Comparison of State Policies on Officer-Involved Shootings: How existing reporting requirement policies in other states compare to the new Texas law

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Police Shooting Reporting Laws

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Colorado Police Shooting Reporting Policy Description of Law Colorado’s SB 15-217 was intended to increase data on officer-involved shooting incidents to better inform future policy. The 2015 law requires every officer-involved shooting be reported to the State Division of Criminal Justice. Demographic information about the individuals involved as well as contextual details about the incident are reported. The State Division of Criminal Justice compiles an annual report with analysis of the information to be made available online and to the legislative body. The new law has a Sunset of 2021 and includes funding for a 0.5 FTE.

Differences Between Colorado’s Law and the Texas Law Texas Reporting Requirements on Incident

Colorado Reporting Requirements on Incident

• Date and location of the incident • The age, gender, and race or ethnicity of the peace officers involved • The age, gender, and race or ethnicity of the person who was shot, or who shot an officer • Whether the person who was shot died or was injured as a result of the incident • Whether each injured or deceased person was armed • Whether the peace officer was on duty • Whether the officer was responding to an emergency call or a request for assistance • Whether the officer responded to that call alone or with back up • Whether the incident occurred as part of the execution of a warrant or a hostage, barricade, or other emergency • Must report within 30 days of the incident

• Age, gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity and physical/ mental disability of the suspect • Age, gender, race, and ethnicity of the peace officer • Basis for contact/stop that led to shooting • Officer's basis for shooting • Lawful search conducted? Found contraband? What contraband? • Whether a verbal warning was issued before shooting • Whether the officer responding to the scene arrested or issued a citation to anyone, if so, the crimes charged as a result of the arrest or citation. • Must report by Sept. 1st of each year

Under the Colorado law: 1. More information about the context of each specific incident is required than under the Texas law which requires more basic information that can be aggregated to show general trends. 2. The law enforcement entity has an entire year to report the incident. 3. The reporting requirements extend only until 2021. 4. The entity that is reported to has to analyze the information on officer-involved shootings in addition to collecting and disseminating it. 5. There is no parallel reporting system for officer death or injury in the line of duty due to civilian shooting. 6. Some funding will be provided for the Division to hire an employee to implement the analysis and reporting requirements of the Division to the Legislature.

Impact on National Police Shooting Reporting Data Gap • Because there is only an annual reporting requirement, it makes it difficult to have relevant and timely information on a national level.

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Police Use of Deadly Force Reporting Laws

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Maine Police Use of Deadly Force Reporting Law Description of Law Under §200 A, Maine law requires a law enforcement agency whose officer uses deadly force to notify the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) that this has occurred. The Attorney General is then required to conduct an investigation of the incident to determine if this was an appropriate use of force. The OAG is not required by law to make the information public, but they have made the investigation reports available online since 2003. A separate law under the administrative procedures code, § 7070 A, allows the publication of personnel records on deadly force or physical force by a law enforcement officer. This allows the OAG to include the name of the officer involved in a police-shooting incident once the investigation has been completed.

Differences Between Maine's Law and the Texas Law Texas Reporting Requirements on Incident

Maine Reporting Requirements on Incident

• Date and location of the incident • The age, gender, and race or ethnicity of the peace officers involved • The age, gender, and race or ethnicity of the person who was shot, or who shot an officer • Whether the person who was shot died or was injured as a result of the incident • Whether each injured or deceased person was armed • Whether the peace officer was on duty • Whether the officer was responding to an emergency call or a request for assistance • Whether the officer responded to that call alone or with back up • Whether the incident occurred as part of the execution of a warrant or a hostage, barricade, or other emergency • Must report within 30 days of the incident

• The fact that an incident has occurred is reported to the Office of the Attorney General • A report summarizing the investigation by the OAG includes the name of the officer as well as the name of the person who was killed, in addition to contextual details about the case, and an analysis of whether the use of force was justified • Must report “as soon as practicable”

Under the Maine law: 1. The reporting requirement was primarily enacted to ensure independent investigation of officer use of force, not as a way to bridge a data gap. Because of this, law enforcement is not required to report details of each incident, simply to notify the OAG that an incident has occurred "as soon as practicable." 2. The information the OAG gathers on the cases is not required to be made public (although they have chosen to do so anyway, and have archived on their website over 100 detailed reports on police shooting incidents since 2003, and can also provide hard copies of reports on incidents from 1991-2003). 3. While the incident reports on the OAG's website include the extensive details of the incident including whether officers were on duty and responding to a call, how many shots were fired, as well as the names of all officers and civilians involved, information on the race/ethnicity of the individuals is not included. 4. There is no parallel reporting system for officer deaths in the line of duty.

