TPD hosts Citizen Use of Force Summit
Sep. 6—THOMASVILLE- On Thursday night, the City of Thomasville Police Department held the first of a three-week class known as the Citizen Use of Force Summit. TPD previously held these classes annually, however this is the first class since 2019, due to COVID-19 protocols.
The summit is designed to show citizens how and why law enforcement uses force. Additionally, citizens learn the laws law enforcement officers must abide by when using necessary force. TPD first explained there are three reasons police may use force: to gain, regain and maintain control of a subject.
The main way to avoid having to use any type of force is voluntary compliance. "We want compliance, whenever we ask you to do something," Sergeant Daniel Powers said. "If we have compliance, we will not have to use any type of force." He also ensured that officers do not just pick a subject at random. "There has to be two things in order to stop someone," Powers said. "There has to be articulated reasonable suspicion or probable cause."
Probable cause is generally used to arrest someone; officers must have the burden of proof. However, articulated reasonable suspicion is when officers are given a description of an offender and stop individuals matching the description in the area a crime occurred.
Once one of these reasons has been established and officers stop someone, they order them to comply. If they do not comply, officers have two types of force they can use: less lethal force, which includes Taser electronic control devices, batons, pepper spray and arm bars; or deadly force, which includes firearms and any other equipment that may cause death or serious bodily harm.
Citizens watched two videos that showcased the use of less lethal force and deadly force, before discussing if any other course of action could have been taken.
Powers then explained the significance behind O.C.G.A. § 16-3-21, which allows anyone, not just officers, to use deadly force when the life of them or another is in imminent danger or to stop a forcible felony, such as an armed robbery.
However, when one uses deadly force, they must be able to articulate that their life was in imminent danger.
"It all comes down to articulation," Powers said. "You have got to paint the picture of what happened."
It was further explained that deadly force cannot be used to protect property, but if someone is on the property and posing an imminent threat to an individual's safety then it may be used.
Law enforcement officers follow the same standard, but also can use deadly force when an offender brandishes a weapon or poses an immediate threat to the public.
Powers presented statistics from the years 2015-2021, showing the amount of times TPD has to respond to calls where use of force was necessary.
Thomasville has a population of 18,718 people. Each year, TPD receives an average of 106,229 calls for service. On average they arrest 1,274 people annually during these calls for service. However, only 56 calls required the use of force. Powers clarified that no one should ever be afraid to make a call for service, as there is only a .0005 percent chance that use of force will be necessary, according to
his statistics.
Following Powers' presentation, the class was then taken to the adjoining room, where they were shown the proper use of a Taser electronic control device, a baton and a bola wrap.
Citizens will have the opportunity to operate these devices themselves in the coming weeks.
The class will continue next Thursday night at Southern Regional Technical College at 5:30 p.m., where officers will discuss how they respond to individuals with mental health disorders.
