De-Escalation Tactics May Have Led to More Attacks on LAPD, Paper Says

The 2018 use-of-force report shows a second year of rising attacks on officers. That year, officers were attacked 784 times, a 6-percent increase over 2017 when there were 741 attacks on officers. In 2016, there were about 590 such attacks.

The Daily News is reporting that the number of LAPD officers attacked has increased substantially in the last two years and that new de-escalation tactics may be one of the reasons.  

The 2018 use-of-force report provided to the Daily News by the LAPD shows a second year of rising attacks on officers. That year, officers were attacked 784 times, a 6-percent increase over 2017 when there were 741 attacks on officers. In 2016, there were about 590 such attacks.

“Two officers dealing with someone may end up in a fight over one of their guns,” said Capt. Jonathan Tom, who leads the Critical Incident Review Division. “Then it becomes an OIS (officer-involved shooting). If you have four officers or six officers there, you’re less likely to get in that same scenario.

“But consequently you’re going to have more officers at a scene, potentially becoming more victims.”

Most of the attacks on officers in 2017 and 2018 were strong-arm attacks, meaning the suspects used bodily force to strike an officer.

 

About the Author
Page 1 of 65
Next Page