District 6 Commissioner Jerry NeSmith says the new practice will allow officers to assess the situation and create a plan before acting. He explains the policy.
“Ensuring that multiple officers respond to these calls will reduce the need for or likelihood of higher levels of force will be necessary and where it is safe and appropriate to do so, will afford officers the opportunity to deploy less lethal tactics rather than deadly force.”
And what’s your take on this new development?
“Oh, I think it’s brilliant.”
NeSmith says the officers support the new approach.
“They will observe the person and they will create a tactical strategy to address the issue,” according to NeSmith. “There will be one officer with a Taser, a non-lethal force, and one officer with a gun, and the idea is to of course, not to use either of those weapons, but to overwhelm the suspect with the force so that they will be able to more likely, use non-lethal force, to bring the situation under control.”
He says while there are vacancies on the force, due the numbers of such calls the department receives, the chief does not expect those vacancies to impact those calls.
NeSmith says an increase in serious behavior on those suffering from mental health issues have been seen in other areas in the community, including hospital emergency rooms.
The full document is available below.
To: All Sworn Personnel
From: Police Chief Cleveland Spruill, Sr.
Subject: Directive Concerning Call Responses to Incidents Involving Alleged Domestic Violence and/or Weapons
The purpose of this memorandum is to direct changes to the Athens-Clarke County Police Department’s policies and practices related to responses involving alleged domestic violence and/or calls where it is reported that a knife, gun and/or other dangerous weapon is present.
These changes seek to enhance officer safety by ensuring that officers maintain a tactical advantage over armed and/or dangerous suspects. Ensuring that multiple officers respond to these type calls may also reduce the need for, or likelihood, that higher levels of force will be necessary and, where it is safe and appropriate to do so, will afford officers the opportunity to deploy less lethal tactics and/or technology as opposed to deadly force.
The inherent dangers associated with calls involving domestic violence and/or armed suspects cannot be understated. While we must continue to allow officers the latitude to take reasonable actions necessary to ensure their safety and the safety of others (up to and including deadly force), it is also incumbent upon us to adopt tactics that reduce the likelihood that force will be necessary, or that afford officers the time and opportunity to deploy less lethal force options.
For the above reasons, I have decided to amend department policy with respect to responses to calls involving alleged domestic violence and/or calls where a knife, gun or dangerous weapon is present.
Central Communications will continue to dispatch a supervisor and two (2) officers on calls for service involving domestic violence and/or armed suspects.
However, effective immediately, except in such cases where active violence is occurring against another, responding officers will meet/stage away from the incident location prior to proceeding to the active scene. This will allow the responding supervisor and officers an opportunity to quickly assess the situation, and design an initial response plan. Such plans may include assigning responsibility to one officer to deploy a Taser or other less lethal force devices and/or assigning responsibility to the second officer to deploy deadly force if necessary.
Updates to ACCPD’s Written Directives and all other policies affected by these changes are forthcoming. Until such time as these changes are made, this memorandum will serve as the primary guiding document and supersede all other policies, procedures and practices.