San Francisco Officers Told Not to Make Suspects Sit

Police officers in San Francisco may no longer demand that suspects – whether handcuffed or not – sit on the ground or sidewalk at a crime scene, the city’s police chief writes in a department memo.

The practice is viewed as “demeaning” to suspects, city police Chief William Scott has determined, according to the Bay Area’s FOX 2.

The chief recommends instead that officers place suspects “secured in a police vehicle” when “sufficient help is on the scene,”  Fox News  reports.

In times of “exceptional circumstances,” such as when a suspect is resisting arrest, officers may have no choice but to take a suspect to the ground, the chief acknowledges.

The chief has ordered that any incident of taking a suspect to the ground be documented.