WINNIPEG POLICE SERVICE

REPORT TO THE WINNIPEG POLICE BOARD

TO: Chair, Winnipeg Police Board

FROM: Chief Danny G. Smyth

SUBJECT: 2019 Use of Force Report

DATE: May 15, 2020

RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that this report be received as information by the Winnipeg Police Board.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
There are no financial implications relating to the recommendation within this report.

BACKGROUND:

The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) requires that the Service
establish and maintain written procedures on use of force to direct the decisions of police members.
The CALEA standards require that all members issued with lethal or intermediate level weapons
receive appropriate training and pass mandatory recertification regarding the safe handling and proper
usage of weapons and control tactics. Less than lethal weapons and weaponless control techniques
require recertification on a biennial basis, while firearms proficiency must be recertified annually.

Written reports and administrative reviews are required whenever force is used and firearms or
conducted energy weapons (CEW) are discharged or presented to coerce compliance. An annual
administrative review of procedure and outcomes is also required.

DISCUSSION:

The Winnipeg Police Service’s directive on Use of Force, CALEA standards and the Criminal Code of
Canada prescribe the foundation for the Winnipeg Police Service’s procedure, training and assessment
practices. The Service recognizes the responsibility the citizens of Winnipeg entrust to police members
regarding use of force. While police members strive to resolve incidents without applying physical force,
occasionally it is required. Formal training and the Service’s Use of Force procedures direct officers
when they encounter situations where they must apply force to gain compliance or de-escalate
situations in accordance with the law.
All officers are required to have completed training prior to being issued lethal and intermediate
weapons; they must also complete recertification annually for firearms and biennially for intermediate
weapons. All hands-on training is accompanied by classroom lectures on the decision-making
framework in the Service’s procedures for use of force to ensure officers are aware of their obligations
to act within the legal authorization provided by the Criminal Code.

Any complaints of excessive force received by the Service are thoroughly investigated by the
Professional Standards Unit, while any use of force that results in a serious injury or the loss of life are
investigated by the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba.

Reporting Use of Force

In all cases where force is used or a weapon is discharged (other than for training purposes), the
incident is documented through an electronic reporting system known as Blue Team. This allows use
of force experts to independently review and assess whether the force application was reasonable and
necessary given the totality of circumstances. It also allows the Service to identify opportunities for
improvement via training, equipment or procedural updates.

The Winnipeg Police Service attended 231,668 calls for service in 2019. 857 incidents resulted in either
the use of force or the presentation of a weapon by officers to gain compliance. Officers resolved
99.63% of all calls for service without having to resort to force. This means that only 0.37% of calls
required the use of or a presentation of force.

The actual number of incidents for force used, without including coercive action is 707 or 0.31%.
Coercive actions may include (but are not limited to) officers pointing their service pistol or simply
presenting their Asp baton, oleoresin capsicum (O.C) spray (pepper spray), a canine or a Conducted
Energy Weapon (CEW) in an effort to secure compliance from a suspect.

Dispatched Calls Use of Force Percentage of

Year
for Service Reports UOF Encounters
2015 201,175 947 0.47%
2016 205,641 858 0.42%
2017 225,129 872 0.39%
2018 225,204 757 0.34%
2019 231,668 857 0.37%
5 year avg 217,763 858 0.398%

The five-year average of use of force (2015-19) is 858 encounters. The results for 2019 are an increase
from 2018 but consistent with the average of the previous 5 years. To put this number in perspective,
there is approximately one use of force encounter for every 270 calls for service.

The year over year changes in the amount of force used by officers is dictated by interactions in the
field; as such, numbers rely on the behaviour of suspects and their willingness to comply with officers.

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Types of Force Used

Training dictates that officers regulate their actions based on the threat level presented to them by a
suspect and that the minimum level of force required to gain compliance be used. In the vast majority of
calls, tactical communication and officer presence are sufficient to restore order or gain compliance.
Each Use of Force (UOF) report can include multiple forms of control and resistance in each encounter;
as such totals amount to more than one hundred percent for each year in the charts below.

