Newton Police Department Amends Use Of Force Policy

NEWTON, MA — Questions concerning police brutality following the death of George Floyd and the handling of protesters have pushed local protesters to ask for the city to route funds designated for the police department to other areas of community support, and prompted Newton police to revise its use of force policies.

"Effective Wednesday, NPD officially bans chokeholds and requires officers to intervene in instances of excessive force," said Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller in a statement. "The Newton Police Department is almost done revising its use of force policies."

An initiative of the Project Zero, an organization associated with Black Lives Matter, 8 Can't Wait is a national campaign urging law enforcement agencies to adopt eight policies limiting the use of force, including banning choke and strangle holds, requiring warnings before shootings, using de-escalation techniques and transparency through comprehensive reporting.

The campaign tracks every major city in the nation, taking note of the 8 Can't Wait guidelines their police departments have adopted. Newton follows area police departments including Waltham, Somerville and Boston in communicating steps they've taken to follow the policies. Cambridge also recently announced it is now requiring officers to intervene in instances of excessive force.

The eight policies:

• Ban choke holds and strangle holds
• Require de-escalation
• Require warning before shooting
• Require exhausts all alternatives before shooting
• Duty to intervene
• Ban shooting at moving vehicles
• Require use of force continuum
• Require comprehensive reporting

Project Zero said research has shown police departments that adopt these eight policies could decrease police violence by 72 percent, but also called the policies "useful steps on the path towards a collective goal" to end police violence.

The Newton police department's revised policies will be online shortly and the mayor said the next step is to have the Newton Coalition of Black Residents and others and revise them more, "if warranted."

The current use of force policieswere established in 1989 and have been revised 19 times. The last time the policies were revised was in 2016.

Read more:

• Newton Police Chief David MacDonald To Step Down
• Newton Mayor Agrees To Use $200K Of Police Budget To Review Dept
• Mayor's Budget Address: 'Dark Shadows ...
• Newton Group Asks City To Cut Police Budget By 10 Percent...
• Defunding MA Police: What It Might Look Like

Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).Have a press release you'd like posted on the Patch? Here's how to post a press release, a column, event or opinion piece.