Use of force (response to resistance) guidance, policies, and data (Anne Arundel County Police Department)

This correspondence is in response to a request for inspection or copies of
public records. Your request has been evaluated in accordance with the
Maryland Public Information Act, Annotated Code of Maryland, General
Provisions Article § 4-101, et seq. (MPIA). Specifically you have requested
a number of records pertaining to use of force and weapon discharge.

Pursuant to § 4-203(b)(2) of the MPIA, I reasonably expect that it will
take more than 10 working days to produce responsive records. The reason
for this delay is that I must coordinate with other county resources to
properly search for responsive records. I am processing your request and
anticipate a full response within 30 days of your request.

Sincerely,

Christine Ryder

Anne Arundel County Police Department

Custodian of Records

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: <requests@muckrock.com>
Date: Wed, Jul 29, 2020 at 2:15 PM
Subject: Maryland Public Information Act Request: Use of force (response to
resistance) guidance, policies, and data (Anne Arundel County Police
Department)
To: <p98930@aacounty.org>

Anne Arundel County Police Department
PIA Office
8495 Veterans Highway
Millersville, MD 21108

July 29, 2020

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Maryland Public Information Act, I hereby request the
following records related to this agency's policies on and reporting of
uses of force and responses to resistance:

• Policies.
Any and all policies guiding appropriate and inappropriate uses of force by
any member or representative of this agency. These may also include
“Response to Resistance” policies and similar guidance.

Please also provide all policies regarding the use of lethal, less-lethal,
and non-lethal weapons (for example: TASERs pepper ball guns, rubber
bullets, gases, sprays, water, etc.), including all policies regarding
borrowing, accessing, or assuming responsibility for such weapons, tools,
and ammunition.

Please also provide all policies or guidance related to reporting or
tracking discharges from or uses of such weapons, as well as any other
applicable policies or directives related to the acquisition, use, and
reporting of weapons or tools.

Please also provide all policies and guidance used to evaluate any use of
force or adjudicate administrative and internal investigations into any use
of force or weapon discharge.

• Instructions for reporting. Any and all instructions and guidance related
to the reporting of uses of force by any member or representative of this
agency.

• Forms, coding descriptions, and other guidance.
All forms, codes, guides, and guidance used in the reporting and review of
uses of force or weapons, including:
Any list of codes or definitions for terms or tags used in the reporting,
collection, or review of uses of force.
A blank version of each form, log, and other documentation used to report
or track uses of force by this agency.
A blank version of each form, log, and other documentation used to report
or track the borrowing or use of lethal, less-lethal, and non-lethal weapons
A blank version of each form, log, and other documentation used to report
or track any discharge of force from firearms, tools, or weapons employed
by this agency
A copy of any guidance, requirements, laws, and policies issued by the
state, including those issued as part of grant or other funding
requirements, regarding this agency’s responsibilities for reportings uses
of force or weapons
A copy of any guidance, requirements, laws, and policies issued by the
federal government, including those issued as part of grant or other
funding requirements, regarding this agency’s responsibilities for
reportings uses of force or weapons

• Use of Force Data
For the period from January 1, 2019 through December 31, 2019 and the
period from January 1, 2020 through July 31, 2020, data on the each use of
force by representatives of this agency, including but not limited to:
Date, time: The date (month, day, year) and time of the incident
Location: Street address, block, and other relevant location information
Subject(s) information: race, ethnicity, national origin, age, gender,
resultant or related injuries sustained or alleged, weapon type (if
applicable) in the possession of each involved individual, arrests or
charges associated with the incident
Officer information (for each involved officer): employee number or other
unique identifier used for the officer, race, resultant or related physical
injuries, patrol division, unit
Incident details: incident or other unique identification number for the
use of force incident
Type of force details: a description of each type of force used
Body camera or other footage: Inventory of any video record was created of
the incident and/or a copy of the captured footage from all present cameras
Disposition of investigation into the incident: The current or final status
of each use of force incident, including whether challenges to the use of
force were sustained or dismissed or if the incident had no or is currently
under investigation
Please provide the information as a csv spreadsheet, if possible, and if
not possible, please provide incident reports sufficient to show the
requested data.

• Discharge Report Data
For the period from January 1, 2019 through December 31, 2019 and the
period from January 1, 2020 through July 31, 2020, data on each discharge
of a firearm and other weapons by representatives of this agency, including
but not limited to:
Date, time: The date (month, day, year) and time of the incident
Location: Street address, block, and other relevant location information
Incident description and details
Tool or weapon used, including any unique identifier or identification
number
Number of discharges
Subject(s) information: race, ethnicity, national origin, age, gender,
resultant or related injuries sustained or alleged, weapon type (if
applicable) in the possession of each involved individual, arrests or
charges associated with the incident
Officer information (for each involved officer): employee number or other
unique identifier used for the officer, race, resultant or related physical
injuries, patrol division, unit
Type of force details: a description of each type of force used
Disposition or status of any investigation or follow-up review of the
incident
Please provide the information as a csv spreadsheet, if possible, and if
not possible, please provide incident reports sufficient to show the
requested data.

If any portion of materials responsive to this request should be deemed
unavailable or non-disclosable, please specifically identify the portions
of the records or the specific information that is unavailable and the
reason for the unavailability.

If any portion of this request is unclear or if this request could be
modified to reduce the burden of producing responsive documents or provide
them more efficiently or expeditiously, please reply with a request for
clarification or a proposed modification.

This request is being made by a reporter as part of a journalistic
investigation. It is being submitted as part of a project to better
understand uses of police force nationwide, which has been of public
interest for many years and which is of particular interest to large new
swaths of the public following the widely-seen death of George Floyd and
the First Amendment-protected demonstrations and public discussion that
have followed.

In the event that there are fees appropriately assessed in association with
this request, 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
calendar days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Beryl Lipton

Filed via MuckRock.com
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For mailed responses, please address (see note):
MuckRock News
DEPT MR 99410
411A Highland Ave
Somerville, MA 02144-2516

PLEASE NOTE: This request was filed by a MuckRock staff reporter. Also note
that improperly addressed (i.e., with the requester's name rather than
"MuckRock News" and the department number) requests might be returned as
undeliverable.

This correspondence is in response to a request for inspection or copies of
public records. Your request has been evaluated in accordance with the
Maryland Public Information Act, Annotated Code of Maryland, General
Provisions Article § 4-101, et seq. (MPIA). Specifically you have requested
a copy of a number of data elements pertaining to this Department's Use of
Force policies and data.

All policies related to your request are posted publicly at
https://www.powerdms.com/public/aac/tree. Those you seek are under the
Written Directive header, items 303 thru 407. Upon review you will note
that the Department uses an application called BlueTeam, which has
automated the entry and collection of data. We are unable to extract data
to provide it in a searchable, analytical format; furthermore, MPIA does
not require an Agency to create a record specifically to respond to
requests made under the statute. I have attached the "reports" that we are
able to produce for the 2019 and year to date (YTD) 2020 data for Use of
Force (includes weapons used, ie. "discharges").

In an effort to minimize contact during the current public health issue,
your copy fees have been waived and the records are attached.

Sincerely,

Christine Ryder

Anne Arundel County Police Department

Custodian of Records