5 Year Comparison of Officer Control Used

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Soft Empty Hand Control 77.56% 80.47% 78.75% 76.88% 74.45%
Hard Empty Hand Control 33.44% 39.42% 42.03% 44.52% 40.96%
Intermediate Weapons 25.85% 29.24% 29.45% 33.29% 35.12%
Deadly Force presented or
25.21% 21.87% 23.09% 20.34% 19.25%
deployed

5 Year Comparison of Assaultive and Violent Resistance

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Defensive Resistance 65.38% 70.41% 73.33% 72.66% 72.46%
48.07%
Active Aggression 41.88% 46.19% 47.69% 47.26%
41.8
Aggravated Active 13.68%
14.32% 17.55% 19.55% 18.32%
Aggression 14.2

The results above show a slight increase in officers using intermediate weapons (such as Conducted
Energy Weapons or ASP batons), with a slight decrease in all other types of control. The types of
resistance officers are facing has not changed in any significant numbers; however, within the
Aggravated Active Aggression category there has been a rise in the number of firearms encounters. In
2019, officers encountered 37 instances of suspects armed with firearms, compared to 30 the year
before and 26 in 2017. Edged weapons continue to be the largest weapon category with 70 wielded in
2019.

Use of Deadly Force

While 19.25% of use of force instances involved a firearm from police members, the vast majority of
these instances were presenting the service pistol to gain compliance from an individual.

There were five police-involved shootings in 2019 in Winnipeg. After two of those events, two
individuals died from their injuries. Both of the fatalities were investigated by the Independent
Investigation Unit of Manitoba (IIU), as required by law. The IIU concluded in both instances that the
use of force was either necessary or unavoidable in the circumstances.

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 5 Year Comparison of Intermediate Weapon Use
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
OC Spray 2 2 5 17 8
Asp Baton 16 16 19 19 10
Conducted Energy Weapon
Presented/Coerce 108 103 97 96 94
Probes Deployed 54 69 83 89 154
Push Stun 21 30 31 20 26
Canine Presented/Coerce 49 42 39 20 22
Canine Bite 13 19 19 7 9

The biggest change in intermediate weapon use was driven by deployment of Conducted Energy
Weapon (CEW) probes. Officers are taught to use the CEW in two different types of application: a
probe deployment or a drive stun (push stun). The probes are fired from a distance of up to 25 feet and
the cycling of electricity causes involuntary muscle contraction to temporarily incapacitate a subject so
they can be restrained. A drive/push stun is used to cycle electricity to a major muscle group as a pain
compliance technique, it does not cause the same neuromuscular incapacitation.

The potential for serious injury while using a CEW is low compared to the injury potential of other
intermediate weapons such as being struck numerous times by a baton or bitten by a police canine.
Officers confronted by individuals behaving erratically from methamphetamine psychosis have found
that a CEW has been one of the most effective ways to gain compliance from a suspect.

Injuries

Of the 857 UOF Reports, 18.32% involved situations wherein the officers faced Aggravated Active
Aggression. These types of encounters are volatile and carry the real risk of death or grievous bodily
harm to the officers, the subjects and potential by-standers.

Self-reported injuries over 5 years

Year Use of Force Officers injured Percentage Subjects injured Percentage
Reports Injured Injured
2015 947 93 10% 239 25.6%
2016 858 97 11.3% 239 27.82%
2017 872 101 11.66% 244 27.95%
2018 757 102 13.47% 224 29.59%
2019 857 88 10.26% 253 29.52%

The rates at which violent and resistant subjects are injured by officers has remained relatively
consistent at just under 30%. The numbers of officers injured during physical conflict was lower than
the last number of years.

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Complaints Related to Use of Force

When complaints are made directly to the Service by members of the public, historically the
Professional Standards Unit would conduct investigations into all claims. The IIU now assumes
responsibility for some of the investigations, specifically for more serious injuries. Additional complaints
may have been made to the Law Enforcement Review Agency of Manitoba; however, the results of
these potential grievances are unknown at this time.

Of the three excessive force allegations made in 2019, one was unfounded, one was abandoned by the
complainant and one was not sustained by evidence.

Professional Standards Unit- Excessive Force Allegation Dispositions

Type 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Abandoned 3 1 1 1 1
Crown Opinion- No charge - - - -
Informal Resolution - - - -
Information Only 1 - 3 -
Not Sustained 1 - 2 1 1
Open 3 - 1 -
Stayed - - - -
Sustained - - - -
Unfounded 3 - 1 1 1
Total 11 1 8 3 3

Winnipeg Police Service members filed 857 Use of Force reports in 2019, representing 0.37% of all
calls for service in the year. The Service closely monitors all reports to insure that officers are using
force in ways that are reasonable and necessary to achieve lawful objectives and that the minimum
level of force is being used to gain compliance and enforce the law. The Officer Safety Unit is
continually monitoring outcomes and adjusting initial and recertification training to address the
situations officers and cadets face in the field.

Danny G. Smyth
Chief of Police

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