By Greg Grisolano
ggrisolano@joplinglobe.com
Joplin police Chief Lane Roberts said he hopes publicizing the department’s use-of-force and internal-affairs reports will prompt people to ask questions.
“I want people to ask questions,” he said, “so I have the opportunity to help people understand.”
The data show that Joplin police made more than 4,600 arrests from Jan. 1 to Aug. 28 of this year. In that time, officers used some type of force in an arrest 101 times, or once every 46.5 arrests.
Types of force listed in the report include everything from pushing or taking a suspect to the ground, to knee strikes, and use of Mace and Tasers.
Tasers, devices that administer an electric shock, were used 25 times during the reporting period, making it the second most common method of use of force, behind a takedown.
Roberts said he had not yet compared the statistics with those of other agencies.
“I can’t say right now,” he said of how the Joplin numbers might stack up against those of other departments. “I don’t know how many of them are tracking statistics in the same way we do.”
Roberts said he has received some criticism for the scope of the use-of-force data included in the report.
“I’ve actually been criticized for including some of the innocuous forces like pushing, but my intent is to be sure we cannot be viewed as trying to minimize use of force,” he said. “If you don’t start with the most innocuous, where do you start the bright line?”
Roberts said the reports will be released every quarter and are open to the public.
“We’re in the process of putting this on our Web site so it’s accessible,” he said.
Internal affairs
The Joplin Police Department also is distributing reports on its internal-affairs investigations every quarter.
From January to August of this year, the department received 40 complaints — 24 from residents and 16 from officers within the department.
Of those complaints, 17 were sustained. Two complaints resulted in suspensions.
Police Chief Lane Roberts said the names of specific officers who were disciplined as a result of complaints would not be released.
