Data shows Henrico Police have used force in 35 incidents this year

Henrico Police have used force in 35 separate incidents during 2020, and one officer has been disciplined for use-of-force actions, a police spokesman told the Citizen this week in response to a request for the information.

Eighteen of the 35 incidents have been reviewed internally so far, Henrico Police Lt. Matt Pecka said.

Police provided the Citizen with data about the use-of-force related only to those 18 incidents, and it shows that officers used force against 21 people in those cases – 14 of whom were Black, six of whom were white and one of whom was Hispanic.

Eighteen of the 21 people were arrested, and 12 of them required medical attention at the scene, according to the data police provided the Citizen. Eight of the incidents occurred in the division’s central district, six in the western district and four in the south district, according to Pecka.

During the 18 incidents for which police provided data, officers used:

• empty-hand techniques 11 times (defined as any physical contact with bare hands);
• pepper spray six times;
• a TASER five times;
• a precision immobilization technique, or PIT, maneuver twice (during which an officer uses his or her car to spin another car out to end a pursuit), Pecka said.

The 17 other use-of-force cases have yet to be reviewed, he said.

Every Henrico officer involved in a use-of-force incident is required to file a separate report about it, Pecka said, and other police officials then review and investigate each one to ensure compliance with division policy. As a result, multiple reports often are filed about the same incident. There are a total of about 750 pages of reports related to the 35 incidents this year, he said.

All use-of-force reports are submitted through the chain of command to the division’s Professional Standards department for review, Pecka said, although incidents are not necessarily reviewed in chronological order. The 18 incidents this year that have been reviewed all occurred between January and early May.

Virginia Code does not require police departments to release their use-of-force reports or data, but it does not forbid them from doing so if they choose.

Because the full records constitute “criminal investigative files” and some contain “specific tactical plans, the disclosure of which would jeopardize the safety or security of law-enforcement personnel or the general public in similar events in the future,” Henrico Police declined the Citizen’s request to release the full reports, Pecka wrote.

The Citizen then requested less specific data related to the use-of-force incidents, which the division provided.

“A police officer's duty is to protect life and property. In fulfilling this duty, every possible and reasonable alternative should be used before resorting to force,” Pecka wrote, explaining how the division defines the use of force. “If it becomes necessary to employ force as a response to resistance or other action, a police officer should use only that force necessary to achieve the lawful objectives of the Police Division.”

Henrico's Board of Supervisors is currently receiving public input about the possibility of establishing a civilian review board that could weigh in (to an unknown extent) on possible misconduct by officers.

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