Impact on National Police Shooting Reporting Data Gap • Maine helps bridge a substantial data gap by making over 20 years worth of officer-involved shooting information available to the public, but a lack of information on race obscures an important aspect of the incident. • Not making basic information about the case available until the investigation is complete means that information on cases is delayed, often by more than a year.

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Maryland Police Use of Deadly Force Reporting Law Description of Law Under the recently passed Maryland law, law enforcement agencies are required provide the Governor's Office of Crime Control and Prevention with demographic and contextual information about the circumstances surrounding an incident involving officer use of deadly force as well as an incident in which an officer dies while in the line of duty. Law enforcement agencies must provide this information on each incident that occurred the preceding year on or before March 1st of each year. The Governor's Office of Crime Control and Prevention is then required to analyze and disseminate the information, write a report with this analysis, and make this report available to the legislative body.

Differences Between Maryland’s Law and the Texas Law Texas Reporting Requirements on Incident

Maryland Reporting Requirements on Incident

• Date and location of the incident • The age, gender, and race or ethnicity of the peace officers involved • The age, gender, and race or ethnicity of the person who was shot, or who shot an officer • Whether the person who was shot died or was injured as a result of the incident • Whether each injured or deceased person was armed • Whether the peace officer was on duty • Whether the officer was responding to an emergency call or a request for assistance • Whether the officer responded to that call alone or with back up • Whether the incident occurred as part of the execution of a warrant or a hostage, barricade, or other emergency • Must report within 30 days of the incident

• • • • •

The age, gender, ethnicity, and race of a deceased individual The age, gender, ethnicity, and race the officer involved Date, time, and location of the death A brief description of the circumstances surrounding the death The law enforcement agency of the officer who was: • Killed, if the incident involved an officer who died in the line of duty • Detained, arrested, or was in the process of arresting the deceased, if the incident involved an officer-involved death. • Must report on or before March 1st of each year

Under the Maryland law: 1. The reporting requirement is intended to bridge an information gap on officer-involved death incidents, not just deaths caused by police shootings. Because of this, a number of other types of officer use of force incidents that end in death are captured, but information on injuries due to police shootings are not required to be reported. 2. The information is only required to be reported on an annual basis. 3. The entity that is reported to has to analyze the information on officer-involved deaths in addition to collecting and disseminating it.

Impact on National Police Shooting Reporting Data Gap • A gap on police shootings that do not result in death will still remain for the state of Maryland. • Because there is only an annual reporting requirement, and reporting is completed in the middle of the calendar year, it makes it difficult to have relevant and timely information on a national level. • While compiling information on all officer-involved deaths might make it more difficult to single out deaths caused by police shootings, the additional information may help show trends relating to officer-involved deaths in general that may not be apparent simply in shooting incidents.

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North Carolina Police Use of Deadly Force Reporting Law Description of Law North Carolina’s (§ 143B-904) reporting policy, enacted in 2014, simply requires the state’s Department of Public Safety to collect, maintain, and annually publish the number of deaths resulting from use of deadly force by law enforcement officers.

Differences Between North Carolina’s Law and the Texas Law Texas Reporting Requirements on Incident

North Carolina Reporting Requirements on Incident

• Date and location of the incident • The age, gender, and race or ethnicity of the peace officers involved • The age, gender, and race or ethnicity of the person who was shot, or who shot an officer • Whether the person who was shot died or was injured as a result of the incident • Whether each injured or deceased person was armed • Whether the peace officer was on duty • Whether the officer was responding to an emergency call or a request for assistance • Whether the officer responded to that call alone or with back up • Whether the incident occurred as part of the execution of a warrant or a hostage, barricade, or other emergency • Must report within 30 days of the incident

• Number of deaths resulting from use of force • Must report annually

Under the North Carolina law: 1. No demographic information about the individuals involved, nor any information about the incident must reported. 2. The data only serves to answer the question of how many civilian deaths in the state are caused by the law enforcement officer’s use of deadly force each year.

Impact on National Police Shooting Reporting Data Gap • Due to the limited data that is reported, there is no way to research trends on peace officer use of force to inform future policy.

