GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) — After the death of George Floyd in police custody, there has been a lot of attention put on police use of force in the United States.
In Green Bay, police officers get a rigorous education in the use of force. They use what’s called the “disturbance resolution model” when dealing with any potentially criminal disturbance.
“The disturbance resolution model has the steps that officers can take, and they can go up or down,” Police Commander Kevin Warych told WTAQ. “They don’t have to follow a continuum, per se, because the situation is so dynamic.”
The disturbance resolution model starts, simply, with communication.
“But if their presence and their dialogue are ineffective, then they have the control alternatives, the protective alternatives,” explained Warych. “And, at the last resort, deadly force.”
Warych says the goal, ultimately, is compliance.
“Our overall goal here is de-escalation, communication, and ongoing dialogue to get people to comply,” he said Tuesday.
Choke holds are not a technique used by the Green Bay police department.
“We do not want choke holds, and we don’t train that. We don’t want that,” Warych said. “But officers are trained that if they’re in a fight for their life, they have to do anything and everything to get out of that.”
Choke holds became the subject of major national controversy after George Floyd died in the custody of Minneapolis police after an officer used his knee to press down on Floyd’s neck during an arrest.
