Charlottesville, VA 2023

USE OF FORCE

Use of force occurs when an officer uses or threatens to use their body or an object against a person or in a way that could cause pain, injury, or death.

Data presented in this section reflect use of force incidents recorded by Charlottesville Police Department (CPD) officers. Each law enforcement agency’s policy manual requires that officers record use of force, and defines the behaviors that count as “force” which must be reported. The way the policy defines officers’ obligation to report use of force has an impact on the number of incidents recorded, which provides important context for interpreting these analyses. Departments with more comprehensive reporting requirements may have more recorded incidents than departments with vague or incomplete requirements. For CPD’s definition of reportable force, see “What counts as force for these analyses?” at the bottom of this page.

USES OF FORCE BY RACIAL GROUP

According to Charlottesville Police Department data on use of force incidents recorded between 2017 and 2019:

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What does this show?

Each dark blue bar shows the percentage of the total use of force incidents recorded in the assessment period that were against people in one racial group. The orange bars show the percentage of the resident population that are people of the same racial group. Hovering over the blue bars shows the number of incidents that makes up that percentage.

Departments have varying definitions of force and requirements for when officers must report their use of force, so those with more comprehensive reporting requirements may have more recorded incidents than departments with vague or incomplete requirements. For example, some departments do not require officers to report use of hands-on force unless it results in injury or complaint of injury; others do not require officers to report pointing a weapon if it was not discharged. Departments also use different forms to record data on use of force incidents, and forms that encourage more comprehensive or efficient data collection can provide more useful information for analysis than those that solicit fewer, or less specific, incident details.

Our guidance encourages officers to report every incident in which an officer uses or threatens to use their body, a tool, or a weapon against a person, or in any way that could cause pain, injury or death, regardless of the officer’s motivation or whether any injury or complaint results. For more information on the types of incidents officers were required to report during this assessment timeframe, see “What counts as force for these analyses?” at the bottom of this page.

How was this calculated?

We first took the average total recorded incidents per year and calculated the percentage against people of each racial group. Then we compared those percentages to the percentages of the resident population that are of each racial group. See the Data Notes tab for information on how we define racial groups.

We count a use of force incident as a single incident in which any use of force against a person was recorded, regardless of the number of officers, types of force involved, or number of times force was applied. If more than one person had force used against them at the same time, each person who was subjected to force is counted as a separate incident. Our analyses exclude incidents where the only reported type of force is handcuffing, verbal commands, or de-escalation.

Most of our analyses use all use of force data provided by departments, including incomplete years of data. However, certain analyses require complete years of data, so time periods may vary across charts.

Lancaster Station deputies patrol an area that includes multiple towns and unincorporated areas, and the boundaries of this patrol area do not perfectly align with the boundaries of Census tracts. Resident demographic data for the Station’s patrol area were therefore not readily available from the Census Bureau, so this assessment uses resident demographic data provided by Los Angeles County’s Internal Services Department.

Data required for this analysis:

USES OF FORCE BY YEAR

The number of use of force incidents recorded each year with complete data varied from a low of 52 in 2017 to a high of 65 in 2019.

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What does this show?

This chart shows the number of use of force incidents recorded during each year of the assessment period for all racial groups combined.

Departments have varying definitions of force and requirements for when officers must report their use of force, so those with more comprehensive reporting requirements may have more recorded incidents than departments with vague or incomplete requirements. Disruptions related to the COVID 19 pandemic may have affected the volume of police-community interactions recorded in 2020 and 2021, although the extent of this impact likely varies by jurisdiction according to the local policies and restrictions implemented in response to the outbreak. It is worth noting whether or the extent to which racial disparities persisted over this time period, despite the reduction in overall police activity.

How was this calculated?

Data required for this analysis:

COMPARING USE OF FORCE INCIDENT RATES

After using a statistical technique called regression analysis to account for the influence of different crime rates, poverty levels, and percent of Black residents in neighborhoods:

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What does this show?

