Introduction

The Deadly Force Review Panel reports to the Joint Standing Committee on the Judiciary. In each report of the Panel’s review of a deadly force incident, the Panel offers carefully considered observations and recommendations regarding law enforcement actions: involvement of services, especially mental health; availability of weapons, especially firearms; and proposed policy and procedure changes. All of the Panel’s case review reports are available on the Attorney General’s website. The Panel emphasizes the seriousness of its recommendations, particularly as they involve the critical need for additional mental health services, especially in rural areas, to assist the community, law enforcement, and other first responders with the individuals most often involved in officer-involved shootings. This collaboration is essential to managing any continued threat that these individuals may pose to themselves, members of their households, law enforcement officers, and the community, especially when they have access to firearms.

Since its inception, the Panel has reviewed 20 cases involving officer-involved shootings. The Panel’s observations of these incidents and characteristics of the individuals against whom deadly force was used are consistent. The individuals are white, middle age (trending younger), males who have mental health and/or substance use issues, and have firearms or other weapons. They are known in their community to be troubled and often violent. More than half have been involved in domestic violence incidents, and more than a third have threatened suicide. Given this profile, it is not surprising that the primary focus of the Panel’s recommendations is on training, support, and resources related to mental health services. Connecting law enforcement with mental health service agencies, joint training, and real-time support in the field are key areas of concern to the Panel.

Each Panel report outlines the facts of the incident under review and makes observations and recommendations. The Panel solicited and received feedback from involved law enforcement agencies regarding the impact of its work. Overall, the agency heads found the Panel’s reviews to be useful or at least worthy of a discussion at the agency level. One chief stated, “We used the Panel’s report to update our policies, procedures, and training to improve officer and public safety.”

The Panel is keenly attuned to the human cost in each of the incidents it reviews. They are all tragic with symptoms of underlying gaps in our social safety net. The call to law enforcement is a last resort for families seeking intervention for family members in violent crises. The Panel’s scope of work to date has focused on those cases when deadly force was used but recognizes that law enforcement responds to high-risk incidents every day that resolve peacefully.

Click Here to view the 2022 Annual Report of the Deadly Force Review Panel.