SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - The Salt Lake Police Association has criticized new police reform policies intended to limit the use of deadly force by law enforcement officers amid continuing national protests against police brutality.
Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall signed an executive order last week directing Salt Lake Police Chief Mike Brown to enact several new policy changes by Sept. 5, including mandating deescalation tactics before using force, the Deseret News reported.
Previously, officers were authorized to use “objectively reasonable” force, but now they must use force only when necessary.
Officers are also asked to act when another officer is about to use force that is illegal or excessive, to not engage in aggressive behavior that could escalate a situation and are not permitted to use deadly force to prevent someone from self-harm if the person is not a threat to others.
The policies would make the department “the most well trained and progressive police department in the country,” Mendenhall said.
In response, the police union said Monday that several of the policies are not actually new.
The order’s changes largely exist in department policy or under state or federal law, Officer Jon Fitisemanu said. He said police are already required to intercede if they witness a fellow officer using inappropriate force.
“The order illustrates a fundamental misunderstanding, intentional or otherwise, of police use of force and applicable law and demonstrates that there is much work to do,” Fitisemanu said.
On Monday, he said that the department would welcome any opportunity to provide input, and collaborate on the newly formed Commission on Racial Equity in Policing.
Mendenhall said she hopes the police association provides their input on the policy changes effective in early September and collaborates with the commission.
“It takes all of us to do the work of making a more equitable Salt Lake City,” she said.
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