Amid national debate over police use of force, what do Idaho’s numbers look like?
While demands to defund the police are being voiced in Idaho and across the country, and protests continue to decry the deaths of Black people at the hands of law enforcement, use-of-force policies in the Treasure Valley remain steady — and in very few instances is force documented.
Boise has been the city in the Treasure Valley where Black Lives Matter protests have occurred, but numbers provided by local agencies show it isn’t the only department with a record of using force while policing.
Local police say de-escalation is always a first priority, but force is sometimes an ugly necessity. Most commonly, the force comes into play when police encountered a suspect who refused to comply or resisted an officer. But it’s not the least bit common.
The Idaho Statesman requested data from the Boise, Nampa and Meridian police departments, as well as the Ada County Sheriff’s Office, for all reported use of force in 2019. Reporters also collected copies of each department’s policy and procedure manual referencing use of force, among other policies.
The documented use of force ranged from the use of a stun gun and pepper spray to the use of police K-9 dogs and a variety of other methods to detain people, including the controversial lateral vascular neck restraint. The information provided was not documented in the same way at each agency, so the ratios of use of force cannot be directly compared.
For example, Meridian Police documented every time a firearm was pointed as a “use of force.” Boise and Nampa did not include this.
This is the breakdown for 2019, according to each agency’s documentation:
Ada County Sheriff’s patrol deputies responded to 95,968 calls for service. Deputies used force on 80 of the calls.
Nampa Police responded to 77,000 calls for service. Officers used force on 38 of the calls.
Meridian Police responded to 57,897 calls for service. Officers used force on 117 of the calls.
Boise Police responded to 152,585 calls for service. Officers used force on 111 of the calls.
For each agency, use of force was applied on far less than 1% of the calls.
(For the purposes of this story, the Statesman did not include any use of force by Ada County sheriff’s deputies who work at the jail, as those deputies were not on public patrol.)
Boise Police announced last month that they would stop the use of the vascular neck restraint, amid outcry after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, who was killed in police custody. Floyd did not die as a result of that restraint, though; he was pinned face-down on the ground by a police officer who knelt on his neck. Advocates have long called for the end of any kind of neck hold by authorities.
So far, Boise is the only agency to stop the use of the restraint that’s often referred to as a “sleeper hold.” In 2019, BPD used the technique 37 times. It was used only four times in all of Meridian’s use-of-force incidents, and was not used at all in Nampa.
With a vascular neck restraint, someone purposely puts pressure on a person’s carotid artery to cut off blood flow, which can cause a suspect to temporarily lose consciousness. Police say the restraint is not a “chokehold” because it is not intended to cut off a person’s airway.
Boise Police
The Boise Police Department was well below 1 percent of incidents of use of force in 2019. Data show 200 officers were involved in the 111 cases involving force.
BPD did not include a pointed firearm in its force data. Officers used stun guns 16 times in 2019, with three of those instances involving an officer pointing a red laser at an individual without discharging the device.
The most common reason listed for Boise PD using force was a subject resisting an officer, which happened in 51 of the cases. Disobeying officer commands was next, in 23 cases.
The department did not break down the demographics of the individuals in the cases in which officers used force.
BPD’s new police chief, Ryan Lee, told the City Council on July 14 that he wanted to update the policy manual, the department’s guiding document, “to conform with national best practices” on force and other things. He said he wants the department’s discipline process to be updated, too.
Meridian Police
Meridian Deputy Chief Tracy Basterrechea said that his agency is not planning to stop the use of a vascular neck restraint and that when it’s done correctly, it is “extremely safe.”
“We can’t be risking officer safety based on the political climate,” he said.
In 2019, Meridian Police used force sparingly and documented the vascular neck restraint just four times.
Basterrechea said the department teaches extensive use-of-force training yearly. “We teach de-escalation, but we start with nonescalation,” he said about officers’ approach to suspects.
Among other use of force documented in Meridian, 78 officers were involved in such an incident in 2019, involving 140 civilians. Of those civilians, Meridian reported that they were of the following race or ethnicity:
White: 109
Hispanic: 14
Black: 7
Unknown: 10
Firearms were pointed 71 times, a person was forced to the ground 45 times, and a “conducted energy device,” commonly called a Taser or stun gun, was used 15 times.
Meridian also documented the use of “spit hoods,” which are used to stop a suspect from spitting or biting. Other agencies did not document use of that device.
