COB Recommendation to Require Reporting of Soft Empty-Hand Control

Executive Summary Metropolitan Nashville Police Department (MNPD) does not require that officers submit a written report documenting all instances where physical force is used to control a resistant subject. Currently, when soft empty-hand control tactics are used to take a resistant subject into custody, a written report is only required if an injury occurs. Fifty-one percent of the 50 largest police departments in the United States require that these incidents are reported. These incidents, where soft empty-hand control is the highest force used, comprise 1/3 of all uses of force for some departments.