Tuesday, May 25, 2021

Intended to incite anger?-----Report: Detroit police using guns more often during arrests

Report: Detroit police using guns more often during arrests

"...The number of times Detroit police have used force has dropped slightly this year — though they're using their guns and pulling the trigger "substantially" more than they did last year, according to a report released at Thursday's Detroit Board of Police Commissioners meeting.

So far this year, the city has seen 17 so-called Category 1 incidents, which involve the most serious use-of-force tactics, including shooting suspects, striking them with a Taser or using a force that leads to death, broken bones or loss of consciousness. This includes pepper spraying a person who is detained, which is prohibited by police.

Of the 17 most serious use-of-force incidents, nearly half involved guns. Category 1 incidents are up 70%, from 10 last year to the current number of 17, which include:  

  • 1 fatal shooting
  • 2 nonfatal shootings
  • 2 shots fired
  • 3 unintentional discharge of a weapon
  • 5 Taser incidents
  • 1 critical vehicle pursuit
  • 4 other

"There really weren’t any substantive changes (in use-of-force incidents) … however, there was a substantial increase in gun-related arrests in 2021 compared to 2020,"  DPD director Reid Branche-Wilson told the commissioners in explaining the quarterly report.

 Wilson attributed the rise in Category 1 incidents to an increased use in Tasers and officers unintentionally discharging their weapons, though his report did not say whether the use-of-force incidents were justified or not...Read all.

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