This infographic displays findings from CPE’s regression analysis, a statistical technique that allows CPE to investigate differences in use of force rates by race, taking into account other socioeconomic factors that may affect policing strategies and deployment. Specifically, this regression tests how much more or less likely each racial group is than White people to have force used on them in a neighborhood with an average poverty rate, crime rate, and percentage of Black residents – three factors commonly associated with increased police contact. The results of this analysis show the size of racial disparities in use of force that remain even when the influence of poverty levels, crime rates, and the percentage of Black residents across neighborhoods are removed from the equation.

We take into account the share of Black residents, crime rates, and poverty levels in a neighborhood because these factors affect the likelihood that a person of any racial group in a neighborhood will have police contact. This relationship between police presence and the percent of Black residents in a neighborhood is, in part, a result of systemic racism and structural disadvantage (for example, a lack of community services can lead to more calls for police service). But police-driven factors, such as departmental policy or officer behavior, also contribute to increased police activity in neighborhoods with more Black residents, crime, and poverty.

How was this calculated?

To represent neighborhoods, we use Census tracts — small geographic areas of approximately 4,000 residents — as defined by the Census Bureau. We use publicly available Census data to measure the percentage of Black residents in each neighborhood

To measure serious crime rates, we count crimes in each neighborhood that are recorded by the department. Specifically, we count reports of Part 1 offenses. The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Statistics defines Part 1 offenses as: murder and non-negligent homicide, rape , robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, motor vehicle theft, larceny, and arson. Racial groups that made up less than 2% of all use of force incidents, or which had fewer than 40 total incidents, were excluded from this analysis (see the Data Notes tab for information on how we define racial groups).

Data required for this analysis:

Incident unique identifier
Date of incident
Person's racial group
Location of incident (i.e. street address, including zipcode or latitude/longitude)
Crime unique identifier
Crime date of incident
Crime offense (NIBRS/UCR) classification or description
Crime location (i.e. street address, including zipcode or latitude/longitude)

TOTAL USES OF EACH FORCE TYPE

The 2 most common force types recorded overall were “Firearm Point / Display” and “Strike / Kick.”

Identifying officers’ most commonly used force types can help serve as a starting point for addressing racial disparities and decreasing use of force overall. Any force type that was recorded in high numbers, or in which racial disparities were large, will influence overall racial disparities in use of force.

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What does this show?

This chart shows the total number of uses of each particular force type recorded for all racial groups combined.

How was this calculated?

We took the total recorded uses of force and separated them into force type. We count each distinct type of force that was recorded against any person as one force type, regardless of the number of other force types recorded against a given person, the number of officers who applied it, or the number of times it was applied. We combine categories for easier interpretation. See the Data Notes tab for details on how we sort force types provided by the department into these categories, and how we define racial groups.

Data required for this analysis:

FORCE TYPES USED, BY RACIAL GROUPS

According to Charlottesville Police Department data on the types of force that officers recorded using:

Officers recorded using every type of force against Black people at a disproportionate rate relative to their share of the population. More than 25% of uses of every type of force were against Black people, who made up 19% of the population of Charlottesville, Virginia.
The force types officers recorded using against Black people in the highest percentages were “Firearm Discharge” and “Taser Discharge.” For example, 100% of uses of force recorded as “Firearm Discharge” and 83% of uses of force recorded as “Taser Discharge” were against Black people.

If use of force is more frequent or racially disparate in incidents involving a particular force type, departments should investigate their policies and practices relating to that force type. If disparities are consistent among uses of all or most types of force, departments should explore broad interventions that reduce the use of all types of force, such as changes to departmental policy and organizational culture.

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What does this show?

Each colored bar shows the percentage of uses of each force type recorded against people of each racial group. Hovering over a colored bar shows the number of uses of each force type that makes up that percentage. Any force type that was recorded in high numbers, or in which racial disparities were large, will influence overall racial disparities in use of force.

How was this calculated?

We took the total recorded uses of force and separated them into force type. Then we calculated the percentage of each type that was against people of each racial group.

We count each distinct type of force that was recorded against any person as one force type, regardless of the number of other force types recorded against a given person, the number of officers who applied it, or the number of times it was applied. We combine categories for easier interpretation. See the Data Notes tab for details on how we sort force types provided by the department into these categories, and how we define racial groups.

