Dallas police chief creates new duty to intervene policy. Fort Worth already had one.
Dallas Police Chief U. Renee Hall announced a new general order late Thursday that would require Dallas Police Department employees to intervene if they see that physical force is being inappropriately used by another employee.
This follows the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer who dug his knee into Floyd’s neck for more than 8 minutes last month while several other officers stood by and watched. Floyd told the officer multiple times that he couldn’t breathe, according to a video taken at the scene.
Hall said in a news release that the policy was created to make sure what happened to Floyd doesn’t happen in Dallas. The release did not say how the policy would be enforced or what would happen to an employee if he or she doesn’t intervene. The Dallas Morning News reported that DPD did not immediately respond to questions about repercussions for employee who violate the policy.
The policy states: “It shall be the duty of every employee present at any scene where physical force is being applied to either stop, or attempt to stop, another employee when force is being inappropriately applied or is no longer required.”
A duty to intervene policy has been part of the Fort Worth Police Department’s use of force training since at least July 2017, a spokesman said Friday.
The policy says, “Officers have the duty to intervene when observing another officer using force that is beyond that which is objectively reasonable under the circumstances.”
“As for what happens if an officer is not in compliance, the discipline would be based on the circumstances of the violation and any history of similar violations and could range anywhere from a supervisor’s coaching session to an indefinite suspension,” said Capt. Mark Barthen.
While the policy doesn’t specifically require an officer who has intervened to report that they had to — all use of force is required to be reported to a supervisor, so the intervention would be reported. However, the department is exploring whether or not it is necessary to “add the requirement to report that they intervened, but nothing has been decided yet,” Barthen said on Friday.
The police department has also updated their recruit training to include intervening. Recruits are taught that they have to report the intervention to a supervisor, even though it’s not specifically outlined in general orders.
During their training, the recruits role-play situations where an officer is clearly using excessive force on a person who is compliant and not a threat. The recruit is forced to intervene, protect the person and stop the excessive force, Barthen said.
Barthen said the duty to intervene policy is important for several reasons: “It is part of our mission to uphold and protect the sanctity of life, it can save a life, it promotes legitimacy and trust with the community, it is what the community expects and it’s the right thing to do.”
After Floyd’s killing, hundreds of thousands of protesters marched throughout all 50 states and other countries. They demanded that Derek Chauvin, the officer whose knee was forcefully on Floyd’s neck, be charged with murder. They also demanded that the three officers who watched be charged.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison on Wednesday upgraded Chauvin’s charge to second-degree murder and charged the three other former officers with aiding and abetting murder.
This story was originally published June 5, 2020 at 9:56 AM.
