The Orlando police use of force policy is scary, dangerous

It doesn’t take much to get jacked up by an Orlando cop.

The Orlando Police Department license to rough up anyone is contained in the department’s use-of-force policy, which you can see by clicking here.

Say you’re walking down the street and a cop yells out: “Hey you, stop. I want to talk to you!”

If you either didn’t hear the cop, or you don’t want to talk, the OPD use-of-force policy allows cops to interpret your behavior as “passive resistance.” (Mind you, you haven’t thrown a punch or touched the cop.)

The policy defines “passive resistance” as: “The subject fails to obey verbal direction preventing the employee from taking lawful action.”

At this point the officer is authorized to respond with “soft control”.

The techniques of “soft control” the officer can unleash include:

·        Pressure points (Pain compliance)

·        Wrist locks (Pain compliance)

·        Arm bars (Pain compliance)

·        Compression techniques (Pain compliance)

·        Chemical agents (Pepper spray)

·        Diversionary device (Flash bang grenade at a crowd)

The police encounter described earlier in this article isn’t theoretical. It happens daily across Orlando – especially in black neighborhoods.

Getting a face full of pepper spray or a sprained wrist or shoulder seems like an extreme punishment for not wanting to talk.

If you try to avoid being pepper sprayed, or resist having your arms pinned, then you’ve engaged in “active resistance.”

Now the cops are authorized to use “hard control.”

Hard control includes:

·        Forearm and knee strikes

·        Open and closed hand strikes (better known as punches)

·        Baton strikes

·        Takedowns

·        Impact weapons

·        Tire deflation devices (stop sticks)

·        Electronic control devices (TASERS)

·        K-9 apprehension

After that, things quickly go downhill to the use of deadly force.

Here's the introduction to OPD’s present use of force policy:

"The primary duty of all employees of the Orlando Police Department is to preserve human life. Only the amount of force necessary to protect life or to affect an arrest should be used by an employee, who should do so consistent with the US Constitution, state and federal laws, and Department policy, and use only the degree of force necessary to affect lawful objectives. Excessive force will not be tolerated."

It’s noteworthy that OPD’s present use of force policy is a dramatic departure from an old OPD policy in which if a person gave “verbal responses indicating non-compliance and unwillingness to cooperate” that the officer responded by giving “verbal communications  that specifically direct the actions of the subject and offer the opportunity for compliance.”

We couldn’t find a specific reference in the current use of force policy directing officers to try verbally de-escalating an encounter before putting their hands on anyone.

During a recent community meeting in Parramore, Orlando Police Chief Orlando Rolon insisted that officers don’t want to use force on people. Click here to see a video of his comments.

Chief Rolon also said the use of force policy is currently being reviewed.

For more on this topic and other critical issues in urban Orlando, check out the 32805 Spotlight podcast by clicking here.