Page 10 - April 2017

Validating the Department’s Rigorous Standards for Use of Force ,
Committee reviewed 402 UOF reports in 2016

By Major (ret.) Anthony Thomas, Former President, Use of Force Committee
The Departments’ Use of Force Committee (Troop D) and Captain Thomas Reney (Troop E). Each
(UOF) is comprised of five department members, committee member brings a thorough understanding
representing each department division. The UOF of the departments UOF training and policies,
Committee is the departments’ oversight of the embedded with years of cultural policing experiences.
applications of approved controlled techniques and UOF controlled techniques, instruments and their
technologies have rapidly evolved the past
several decades and UOF members are
keenly aware that applications of use of force
by sworn members are often a nationally
debated topic for police nation-wide.
The UOF Committee work is important
because it affirms and validates the courageous
efforts of the Department’s front line Sergeants
and Troopers, which have had to apply use
of force controlled techniques, instruments
and their applications in numerous violent
physical encounters with individuals who seek
to harm them. Their efforts in these violent
physical encounters are in many instances,
a will of human survival – and our officers
have received many Departmental and state-
wide commendations for acts of bravery!
issued use of force instruments by sworn members in We commend the department members who
performance of their duties, pursuant to training and have exhibited great courage, in far too many violent
department policies. Members
of the UOF Committee are
recommended to serve on the
committee by the Departments’
Division Commanders to
the Deputy Superintendent.
The Deputy Superintendent
appoints the UOF Committee
members and retains oversight
of the committee’s findings
and recommendations. The
current members of the
UOF Committee are Major
Kerry Gilpin (Standards &
Training), Detective Captain
Scott Warmington (Division
of Investigative Services),
Captain Thomas Donoghue

F r en c h·a n d·E le c t r ic·B l ue·A p r i l·2017·p a g e·10