Data required for this analysis:

USE OF FORCE INCIDENTS BY WORK UNIT AND RACIAL GROUP

Every work unit recorded using force against Black people at a disproportionate rate relative to their share of the population. Black people made up 19% of the population of Charlottesville, Virginia, but more than 50% of the people officers recorded using force against in every work unit.
"Investigation" and "Patrol" recorded the highest percentages of use of force incidents against Black people. For example, 83% of incidents recorded by officers in "Investigation" and 65% of incidents recorded by officers in "Patrol" were against Black people.
"Patrol" and "Investigation" recorded the most incidents of force overall.

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What does this show?

“Work unit” describes the work groups in a department. It can refer to the assignment of the officer who applied force (e.g. Detective Unit, Narcotics, Traffic, etc.), or the geographic areas where incidents occurred (e.g. precincts, districts, zones, etc.).

Each colored bar shows the percentage of use of force incidents recorded by each work unit of people of each racial group. The Multiple Work Units category, if used, represents incidents involving officers from two or more work units. Hovering over a colored bar shows the number of incidents that make up that percentage. The grey bars on the right show the total number of incidents recorded by each work unit. Any work unit that records a large number of use of force incidents or records large racial disparities will influence overall racial disparities in use of force. If disparities are present among most or all work units, the different racial makeup of various neighborhoods is likely not the whole explanation for the observed disparity.

How was this calculated?

We took the total recorded incidents of force and first separated them by the work unit that recorded the incident. We then calculated what percentage of incidents was recorded for people of each racial group.

The “Other Work Units” category, if used, combines the work units recording less than 2% of incidents. See the Data Notes tab for information on how we define racial groups.

Data required for this analysis:

WHAT COUNTS AS FORCE FOR THESE ANALYSES?

We reviewed Charlottesville Police Department’s policies that defined the behaviors officers were required to report as force during the assessment timeframe. Understanding what types of incidents were required to be recorded, as well as gaps in what was required to be recorded, can help determine whether any incidents might have been missing from the provided dataset and reveal opportunities for improving data collection policies and practices.

We encourage departments to adopt use of force policies that clearly define what counts as reportable “force” and explicitly include every type of behavior that officers are required to report as a use of force incident. A comprehensive use of force reporting policy would require officers to record every incident in which they use their body, a tool, or a weapon to overcome resistance, secure compliance, or in any way that could cause pain, injury or death, regardless of the officer’s motivation or whether any injury or complaint results. Our policy recommendations for comprehensive use of force reporting provide further details on how to effectively collect use of force data.

Departmental definition of force

In this section, we list reportable uses of force according to the policy provided by the department.

The department has shared the Use of Force policy that was in effect at the end of the data-collection period. G.O. 02-13, Response to Resistance, in effect from November 14, 2019 (“the Response to Resistance policy”). We have not reviewed the entire policy manual that was in force during the data-collection period, nor have we reviewed Use of Force policies that were in effect prior to November 14, 2019.

From that date until the end of the data-collection period, the Use of Force policy did not explicitly define which behaviors counted as “force” or “response to resistance.” The definitions section of the policy, Part III, included the following:

B. Deadly Force: Any force that has the substantial likelihood of causing serious bodily harm or death.
C. Non-deadly force: All responses to resistance other than those that have the substantial likelihood causing serious bodily harm or death.

Section VI.A, “Response to Resistance Report Procedures,” provided as follows:

Officers shall complete a SUBJECT RESISTANCE REPORT to document all response to resistance incidents involving any of the following circumstances:

when the response to resistance results in death* or any personal injury or complaint of personal injury to a bystander, officer, or suspect;
when the response to resistance results in property damage;
where the response to resistance is either OC spray, CEW, chemical riot agents in the form of OC or CS gas, smoke grenades, police canine, baton(s), less-lethal projectiles, distraction devices or the discharging of firearms (except during qualification/practice or the destruction of an animal);
where the physical force applied involves hitting, slapping, or striking an individual;
where the response to resistance results in a vehicle pursuit that consisted of a maneuver of physically stopping the pursued vehicle, (e.g. stop sticks, road block, accident, etc.); and (Ref. Sec. 541.25)
where the force used involved a weapon not specifically mentioned in the departmental Response to Resistance Policy.