DEFINING RACIAL GROUPS, USE OF FORCE, AND STANDARD CATEGORIES
Defining racial groups: CPE uses “racial group” to refer to groups described in departmental records by racial category (e.g., Hispanic or Latinx, Asian, Black, Native, White). When we compare departmental records of incidents to local demographic data, these racial groups are mapped onto Census data for the following groups: Hispanic (referred to as “Latinx” in this assessment), non-Hispanic Asian, non-Hispanic Black, non-Hispanic Native American, and non-Hispanic White. The “Other” category, if used, combines racial groups making up less than 2% of incidents.
Our use of “racial” as a shorthand for these groups does not represent a claim that any person belongs to any monolithic “race,” or indeed that the category of “race” has any objective or biological meaning, apart from its social and political context. We acknowledge the historic and deliberate use of racial categories in crime statistics to link criminality to Black people, a bias that continues to affect marginalized communities and people in the criminal justice system today. We also recognize that the terms we use to describe racial groups are not universally accepted or preferred by members of the groups they describe. We aim to use terms which are inclusive, widely understood, and unlikely to offend.
Defining use of force: According to the policy manual provided by Norman PD, “[a]ny use of force … shall be documented promptly, completely, and immediately in an appropriate report, depending on the nature of the incident” (S.300.5, “Reporting the Use of Force”), with “force” defined as “[t]he application of physical techniques or tactics, the application of a Control Device, or the presentation of a conducted energy device or Firearm toward another person. It is not a use of force when a person allows him/herself to be searched, escorted, handcuffed, or restrained” (S.300.1.1, “Definitions”).
Also according to the policy manual, “any member who uses force” must notify a supervisor and make an entry into the Professional Standards System as soon as practicable in any of the following circumstances: the force caused injury, the person subjected to force complained of injury or continuing pain, a firearm or taser was accidentally discharged, canine bite or other injury by a canine, a Control Device was used, a Restraint Device “other than handcuffs, spit hoods, transport belts, waist or belly chains, transportation chains, leg irons, or leg restraints” was used, the person was rendered unconscious, an individual was struck or kicked, or an individual alleges that any of these things occurred (S.300.5.1, “Notification to supervisors”).
The policy manual also provides that “[t]he primary assigned officer will ensure that written documentation is made using an appropriate report in the department’s Records Management System as soon as practicable following any of the following actions:
(a) The presentation of a Firearm including
1. Pointing a Firearm at a person; and/or
2. Laser activation (if applicable) at a person.
(b) The presentation of a conducted energy device including:
1. Pointing a conducted energy device at a person;
2. Laser activation of a conducted energy device at a person; and/or
3. Arcing the conducted energy device (other than for testing)
(c) The presentation or threatened use of a Control Device directed at a person.
(d) The deployment or threatened use of a Canine directed at a person.
Standardizing categories: Each law enforcement agency collects stop, search, use of force, and racial data in its own way. In order to interpret data consistently across departments, we sort the data received from departments into standardized categories. The following tables show the categories used by the department and how we translate them into CPE categories. The “LEA-Provided Value” column contains the categories that the department provided to CPE, and the “CPE Standardized” column shows the corresponding category CPE used in this assessment.
For more information about why certain results were not displayed, a detailed list of data requirements for each analysis is available under “More information,” beneath the relevant chart.