City of Morgan Hill Public Safety Master Plan

duties, up to and including the taking of a human life, is among the most complex and critiqued actions of law enforcement. It is the responsibility of the city of Morgan Hill to ensure that its officers are adequately trained and equipped to reasonably and appropriately use force. In order to meet this responsibility, clear and comprehensive policies, comprehensive training; appropriate supervision; reporting, review and analysis of force incidents; and appropriate follow-up is required. With respect to the use of deadly force, no other responsibility of the city or department has more importance. Use of force by MHPD personnel is governed by the MHPD policy 300, “Use of Force.” The policy directs that only that amount of force that reasonably appears necessary, given the facts and circumstances perceived by the officer at the time of the event to accomplish a legitimate law enforcement purpose, may be used. Each MHPD officer is entrusted to use well-reasoned discretion in determining the appropriate use if force in each incident. CPSM staff reviewed the six-page policy and found it to be comprehensive, although we have minor recommendations for clarity included in this report.  An officer may utilize deadly force to protect himself/herself or others from what he/she reasonably believes would be an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury.  An officer may also use deadly force to stop a fleeing subject when the officer has probable cause to believe that the person has committed or intends to commit, a felony involving the infliction of serious bodily injury or death if the subject is not apprehended. According to current policy, MHPD officers are required to promptly document the use of force in an appropriate report, depending on the nature of the incident (300.5). A supervisor must be notified of a use of force as soon as practicable following an application of force under specific circumstances including when the application causes pain, the individual complains of pain, or when the individual expresses intent to pursue litigation (300.5.1). Officers witnessing unreasonable force are required to intercede and report such force promptly to a supervisor (300.2.1). A supervisor is tasked with responding to a use-of-force scene when able to gain basic facts from the involved officer(s), ensure any injured parties are medically treated, obtain a recorded interview with the subject utilizing the VieVu body camera system, and identify any witnesses to the use force. The supervisor is tasked with evaluating the circumstances of the incident and initiating an administrative investigation if there is a question of policy compliance. The MHPD watch commander is tasked with reviewing each use of force for policy compliance and training issues. The patrol commander reviews the report and any associated documents. He makes a recommendation to the Chief regarding the appropriateness of the use of force as well as recommendations regarding further investigation or employee training, if any. A thorough, objective, and fair investigation of the use of force will ensure management has all the facts available to determine the appropriateness of the force. It will also provide supporting evidence in Deadly force may be used under specific circumstances by a MHPD officer:

Police Operations and Data Analysis Report, Morgan Hill, California

49