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Transparency in Policing
The Whitefish Bay Police Department has a strong commitment to transparency in policing. Through this commitment we hope to continue the strong relationship we have with the community we serve.
For close to 20 years, our agency has equipped all of the patrol vehicles with squad camera systems. In 2018 we instituted our body worn camera program, and in 2020 we further enhanced our system to include automatic camera activation when an officer draws there firearm or activates their Taser. Our body worn camera policy can be found here.
Our agency is currently working to ensure our policies reflect the best practices of the profession. Our policies are being carefully reviewed and we will be seeking accreditation through the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Accreditation Group (WILEAG).
Our Use of Force policy was reviewed to ensure that it complies with the June 16, 2020 Presidential Executive Order on Safe Policing for Safe Communities. Our use of force policy can be found here.
The 8 Can’t Wait movement identifies eight issues with police use of force policies that can reduce killings by police and save lives. Below are the eight issues and how the Whitefish Bay Police Department complies with them.
- Ban Chokeholds and Strangleholds
- Require De-escalation
- Require Warning Before Shooting
- Exhaust All Alternatives Before Shooting
The Whitefish Bay Police Department is not trained in Chokehold or Strangleholds. Our Use of Force Policy prohibits them except in situations where deadly force would be justified. The use of deadly force is only justified to counteract, “Behavior which has caused or imminently threatens to cause death or great bodily harm to you or another person or persons.”
Guiding principles of the Whitefish Bay Police use of force mandate that officers should use the least amount of force necessary to bring an incident under control. Once control is achieved or an individual ceases to resist, officers must discontinue their use of force (except mere physical restraint). Presence and dialogue are the preferred method when feasible and appropriate.
Wisconsin law enforcement officers are trained in professional communication skills. Officers are taught these key principles:
Treat everyone with dignity and respect.
Show empathy.
Be a team player.
Remember that your goal is willing cooperation.
Whitefish Bay policy states,
“Officers are reminded to rely strongly on crisis intervention and de-escalation techniques when it would not jeopardize the safety of the officers, subject, or others.”
The Wisconsin Law Enforcement Standards Board Defensive and Arrest Tactics manual states,
“If feasible, you should give a verbal warning before firing, but this is not always possible, and in some cases may not be desirable. A verbal warning is feasible if you have sufficient time, distance, and/or cover from the subject posing the deadly threat, such that the verbal warning would not increase or prolong the danger to yourself or other innocent people.”
Whitefish Bay policy states,
“Whenever safety permits and time allows, officers shall identify themselves and state their intent to shoot prior to using a firearm.”
The State of Wisconsin training includes the concept of preclusion.
Before you can use deadly force, you must reasonable believe that all other options have been exhausted or would be ineffective. In other words, deadly force is always a last resort.
Whitefish Bay policy states,
“If a subject poses a threat only to themselves, deadly force should not be employed as the only option. Officers should employ crisis intervention and de-escalation tactics to attempt to bring the incident under control. Situations that involve weapons are fluid and complex. Officers should have a plan in place should a person become a threat to the officer or others. Lethal cover should be used when less lethal option are employed.”
- Duty to Intervene
- Ban Shooting at Moving Vehicles
- Establish a Use of Force Continuum
- Require All Force to be Reported
The State of Wisconsin trains all law enforcement officers about the topic of Contact Officer Override:
This concept grows out of the contact-cover principle, a mode of police/jail operation that gives officers different roles. In this mode, one officer serves as the contact officer (making actual contact with a subject) while another officer (or more than one) serves as a cover officer (observing to ensure that all goes well and ready to intervene if necessary).
Contact officer override is a corollary of the concept of shared responsibility. It means that cover officers have the proactive responsibility to intervene in a situation if the contact officer behaves inappropriately, or is otherwise not handling the situation effectively. One of the ways in which a contact officer might behave inappropriately is through verbal communication to a subject. Inappropriate communication might involve unwarranted anger, use of profanity, threats, or other unacceptable and unprofessional responses. In other words, there are no innocent bystanders. As professionals, we are responsible for each other.
