WK2A
Instructions
Begin by reading the background information on Use of Force reporting. For your own use, develop a hypothetical use of force scenario to use and draft a narrative
police report. The facts of the scenario are entirely up to you. However, you need to assume the following points in your scenario:
You are a police officer with five years of “street” experience.
You have completed all the prescribed training on the use of force offered by your department and required by the police accrediting body for your state.
Your scenario should involve being dispatched to a call for service and you were required to use force (physical, Taser, OC Spray, or firearm). It does not matter what
the call is, e.g., domestic dispute, crime in progress, suspicious/mentally disturbed person. Your use of force situation can be either lethal or nonlethal.
Once you have developed the facts of your scenario, follow the guidelines outlined in the Use of Force Report Guide (ATTACHED) and use the Use of Force Report
(ATTACHED) to prepare a police report that describes your use of force.
Important Note:
Use correct spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Police reports become part of the public record and may be used in court. You want to make a good impression in order
to be considered knowledgeable and reliable.
Consider your audience. Use Standard English (not slang, police codes, or abbreviations) so that anyone reading the report understands the meaning clearly.
Form – BSPD-20.1
Page _____ of _____ pages
Barnett State
POLICE DEPARTMENT U SE OF F ORCE R EPORT
Instructions: Complete this form for all reportable use of force incidents, as defined in the operations manual under the
General Orders, Section 20.7 – Reporting Use of Force Incidents. THIS REPORT MUST BE FORWARDED TO THE OFFICE
OF THE CHIEF WITHIN THREE DAYS OF FORCE INCIDENT.
Reporting Officer involved in force transaction:
1. Complete Part I, using a separate report form for each person you are documenting a reportable use of force incident on.
2. Leave the control number blank. This number will be assigned by the Chief of Police.
3. List additional witnesses, officers, or any other information requested in your narrative if there is not enough room to
capture that information in the space provided.
4. If suspect refuses medical treatment, request the EMT, hospital staff or other medical personnel present to sign as a
witness to refusal of treatment on the reverse side of this form.
5. Attach a copy of the department computer generated arrest report, if the suspect was arrested. Also attach information
about the suspect’s prior criminal record, if any.
6. Use the checklist below to assist you in completion of the narrative portion of your report.
Describe the physical traits of every suspect (age, sex, size, etc.)
Describe the apparent physical/mental/emotional state of the suspect during the force encounter;
Include if he/she was under the influence of a drug or alcoholic beverage.
Describe all weapons possessed or available to suspect during the altercation.
Describe any special skills or abilities (boxing, martial arts) of the suspect that were, or could have been, used to
carry out his/her attack upon you; include prior violent history towards police.
Describe the immediate threat to you or other persons at the scene by the suspect.
Describe any active resistance to your attempts to control the suspect, or his/her evasion (or attempt) of the
police.
Detail specific verbalization you used prior to escalation to physical force. If verbalization could not be used, give
details why.
Describe all force techniques used, including lesser force options you used on suspect and why they did not work;
or why you believed lesser force options would not accomplish the objective or why you believed lesser force
options would expose you or others to unreasonable danger. If disengaging from the situation was not a viable
option, give details why.
Describe in detail all injuries suffered by the suspect and/or his/her accomplices; all injuries to assisting officers or
yourself as a result of this incident. Detail all medical attention offered/provided for suspect(s).
Describe any physical evidence you secured or collected (i.e., photographs of defensive or offensive injuries, torn
or bloody uniforms / clothing, other evidence of suspects actions).
Give details regarding supervisory notification/response.
Part II-A of Use of Force Report shall be completed by Officers who witness a use of force incident, or Investigators assigned
evidence collection or other investigative duties.
Part II-B of Use of Force Report shall be completed by a Supervisor assigned to investigate the incident.
Part III of Use of Force Report shall be completed by the Training Unit & Command staff following receipt and review of Parts I
and II of the Use of Force Report.
Form – BSPD-20.1
Page _____ of _____ pages
USE OF FORCE REPORT Part I (Reporting officer incident report)
Date of
occurrence:
Time: Blt # Case # Arrest # Control #
Incident
Location:
Name of suspect: DOB: Race: Sex:
Address: telephone #
Reporting Officer: ID # Assignment:
Witness Name Witness address Telephone #
Other Officers at scene ID # Officer injured before or after force? briefly describe injury
Describe suspect injuries prior to and after force was used:
Did suspect require medical treatment?
YES NO
Medical treatment providers: EMS Hospital Other (add below)
Name of attending medical providers Address of medical treatment provider Phone #
Suspect taken to Hospital by: Hospital action: Admitted Treated & Released
Refused treatment Other (describe in narrative)
Suspect’s condition at time of force: Appeared normal Had been drinking Intoxicated by alcoholic beverage
Under influence of drugs Emotionally/Mentally disturbed Other (explain in narrative)
Investigator’s assigned:
Photos taken Statements taken Diagram/sketch Evidence secured
Was suspect arrested? Yes No
If yes, attach copy arrest report
Investigating Supervisor Assigned:
Reporting officer’s signature: Approved by:
Form – BSPD-20.1
Page _____ of _____ pages
Reporting Officer’s Narrative
Describe in detail all actions by the subject (by words or conduct) and your reaction / level of response to protect yourself /
others and/or control the subject.
Type of force used: Physical Canine Chemical Impact Taser® Firearm/other gun
Officer’s signature: Date:
Routing: Reporting officer forward to investigating supervisor
Form – BSPD-20.1
Page _____ of _____ pages
USE OF FORCE REPORT Part II-A (Incident Investigation)
Narrative of: Investigator Witness Police Officer Other:
Officer’s signature: Date:
Routing: Reporting officer forward to investigating supervisor
Form – BSPD-20.1
Page _____ of _____ pages
USE OF FORCE REPORT Part II-B (Incident Investigation)
Narrative of Investigating Supervisor: (continue on separate sheet of paper if necessary)
Give a complete account of your investigation. Attach all witness statements and medical reports, if any.
