Comparing safety outcomes in police use-of-force cases for law enforcement agencies that have ...

100 Pages·2009·0.88 MB·English

Comparing safety outcomes in
police use-of-force cases for
law enforcement agencies that have
deployed Conducted Energy Devices
and a matched comparison group
that have not:
A quasi-experimental evaluation
September 2009
Report submitted to the National Institute of Justice
PERF Project Staff:
Bruce Taylor, Ph.D., Research Director | Daniel Woods, Associate |
Bruce Kubu, Senior Associate | Chris Koper, Ph.D., Deputy Research Director |
Bill Tegeler, Deputy Director, Management Services | Jason Cheney, Associate |
Mary Martinez, Associate | James Cronin, Senior Associate | Kristin Kappelman, Associate

Comparing safety outcomes in
police use-of-force cases for
law enforcement agencies that have deployed
Conducted Energy Devices and a matched
comparison group that have not:
A quasi-experimental evaluation

September 2009

Report submitted to the National Institute of Justice

PERF Project Staff:
Bruce Taylor, Ph.D., Research Director
Daniel Woods, Associate
Bruce Kubu, Senior Associate
Chris Koper, Ph.D., Deputy Research Director
Bill Tegeler, Deputy Director, Management Services
Jason Cheney, Associate
Mary Martinez, Associate
James Cronin, Senior Associate
Kristin Kappelman, Associate
This study was funded by the National Institute of Justice (Grant # 2006-IJ-CX-0028).
The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views
or the official position of the National Institute of Justice or any other organization.

Police Executive Research Forum, Washington, D.C. 20036
Copyright 2009 by Police Executive Research Forum

All rights reserved

Edited by Craig Fischer

Cover and interior design by Dave Williams
Table of Contents
Abstract......................................................................................1
Executive Summary...................................................................2
Chapter 1: Introduction .............................................................9
Chapter 2: Literature Review...................................................12
Chapter 3: Research Design and Methods...............................21
Chapter 4: Study Results..........................................................35
Chapter 5: Discussion and Conclusion....................................59
References................................................................................72
Appendices...............................................................................79

