AUSTIN, TX - After a law enforcement expert reviewed and highlighted issues with training and data collection within the Austin Police Department (APD), authorities said changes to the use of force policy may be in the works.
According to APD's use of force data, there have been seven officer-involved shootings in Austin so far this year, FOX 7 reported.
Those incidents are considered the most severe use of force and, on a scale used by APD, they are considered Level 1. Statistics showed that the number of people who had force used against them in 2024 was almost 3,000, with Level 1 at less than 1 percent.
Statistics also showed the percentage of people who were arrested and had force used against them in 2024 was more than 10 percent. "The interesting thing about this, however, is that many of the agencies that I work in, you see these numbers, the percent of arrestees that have force used against them that are much lower, looking at five to six percent rather than nine, 10, 11 percent that we see in the Austin Police Department," Ohio State University Senior Research Scientist Dr. Robin Engel said.
Dr. Engel was hired to look at APD's use of force and she said that there is a reason for the higher percentages. "Very minor, minor interactions between the officer and the subject are counted by the Austin Police Department as force, which is why you see these elevated percentages here," Dr. Engel explained.
She said a use of force task force has been created to help address the inconsistencies. They have also been working to get the department all on the same page about use of force in general.
"What we really need to be thinking about is how do we change the culture? How do we ingrain de-escalation as not just acceptable but expected within the APD," Dr. Engel said. She went on to say that it starts at the top. The task force is recommending all sergeants go through a week-long training using what is called the ICAT model.
"We're teaching officers, and they talk about spinning the model, meaning you collect information, you're assessing that situation, your threats and your risk, you consider your police powers and agency power, identify options and determine the best course of action, you act, you review, you step back and assess," she added.
Dr. Engel said this is one of the ways to reduce the risk of officer and citizen injury. The task force will be proposing a change to the current use of force policy to put everything into a single, straight forward policy. The proposed change is currently in draft form.
According to APD's use of force data, there have been seven officer-involved shootings in Austin so far this year, FOX 7 reported.
Those incidents are considered the most severe use of force and, on a scale used by APD, they are considered Level 1. Statistics showed that the number of people who had force used against them in 2024 was almost 3,000, with Level 1 at less than 1 percent.
Statistics also showed the percentage of people who were arrested and had force used against them in 2024 was more than 10 percent. "The interesting thing about this, however, is that many of the agencies that I work in, you see these numbers, the percent of arrestees that have force used against them that are much lower, looking at five to six percent rather than nine, 10, 11 percent that we see in the Austin Police Department," Ohio State University Senior Research Scientist Dr. Robin Engel said.
Dr. Engel was hired to look at APD's use of force and she said that there is a reason for the higher percentages. "Very minor, minor interactions between the officer and the subject are counted by the Austin Police Department as force, which is why you see these elevated percentages here," Dr. Engel explained.
She said a use of force task force has been created to help address the inconsistencies. They have also been working to get the department all on the same page about use of force in general.
"What we really need to be thinking about is how do we change the culture? How do we ingrain de-escalation as not just acceptable but expected within the APD," Dr. Engel said. She went on to say that it starts at the top. The task force is recommending all sergeants go through a week-long training using what is called the ICAT model.
"We're teaching officers, and they talk about spinning the model, meaning you collect information, you're assessing that situation, your threats and your risk, you consider your police powers and agency power, identify options and determine the best course of action, you act, you review, you step back and assess," she added.
Dr. Engel said this is one of the ways to reduce the risk of officer and citizen injury. The task force will be proposing a change to the current use of force policy to put everything into a single, straight forward policy. The proposed change is currently in draft form.
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