In such a situation, the cover officer must intervene and override the contact officer. The cover officer might do so by stopping the contact officer from his/her behavior, taking the contact officer aside to talk to him or her, taking over the contact officer’s role, and so on. Sometimes the cover officer may simply need to step in and take over for the contact officer because the contact officer is not being effective or is not getting through to the subject.
Because officers share responsibility for what happens during incidents and for their outcome, cover officers must sometimes step out of their normal role of providing back-up and support and override the contact officer even when outranked.
Whitefish Bay policy states,
"All sworn employees have a duty to intervene if they observe another officer using force that is clearly beyond that which is objectively reasonable under the circumstances; WI. State Statute 175.44. Officers shall promptly report these observations to a supervisor. If the offending officer is their supervisor then the reporting officer will report the incident to the next supervisor in the chain of command. If the offending officer works for another jurisdiction; the reporting officer shall work through the Whitefish Bay chain of command.
Subsequent written notification to the Chief of Police shall be made prior to the end of shift and include the date, time, and place of the occurrence, the identity if known, and description of the participants, and a description of the events and the force used."
Whitefish Bay policy states,
“Officers should not discharge a firearm at or from a moving motor vehicle except as the last measure of self-defense of oneself or another, and only then if the officer believes that the suspect has or is intent upon causing death or great bodily harm to oneself or another person. If this decision is made, consideration must be given to the safety of innocent bystanders and possible innocent passengers in the vehicle.”
Wisconsin’s Defensive and Arrest Tactics system is a set of verbalization skills coupled with physical alternatives. The goal is to get subjects to comply voluntarily with lawful orders. The system includes the Intervention Options which guide law enforcement levels of force.
Five fundamental rules apply to law enforcement use of force:
1. The purpose for use of force is to gain control in pursuit of a legitimate law enforcement objective. If verbalization is effective in gaining control, it is always preferable to physical force.
2. You may initially use the level and degree of force that is reasonably necessary to achieve control. You need not escalate step-by-step through the Intervention Options.
3. At any time, if the level of force you are using is not effective to gain control, you may disengage and/or escalate to a higher level of force. This involves transitioning to a different level of force or different tactics based on the totality of circumstances.
4. Once you have gained control of a subject, you must de-escalate the level of force to that needed to maintain control.
5. You must always maintain a position of advantage.
Mode | Purpose |
Presence | To present a visible display of authority |
Dialog | To verbally persuade |
Control Alternatives | To overcome passive resistance, active resistance, or their threats |
Protective Alternatives | To overcome continued resistance, assaultive behavior, or their threats |
Deadly Force | To stop the threat |
Whitefish Bay policy states,
All use of force incidents above the level of compliance hold and incidents where a subject received significant injury from their interaction with a Whitefish Bay Police officer shall be documented by the on duty supervisor using the Whitefish Bay Police Department Use of Force Report.
- Firearms: any intentional or accidental discharge of a firearm except in training situations or for lawful recreational purposes.
- Electronic Control Weapon (ECW): deployment of an ECW to include drive stun and/or probe deployment.
- Police baton or 40mm impact round: use in striking of any person or animal.
- Chemical agents: use of any chemical agent
- Physical force: striking, punching, decentralization of any person.
- Oleoresin capsicum: use of any pepper gas aerosol.
- Use of any type of force in which a person becomes injured or claims injury, whether or not the injury is immediately visible.
The Use of Force Report will include an overview of the incident action(s) performed by the officer(s).
The shift supervisor shall be responsible for the initial review of an incident that involved the use of non-deadly force by an officer. The reviewing supervisor shall ensure that proper departmental procedures were followed during and after the incident.
A Lieutenant that was not on duty at the time of the incident shall complete an Administrative review of the incident concerning Standard Operating Procedure.