Abstract
H
ow law enforcement agencies (LEAs) injuries, (2–3) suspect injuries and severe
manage the use-of-force by officers is injuries, (4–5) officers and suspects
perhaps one of the most important tasks that receiving injuries requiring medical
they will undertake. One weapon that has attention, and (6) suspects receiving an
been advanced as a way to reduce injuries injury that resulted in the suspect being
for officers and suspects is the Conducted taken to a hospital or other medical facility.
Energy Device (CED). The purpose of our (We refer to this last category as
project, conducted from late 2006 to 2008, “hospitalization,” although we have no data
was to produce scientifically valid results on the extent to which officers or suspects
that will inform LEA executives’ decisions who went to a hospital or other medical
regarding CED use. The goal of our study facility were admitted and stayed overnight,
was to produce practical information that as opposed to simply receiving an evaluation
can help LEAs establish guidelines that or treatment and being released.)
assist in the effective design of CED Also within CED agencies, in some
deployment programs that support increased cases the actual use of a CED by an officer
safety for officers and citizens. We is associated with improved safety outcomes
conducted one of the first quasi-experiments compared to other less-lethal weapons. For
to compare LEAs with CED deployment five of the eight comparisons, the cases
(n=7) to a set of matched LEAs (n=6) that where an officer used a CED were
do not deploy CEDs on a variety of safety associated with the lowest or second lowest
outcomes, controlling for a variety of rate of injuries, injuries requiring medical
incident factors (force used by officer, time attention, or injuries officer was taken to a
frame of incident, suspect race/gender/age, medical facility such as hospital or medical
suspect resistant behavior, and suspect clinic for treatment of an injury due to a use-
weapon use) and agency-level factors of-force incident requiring “hospitalization”
(agency policy on CEDs, size/density of (see comment in previous paragraph). There
LEA, and population density for were no differences between the CED and
jurisdiction). For the LEAs that deployed the non-CED sites on the outcomes of the
CEDs, we collected two years of data before number of suspect deaths, officer severe
CED deployment and two years of data after injuries, and officer injuries requiring
CED deployment. For the non-CED sites, hospitalization.
we collected four years of data over a The evidence from our study suggests
similar period. that CEDs can be an effective weapon in
Overall, we found that the CED sites helping prevent or minimize physical
were associated with improved safety struggles in use-of-force cases. LEAs should
outcomes when compared to a group of consider the utility of the CED as a way to
matched non-CED sites on six of nine safety avoid up-close combative situations and
measures, including reductions in (1) officer reduce injuries to officers and suspects.
PERF’s Quasi-Experimental Evaluation on Deployment of Less Lethal Weapons 1
Executive Summary
T
he management of police officers’ use Project purpose, goals
of force is perhaps one of the most
and objectives:
important tasks that a law enforcement
agency (LEA) will undertake. LEA The purpose of our project was to produce
executives have to make important policy scientifically valid results that will inform
decisions on the types of force that will be LEA executives’ decisions regarding the use
authorized, technologies to deliver that of CEDs. The goal of our study was to
force, and when and how often various types produce practical information that can help
of force can be used. One of the key law enforcement executives make good
objectives in managing force is designing decisions about whether to deploy CEDs,
approaches to reduce incidents of police use and if a decision is made to deploy them, to
of force and the injuries associated with help the agencies develop CED policy and
force. One weapon that has been advanced procedural guidelines that provide increased
as a way to reduce injuries for officers and safety for officers and citizens. In order to
suspects is the Conducted Energy Device accomplish this goal, our objective was to
(CED). Law enforcement executives have conduct an evaluation comparing LEAs that
been overwhelmed with questions about the have deployed CEDs to a matched group of
effectiveness of CEDs and the safety of LEAs that have not deployed CEDs in terms
these devices. The lack of available of officer and suspect safety during use-of-
information and a full understanding of the force incidents.
effects of using CEDs has hampered the
ability of police executives to make Research design:
informed policy decisions about these
Our team used a quasi-experimental design
devices. Police executives have been
(QED) to compare departments with CED
provided with little independent scientific
deployment (n=7) to a set of matched
evidence and guidance on the impact of
departments (n=6) that do not deploy CEDs
using CEDs. While decades of research have
on a variety of outcomes. With our QED, we
documented the nature and extent of the
are able to isolate the safety outcomes to be
force used by police and the conditions and
expected if a department deploys CEDs,
correlates that affect its application (Smith et
controlling for a variety of related
al., 2007), little research has been done
organizational and individual/incident-level
isolating the effects of using CEDs on
factors.
injuries to suspects and officers.
A key element for all QEDs is the

process used to select a comparison group.

