In LR, not all police trained in pepper spray

Officers without instruction include suspended lawman

— While a majority of Little Rock police officers are trained to use pepper spray, police said that there is a group of “older officers” who have no such training.

Lt. David Hudson - the 34-year veteran who is serving a 30-day suspension for excessive force and who faces a civil lawsuit after a man was punched several times in the face while Hudson worked an off-duty job Oct. 29, 2011 - is one of those officers, according to department records.

Little Rock Police Department spokesman Sgt.Cassandra Davis said that a few of the department’s senior officers, including ranking commanders, were never trained in how to use pepper spray, stun guns or other less-than-lethal police tools designed to end confrontations without resulting in serious injuries or the use of deadly force.

Davis conceded that the department, and the public, would benefit from a police force fully trained in all of its tools, but she didn’t know of any definite plans to make it happen.

“But we do review the uses of force, both [internal affairs] and [the training division],” Davis said. “At this point, it doesn’t indicate there’s a problem with the training or uses of force at any level.”

Video of Hudson striking Chris Erwin several times in the face and then throwing him to the ground went viral within a week of the 2011 incident and was widely reported in the media.

In his Nov. 18, 2011, meeting with internal investigators, several weeks after he arrested Erwin for misdemeanor charges when Erwin didn’t leave a private party at the former Ferneau restaurant, Hudson told investigators it was necessary to strike Erwin, who he said was “actively resisting”commands.

“He was defensively resisting you ... was there a reason why you decided to strike him with your fist instead of using another form of [control]?” an investigator asked.

“I’m not certified in [pepper spray],” Hudson said. “And [I] didn’t have a Taser because I’m not issued one ... so I struck him with my fist. After I quit striking him he still would not comply with my requests.”

During an interview with detectives, Erwin relayed a conversation he had with an officer who was taking him to jail after his encounter with Hudson and subsequent arrest.

Complaining about getting “beat down” by Hudson, Erwin told investigators that the officer said Hudson was “old school” and the way he handled Erwin was “how he rolls,” the investigation said.

An analysis of Little Rock Police Department training records shows that there are 522 certifications for using pepper, or OC, spray.

There are three types of pepper spray, and some of the department’s nearly 500 officers are trained on multiple types, so records are redundant.

But the vast majority of officers are trained to use the sprays, which officials have said can help reduce injuries to officers and suspects.

An analysis of the training certifications shows that six of the department’s eight captains are trained to use pepper spray, as are 25 of its 29 lieutenants.

In a department with 70 sergeants, or immediate supervisors, there are 68 certifications.

Davis said Hudson’s arrest of Erwin, and his lack of training in some less-than lethal measures, has not prompted plans to get some of its older officers trained and on the same footing as its newest officers.

Davis added that pepper-spray training has been mandatory for new hires for years, though she didn’t know when the devices became widespread in the department.

Certification with pepper spray is mandatory for Pulaski County deputies. The county also requires deputies to be trained in using stun guns, which have been proven to lower the number of injuries suffered by suspects as well as officers.

For Little Rock, stun guns have taken some time.

At this point last year, there were only 25 stun guns in the department and they were only carried by supervisors.

With help from extra funding from last year’s sales-tax increase, the department has invested more in the units, and there are 45 officers, five sergeants and two lieutenants trained on the electronic weapons.

Uses of force by the department increased 25 percent in 2011, going from 332 to 417 incidents.

Pepper spray was used in 97 of those 417 incidents, according to department records, while “hard empty hand” force, an officer striking a suspect, increased from 33 incidents in 2010 to 65.

Davis said that even though some senior officers lack the training or the experience to use tools such as pepper spray or stun guns they can still look to department policies and regulations to evaluate a subordinate’s actions.

“Although an individual may not carry the OC spray or have been trained on the OC spray, he can always refer to our general orders,” Davis said.

“We don’t see that as a double standard for an individual not to have been trained but able to evaluate an officer’s actions compared to what policies ... require.”

When asked if the difference in training meant that there was a difference in the ways older and younger officers use force, Davis said that the department expects officers to be uniform in how they dispense force and that all subsequent investigations are handled equally as well.

“We all have to abide by and go by the use of force standard set in [department policies],” Davis said.

Arkansas, Pages 7 on 11/26/2012

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