The Roanoke Rapids and Enfield police departments have earned the North Carolina Law Enforcement Accreditation notification of compliance with the United States Department of Justice Safe Policing for Safe Communities.
The RRPD received notification on January 15 while Enfield police Chief Chuck Hasty said his department received notification on January 21. The Halifax County Sheriff’s Office announced last week it received notification.
The notification is related to an executive order signed by former President Donald Trump which mandates that law enforcement agencies adhere to their use of force policies by compliance with state, federal and local laws which prohibit the use of chokeholds.
Roanoke Rapids Chief Bobby Martin said today the RRPD certified their compliance by submitting a new use of force policy incorporating the components required by the USDOJ for compliance in November.
“Our commitment actually goes further back,” Martin said. “Previously before the Spring of 2020 our general orders were reviewed. Every general order was reviewed to ensure they met current acceptable police standards. Once the Department of Justice was sharing information with agencies about Eight Can’t Wait we looked at revising our policy even more.”
Eight Can’t Wait centers on eight policies — ban chokeholds and strangleholds, require deescalation, require a warning before shooting, require that all alternatives be exhausted before shooting, require officers to intervene when excessive force is being used, ban shooting at moving vehicles, establish a force continuum, and require comprehensive reporting.
Martin said part of Trump’s Safe Policing for Safe Communities executive order was taken directly from the Eight Can’t Wait recommendations.
In June, Governor Roy Cooper created the North Carolina Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice. “At just over 120 pages, the task force makes their case for changes,” Martin said. “The RRPD took this opportunity to further examine our policies and incorporate changes that reflect current legal precedents and standards for 21st century policing into our use of force general order.”
The major requirement for compliance is the explicit prohibition of chokeholds unless deadly force is authorized. “We took the opportunity to adopt this into our policy. Another general order we added was the Duty to Intervene. We previously didn’t have a written policy on this subject but we did have management that held officers accountable for their conduct,” Martin said. “We now have a policy which requires officers to intervene to prevent other officers from misconduct. It includes safeguards for whistleblowers and reaffirms our department’s mission statement.”
The notification allows the law enforcement agencies to receive federal funding and related grants for equipment and training.
