Police Use of Force

Beaverton Police Department Use of Force Data

Use of Force Data:

Police officers have numerous interactions with their communities every day. The interaction types vary greatly and can range from helping someone change a car tire, to arresting a violent criminal. The Beaverton Police Department expects its officers to protect with courage, serve with compassion, and lead with integrity during all interactions. We know our community also expects us to perform to this standard.

Unfortunately, some interactions can lead to a use of force or a force incident. Unlawful and/or poor applications of force by police officers across the country has led to the corrosion of the relationship between officers and the communities they serve. Transparency is necessary to help mend these relationships.

The Beaverton Police Department is dedicated to training its officers to apply objectively reasonable force consistent with the standard outlined by the United States Supreme Court in Graham v. Connor [490 U.S. 386 (1989)]. You can find our department’s full use of force policy and quarterly use of force statistics below.

Use of Force Incident Defined:

A force incident is any incident where and officer applies force to a subject. A force incident can involve one or more officers and one or more applications of force. The Beaverton Police Department trains officers to use de-escalation tactics, if possible, prior to using reasonable force where the force is necessary to: protect against criminal conduct where there is probable cause to make an arrest, effect an arrest, prevent an escape, or to protect against an imminent threat of bodily injury or death to the officer, another person, or the person against who force is being used. Graham v. Connor [490 U.S. 386 (1989)] is a part of the decision-making process an officer must go through before, during, and after using force.

Use of Force Report Terms Definitions:

Feasible - Reasonably capable of being done or carried out under the circumstances to successfully achieve the arrest or lawful objective without increasing risk to the officer or another person.
Force - The application of physical techniques or tactics, chemical agents, or weapons to another person. It is not a use of force when a person allows him/herself to be searched, escorted, handcuffed, or restrained.
Physical control - The use of techniques intended to control an individual that are not likely to cause a physical injury. Escort holds, wrist locks, takedown techniques, waist restraints, and handcuffing are some examples of physical control.
Physical force - The use of any impact weapon or technique that is likely to cause a physical injury. TASER, less lethal munitions, focused blow(s), canine bite, pepper spray, edged weapon, spike strips, and the Pursuit Intervention Technique (PIT) maneuver are some examples of physical force.
Deadly force - Force reasonably anticipated and intended to create a substantial likelihood of causing death or very serious injury.
Imminent - Ready to take place; impending. Note that imminent does not mean immediate or instantaneous.
Totality of the circumstances - All facts and circumstances known to the officer at the time, taken as a whole, including the conduct of the officer and the subject leading up to the use of force.
Dispatched Event - Events dispatched by WCCCA (Washington County Consolidated Communications Agency) dispatch center as calls for service or officer-initiated activities.
Calls for Service - Any event initiated by a community member by calling 911 or non-emergency and dispatched by WCCCA
Officer Initiated Activity - Events or activities initiated by an officer. These can include traffic stops, consent contacts, search warrant services, among other activities.
Force Effectiveness - Force applications are determined to be effective when their application successfully gains a person’s compliance or physical control.
Officer Involved Shooting- Any incident in which an officer discharges a firearm at another person. These incidents may include one or more officers, one or more firearm discharges, and/or one or more force applications.
- Officer Involved Shooting Incidents - Firearm discharges are subject to a different investigation and review process given the potentially fatal nature of the force application. Unless otherwise noted, officer involved shooting incidents are investigated by the Washington County Major Crimes Team (WCMCT), led by an uninvolved law enforcement agency. Upon completion of its investigation, the WCMCT forwards the investigation to the Washington County District Attorney’s Office for review. Upon completion of the WCMCT investigation, the Beaverton Police Department conducts an internal administrative investigation to determine if the actions taken by the officer(s) were within policy.

Below you will find informational charts, graphs, and data from January 1, 2021, through October 31, 2021. Please click on the images to enlarge them.

2021 Use of Force Overview:

The total number of use of force incidents and dispatched events in the period are provided. The percentage of force incidents per dispatched events is represented within the chart displayed. Click for larger view.

2021 Subject Demographics:

This page provides subject demographic characteristics. The charts provide the number of force incidents involving subjects of a particular race, ethnicity, gender, and age category. Click for larger view.

2021 Force Applications:

A force incident may involve one or more officers and/or one or more applications of force. Similarly, subjects and officers may experience one of more injuries. Officer involved shooting incidents are subject to a different reporting practice given the external investigation process conducted by WCMCT. For this reason, these incidents are recorded and provided separately from other force incidents.

During force incidents, one or more techniques may be used on a suspect. Multiple officers and rapidly changing situations are the cause for this. The graphs provided details on tools officers used to during a force incident as well as techniques used during force incidents.

The chart titled Force Response Necessary provides the reason why an officer used force against a subject. Officers may provide one or more reason per force incident.

The number of officers involved in officer involved shooting incidents is provided as well as the number of officers involved in officer involved shooting incidents. Click for larger view.

2021 Injuries and Perceived Subject Condition:

The Injuries Sustained During Arrest column chart provides the total number of injuries experienced by both subjects and officers. Both officers and subjects may have experienced no injuries, one injury, or multiple injuries. In this chart, each injury is counted once per injury category enabling one officer/subject to be represented more than once across all categories.

The Perceived Subject Condition chart provides the frequency of incidents where the subject was reported to be exhibiting a particular condition. One of more subject conditions may be reported in each force incident. Click for larger view.