How often did State College police threaten deadly force in 2020? Department releases annual report
State College police unholstered their firearms or threatened deadly force eight times last year but never fired a shot at a person, according to an annual department report made public earlier this week.
The 2020 Use of Force report painted a fuller picture of the department’s activity this past year, showing force was a rarity. Of the 1,075 total arrests, only 34 people were met with force — which included pepper spray, mechanical compliance (i.e. wrist locks or arm bars), threats of deadly force, etc. — involving 29 white suspects and five non-white.
But it was the threat of deadly force numbers that appeared to catch the most attention when police presented the report to Borough Council on Monday. Assistant Chief Matt Wilson explained the eight uses of deadly force involved five people because, if two officers unholstered their firearms during the same incident, that technically counted as two uses.
He also detailed each incident involving those five:
- A man waved a handgun in the air while driving down the road, so police treated it as a high-risk traffic stop and drew their firearms after pulling him over.
- During another traffic stop, an individual was outside the car and suddenly dove back into the car. Because officers were unsure of the reasoning, they unholstered their firearms.
- A man who stole a vehicle by force, before crashing and then stealing another vehicle by force, was chased by state police before returning to State College’s jurisdiction. Deadly force was threatened against him.
- An individual involved in a “mental health situation,” per Wilson, “escaped” from Mount Nittany Medical Center and stole a landscape truck. The pursuit ended with officers having their firearms out at the end of a cul-de-sac.
- Police drew firearms during a burglary in process.
There was one use of (non-deadly) force complaint, where an officer pepper-sprayed a man fleeing an attempted traffic stop. A review board ruled the officer’s use of the spray was not within department policy and, according to the report, “disciplinary action was taken” — although it was not specified what action.
No Tasers were deployed in 2020 — they were threatened three times — and pepper spray was used four times. There was also a single use of an “impact device,” where a man between the ages of 26-45 was struck in the knee by an officer.
There were 11 reported minor injuries, meaning bruises or cuts, involving seven officers and four subjects. No severe injuries were reported.
Other highlights from the report:
- Police fielded 17,751 total calls for service in 2020, a 14% reduction from the previous year — which wasn’t a surprise given the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Arrests fell slightly more than 30% compared to the previous year, from 1,541 to 1,075. Which, again, was likely due to the pandemic.
- There were 43 uses of “mechanical compliance” against 34 individuals. The racial breakdown of those individuals was 29 white, four Black and one Asian. In 2019, there were 58 uses of “mechanical compliance.”
- Numbers across the board decreased compared to the year before. There were three Taser deployments in 2019 and none in 2020 and 14 total threats of force in 2019 compared to 11 in 2020. The most significant increases came from the use of an “impact device,” which saw one use in 2020 and none in 2019.
For the full report, go to statecollegepa.us/180/police.
This story was originally published April 22, 2021 at 7:00 AM.
