San Jose

Pointing gun at someone to be considered ‘use of force' in SJPD

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The 2022 Independent Police Auditor’s report was presented to the San Jose city council Tuesday and now, the police department plans to make a change.

Right now, if a San Jose police officer points a gun at someone, it is considered procedural.

But a report by the independent police auditor recommends a change. They want it tracked as “use of force” and be listed as part of the department's use of force dashboard.

Silicon Valley Debug, a community watchdog group, says they support the change as a way to provide more transparency.

“It's important to know what officers are doing this, and how many officers are doing this. Our community should know is our police department safe or are they targeting certain individuals in certain communities. Why is the gun pointed? Why does the officer need to do that?” said Rosie Chavez of Silicon Valley Debug.

Shivaun Nurre, who headed the office of the Independent Police Auditor, abruptly retired after what has been described as an intoxicated argument with a police officer at a community event.

On Tuesday, the Police Officers Association issued a statement about her recommendations saying, “Recent revelations as to why the former IPA resigned indicate a clear bias and disdain toward police officers. The former IPSA's actions and words call into question any recommendations contained in her biased report. As such we believe the entire year end report produced should be redone by an objective and honest broker.”

San Francisco, Oakland and Los Angeles police departments are already tracking gun draws as “use of force”.

In a letter to the San Jose City Council, San Jose Police Chief Anthony Mata says he agrees with the recommendation and the department will make the change later this month.

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