint of pain 46 times.
• Of the 46 uses of force in 2019, seven (7) applications of force involved a minority race category person.
• In 2020, the requirement to complete a use of force form changed.  Prior to the change, officers were required to complete a use of force form when a complaint of pain or injury occurred.  This change was made to comply with accreditation standards through the Washington Association of Sheriff’s and Police Chief’s (WASPC).
• In 2019, we used a Carotid Control Hold three (3) times to take a person into custody that was resisting arrest.  None of the applications resulted in injury.

4. Does your Use of Force Policy require officers to exhaust all alternatives before shooting?

Yes.  Deadly force is only authorized when an officer needs to protect him/herself or others from what he/she reasonably believes would be an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury.

5. Does your Use of Force Policy ban shooting at moving vehicles?

The policy discourages shooting at moving vehicles as it is rarely effective. Officers are directed by policy to move out of the path of a vehicle if they can instead of shooting at a vehicle that is coming at them.

6. Does your Use of Force Policy include a duty to intervene provision?

Yes.  Officers SHALL intercede to prevent the use of unreasonable force AND promptly report the observations.

7. Does your Use of Force Policy require a "use of force continuum?"

No.  The specific term “use of force continuum” refers to an outdated use of force model.  Our use of force policy is grounded in the fundamental concepts of reasonableness.  If force is necessary, then the officer uses only that amount of force that is reasonable given the facts and circumstances at the time of the event- and only for a legitimate law enforcement purpose.  This is in line with current best practices in the policing profession.

8. Does your policy require comprehensive reporting?

Yes.  Our policy has a robust reporting procedure to include supervisory notification.  Our policy also contains a significant review process up to and including the Deputy Chief of Police.  The Chief and Deputy Chief of Police by our policy at least annually analyze use of force incidents.

9. Do your officers wear body cameras or have in-car cameras?

• No.  The department lacks necessary staffing to comply with the current requirements of the public records law for redaction of camera footage.
• The department did at one time have in-car dash video cameras in some patrol vehicles.  However, due to the requirements of the public records law for redaction of camera footage the in-car video camera program was discontinued. We lacked necessary staffing to comply with the public records law for redaction.
• For the department to institute a body worn camera or in-car camera program would require an increase in staffing (civilian support staff) to manage the program and the public records request for video.  Further, the department would have to purchase equipment for both programs which would require a significant financial investment.

10. Is the Puyallup Police Department a State Accredited Agency?

No.  The department began the process to become an accredited law enforcement agency in January of this year.  Due to the Covid-19 impacts, the process has been paused.  The department fully intends to become an accredited law enforcement agency and looks forward to resuming the accreditation process as soon as practical given the impacts of Covid-19 in the workplace.

11. How does your department connect with your community?

• Our department uses social media as well as in-person events.
• As of today, the department has nearly 50,000 followers on Facebook, nearly 22,000 followers on Twitter, and nearly 8,500 followers on Instagram.
• In 2019, we hosted numerous in-person events with our community ranging from Brown Bag with Blue in our junior high schools, to Coffee With a Cop, to National Night Out to Block Watch meetings, and our Citizen Academy just to name a few.

Some examples of our ongoing outreach efforts include:

Numerous public speaking engagements to share information about PPD and crime prevention

Apartment/Hotel Manager’s Network

CPTED reviews for residential and commercial property

Internship program with Pierce College Criminal Justice program

Pierce College Criminal Justice Advising events

Pierce College Women of Justice – support the event with volunteers and female PPD officers

Lowe’s Kids Build and Grow Workshop- cop car

Explorers fingerprinting for Scout meetings

National Drug & Alcohol Facts week- junior highs

Lock It or Lose It

YMCA Health Kids Day

Holiday Emphasis – South Hill Mall & Fred Meyer

PSD school tours

Puyallup Farmers’ Market

Booallup

Block Watch

South Hill Mall Merchant Meetings

Brown Bag with Blue

Citizens’ Academy

Crime Prevention Regional Meetings

Kevin Hines Community Response to Teen Suicide Prevention

Lahar Evacuation Event

May the Fourth Be with You Safety Fair

Safety Rocks

Ferrucci Ignites the Future

Coffee with a Cop

Cones with Cops

Beards for Buddies

Tacoma Community College Volunteer Fair

Pierce College Toy Drive

Shop with a Cop

National Night Out

Puyallup Community Health Fair

Maplewood Safety Night

Vacation Home Checks

BeepBall

Special Olympics Torch Run

Special Olympics Bagging for Bucks

Special Olympics Polar Plunge

University of Washington’s Forefront Suicide Prevention Safety Firearms Storage event

LEAD Puyallup host site

Puyallup Library Story Time with an officer

12. Does your department conduct training in de-escalation, crises intervention, and anti-bias training?

• Yes.  Our officers have received training in de-escalation, crises intervention, and bias training.
• Our officers also annually review our Use of Force policy to include reporting requirements.
• Our officers receive annual legal update training as well.

13. Does your department have a bias-based policing policy?

Yes, our department has a bias-based policing policy which we review annually.

14. Does your department have a formal complaint policy?

Our department has a formal complaint policy to include an anti-retaliation policy for officers who do report improper conduct by other officers.

15. What are the diversity statistics for the police department?

We have been intentional about examining and adjusting our hiring practices to increase the reach of our recruitment efforts and to examine our practices to identify barriers to employment.

All Staff - Department Wide as of 6/8/2020
91 Staff
11 Diversity	11.5%
14 (7 Diversity & 7 Non-Diversity Female PO & CO)	18.0%

Commissioned Officers - Department Wide as of 6/8/2020
61 Officers
7 Diversity	11.5%
11 (7 Diversity & 4 Non-Diversity Female)	18.0%