Sheriff data collection request 2022 (Volusia County Sheriff's Office)

Dear Samuel Sinyangwe:
Your request was received in this office on 11/21/2023 and given the reference number M000300-112123 for tracking purposes. Your request mentioned:
"To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Florida Sunshine Law, I hereby request the following records:

1. the total number of use of force incidents in 2022. Please include as part of this a breakdown of how many use of force incidents in 2022 were related to law enforcement operations and how many were related to correctional/custodial operations.

2. the total number of use of force incidents, separated by type of force, in 2022 (for example, information that specifies the number of taser incidents in 2022, baton incidents in 2022, etc.)

3. the total number of civilian complaints against law enforcement that were reported and the total number sustained for 2022.

4. the total number of civilian complaints alleging law enforcement use of excessive force that were reported and the total number sustained for 2022.

5. the total number of civilian complaints alleging biased policing or racial profiling that were reported and the total number sustained for 2022.

6. the total number of civilian complaints alleging criminal conduct that were reported and the total number sustained for 2022.

7. the total number of officer-involved shootings in 2022, both fatal and non-fatal.

8. the total number of people who the sheriff’s department used force against, broken down by race/ethnicity, in 2022.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 business days.

Sincerely,

Samuel Sinyangwe

Upload documents directly: https://www.muckrock.com/
Your request will be forwarded to the relevant department(s) to locate the information you seek and to determine the volume and any costs associated with satisfying your request. You will be contacted about the availability and/or provided with copies of the records in question. PLEASE NOTE: The State Public Information Act does not require a governmental body to create new information, to do legal research, or to answer questions. All requests are processed in the order in which they are received.
Volusia Sheriff's Office Records Section

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Good morning: Much of the information you're requesting is already publicly available on our website at: https://www.volusiasheriff.gov/transparency.stml
To the extent your request may include items that are not included at that link, our staff will research what other records are available. Due to the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, please stand by for a response in the future.

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Please see below for responses to your requests. This request will be closed as complete. Note: Much of this and other information is already available in the Use of Force Summary documents posted on our website at: https://www.volusiasheriff.gov/transparency.stml
1. the total number of use of force incidents in 2022. Please include as part of this a breakdown of how many use of force incidents in 2022 were related to law enforcement operations and how many were related to correctional/custodial operations. There were 48 use of force incidents in 2022. The Volusia Sheriff’s Office does not operate corrections.
2. the total number of use of force incidents, separated by type of force, in 2022 (for example, information that specifies the number of taser incidents in 2022, baton incidents in 2022, etc.) This breakdown is available by individual uses of force, rather than by incident. Some use of force incidents may involve multiple deputies or multiple types of force. The 48 use-of-force incidents in 2022 required a combined total of 181 uses of various types of less-lethal force: 101 Restraining/Escort/Physical Force
59 Taser
8 K-9
7 Drag-Stabilized Impact
5 Misc/Other (hobble, etc.)
1 Freeze +P
3. the total number of civilian complaints against law enforcement that were reported and the total number sustained for 2022. 44 reported, 1 sustained.
4. the total number of civilian complaints alleging law enforcement use of excessive force that were reported and the total number sustained for 2022. 2 reported, 0 sustained.
5. the total number of civilian complaints alleging biased policing or racial profiling that were reported and the total number sustained for 2022. 0 reported.
6. the total number of civilian complaints alleging criminal conduct that were reported and the total number sustained for 2022. 0 reported.
7. the total number of officer-involved shootings in 2022, both fatal and non-fatal.
8. the total number of people who the sheriff’s department used force against, broken down by race/ethnicity, in 2022. 30 Caucasian
14 African American
5 Hispanic
1 unknown