In 2019, the department documented no complaints from citizens about the use of force or discrimination by officers.
Basterrechea said that when use of force becomes excessive, it generally is because not enough force was used to begin with.
“Officers are afraid to use force,” he said. “They are criticized every time they use it. It’s going to be ugly and you’re going to be criticized by people who don’t understand the dynamics of use of force.”
He said that even though officers do receive training, “there’s not enough time in the year for officers to be an expert in everything,” whether that’s use of force, mental health or domestic violence training, or working with children.
“The expectation is that they be perfect at the most imperfect time,” Basterrechea said of police.
Nampa Police
Of the 38 incidents involving use of force by Nampa police officers in 2019, none of them included use of the vascular neck restraint, according to Nampa data.
Nampa did not document the number of times firearms were drawn as “use of force.”
Thirteen of the incidents involved a suspect being struck and nine involved the use of a stun gun. The data showed 38 officers and 38 civilians being part of the cases.
Of the 38 civilians involved, Nampa reported the following race or ethnicity:
White: 28
Black: 1
Hispanic: 3
Polynesian: 1
Unknown: 5
Gary Marang, a Nampa police officer and an investigator for the Office of Professional Standards, said the department is not considering banning the use of the vascular neck restraint.
Nampa officers are regularly recertified in the use of weapons such as a straight stick or Taser, he said. And Marang said training is more than just how to use the weapon — it’s how to use verbal commands first.
“Every type of use-of-force class we take and teach has an element of de-escalation in it,” Marang said.
Anytime use of force is used, it is documented by the officer, reported to the shift commander and then reported to a review board. Other departments do this as well.
If an incident is found to be in violation of a policy, it is forwarded to the Office of Professional Standards.
Marang said Nampa PD also uses an early intervention program for officers who may be at risk. The program looks for trends in an officer’s behavior; if needed, the department could then provide outreach. He offered as an example an officer who could be having personal issues, and the problems interfere with their behavior on duty.
Those trends or patterns could be used when training other officers, he said.
Any complaints that come to Nampa PD from civilians are forwarded to the Office of Professional Standards. Those are investigated by interviewing the parties involved, including the officer, and reviewing any body camera footage.
In the past five years, Nampa PD had 11 complaints of either discrimination or excessive use of force, according to information requested by the Statesman. All of them were determined to be unfounded or within department policy, or the officer was exonerated.
Marang said his department closely follows national trends on use of force — not just after an incident such as the death of Floyd.
“They have always been concerned and making sure we provide good customer service, but making sure we use the procedures right,” Marang said.
Ada County Sheriff’s Office
The Ada County Sheriff’s Office documented 80 incidents of use of force by their patrol deputies in 2019, out of more than 95,000 calls for service.
The Statesman chose to focus on patrol deputies for this story, and not incidents that happened at the Ada County Jail, which the Sheriff’s Office is responsible for securing.
Ada County sheriff’s deputies also provide patrol services for Eagle, Star, Kuna and any other unincorporated area in the county. Those officers are all included.
The county office broke down its use-of-force incidents by month, after a records request. It does document the number of times firearms are displayed but not fired by deputies as “use of force.”
In 2019, Ada County deputies drew firearms, but didn’t discharge them, eight times. They used the vascular neck restraint only once. The most common use of force for deputies was “physical manipulation,” which was documented 35 times.
During a July 1 virtual town hall meeting referencing vascular neck restraints, Ada County Sheriff Stephen Bartlett said the neck holds have been used 31 times in the past 30 months, and “zero medical or physical injuries resulted,” according to previous reports.
Sheriff’s deputies participate in use-of-force training at least twice a year, officials said.
“They are usually done in 4-hour blocks of time during their twice-monthly block training sessions,” according to spokesperson Patrick Orr. “It would not be unusual to have a third session during the year.”
The Sheriff’s Office uses ARCON training for use of force, the same program used by the Idaho Peace Officers Standards and Training, the agency that certifies law enforcement officers. ARCON training focuses on control during arrests and self-defense for officers.
Should a deputy use force on a call, they must write a separate report, which is then reviewed by their supervisor, their lieutenant and their captain. The report is also reviewed by an attorney and then an administrative investigator, a position that is similar to police departments’ professional standards office.
Of the 80 civilians involved in 2019’s incidents, Ada County reported they were of the following race or ethnicity:
White: 76
Hispanic: 1
Black: 1
Asian/Pacific Islander: 2
