Denver is rolling out a new use of force policy for its police department. The policy is the result of 19 months of work and training on the new policy will begin on August 20th.
The new policy provide police officers with a model on how to make decisions in tense situations. They are urged only to use force when it is reasonable and necessary. The policy stresses the use of de-escalation tactics over the use of force.
Staring on August 20th and through the end of this year, all officers on the force will attend an 8 hour training session. Supervising ranks will get an additional 4 hours of training. Chief Paul Pazen says he hope to put his officers through additional training next year where they'll face a variety of scenarios in a virtual reality simulator.