5-310 - Force Option- Batons

The purpose of this policy is to ensure that members who carry weapons and force devices, and who use weapons and force devices, including batons, adhere to the force guiding principles described in P&P 5-301. The force guiding principles include, but are not limited to, the Sanctity of Life (as incorporated below), the Duty to De-escalate, and Objectively Reasonable, Necessary, and Proportional Force.

MPD and its members shall uphold the sanctity of life (P&P 0-102 and P&P 5-301) by striving to protect and preserve human life in all situations and keep the community and MPD members safe from harm.

Impact Weapons as Intermediate Weapons

MPD approved batons are generally considered intermediate weapons, but can result in great bodily harm or death depending on how members use the baton.

Civil Disturbances and Assemblies

During civil disturbances and assemblies, batons shall only be used when authorized in accordance with P&P 7-805.

Conditions for Use

Batons may only be used on a person in accordance with the requirements described below. In addition to the conditions in this policy, the use of batons must be objectively reasonable, necessary, and proportional, and members shall use the lowest degree of force necessary (P&P 5-301). When using batons members must apply the critical decision-making model (CDM) (P&P 7-801) to continually assess the situation and modulate their use accordingly as the subject behavior changes.

Restrictions on baton strikes

Imminent harm

1. Batons shall only be used to strike a person to protect the member, the person, or anyone else from objectively imminent physical harm.
2. Batons shall not be used to strike a person who is handcuffed or otherwise restrained unless deadly force is the only other option.
3. Members shall consider the ability of vulnerable people to cause physical harm or likelihood of injury and likelihood of injury to the vulnerable person (P&P 5-301).

Target areas

1. The primary target areas for baton strikes are the arms and legs. Alternative target areas include the abdominal area to the waist.

2. Members shall not intentionally use a baton to strike a person’s head, neck, throat, face, sternum, armpit, spine, kidneys, or groin unless deadly force would be authorized.

Separate uses of force

Each baton strike is a separate use of force that members must separately justify as objectively reasonable, necessary, and proportional.

Treatment and Medical Aid

1. In addition to standard medical treatment after uses of force (in accordance with P&P 5-301 and P&P 7-350), treatment for a person that has been struck with a baton shall include visually inspecting the areas struck for signs of injury, when appropriate.
2. If a person has been struck with a baton, members shall keep the person under close observation until they are released to medical or other law enforcement personnel.

Training Required

Members shall only be issued, carry and use batons if they have successfully completed approved annual training on batons, including baton pushes, baton shoves, and baton strikes.

Specifications for Duty Batons

1. If a member has not been issued a CEW, they shall carry a duty baton while working in a Class ‘C’ uniform (P&P 3-114). Duty batons are optional for members carrying a CEW.

2. The duty baton shall comply with the following requirements:

1. Authorized Brands- ASP or Monadnock.
2. Overall extended length not to exceed 26 inches.
3. Black or Chrome finish.

Specifications for Riot Sticks

1. Every member working in a uniformed capacity shall keep a riot stick readily available (e.g. in the squad) for response to civil disturbances when needed (P&P 7-805).
2. Members shall only carry the riot stick issued to them by the MPD.

3. The Department-issued riot stick is the:

• Monadnock Wood Straight 36 inch Baton.

• Assembly: An assembly is a group of people gathered together in one place for a common purpose.
• Baton: A handheld, rigid, stick-like intermediate weapon. Batons are typically made of materials such as wood and metal, and come in various lengths and styles. (See the specifications section in P&P 5-310 for authorized types)
• Baton Pushes: A gentle or moderate force, applied with two hands on the baton, to a person who offers minimal or no resistance. A baton push is intended to create space, guide or move someone but is not as forceful as a shove or a strike.
• Baton Shoves: A more forceful push applied with two hands on the baton, intended to suddenly displace someone or disrupt their balance. It is more aggressive than a push, but does not involve the deliberate blow of a strike.
• Baton Strikes: A deliberate hit or blow intended to cause injury or pain. Baton strikes are more aggressive and are meant to achieve pain compliance or incapacitate the person.
• Bodily Harm: Physical pain or injury, illness, or any impairment of physical condition.
• Carry Weapons and Force Devices: Having a weapon or force device on one's person. This includes having it in a pocket, holster, or backpack or similar container, as well as having it slung or having it in hand.
• CEW: An intermediate weapon ("Conducted Energy Weapon") that is designed to temporarily incapacitate a person from a distance, using an electrical current for neuromuscular incapacitation.
• Civil Disturbance: A civil disturbance, also known as civil disorder or civil unrest, is when a gathering or assembly becomes violent or involves a collective threat of imminent violence, including but not limited to, assaults, significant property damage, arson fires, and bodily injury to people.
• Conducted Energy Weapon: An intermediate weapon ("CEW") that is designed to temporarily incapacitate a person from a distance, using an electrical current for neuromuscular incapacitation.
• Critical Decision-Making Model: A tool that allows members to organize situational factors and inform their decisions as they respond to police incidents of all degrees of complexity. All sworn members are trained in using the critical decision-making model (CDM). (P&P 7-801)
• Deadly Force: "Force which the actor uses with the purpose of causing, or which the actor should reasonably know creates a substantial risk of causing death or great bodily harm. The intentional discharge of a firearm other than a firearm loaded with less-lethal munitions and used by a peace officer within the scope of official duties, in the direction of another person, or at a vehicle in which another person is believed to be, constitutes deadly force." (MN Statute section 609.066)
• Great Bodily Harm: Bodily injury which creates a high probability of death, or which causes serious permanent disfigurement, or which causes a permanent or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ, or other serious bodily harm (MN Statute section 609.02 Subd. 8).
• Intermediate Weapon: Weapons that are not intended to cause death or serious physical injury and are not empty hand techniques. These include CEWs, chemical aerosols, chemical munitions, impact projectiles, and batons.
• Objectively Imminent Physical Harm:

