The NOPD today has released its 2022 Use of Force Annual Report, a document which includes analysis of all use-of-force incidents reported in 2022 involving NOPD officers.

The release of this report comes upon the completion of all NOPD use of force instance investigations launched by the department’s Public Integrity Bureau in 2022. The report was also subject to thorough review and approval by the NOPD’s Professional Standards and Accountability Bureau, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Office of the Consent Decree Monitor prior to its release.

The full report can be viewed at this link.

The Use of Force Annual Report includes information regarding use of force data and programs related to use of force; statistical data regarding the number of force incidents, types of force used, the results of investigations into reported force incidents and more. Many of the included statistics are broken down by demographics (age, gender, race) of the subjects of force.

In addition, the report features sections on Taser use, vehicle pursuits, SWAT Team and Canine Unit deployments, excessive force allegations and incidents where unjustified force may have been determined by the department’s review process.

Points of interest in the 2022 report include:

• The number of incidents involving force in 2022 (451) was higher than in each of the previous three years while similar to that of 2018 (441) (see Table 1).
• There were seven (7) reported force incidents in 2022 that included firearms discharge, down from 10 discharges in 2019 and continuing a four-year trend in decreasing incidents. (see Table 6).
• Excessive force allegations were lower in 2022 (45) compared to those of 2021 (71) and 2020 (167) (see Table 8).
• The number of incidents where unjustified force was deemed to have occurred via the NOPD review process decreased in 2022 to six (6) incidents, down from 13 such incidents in 2021. (see Table 11).
• Three of the 13 canine deployments in 2022 resulted in bites. In 2021, 1 in 15 deployments resulted in bites. (see Table 21).
• No SWAT deployments in 2022 involved weapons discharges (see Table 22).

The 2022 Use of Force Annual report, as well as all reports related to the NOPD Consent Decree, are available for public viewing on the NOPD’s Consent Decree information website at https://nola.gov/nopd/nopd-consent-decree/.

Have a question or correction? Please email NOPD’s Public Affairs Division at nopdpio@nola.gov.