CMPD Chief Talks About Police Use of Force Training

CHARLOTTE, NC — We’ve seen it time and time again. Police officers using force, trying to bring a suspect under control, and it’s all caught on camera. The resulting outcry can lead to deep-seeded issues for a community.

I got the chance to sit down with CMPD Chief Kerr Putney for an exclusive conversation about the current climate for officers in Charlotte, and what the department is doing to police the use of force.

“Our goal is to never have to use force, but we really don’t live in that world,” says Putney.

A hit-and-run suspect leading police on a chase, before resisting arrest. It took several officers to subdue the suspect. And it was all caught on video.

That video caused a firestorm of criticism for CMPD, bringing accusations of excessive force.

“When you capture any of those use of forces on video, none of it is going to play well, and it never does,” says Putney.

The common, knee-jerk reaction is to condemn the officer before seeing all the evidence.

The hit-and-run suspect arrest was reviewed by CMPD’s internal affairs bureau. It was determined the officers were operating within the department’s Use of Force Continuum, which sets guidelines for the appropriate response to a suspect’s level of resistance.

Chief Putney says the current world we live in, with cameras everywhere and instant access on social media, makes it easy for people to see only a small part of a use of force situation; often missing what led up to the part that’s caught on camera.

“It’s making it a bit more difficult for us to really add context to what people are seeing,” Putney tells me. “And what they see is what they believe, and they interpret and perceive it in various ways. So it does make it difficult to police in these times.”

And these have been difficult times for CMPD. Four deadly, officer-involved shootings in the last six months. Plus last summer’s voluntary manslaughter trial of former officer Wes Kerrick.

Dash cam video shows Jonathan Ferrell charging Kerrick as shots are fired. The case ended in a hung jury, and put the department’s use of force training under the microscope.

“The big thing for us is deescalation,” says Putney. “We don’t want to have to get to the point of using force in the first place.”

In 2014 CMPD received 16 complaints about officers using  excessive force, down from 18 the previous year. What doesn’t make headlines are the times officers deescalate a tense situation without using force.

“When you have these encounters, we want to train you for the worst case scenario, and we want to walk you down to the best possible outcome,” says Putney about the training.

Putney and his staff have made changes to CMPD’s training and operating procedure. Sending multiple officers to situations with the potential for aggression. And adding more opportunities for officers to work on the skills needed for dealing with use of force situations, by taking some training out of the academy and into the divisions.

“These skills are perishable,” says the Chief. “So the repetitions, bringing it to the divisions so we’re not bringing everybody out to the academy. And the other thing we’re doing is educating the public. We want to talk through this.”

Putney also wants the community to understand that police officers make split second decisions, but they are people, and can make mistakes.

“Put yourself in our shoes for a second,” he says. “It’s a difficult position to be in. It’s a difficult time. It’s a difficult environment. Ultimately, hold us accountable, but give us an opportunity to give you full context.”