The University of Florida Police Department reviews our internal policies and procedures on an ongoing basis, which demonstrates our commitment to best practices. The following UFPD Directives speak to and address the recommendations raised by the #8CantWait campaign, and we are committed to continually reviewing of all of our related Directives and enacting changes to clarify Directives and procedures for officers.

UFPD’s Commitment to 8 Can’t Wait

1.Ban Chokeholds and Strangleholds:  4000.4.B.3 – “Any techniques designed to restrict the intake of oxygen (i.e. chokeholds and others) and/or blood flow (i.e. lateral vascular neck restraints, or others) to the head or neck for the purpose of gaining control of a subject are prohibited unless deadly force would be considered reasonable. Any use of such techniques will always be considered deadly force.”

2. Require De-Escalation: 04000.4.E.2 – “Officers should try to resolve a situation with the least amount of force necessary. Command presence and verbal communication often will defuse many volatile situations. Sometimes, however, these are not enough or officers may not have an opportunity to use them. An officer may have to use physical force to gain control of the situation.”

3. Require warning before shooting: 04000.4 B 7 – “When possible, a verbal warning should be given prior to engaging in the use of deadly force.”

4. Exhaust all other means before shooting: 4000.4.N.3 – “Officers should not discharge a firearm except to protect themselves or others from death or great bodily harm.”

5. Duty to intercede:  4000.4.O.1 – “Sworn officers must intercede when they know or have a reason to know that another officer or public safety associate is about to use, or is using, force that is clearly beyond that which is objectively reasonable under the circumstances. An officer who observes another employee use force that exceeds the degree of force permitted by law must promptly report these observations and the efforts made to intercede to a supervisor.”

6. Ban shooting at moving vehicles: 4000.4.N.4 – “Officers may only discharge a firearm into a moving vehicle when: The vehicle is being used as a deadly weapon and the officer and/or the public has no means to escape the threat; or An active shooter, engaged in an ongoing deadly force threat, is inside the vehicle.”

7. Require use of force continuum: 04000.4.E – “Use of Force Continuum. The use of force continuum is intended to be used as a guideline for officers in selecting effective, reasonable, and legal defensive actions in verbal and physical encounters. The officer should strive to use the minimal amount of force necessary to effect control over a subject. The officer should begin with the lowest level practicable and escalate only after meeting with increased resistance from the subject. As an individual increases his/her resistance level from verbal to physical, an officer may have to increase the level of his/her defensive response until the resistance ceases and the officer is able to regain control. As soon as the level of subject compliance is reached, the officer must de-escalate his/her response level to the minimum defensive action necessary to control the subject. Each succeeding level of officer control should include elements of previous levels when applicable. In addition, all levels of control should always include verbal commands and direction.”

8. Require comprehensive reporting: 4000.4.Q.2 – “A written incident report and the RMS “Use of Force” module will be completed for any of the following types of response to resistance incidents:

• Use of “Hard” empty hand control techniques as defined in this directive;
• Use of leg restraints on a subject(s);
• Use of weaponless force upon another to the extent it is likely to cause or lead to injury, claim of injury, or allegations of excessive force;
• Discharge of an ASR on a subject(s);
• Strike of a subject with an impact weapon;
• Taser directed at a non-law enforcement subject(s) and utilized for control of the subject and/or de-escalation of resistance
• LLIM directed at a non-law enforcement subject(s) and utilized for control of the subject and/or de-escalation of resistance.
• Firearm directed at a non-law enforcement subject(s) and utilized for control of the subject and/or de-escalation of resistance;
• Discharge of the Taser, intentionally or accidentally, when drawn during an officer’s response to resistance;
• Discharge of an LLIM, intentionally or accidentally;
• Discharge of a firearm(s), intentionally or accidentally; and/or
• Any action that results in, or is alleged to have resulted in, injury or death of another person.”