  Aggressively Resisting or Assaultive:

  The person displays the intent to imminently harm the member, themselves or another person.

  • Taking a fighting stance (such as clenching and raising fists into a boxer pose or a substantially similar action).
  • Punching, kicking, or otherwise striking.

  Aggravated Aggressive Resistance or Aggravated Assault:

  The person displays the intent to imminently harm the member, themselves or another person, and the person’s actions are likely to result in great bodily harm or death.

  • Use of a firearm.
  • Use of a blunt or bladed weapon.
  • Extreme physical force.
• Shove: A forceful or severe push, intended to suddenly displace the person or disrupt their balance. Shove does not involve the deliberate blow of a strike.
• Subject Behavior:

  Subject Behavior: The actions, language, demeanor and conduct exhibited by a person. The behaviors are used to categorize and assess the degree of cooperation, resistance, or threat posed by the person.

  Complying with Orders: The person is following direction or lawful orders given.

  Passively Resisting: The person is not complying with a member’s commands and is uncooperative but is taking only minimal action to prevent a member from placing the person in custody or taking control of the situation. Examples include:

  • Standing stationary and not moving upon lawful direction.
  • Falling limply and refusing to use their power to move (becoming "dead weight").
  • Verbal non-compliance: Using language that signals an intention to avoid or prevent being taken into custody but does not signal an intent to cause physical harm.

  Actively Resisting: The person’s actions are intended to prevent a member from placing the person in custody or taking control of the situation but are not directed at harming the member. A person’s reaction to pain caused by a member, and a person’s purely defensive reactions to force, do not constitute active resistance. Oral statements alone do not constitute active resistance. Examples include:
  • Walking or running away after being informed they are not free to leave, are detained, or are under arrest.
  • Forcefully resisting the member’s grip.
  • Holding onto a fixed object after being given a lawful command to move or let go, in a situation other than a protest or demonstration (P&P 7-805).
  Objectively Imminent Physical Harm:
  Aggressively Resisting or Assaultive: The person displays the intent to imminently harm the member, themselves or another person. Examples include:
  • Taking a fighting stance (such as clenching and raising fists into a boxer pose or a substantially similar action).
  • Punching, kicking, or otherwise striking.
  Aggravated Aggressive Resistance or Aggravated Assault: The person displays the intent to imminently harm the member, themselves or another person, and the person’s actions are likely to result in great bodily harm or death. Examples include:
  • Use of a firearm.
  • Use of a blunt or bladed weapon.
  • Extreme physical force.

• Use of Force:

  An intentional contact, directly or indirectly (such as through a weapon or force device), with someone’s body, that causes pain or injury or restricts, controls or directs someone’s movement. Intentionally placing someone in fear of such contact or threatening such contact can also constitute force. This includes, but is not limited to:

  • The use of any weapon, substance, vehicle, equipment, tool, device or animal that inflicts pain or produces injury.
  • Any physical strike to any part of the body.
  • Any physical contact or threat of contact by the member or a weapon that causes or threatens to cause pain or injury.
  • Any physical contact or threat of physical contact by the member that results in physical restriction or manipulation of movement.
  • Unholstering or displaying a weapon when engaged with a subject or subjects, or pointing a weapon at a person.
• Use Weapons and Force Devices: Activating or applying a weapon's or force device's mechanical functions, pointing a weapon, or making contact with a person with the weapon or force device. This includes discharging a weapon such as a firearm, chemical aerosol, or impact projectile launcher, deploying a CEW, performing a CEW warning alert, activating a CEW, laser painting a person, applying handcuffs or restraints, and making bodily contact with a person with a baton or other impact weapon.