Wash police abandons 'exceptional techniques' in the use of violence

When Spokane Police Ombudsman Bart Logue wrote in a 2019 report that the department should remove the use of “exceptional techniques” from its policy manual following the firing of an officer who kicked a handcuffed man in the groin, it would take another five years and a new police chief to take the recommendation seriously.

Last week, Logue said, he was informed that the department is trying to move away from the term “exceptional techniques” — techniques that are not built into department policy but rather are an improvised move to respond to so-called “rapidly unfolding circumstances.” .

The change comes less than three months after the appointment of Spokane Police Chief Kevin Hall. He started new conversations with staff because the phrase is steeped in ambiguity, Hall told The Spokesman-Review.

“There is no defined exceptional technique. That’s part of the problem. It’s so wide open,” he said. “Officers used this when they went beyond the limits of their education or training, and then used the term as justification.”

It’s exactly what Logue has been trying to convey over the past five years following the firing of former officer Kristofer Henderson.

The Washington commission investigating law enforcement found that Henderson kicked a handcuffed man in the groin after a 2019 police chase, claiming it was an “exceptional technique” because the suspect was large, upset and resisting the three officers who held him. The department’s investigative panel of supervisors did not believe the strike violated department policy, mainly because the “policy was unclear,” ombudsman reports say.

Regardless, Henderson was fired at the direction of former Police Chief Craig Meidl.

The explanations and inaction from the Henderson inquiry panel prompted Logue and his deputy ombudsman to conclude in their 2019 report that the department should remove the use of exceptional techniques from its policy manual.

“Exceptional techniques should ultimately not be a guarantee for approving techniques that fall outside the policy,” says Logue. “We need to clearly define what is excessive and what is outside the policy.”

The original policy states that exceptional techniques must also achieve a reasonable and legitimate purpose, but the term is so vague that it makes it more difficult for internal investigators reviewing a violent incident to reach a conclusion about whether the actions were justified. A big part of the change, Hall said, is that dropping the term will not only help investigators but will push police officers to “explain exactly why they used the force they used” and explain in detail why that specific tactics were used in the police. instead of other options.

It also eliminates the chance of misinterpreting or misinterpreting the sentence, he said, which is not productive. Some Spokane officers hired from other departments used tactics from their former agency — tactics that were not always approved by the Spokane department — and employed “extraordinary techniques” as a way to circumvent the policy, Hall added .

The elimination not only protects citizens and suspects, he said, but “protects officers when they know they must justify and clearly define their actions.”

A means to adapt

Spokane attorney Jeffry Finer has seen it all, he says. He has been working with police officers, suspects, judges and other lawyers for forty years. The exceptional technique method, as it has developed over the decades, “is often a mechanism after a failed de-escalation,” he said.

“It’s strongly associated with excessive force, because by the time something requires an exceptional response, things are likely to have gotten out of hand,” Finer said.

In the 1980s, Finer noticed a distinct shift where police tactics seemed more militaristic than peacekeeping. This mentality led to increased tension between law enforcement and the community, as de-escalation was no longer a priority for local departments. Instead, he said, it was more about control.

“These techniques have been used consistently in situations where de-escalation was never attempted or worked,” Finer said. “And it often backfires.”

Logue said an exceptional technique, such as hitting someone, for example, allows an officer to gain an advantage but may not give the officer “the compliance he’s looking for,” escalating the situation.

Either way, Finer said, police should be able to defend themselves in difficult situations. But finding the right response can be a work in progress. No city has a perfect, ideal training program because communities and cultures change, Finer said, and “bad guys change.”

“However, we have to adapt,” he said. “If we do away with aggressive techniques, the idea is to make a big investment in police confidence. If it works, that will be the outcome.”

The tension that has lingered around police and their communities for decades may not go away, Finer added, but it could leave “hard” feelings in its wake if the new chief is willing to look at effective policing that doesn’t leave people placed in risky situations. faster than normal.

“How we get there could be tricky,” Finer said.

Similar to eliminating the “exceptional technique” terminology, Washington passed a law in 2021 eradicating the use of a chokehold to subdue a suspect. Logue said officers will adapt and can still operate within the guidelines given to them by the department, just as they did in 2021. And moving away from the term “exceptional technique” will not limit an officer’s ability to control and arrest a police officer. suspicious within the parameters of department policy, Hall said.

Ultimately, Hall will set the standard for what will become of exceptional techniques. For now, the plan is to remove this from the Use of Force Manual and Policy Manual. The policy is currently under review, Hall said, and conversations are already taking place to inform staff of the change and learn alternatives.

Det. Dave Dunkin, president of the department’s police guild, said he welcomes the decision as long as it “makes things better.”

“I always want to see our department get better… If revisiting this is something that gets us there, then I look forward to what the chief comes up with,” he said. “If we can find improvement, let’s do it.”

___

Visit The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Wash.) at www.spokesman.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.