This is a good time for local police to review their use-of-force policies.
We don’t expect policies at all area departments to be identical, and policies can’t cover every contingency, but a review by reporter Jonah Beleckis of use-of-force policies at local departments revealed some troubling gaps.
The Milton Police Department policy, for example, does not explicitly spell out a “duty to intercede” for officers.
Three Minneapolis police officers accused of standing by and doing nothing while officer Derek Chauvin knelt on the neck of George Floyd for nearly nine minutes later were charged with aiding and abetting murder.
To his credit, Milton Police Chief Scott Marquardt recognizes the shortcomings of his department’s use-of-force policy. He told Beleckis he wants to change his department’s policy to require officers to intercede when they see instances of unreasonable force.
Use-of-force policies for the Janesville Police Department and Rock County Sheriff’s Office include a duty to intercede, but neither comprehensively addresses the use of chokeholds by officers.
The word “choke” does not appear in the Janesville policy.
Janesville Police Chief Dave Moore said his department’s training for more than 30 years has taught that chokeholds are not acceptable.
The Rock County Sheriff’s Office policy does not mention chokeholds. It addresses techniques that affect respiration or blood flow to the head only under the subsection about preventing a person from swallowing evidence.
Rock County Sheriff Troy Knudson said chokeholds have never been “part of our program” in the 30 years he has been with the sheriff’s office.
If both department have been training for decades that chokeholds are not appropriate, then we would argue it’s time to include a prohibition against chokeholds in both departments’ use-of-force policies.
Milton addresses chokeholds in its policy.
The Milton Police Department policy says chokeholds are not permitted except in a “deadly force situation.”
Marquardt said he wants his policies to be explicit and not “squishy” because “the language and the semantics matter.”
Marquardt noted that while the duty to intercede has been “culturally” part of the Milton Police Department, adding specific language to the policy will make what the organization believes “more apparent” rather than just implied.
We agree.
The right culture is important in any organization, but written rules make expectations clear as leaders and members come and go.
From what we know, the culture at local law enforcement agencies is good, and leadership is willing to practice some introspection.
“In our post-Minneapolis world, I think every leader of an organization ought to be looking back at their policies and make sure that they are appropriate given the changes in the policing industry,” Moore said.
We couldn’t agree more.
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