...Title
Discussion and Actions Related to Police Use of Force and Crowd Control Measures.
...Recommendations
Per the current state of emergency for civil unrest and under Emergency Orders, seek 2/3 approval from council to place the following item on the Council agenda, to direct the City Manager-through the Chief of Police and other staff-and Independent Police Auditor to:
(a) Describe in detail which requisite conditions- of violence or destructive conduct-the SJPD duty manual authorizes for the deployment the following methods or uses of force for what is commonly referred to as “crowd control”:
(1) Officers in significant numbers (eg: two dozen or more) in “riot gear”.
(2) Tear gas.
(3) Kinetic impact projectiles (KIPs) such as rubber or foam bullets.
(4) “Flash-bang” devices.
(5) Use of batons and/or physical contact.
(b) For each of the days/ episodes in which any of these approaches were deployed during the recent protests, describe in specific detail the circumstances that gave rise to the decision to uses of any of these methods or uses of force since May 29.
(c) In light of recent experience, indicate what changes to the Duty Manual the Department should or will consider to any of these policies or protocols for crowd control.
(d) Either at today’s meeting or at the earliest possible opportunity, indicate why Council should not prohibit the use within dense crowds of kinetic impact projectiles (KIP), i.e., rubber of foams bullets, either by directing the City Manager to amend the SJPD Duty Manual, or alternatively directing the City Attorney to amend San José Municipal Code Section 10.32. Specifically:
(1) Reveal whether the safety of KIP design or composition has substantially improved since the time of the studies referenced in this memorandum, below;
(2) Describe the approximate number of rounds discharged in crowds over the past week;
(3) Explicitly evaluate the relative imprecision of this tool, and its likelihood of striking persons other than its i...
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