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Oregon Police Use of Deadly Force Reporting Law Description of Law Oregon’s reporting policy (§ 181.789) was enacted in 2007, and in addition to requiring the reporting of police use of deadly force, the statute requires law enforcement agencies to have a policy on appropriate use of force by police officers. It also requires law enforcement agencies to pay for at least two sessions with a mental health professional for each peace officer involved in an incident in which there is use of deadly force in order to move a peace officer involved in a use of deadly force incident into a position in which they will not again be in a situation where they would have to use deadly force in their duties for at least 72 hours after the incident and to involve at least one officer from another law enforcement agency in the investigation of the incident. The Oregon law is intended not just to provide aggregated data on use of deadly force incidents, but also to ensure use of deadly force is appropriate. The statute requires law enforcement agencies to report the name, gender, race, ethnicity, and age of the decedent, the date, time and location of the incident, and a brief description of the circumstances surrounding the incident to the state Department of Justice. The Department is then charged with compiling and periodically publishing the information.

Differences Between Oregon’s Law and the Texas Law Texas Reporting Requirements on Incident

Oregon Reporting Requirements on Incident

• Date and location of the incident • The age, gender, and race or ethnicity of the peace officers involved • The age, gender, and race or ethnicity of the person who was shot, or who shot an officer • Whether the person who was shot died or was injured as a result of the incident • Whether each injured or deceased person was armed • Whether the peace officer was on duty • Whether the officer was responding to an emergency call or a request for assistance • Whether the officer responded to that call alone or with back up • Whether the incident occurred as part of the execution of a warrant or a hostage, barricade, or other emergency • Must report within 30 days of the incident

• • • •

The name, gender, race, ethnicity and age of the decedent Date, time, and location of the incident A brief description of the circumstances surrounding the death Must report “promptly”

Under the Oregon law: 1. The reporting requirement is intended to bridge an information gap on officer-involved death incidents, not just deaths caused by police shootings. Because of this, information on injuries due to police shootings is not required to be reported. 2. No demographic information about the officers involved must be reported, but the law does require the reporting of the deceased civilian’s name. 3. There is no specific date by which a law enforcement agency must report details about the incident. 4. There is no specific date by which the Department of Justice must publish the compiled reports on use of deadly force incidents. 5. There is no parallel reporting system for officer deaths in the line of duty.

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Impact on National Police Shooting Reporting Data Gap • A gap on police shootings that do not result in death will still remain for the state of Oregon. • Because there is no specific reporting or publishing requirement, it makes it difficult to have relevant and timely information on a national level. • While compiling information on all officer-involved deaths might make it more difficult to single out deaths caused by police shootings, the additional information may help show trends relating to officer-involved deaths in general that may not be apparent simply in shooting incidents. • A lack of information on the police officer’s gender and race/ethnicity obscures an important aspect of the incidents.

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Firearm Discharge Reporting Laws

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Minnesota Firearm Discharge Reporting Policy Description of Law This is one of the oldest state policies aimed at tracking officer firearm discharge. The law has been in place since 1991. In addition to implementing the reporting system, the 1991 legislation requires law enforcement agencies to implement policies on use of deadly force, as well as to provide continuous training on use of deadly force and use of firearms. The state law instructs the department head of an officer who discharges a firearm (other than for training or killing a sick, injured, or dangerous animal), to report the reason for and circumstances surrounding discharge of the firearm to the Commissioner of Public Safety within 30 days of the incident. The Commissioner is then required to forward a copy of the filing to the Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training, and file a report with the legislature every other year containing summary information concerning use of firearms by peace officers.

Differences Between Minnesota’s Law and the Texas Law Texas Reporting Requirements on Incident

Minnesota Reporting Requirements on Incident

• Date and location of the incident • The age, gender, and race or ethnicity of the peace officers involved • The age, gender, and race or ethnicity of the person who was shot, or who shot an officer • Whether the person who was shot died or was injured as a result of the incident • Whether each injured or deceased person was armed • Whether the peace officer was on duty • Whether the officer was responding to an emergency call or a request for assistance • Whether the officer responded to that call alone or with back up • Whether the incident occurred as part of the execution of a warrant or a hostage, barricade, or other emergency • Must report within 30 days of the incident

• The reason for and circumstances surrounding discharge of the firearm • Must report within 30 days of the incident

Under the Minnesota law: 1. The reporting requirement was intended to track police officer’s use of firearms and deadly force after the state implemented firearm use policies and training. The law was not necessarily intended for transparency or to guide future policy and research on officer-involved shootings. Because of this, the information that is required to be reported does not include the demographic information of the individuals involved, or the time or place of the incident. Additionally, firearm discharge incidents that do not lead to injury or death are also reported. 2. The information is only required to be reported every other year. 3. The information on these incidents is not public. 4. There is no parallel reporting system for firearm discharges against an officer by a civilian.