Describe all evidence secured and its storage location.
Officer’s signature: Date:
Routing: Investigating supervisor to Commanding Lieutenant; to Assistant Chief of Police
Form – BSPD-20.1
Page _____ of _____ pages
USE OF FORCE REPORT Part III (Training / Command Review)
Training Unit Recommendations (continue on separate page if necessary)
Trainers signature: Date: Signature of Assistant Chief of Police: Date:
Review/Recommendations by Command Supervisor: (continue on separate page if necessary)
Signature of Command Supervisor: Date: Signature of Chief of Police: Date:
Command Supervisor Recommendation: check all that apply Final Disposition: check all that apply
Continue Investigation — TOT: ___________________________ Closed by Investigation / appropriate force used
CBI-appropriate use of force Formal Review Board General training deficiency identified / addressed
Training deficiency noted Disciplinary Action Officer was counseled and retrained
Counsel / Retrain Officer Other: Disciplinary action has been commenced
Policy failure noted Other:
Use of Force Report Guide
Generally the report should be written clearly, concisely, completely, and factually. Use short, easily
understood sentences.
Write in active voice not in passive voice. In other words, the subject of the sentence does the
action of the sentence:
Example:
o Active Voice: I kicked the suspect.
o Passive Voice: The suspect was kicked by me.
Write in the First Person (use: “I” “my” “me” “we” “ours” “us”) and not in the Third Person (“This
officer,” “The undersigned officer”):
Example:
o First Person: I then kicked the suspect.
o Third Person: This officer then kicked the suspect.
Avoid pointless police jargon:
Example:
o Good: I then got out of my car.
o Bad: At this juncture, I exited my assigned mobile unit.
o Good: I sprayed the suspect in the face with my chemical aerosol.
o Bad: I deployed my departmental issued CAPSUM Mark IV Chemical Aerosol Personal
Protection Spray in the approximate general vicinity of said suspect’s facial area and
environs.
The Structure of the Narrative Portion of the Report
This is the heart of the report. The narrative should paint a picture of what you were facing for those who
were not there. This is what the Supreme Court was talking about when they said, “Totality of the
circumstances.”
The narrative should be written in chronological order. Because questions of use of force need to be
viewed through the officer’s reasonable perception of events, the chronological order of events should be
based on the order in which the officer experienced those events. The following list is the suggested order
to present your information. These are the suggested eleven items to cover. Do not label these items as
such, just write paragraph by paragraph.
Item 1: The reason you were at the scene. (Where you were, what you were doing before being
dispatched, why were you dispatched to the scene, what did dispatch tell you about the
situation?)
Item 2: What prior information/knowledge did you have regarding the scene or the suspect?
(What were you expecting based on the information that dispatch gave you and based on your
training and experience?)
Item 3: What were the conditions upon your arrival at the scene? (What people were there; what
were they doing? What was the suspect doing? What did he look, smell, and act like? What was
he saying? What was the setting: lighting, smell, sounds, etc.? Remember to paint a picture!)
Item 4: What you did upon arrival at the scene. At some point, you are (during the course of this
item) going to have your first encounter with the suspect. Relate what the suspect was doing just
prior to your direct encounter with him.
Item 5: How did you and the suspect approach each other? (What was said? What did you
observe? What did he do? What did you do?)
Item 6: At this point, you will probably be initiating an arrest of the suspect or a detention of the
suspect. If an arrest, explain what you were arresting him for and list the elements of that offense
and what facts (as you saw them at the time) gave you probable cause to believe that those
elements were met. If it is a detention (pursuant to Terry v. Ohio), then explain why (what facts)
supported your view that criminal activity was afoot and that the suspect was engaged in that
criminal activity. This information may be better presented in bulleted (list) form rather than in
sentence form.
Item 7: Describe when and how the suspect was told that he was under arrest (or was being
stopped/detained).
Item 8: At this point, all hell may have broken loose. This is the item in which you will be
describing what force was used and why. Generally, you should describe what happened in terms
of “the suspect did ____, this made me think ______, so I did _______.”
Example:
o “I reached out and took hold of the suspect’s right wrist in order to handcuff him. The
suspect then spun around breaking my hold on his wrist. He took two steps away from
me, turned around, looked at me and said, ‘You touch me again and I will kill you.’ This
made me afraid that he was either going to attack me or the others in the room, so I
removed my baton from my belt or approached the suspect.”
It is also in this item that you describe the factors under Graham v. Connor.
Example:
o At this point, I considered the totality of the circumstances based on the following facts,
as I understood them to be at the time, including the following:
1) The severity of the crime
a. List bullet points of the facts supporting this.
2) The immediate threat to the public and myself
a. List bullet points of the facts supporting this.
3) The suspect’s level of active resistance to arrest/detention.
a. List bullet points of the facts supporting this.
o I then struck the suspect in his right shin with my baton while telling him two times to
put his hands on his head.
You should then continue with the “the suspect did ____, this made me think ______, so I did
_______,” formula until the use of force situation is at an end.
Item 9: Difference in “physical odds.” If appropriate, you should describe the physical difference
between you and the suspect. Clearly, if you are 5’4”, 120 lbs. and the suspect is 6’2”, 300 lbs.,
that should be something that is considered within the “totality of the circumstances.”
Item 10: How and when your supervisor was notified of the incident.
Item 11: How and when the suspect was treated for injuries inflicted.
