The City of Omaha, Nebraska was sued in a federal lawsuit, alleging police unlawfully arrested a woman.
The plaintiff alleges that, while working from home three years ago, she went to the porch after police responded to a domestic dispute between her son and his girlfriend. Later, when the plaintiff wanted to return back into her home, she claims officers stood in the way and grabbed her arms to stop her from getting into her home.
She speculated police wanted to search her home for a gun because her son had been there, but she demanded to see a search warrant. They did not have one but asked for consent to search the house.
When the plaintiff declined consent, she was handcuffed and removed from the porch and onto the lawn. She was then driven to a parking lot one block away and forced to sit in the back of the vehicle for nearly 90 minutes. She was later taken to jail and charged with obstruction and resisting arrest.
The City's response was that the officers at all times acted in good faith to comply with all laws and had reasonable grounds to believe their actions did not violate constitutional rights. As for the arrest, if any force was used against the plaintiff, the city claims it was "minimal and justified".
Four months later, the misdemeanor charges against the woman were dismissed. Mike McKnight "Woman files lawsuit claiming Omaha Police wrongfully arrested her" www.wowt.com (Jul. 08, 2024).
Commentary and Checklist
In the above matter, the issue escalated to arrest quickly and eventually led to litigation. Could this matter and others like it be avoided without compromising safety or an investigation?
Lexipol recently completed a revision and update of its Use of Force Policy by adding a new subsection:
ALTERNATIVE TACTICS – DE-ESCALATION
When circumstances reasonably permit, officers should use non-violent strategies and techniques to decrease the intensity of a situation, improve decision-making, improve communication, reduce the need for force, and increase voluntary compliance (e.g., summoning additional resources, formulating a plan, attempting verbal persuasion). https://useofforce.lexipol.com/policy/
Four Principles of Law Enforcement De-Escalation
1: Ensure your citizen contact procedures are respectful of the law and the citizen. For example, although an officer initiating a traffic stop may be within policy or the law to refuse to tell the motorist the reason for the stop before obtaining identification, this often leads to escalation. It is more respectful to advise someone why they were stopped and take that potential escalation issue off the table.
2: Ensure your officers know their legal limitations before engaging with the public. Absent reasonable suspicion of a crime, any seizure of a person is a violation of the Fourth Amendment. Understanding your legal limitations should dictate your interview manner and tactics. If possible, watch the person to see if there is anything suspicious before approaching them.
3: Once you decide to approach a citizen, use requests rather than commands to gain a person's cooperation. Greetings and open-ended questions would be better to initiate a conversation than aggressive commands. Communication is only effective if it is done in a manner that encourages two-way participation.
4: Although your training may dictate the use of shouted commands and aggressive actions when confronting a suspect who is likely armed, it may not be effective on a citizen who is confused, suffering a mental illness crisis, or becomes fearful when they suddenly become the target of a police officer's interest. If you can try to put yourself in the shoes of the other person, then the use of strategies specific to the perspective of the person may be more effective than tactics and commands appropriate for a person choosing to resist a criminal arrest. https://useofforce.lexipol.com/policy/
While considering these principles, remember that safety of all involved is of utmost importance.