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Impact on National Police Shooting Reporting Data Gap • The information on firearm discharge incidents is not public which makes it more difficult to access and compare on a national level. • Because reporting is only required every other year, it makes it difficult to have relevant and timely information on a national level. • Because the information that is required to be reported is more about circumstances around each incident rather than statistical in nature, it might make it more difficult to compare to the more statistical data from other states. • Minnesota has the potential to bridge a substantial data gap by compiling over 20 years worth of officer firearm discharge information, but a lack of information on race obscures an important aspect of the incidents.

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Comparison of State Policies on Officer-Involved Shootings* State

Texas

Colorado

Maine

Maryland

Minnesota

North Carolina

Oregon

Type of Law

Police Shooting Reporting

Police Shooting Reporting

Police use of deadly force reporting

Police use of deadly force reporting

Officer Discharge of Firearms Reporting

Police use of deadly force reporting

Police use of deadly force reporting

Year Enacted

2015

2015

1995

2015

1991

2014

2014

Who must report?

Law enforcement agencies whose officers are involved in a shooting with a civilian

Law enforcement agencies whose officers are involved in a shooting with a civilian

Law enforcement agencies whose officers use deadly force

Law enforcement agencies whose officers are involved in civilian deaths

Department head of an officer who discharges a firearm (other than for training or killing a sick, injured, or dangerous animal)

The Department of Public Safety must collect information from law enforcement agencies

Law enforcement agencies whose officers use deadly force

What must be reported?

Demographic information about the individuals involved, whether the victim was injured or died, whether the injured or deceased citizen was armed, information about the basis for contact that led to shooting, date, time, and location of the incident, a parallel reporting system for reporting officer deaths involving a shooting

Demographic information about the individuals involved, sexual orientation and physical/mental disability of the injured or deceased citizen, basis for contact that led to shooting, additional details about the incident

That the incident occurred

Demographic information about the individuals involved, “a brief description of the circumstances surrounding the death,” date, time, and location of the incident, the law enforcement agency of the officer who was involved, a parallel reporting system for reporting officer deaths in the line of duty

“The reason for and circumstances surrounding discharge of the firearm”

“The number of deaths, by law enforcement agency, resulting from the use of deadly force by law enforcement officers in the course and scope of their official duties”

The name, gender, race, ethnicity and age of the decedent, the date, time and location of the incident, and a brief description of the circumstances surrounding the incident

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Comparison of State Policies on Officer-Involved Shootings* When must agency report?

Within 30 days of the incident

On or before Sept 1st of each year until 2021

"as soon as practicable"

On or before March 1st of each year

Within 30 days of the incident

Who is reported to?

Office of the Attorney General

State Division of Criminal Justice

Office of the Attorney General

Governor's Office of Crime Control and Prevention

The Commissioner N/A of Public Safety

Department of Justice

What does the entity that is reported to do with the information?

Office of the Attorney General (OAG) posts incident report on website within 5 days, and OAG compiles an annual report on Feb. 1st of each year

The Division produces an annual report by March 1st of each year which it submits to the state Legislature and posts on its website

Office of the Attorney General

Governor's Office of Crime Control and Prevention analyzes and disseminates the information, and produces an annual report that is then presented to the General Assembly by June 30th of each year

The Commissioner forwards a copy of the filing to the Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training. The Commissioner then files a report with the legislature by November 15th of each evennumbered year containing summary information concerning use of firearms by peace officers

The Department of Public Safety is required to collect, maintain, and annually publish the number of deaths due to officer use of deadly force

The Department of Justice must compile and periodically publish the information

Is this information posted online?

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

Yes

Yes

Incentive or penalty to ensure compliance with the law?

No

Includes funding for a .5 FTW for the State Division.

No

No

No

No

No

conducts an investigation into whether this was an appropriate use of force

Annually

“promptly”

* Table depicts all existing state policies relating to the reporting of officer involved shootings.

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