CONDUCTED ENERGY DEVICE PROGRAM PERFORMANCE AUDIT

1. CITY OF HOUSTON Annise D. Parker City Controller Steve Schoonover City Auditor CONDUCTED ENERGY DEVICE PROGRAM PERFORMANCE AUDIT Report No. 2009-09

2. AUDIT TEAM • Mir•Fox & Rodriguez, P.C. (Team Leader) • University of Houston, Center for Public Policy (Statistical Team Leader) • Rice University (Mathematical Expertise) • University of San Francisco (Mathematical Expertise) • Prototype, Fusion & Modeling, LLC (Graphical Deployment Analysis) • Sam Houston State University, College of Criminal Justice (Criminology and Mathematical Expertise)

3. SCOPE PERIOD January 1, 2000 through June 30, 2007 (CEDs issued in December 2004)

4. OBJECTIVES Determine: Compliance with procurement laws, ordinances, the City’s Policies and Procedures, HPD Standard Operating Procedures, and General Orders (GOs) To what extent the Program objectives were being met Effectiveness of Program Management Compliance with Program Policies and Procedures Compare HPD CED practices to the Police Executive Research Forum’s National Guidelines for CEDs Perform a statistical analysis of the frequency and variables of HPD CED call for service/incident reports for any notable patterns, aberrations, and/or adverse trends

5. NOTE The Audit did not examine the issue of whether exposure to a CED deployment (or multiple deployments) has medical implications

6. KEY TASKS PERFORMED • Performed statistical analysis of call for service/incident reports • Conducted Officer Focus Group Sessions • Reviewed data management processes • Analyzed CED deployments • Reviewed CED related inventory • Analyzed the number of CED cycles used when deployed • Reviewed Police Academy CED related training • Analyzed suspect complaints related to CED deployment

7. BACKGROUND • In November 2004, the City purchased 4,227 CEDs with accessories for $4.68 million, which included a five-year “no questions asked” replacement warranty • HPD developed a CED Program that included Policies, Procedures, and related training for all patrol officers

8. BACKGROUND • HPD CED Program Objectives: • Assist officers in securing and controlling combative individuals • Reduce injuries to officers and suspects • Reduce financial impact of civil liability in use-of-force calls for service/incidents • In limited situations, provide an alternative to deadly force

9. BACKGROUND

10. SUMMARY OF CONCLUSIONS

11. CONCLUSIONS • The CED has been a very effective intermediate weapon • HPD has been effectively managing the CED program • HPD’s CED Policies were effective in accomplishing the Program objectives

12. CONCLUSIONS • CED was NOT deployed in over 99% of the call for service/incident reports • The current structure for data management is organizationally deficient and caused issues with the following: • Collecting data • Statistical analysis • Data quality, completeness, and consistency

13. CONCLUSIONS • The Statistical Team found that the available data contained some patterns and/or aberrations related to gender, race, and geography

14. SUMMARY OF ASSESSMENTS

15. CED DEPLOYMENTS Our analysis indicated that 803 officers deployed their CED 1,417 times, resulting in 1,284 call for service/incident reports as follows:

16. CED EFFECTIVENESS CED was effective in controlling the subject in 77% of the call for service/incident reports

17. NUMBER OF CED CYCLES The number of cycles used in CED deployments are as follows:

18. CED COMPLAINTS 55 complaints were filed pertaining to 59 different officers. The resolution of complaints are as follows:

19. INJURIES TO OFFICERS

20. CED INSTEAD OF DEADLY FORCE? • The Audit Team identified the following: • According to the October 20, 2004 RCA, CEDs were “to be used as an alternative to deadly force.” • As part of CED training, cadets saw a videotape where the Police Chief indicated that after the introduction of CEDs in Phoenix, officer involved shootings went down by half and CED use was an alternative to deadly force • One of the CED program objectives was “in limited situations, provide an alternative to deadly force.” However, according to HPD GOs, CEDs are classified as intermediate weapons and are not a substitute for lethal force. HPD Management did not believe that there were any apparent inconsistencies.

21. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF CALL FOR SERVICE/INCIDENT REPORTS • Among officers, there are no gender differences in the overall likelihood of using a CED • African American officers were much less likely to use a CED than Anglo or Latino officers • Latino and Anglo officers were equally likely to use a CED

22. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OFCALL FOR SERVICE/INCIDENT REPORTS • African American officers were much less likely to deploy a CED than Anglo and Latino officers when a suspect was an African American • African American officers were equally likely to deploy a CED as Anglo and Latino officers when the suspect was an Anglo • African American officers were equally likely to deploy a CED as Anglo officers and somewhat less likely than Latino officers when the suspect was a Latino

23. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OFCALL FOR SERVICE/INCIDENT REPORTS • Male suspects were much more likely to be involved in a CED incident than female suspects • African American suspects were much more likely to be involved in a CED incident than Anglo or Latino suspects • Latino suspects were somewhat more likely to be involved in a CED incident than Anglo suspects

24. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF CALL FOR SERVICE/INCIDENT REPORTS • CEDs were deployed on a statistically insignificant number of Asian suspects • 17 CED deployments involved animals • CED incidents were much more common in Council Districts D and H than in all other Districts

25. OFFICER FOCUS GROUPS • Most officers indicated: • The CED was effective and they wanted to retain it • HPD needed to reduce the paperwork requirements • HPD should provide more training related to call for service/incident reporting • Numerous officers appeared to need clarification on the applicable GOs for using CEDs on a fleeing suspect • Several officers want the CED to be optional for carrying, like the other intermediate weapons

26. RECOMMENDATIONS

27. POLICY We recommend that HPD consider the following in regard to their CED policy: • Perform a detailed assessment of all incidents in which the CED is used in excess of four cycles • Require medical screening of any subject against whom a CED is deployed and the subject appears to be experiencing excited delirium • Provide for tracking of CED deployment and the number of cycles used in the HPD Early Intervention System (EIS)

28. TRAINING We recommend additional training: • Realistic scenarios be included in the Field Problems Program or Simulations • Emphasize the officer’s re-evaluation of the situation after each CED deployment

29. TRAINING • Improve the ability of officers to determine: • When a suspect’s behavior is “actively aggressive” • When to use a CED on a fleeing subject • The risks of placing a subject in a position which impairs respiration after CED deployment • The signs of excited delirium, and the proper steps to be taken • When and how to transition between the levels of use-of-force

30. REPORTS We recommend that the report form and process be revised so as to: • Emphasize that the report reflect the behavior that warranted CED deployment • Provide a drop down menu for sorting, grouping, and filtering data, where appropriate • Require the CED download information (number of cycles, time and date, etc.) to be incorporated into the initial report • Require the proposed HPD system have the capability of generating geo-coordinates

31. DATA MANAGEMENT PROCESSESS We recommend that HPD consider developing an audit process that would seek to: • Identify, document, and merge efficient processes • Remove impediments to efficient processing and combine these methods with new data processing capabilities now being acquired

32. CED EQUIPMENT We recommend that HPD consider the following areas for potential improvement: • Consider installing bar code scanners in all police stations to facilitate the recording and issuance of the CEDs, cartridges, and DPMs • Review and assess the DPM failures and the amount of time officers are expending to get them replaced • Record the serial numbers of all CEDs and cartridges upon receipt from the manufacturer • Implement a process to improve the controls over training cartridge inventory

33. GRAPHICAL DEPLOYMENT ANALYSIS PFM created a three-dimensional interactive visualization of the HPD CED deployments during the Scope period • Deployments can be graphically displayed by Key map, City Council District, or ZIP code location • Display can be further categorized by: • HPD location • Time of day • Officer race and gender • Suspect race, gender, age, and reason for the deployment

35. QUESTIONS