New Use Of Force Policy Approved

City police commissioners voted to overhaul the police department’s use of force policy to conform to new statewide standards — and to emphasize that officers may use force only when ​“necessary,” and not simply because it’s legally justified.

That vote took place Tuesday night during the latest monthly meeting of the city’s Board of Police Commissioners. The virtual meeting took place online via Zoom.

With four commissioners voting in support and one abstaining because an email snafu had prevented him from reviewing the proposal in advance, the police commissioners overwhelmingly adopted a new 20-page version of New Haven Police Department General Order 6.01: Use Of Force.

The rewritten policy, which was spearheaded by New Haven Police Capt. David Zannelli and city Police Commissioner Tracey Meares, will now replace the previous 12-page use-of-force general order that the department last updated in 2018.

The move follows a recommendation first made by the Civilian Review Board.

“This is arguably one of our most important general orders,” Zannelli told the commissioners as he walked them through some of the key changes Tuesday night.

The focus of these changes, he said time and again, is that officers may use only a ​“necessary” level of force — and not simply a legally justifiable level — when making an arrest. 

“Police officers must use only the level of force necessary to achieve legitimate, lawful purposes and resolve each situation they face fairly and safely,” Zannelli said, reading directly from the newly rewritten general order.

While the word ​“necessary” was also in the previous general order, he added, ​“this is the prevailing theme. Not going to justified, but focusing on necessary.” 

(The previous version of that same section of the general order used to say: ​“In compliance with applicable law, officers shall use only the amount of force necessary and reasonable to control a situation, effect an arrest, overcome resistance to arrest, or defend themselves or others from harm.”)

The impetus for this rewrite was a provision of the July 2020 state police accountability bill that moved the statewide standards for police use of force from justified to necessary. That new statewide standard is slated to take effect on Jan. 1, 2022.

It also on the heels of a local use of force incident that renewed the ​“justified” vs. ​“necessary” debate in New Haven. 

In that incident from January, a man kicked New Haven Police Officer Justin Cole during a scrum on the lobby floor of a downtown office building. Cole responded by grabbing the man by the neck, punching him three times in the head, and pepper spraying him. The subsequent Internal Affairs investigation cleared Cole of all wrongdoing after finding that his use of force was ​“lawful, justified, and proper” — even though an officer who intervened told investigators that she sought to stop Cole because she thought his response ​“wasn’t necessary at that time.”

Duty To Render Aid; Supervisory Response; Reportable Use Of Force

Zannelli went page by page Tuesday night, highlighting some of the key changes that made their way into the new policy.

Reading from section 6.01.02, he said, ​“Any use of force must be reasonable, proportionate to the threat, and employed in a manner consistent with this policy.” (That section used to read: ​“When force is necessary, the degree of force employed should be in direct relationship to the amount of resistance exerted, or the immediate threat to the officers or others.”)

He read from the definition of a newly defined term, Officer Created Jeopardy: ​“Situations where officers needlessly put themselves in a position where they must use deadly force to protect themselves.”

“We now train against that,” Zannelli said. 

He read from a new subsection called 6.01.04 The Duty To Render Aid: ​“All New Haven police officers shall render aid to the extent that their training allows and request an emergency medical service (EMS) response as soon as possible for any person who sustains an injury, complains of injury, or otherwise exhibits signs of medical distress including shortness of breath, altered mental status, or loss of consciousness.”

He read from the rewritten section 6.01.09 Use Of Deadly Force, which reads in part: ​“A New Haven police officer is justified in using deadly force upon another person only when his or her actions are objectively reasonable under the given circumstances at that time and the officer reasonably believes the use of deadly force is necessary to” defend himself or another person from the use or imminent use of deadly physical force, among other conditions. 

And he pointed to a new section called When An In-Person Supervisory Response Is Required, which reads in part: ​“The immediate supervisor of any New Haven police officer involved in a reportable use of force incident which requires more than first-aid treatment on scene, requires hospitalization, involves an allegation of excessive force and/or when the duty to intervene is utilized by an officer under their supervision, that immediate supervisor shall respond to the scene as soon as practicable and conduct a preliminary investigation.”

Police Commission Mike Lawlor asked about Zannelli’s description of the policy’s rewritten section on reporting uses of force. That section describes a ​“reportable use of force” as ​“any use of force or display of force described in this policy above unresisted handcuffing and general escorting techniques.” 

One such reportable use of force, per the policy, is ​“pointing a firearm, less lethal launcher, or CEW laser sight at or in the direction of another human being.”

Just to be clear, Lawlor said, if an officer draws a weapon and keeps it in the ​“low ready” position, that does not qualify as a reportable use of force? ​“Unless and until they point it at a person,” it does not cross that threshold?

That’s right, Zannelli replied. ​“You have to point the taser or any firearm at or in the direction of another human being” in order for it to qualify as a reportable use of force.

“The thing that’s really nice about this piece of work is you’re going to train to policy,” Meares said after Zannelli had finished his presentation. ​“I think it’s going to be pretty clear” for all who read it.

Acting Chief Renee Dominguez praised Zannelli and Meares and all of the other police supervisors who played a role in putting the policy together. 

She said that all 330 city police officers have already been trained in the new statewide standards, off which this local policy is modeled and which take effect Jan. 1.

“This was a big task,” she said. ​“It was a team effort. Great job.”

Police Commission Chair Evelise Ribeiro agreed. ​“This is a very, very important general order,” she said. ​“I really appreciate it.”

Click here to read the new use-of-force policy in full.