The Ukiah Police Department has received a number of inquiries recently related to its training procedures and policies, particularly related to the use of force. Our policies and training documents are available online on our website, at www.ukiahpolice.com.

Our policies serve as a guide to our personnel in the performance of their duties, and are based upon local, state, and federal law, legislative rulings and case law, best practices and recognized policing principals. As practices and standards change and evolve so does our policy, and we are currently performing a full review of our policy and training outlines to ensure they embrace the principals of modern policing.

Our policy directs every member of the department to perform their duties in a fair and objective manner. Our members are required to intervene to prevent biased-based actions by another member, and to report instances of bias-based policing.

The Ukiah Police Department’s use of force policy is comprehensive and is intended to guide officers in a safe, professional, impartial, and reasonable manner. Our policy directs officers to take a number of factors into consideration, as time and circumstances permit, when making the determination to use force. Officers are to use only that amount of force reasonably necessary, and requires an officer witnessing the use of excessive force to intervene.

Ukiah Police Officers are directed by policy, if it is considered safe and reasonable under the totality of circumstances, to evaluate the use of other reasonably available resources and techniques when determining whether to use deadly force. Our policy directs officers to make reasonable efforts to identify themselves and issue warnings, if possible, before using deadly force. Shooting at a vehicle is not authorized unless there are no other reasonable means available to avert the threat of the vehicle or its occupants.

Ukiah Police Policy requires the prompt, accurate, and complete reporting of the use of force including the factors perceived to justify the use of force. The Ukiah Police Department reports certain uses of force to the Department of Justice, and is in full compliance with the public release of certain records in accordance with SB 1421.

Our officers have been trained in crisis intervention tactics, and our policy directs officers to consider a number of factors towards offering de-escalation alternatives, including taking no action or passively monitoring a situation.

The California Peace Officers Commission on Training has recently given direction regarding the training and utilization of certain restraint techniques. The Ukiah Police Department is examining our relevant policies and procedures to ensure we are in full compliance with this direction.

The members of the Ukiah Police Department are committed to providing ethical and professional law enforcement service, and we are proud of our relationship with the community. We know that we are better together.