Review Finds Government Policies on Use of Non-Lethal Force Inconsistently Enforced

December 16, 2021 by Brock Blasdell
Review Finds Government Policies on Use of Non-Lethal Force Inconsistently Enforced
Capitol police officers in riot gear push back demonstrators who try to break a door of the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

WASHINGTON — The Government Accountability Office released a report Thursday detailing the use and oversight of less-lethal force by federal agencies during last year’s riotous civil demonstrations in Washington, D.C., and Portland, Oregon. 

The report, which was commissioned by the Committee on Homeland Security, found several federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, do not have adequate reporting methods for instances in which non-lethal force was used. 

“It is unfortunate, but not surprising, that DHS’s use of force policy during the Trump administration led to the policy being enforced inconsistently across its diverse components,” Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, D-Miss., chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, said in a statement. “Because of inadequate reporting, we may never have a true accounting of use of force incidents during the 2020 protests in D.C. and Portland.”

Less-lethal force is defined as the use of tactics and weapons that are neither likely nor intended to cause death or serious injury. It includes hand-to-hand techniques, batons and chemical sprays, as well as the use of non-lethal firearm munitions like rubber bullets. 

“We believe it’s critical that Federal agencies ensure that its personnel are appropriately using force against citizens,” Gretta Goodwin, director of GAO’s Homeland Security and Justice team, said. 

“What we found is that the physical tactics, the baton and chemical sprays were the most prevalent,” she continued. 

Ultimately, the GAO uncovered that some agencies’ policies for reporting the use of less-lethal force were missing the inclusion of basic information such as time, location, type of munition used or justification for the usage of force – all of which would be useful for determining if the force was applied in accordance with the particular agency’s policy.

The GAO also found that, among the federal organizations which did have adequate processes for reporting less-lethal force incidents, nearly every incident was justified.

“They do their own investigations,” Goodwin said. “We were able to go through some of those after-action reports and follow and track to see how things were being reviewed… In every instance… they were legitimate.”

The GAO officially lists 10 recommendations for federal departments – most of which revolve around implementing or improving policies related to reporting less-lethal force. It also makes specific recommendations for the DHS and its internal agencies to develop better interdepartmental reporting for less-lethal force incidents, to establish an oversight body to monitor use of force reporting between agencies, and for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Secret Service to specifically document if the use of less-lethal force was used in accordance with agency policy.

“I encourage DHS to quickly implement GAO’s recommendations and look forward to working with it and its components to ensure use of force policies are consistent and followed, and incidents are properly reviewed and reported,” Thompson said in a statement. 

While the DHS did not respond to a request for an interview, it, and the other federal agencies, did concur with the recommendations provided by the GAO. Anyone can view the implementation status of these departments’ recommendations here.

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