Capital Public Radio filed California Public Records Act requests for details on use of force incidents with 22 law enforcement agencies in the greater Sacramento region. We found each department tracks the data differently. Read about our collection process here.
Click on the name of an agency below to see figures for arrests, use of force and battery against a peace officer.
Auburn Police Department
The Auburn Police Department categorized its use of force incidents as physical, OC (a type of spray), Taser and impact weapon. The arrests include citations and felony and misdemeanor arrests. When looking at what percentage of use of force make up total arrests, there was a jump from 2012 to 2013 from 0.6 percent to 2.5 percent. When looking at the breakdown, that jump matches an increase in "physical" use of force.
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Citrus Heights Police Department
The arrests numbers include warrants served, total booked arrests, total cites and released arrests, adult and juvenile arrests and DUI arrests. The department only provided use of force incidents related to K-9 bites. These incidents make up about 0.1 and 0.2 percent of total arrests.
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El Dorado County Sheriff's Office
Capital Public Radio pulled numbers through the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office Annual Report for 2014. The report is pretty extensive and includes arrests, use of force and officer-involved shooting data. Numbers used for these graphics include adult and juvenile arrests. There was no available breakdown of the type of use of force incidents the agency uses. The total use of force incidents is less than one percent of the total arrests for 2012 through 2014.
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Elk Grove Police Department
The Elk Grove Police Department easily had the most robust collection of data for use of force among the 22 departments Capital Public Radio contacted. Each of the years requested -- 2012, 2013, 2014 -- included a five-page report. Not only does the department keep track of total incidents, but also of how many officers were involved. There's also information about incidents that resulted in injury for both officers and citizens, what charges were related to the incident and whether the use of force was effective.
Chris Trim, public information officer with the department, cautioned against comparing his agency's numbers with others. He says doing so would be like comparing apples to watermelons.
"We report pretty much everything," he says. "It's detailed and broken down ... we make a clear effort to be transparent as an agency."
These arrests include felony, misdemeanor, citations, warrants and juvenile arrests and citations. The department also tallies the following types of force: Hold, control hold, wrap device, strike, kinetic energy, K-9, deadly force, body tackle, impact, physical force, Taser.
*Note: The breakdown does not add up to the total because multiple types of force may be used during one incident.
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Galt Police Department
These arrests include felony, misdemeanor and moving citations. The use of force incidents are broken down to the following incidents: baton, beanbag, K9, carotid, control holds, firearm, legal intervention, palm/hand, chemical agent, Taser, WRAP. Control holds make up the majority of use of force incidents.
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Lodi Police Department
These arrests include felony, misdemeanor and total citations. The use of force incidents are broken down to the following types: chemical munition, impact weapon, physical force, ecw, firearm display, firearm discharge, canine and other. There's been a drop in use of force incidents from 2012 to 2014. Physical force makes up most of the use of force incidents and the numbers of those dropped significantly between 2012 to 2014, from 38 to 4.
*Note: The breakdown does not add up to the total because multiple types of force may be used during one incident.
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Manteca Police Department
These arrests include adult and juvenile arrests and citations. The use of force incidents were not broken down by type. The number of arrests dropped slightly between 2012 and 2014. Total use of force of force increased from 2012 to 2013 and then dropped again in 2014.
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Modesto Police Department
The arrests include felony, misdemeanor and citations issued. The use of force information includes controlling force, impact weapons, chemical agents, Taser, WRAP/RIPP.
*Note: The breakdown does not add up to the total because multiple types of force may be used during one incident.
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Rocklin Police Department
These arrests include physical arrests, misdemeanor citations and infraction citations. The use of force incidents include takedowns, use of personal body weapons, Tasers, OC/pepper spray, impact weapons (batons) and firearms. Takedowns and control holds make up the largest portion of use of force incidents.
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Roseville Police Department
These arrests include physical arrests, misdemeanor citations and infraction citations. The use of force incidents include takedowns, use of personal body weapons, Tasers, OC/pepper spray, impact weapons (batons) and firearms. Takedowns make up the largest portion of use of force incidents and there was an increase of this type of force from 2012 to 2014.
*Note: The breakdown does not add up to the total because multiple types of force may be used during one incident.
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Sacramento County Sheriff's Office
These arrests include adult felony and misdemeanor arrests and adult felony and misdemeanor citation arrests. Sacramento County provided breakdowns for Taser, firearms, less-lethal and pepperball use of force. The agency also provided information on incidents that involve battery against an officer and similar charges -- including willful resists. There was a drop in use of force incidents from 2012 to 2014. The most common force used in Sacramento County was the Taser. The Sheriff's Office also provided Capital Public Radio with information on incidents where the subject assaulted or resisted arrest from an officer. The most common charge for these incidents is "willfully resists, delays or obstructs."
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Sacramento Police Department
These arrests are numbers for the total processed. The use of force incidents include physical, taser, K9, OC, baton, gun and less lethal impact. Total use of force for the department declined from 2012 to 2014. The most common force used was "physical."
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Stockton Police Department
These arrests include felony, misdemeanor and infraction arrests, cite release and traffic citations. The use of force information was not broken down only that it does not include officer-involved shootings. The total use of force for this department increased slightly between 2012 to 2014.
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Sutter County Sheriff's Office
These arrests include citations, misc citations, misc booked and overall arrests. The use of force information includes impact weapon, firearm, OC Spray, canine, taser and other. There was more use of force incidents in 2013. When looking at the breakdown chart, there was a jump in the number of canine incidents in 2013.
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Turlock Police Department
These arrests include felony and misdemeanor arrests and citations made. Use of force incidents were broken down to taser, impact weapons, personal defense, pepper spray, less lethal, take down and carotid. The most common types of force used in the department were Taser and the takedown.
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Yolo County Sheriff's Office
These arrests include arrests and citations. The use of force information includes hand/control holds, taser, K9 bite, control hold/taser, control hold/taser/impact weapon and one officer involved shooting. The use of force data ONLY pertains to incidents that involve a charge of battery/assaults against a peace officer. The most common force used was the hand/control hold.
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Placerville Police Department
These arrests include felony and misdemeanor arrests. The use of force incidents were not broken down according to types.
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Yuba County Sheriff's Office
These arrests include felony, misdemeanor and status offenses. Use of force information was not available for 2012 and includes baton, bean bag, K-9 bite, Taser and firearm.
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Yuba City Police Department
Data includes arrests and citations for battery and resisting a peace officer.
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Placer County Sheriff's Office
These include felony and misdemeanor arrests. No use of force incident information was given. The data includes reports where battery of an officer or obstructing and resisting an officer is one of the arrest charges.
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Stanislaus County Sheriff's Office
These arrests include felony and misdemeanor arrests. There was no use of force information given. Data includes arrests involving incidents where the officer was considered a victim and resisting arrests charges.
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Marysville Police Department
The arrests include misdemeanor and felony arrests. The use of force information includes firearm, taser, baton, pepper spray, bean bag shotgun, K-9 and submission holds)
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