WEST PALM BEACH, FLA. (July 2, 2020) – Did you know? The City of West Palm Beach Police Department (WPBPD) is accredited by the State of Florida and previously adopted use-of-force policies that aim to reduce use of force by police and save lives. 

• Banning of chokeholds & strangleholds: WPBPD officers are prohibited from using a lateral vascular neck restraint. The use of lateral vascular neck restraint can only be utilized when deadly force is authorized, and all other reasonable means of defense have been exhausted.
• Require de-escalation: WPBPD requires officers to de-escalate situations, where possible, by communicating with subjects, maintaining distance, and otherwise eliminating the need to use force.
• Require warning before shooting: WPBPD requires officers to give a verbal warning in all situations, when feasible, before using deadly force.
• Exhaust all alternatives before shooting: WPBPD requires officers to exhaust all other alternatives including non-force and less lethal force options, prior to resorting to deadly force.
• Duty to intervene: WPBPD requires officers to intervene and stop excessive force used by other officers and to report these incidents immediately to a supervisor.
• Ban shooting at moving vehicles: WPBPD prohibits officers from shooting at moving vehicles, unless the vehicle or a person in the vehicle is deliberately using deadly force against another and all other means of defense have been exhausted.
• Establish ‘Use of Force’ continuum: WPBPD established a Force Continuum that restricts the most severe types of force to the most extreme situations and creates clear policy restrictions on the use of each police weapon and tactic.
• Require comprehensive reporting: WPBPD requires officers to report each time force is used or threatened to be used against civilians. Comprehensive reporting includes requiring officers to report whenever they point a firearm at someone, in addition to all other types of force.

Additionally, the WPBPD has a dedicated Use of Force Review Board, established November 2019, which reviews any use of force involving a minor, discharge of a firearm, serious injury, and at the direction of the Chief.

“As Chief of the West Palm Beach Police Department, I am committed to protecting our citizens and providing the men and women who serve them the training, tools, and support necessary to provide the highest quality service,” said West Palm Beach Police Chief Frank Adderley. “I expect our officers to be dedicated and serve our community with dignity, integrity, and compassion.”

To learn about the West Palm Beach Police Department’s Use of Force, Code of Conduct, and Unbiased Policing Policies, please visit: https://www.wpb.org/police. To contact the West Palm Beach Police Department for non-emergencies, please dial: (561) 822-1900. For emergencies, dial 9-1-1.