Phoenix police update use-of-force policy
The department has been working to revise its use-of-force policy since 2023.
PHOENIX — After almost two years of drafting and revisions, the Phoenix Police Department announced Tuesday it is implementing its new use-of-force policy, which is meant to “clearly define” when the use of force is necessary.
Interim Police Chief Michael Sullivan said it was important to update the policy because it is the “basis for building trust with the community.”
“We have built on our previous use of force policy by making sure the criteria for using force in any encounter is more clearly defined,” Sullivan said.
“Policy writers accomplished this by adding the terms “necessary” and “proportional” to the already existing standard of ‘reasonable,'” a statement from the department said.
The new policy states that Phoenix police “shall use only the force that is objectively reasonable, necessary, and proportional to effectively and safely resolve an incident.”
The new policy also more clearly defines an officer’s duties before, during and after a “force encounter.”
The department noted that certain aspects of the new policy are “deliberately stricter than the standards established by the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Graham v Connor. 490 U.S. 386 (1989).”
Reporting standards for force encounters will also be updated. The new policy will require “all use-of-force encounters to be reported,” the statement said.
All Phoenix employees working an enforcement role have already had training on the new policy, officials said.
“Each sworn police employee, and non-sworn police employee working in an enforcement role completed a 20-hour training course on the policy over the course of a 12-month period,” a statement from the department said. “In early February 2025, all employees who completed the training were required to review a video intended to refresh and update the policy before Interim Chief Sullivan signed off.”
When the policy was first drafted in 2023, the department asked for community input and received over 800 comments that helped revise the policy.
The policy which is posted on the department’s website now lists three categories that officers will have to go by when determining what force will be used for any given situation. The policy also states officers can no longer use deadly force if the suspect is only a danger to themselves or property. Officers cannot strike a suspect in the head or neck unless deadly force is necessary and certain chokeholds are now prohibited.
According to the policy deadly force can only be used if there is immediate risk of death or serious injury to officers or members of the public.
The changes have raised serious concerns for the Phoenix police union. Darrell Kriplean the president of Phoenix Law Enforcement Association (PLEA) said Tuesday that it’s going to create more problems for the department and the City.
“I think we’re setting ourselves up for failure and not only that, I think we’re setting our city up for civil liability,” Kriplean said.
He believes with officers now having to determine what force is proportional to the situation they’re in, it’s going to make them more hesitant when responding to dangerous situations.
“Officers don’t understand what they’re allowed to do so they disengage,” Kriplean said. “It’s going to definitely create an officer safety scenario or situation for for them, and it’s also going to be a safety issue for the community.”
Kriplean also said the policy focuses on de-escalation. His concern is if an officer uses deadly force by following the new policy, they could still get in trouble during the review process.
“You could be disciplined for failing to use de-escalation tactics,” he said. “Instead of learning we’re going to discipline, and I’ll tell you, it’s going to create a situation one where officers probably are going to not be keen to that one maybe lateral to other departments.”
Claiming these changes are just going to create more issues in the future.
“We can always look to improve, and we always should look to improve as an organization, but some of those recommendations don’t make sense, and it’s bad policy,” Kriplean said.
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