In our study, we used a matching design.
CED (n=7) and non-CED (n=6) sites were
matched based on violent crime levels,
PERF’s Quasi-Experimental Evaluation on Deployment of Less Lethal Weapons 2
police activity, agency size, and population Data analytic approach:
size of jurisdiction. The inclusion of 13
We conducted a series of analyses
departments allows us not only to assess
comparing CED and non-CED sites,
incident-level factors, but also some
including bivariate analyses to describe the
important departmental/organizational-level
basic raw differences between the CED and
factors that could affect outcomes. Our
non-CED sites on our outcome measures,
study is one of the first to examine LEAs
and a variety of multivariate analyses to
that use CEDs to matched LEAs that do not
attempt to assess the viability of the
use CEDs.
bivariate results and control for possible
We collected four years of data on all
alternative explanations for the earlier raw
incidents of use of force for all of the
differences. Our first multivariate analyses
participating departments. For the LEAs that
were done using logistic regression to isolate
deployed CEDs, we collected at least two
the effects of CED deployment on our
years of data before CED deployment and
safety-related outcomes where we included
two years of data after CED deployment.
the following independent/control variables:
For the LEAs that did not deploy CEDs, we
Whether the agency deploys CEDs, the time
collected at least four years of data over a
frame of the incident, an interaction of CED
similar period. While the focus of our study
multiplied by time-frame, suspect race,
was on the use CEDs, we also collected data
suspect gender, suspect age, whether the
on all use-of-force incidents (not just CED
suspect used resistant behavior, and whether
cases) and examined the range of weapons
the suspect had a weapon at the force
and unarmed tactics that the police employ
incident.
in exerting force to arrest suspects.
One of the concerns with examining
multi-site data is that the individual use-of-
Site participants:
force cases we analyze are clustered within
Our selection of cities was based on a 13 departments. In our study, individual
matching analysis using a PERF nationally cases of weapon use by officers are nested
representative survey on use of force. We within specific police departments that have
obtained our data from seven sites that have various policy guidelines on the use of force.
deployed CEDs and six sites that have not Ignoring the nested structure of our data can
deployed CEDs. potentially lead to biased estimates. To
Overall, we believe our CED and non- address this clustering issue we used two
CED sites are comparable. We collected approaches. First, we conducted a modified
data from fairly comparable periods for the logistic regression with a robust variance
CED and non-CED sites, within a year or estimator to adjust for within-cluster
two. And while some differences emerged in correlation. However, with this approach we
our assessment of the comparability of our do not get aggregate-level coefficients to see
CED and non-CED sites, most of the the exact effects of aggregate-level
differences were relatively small and did not conditions on our individual results. To
seem to introduce any substantively examine and observe the effects of
important biases. When combined with our aggregate-level factors, we conducted a
multivariate analyses, we believe that we multi-level analysis using Hierarchical
have a reasonably comparable group of CED Linear Modeling (HLM). While we
and non-CED sites with results that are recognize our limited statistical power to
interpretable. conduct HLM analyses (n=13 LEAs), we are
PERF’s Quasi-Experimental Evaluation on Deployment of Less Lethal Weapons 3
mainly using HLM to assess the robustness magnitude of the effects of the improved
of our findings from our earlier analyses and safety outcomes for the CED sites (relative
take an initial step at assessing the possible to the non-CED sites) was impressive. We
problem of aggregate-level nesting. We found a strong effect of CEDs on reducing
focus our analyses of the HLM results on the officer injuries based on our raw results (8%
direction and magnitude of the effects (as officer injuries in the post period to 20% for
opposed to a focus on the statistical the non-CED sites), and our three
significance of the results). multivariate models. For agencies that
deploy CEDs, our data suggest that the odds
of an officer being injured are reduced by
Study Results:
over 70%. Also, for our CED-only site
Overall, we found that the CED sites were analyses, when officers actually use CEDs
associated with improved safety outcomes our data suggest that there is a 76%
when compared to a group of matched non- reduction in officer injuries. Similar
CED sites on six of nine safety measures, reductions were observed for the CED sites
including reductions in: on our measure of suspect injuries, as
• Officer injuries confirmed by our raw results (26% suspect
injuries in the post period to 43% for the
• Suspect injuries
non-CED sites), and our three multivariate
• Suspect severe injuries
models. For an agency that deploys CEDs,
• Officers receiving injuries requiring our data suggest that the odds of a suspect
medical attention, being injured are reduced by more than
• Suspects receiving injuries requiring 40%.
medical attention, and Along the same lines, our data suggest
that CED sites were related to reductions in
• Suspects receiving an injury that resulted
suspect severe injuries based on our raw
in their being sent to a hospital or other
results (5% suspect severe injuries in the
medical facility. (We refer to this as
post period to 7% for the non-CED sites),
“hospitalization,” but it does not
and our three multivariate models. For an
necessarily mean that suspects were
agency that deploys CEDs, our data suggest
admitted and stayed overnight at a
that the odds of a suspect being severely
hospital; we were unable to obtain data on
injured are reduced by over 40%. For our
the extent to which officers or suspects
CED-only site analyses, our data suggest
who went to a hospital or other medical
that CEDs were associated with the lowest
facility were admitted and stayed
levels of suspect severe injuries compared to
overnight, as opposed to simply receiving
other forms of force.
an outpatient evaluation and/or
Our data suggest that CED sites were
treatment.)
related to reductions in injuries to officers

requiring medical attention based on our
There were no differences between the
raw results (8% for officer medical attention
CED and the non-CED sites on the
in the post period to 16% for the non-CED
outcomes of the other three measures:
sites), and our three multivariate models. For
number of suspect deaths, officer severe
an agency that deploys CEDs, our data
injuries, and officer injuries requiring
suggest that the odds of an officer receiving
hospitalization.
an injury requiring medical attention is
For the six of nine significant
reduced by at least 80%. For our CED-only
outcomes, our data suggest that the
PERF’s Quasi-Experimental Evaluation on Deployment of Less Lethal Weapons 4