Officer response to incidents varied by subject age and gender. Physical contact (37.3%) and physical confrontation (30.7%) were most effective for juveniles. Physical confrontation was most commonly used for all age groups (41.2%), while physical contact was used most for females (43.7%) and physical confrontation for males (42.5%). Deadly force was used more for males (20.3%) than females (12.5%). Most subjects had no injury (67.1%) or complained of injury without observable injury (8.4%). Physical confrontation led to most subject injuries (19.0%). Officers were rarely injured (1.7% complained, 7.7% sustained injury), and physical
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Officer Response in Relation to Subject Age and Gender. Physical Contact (37.3%)
and Physical Confrontation (30.7%) were most effective in incidents involving juveniles.
The application of force options were applied consistently over all age groups with
Physical Confrontation techniques (41.2%) then being the most commonly used option.
Physical Contact technique was used most often with female subjects (43.7%) and
Physical Confrontation technique was used most often with male subjects (42.5%). The
Deadly Force option (unholstering of firearm) was used in a higher percentage of
incidents where male subjects were involved (20.3%) versus female subjects (12.5%).
Subject injuries. Of the 1,018 incidents where subject injuries were accounted for in the
Use of Force report form, 683 (67.1%) subjects had no observable injury and reported
none when asked. There were 86 (8.4%) subjects who had no observable injury but
complained of injury. There were 243 (23.9%) subjects who sustained bodily injury,
six (0.6%) subjects who sustained substantial bodily injury, and no subjects that
sustained serious bodily injury. Physical Confrontation techniques accounted for
193 (19.0%) of bodily injury and substantial bodily injury sustained by subjects. This
number also includes complaints of injury by suspects. No deaths were reported as a
result of the use of force by police.
Officer injuries. Of the 919 incidents where officer injuries were accounted for in the
Use of Force report form, 829 (90.2%) reported no injuries sustained. There were
16 (1.7%) complaints of injury. Officers sustained bodily injury in 71 (7.7%) incidents and
reported substantial bodily injury in three (0.3%) incidents. Physical Confrontation
techniques accounted for 59 (6.4%) of Bodily Injury and Substantial Bodily Injury
sustained by officers. This number includes complaints of injury by the officers as well.
19. Use of Batons. There were seven incidents where the police baton was used, with six of
those involving only the display of the baton. One incident involved a baton strike.
Use of Chemical Agents. There were 88 reports on the use of chemical agents. Of
those reported, all were oleoresin capsicum (OC) spray incidents. These numbers also
include three incidents where the OC spray was displayed only and not discharged. Of
the OC incidents, 85 officers reported discharging the spray.
Electric Gun Use. Based on the Use of Force reports submitted by officers, there were
26 incidents where the electric gun was used. Of those incidents, 17 were display only.
Eight incidents were probe deployments and one was drive stun; of those, all subjects
reported bodily injury as a result of probe and drive stun deployments.
On the other hand, the Professional Standards Office (PSO) reported there were 49
electric gun deployments, including three drive stun deployments and four injuries as a
result of electric gun deployments. The PSO received only one citizen complaint
regarding the unnecessary or improper use of the electric gun.
Use of Firearms. Firearms, including handguns, shotguns, rifles, and less-lethal
weapons were reported in 230 force incidents in 2012. These numbers include
unholstering of the weapon and when the weapon was actually discharged.
Based on the Use of Force reports submitted by officers, there were no incidents where a
weapon was fired. However, the PSO reports that firearms were discharged in three
incidents.
All Force Incidents. The PSO received six complaints relating to the use of force by
officers. It is unknown how many complaints were reported to the Honolulu Police
Commission as a result of force by officers. All force incidents resulted in investigations.
Of the six complaints, two were not sustained.
Tables on the following pages summarize some of the observations in this section.
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