A coalition of top law enforcement organizations this week spelled out a new National Consensus Policy for Use of Force, which, if adopted by the Honolulu Police Department, could bring changes in the way HPD officers confront suspects in vehicles, encounters which have resulted in numerous officer-involved shootings in recent years.

Just last week, an HPD officer shot and killed the driver of a stolen pickup truck who tried to flee the scene after being confronted in the parking lot at the campgrounds near Malaekahana Beach Campground, and such situations have been all too common. New and more restrictive policies regarding the use of deadly force could reduce the number of incidents like this in Honolulu, which in some time periods have made up half of all police shootings.

The new consensus policy is the result of a concerted effort that started in April as law enforcement agencies grappled with the intense scrutiny that followed police shootings in Ferguson, Missouri, and elsewhere.

It reflects a broad agreement on best practices designed to protect both police and the public.  The policy statement recommends techniques for “de-escalation” of potentially violent situations “without the use of force or with a reduction in the force necessary.”

While it does not aim at disarming the police, it emphasizes de-escalation and alternatives to the use of deadly force.

The organizations backing the new guidelines include the Fraternal Order of Police, International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National Association of Police Organizations, and the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, which currently accredits the Honolulu Police Department.

The policy is advisory only and is not required to be adopted by local police departments. However, the groups said it “reflects the best thinking of all consensus organizations” and is intended “to serve as a template for law enforcement agencies to compare and enhance their existing policies.”

Honolulu has had more than its share of cases in which police officers confronted suspects in their vehicles and then opened fire when the driver failed to stop when ordered.

These violent encounters have drawn some criticism, but have been given a pass by HPD, city prosecutors, the Honolulu Police Commission and, it seems, the general public. Past shootings have all been officially considered justified and apparently did not lead to any disciplinary actions or policy changes.

History Of Firing At Fleeing Vehicles

Last week’s incident in Malaekahana unfolded in what has unfortunately become a familiar manner.  According to published accounts, police were called after a stolen truck spotted in a Malaekahana parking lot. Police arrived and confronted the driver and a passenger, ordering them to stop.

Instead, the driver tried to flee the scene and drove toward an officer, who fired, hitting the driver “multiple times,” according to the reports. The officer suffered what were referred to as non life-threatening injuries. He was treated and released from the hospital the same day. The driver died of his injuries.

In plain language, the officer appears to have escalated a routine stop involving a stolen truck into a deadly confrontation by standing in front of the vehicle to block it from leaving and then opening fire on the driver in what by that time could be seen as “self-defense.”

Just last month, in a similar incident, police opened fire at several men in a stolen truck at the Mililani Burger King. As in the Malaekahana case, police received a tip about a stolen vehicle and responded. The three men in the truck tried to drive away, hitting at least one police vehicle in the process and allegedly driving towards an officer. He fired several times, hitting two of the men.

A less-than-thorough search of news reports quickly found three incidents of the same kind in the summer of 2014, two of which resulted in fatal shootings by police. And the pattern isn’t new. In 2009, there were three “officer-involved shootings” in a single month, all involving similar situations.

Honolulu has had more than its share of cases in which police officers confronted suspects in their vehicles, and then opened fire when the driver failed to stop when ordered.

“In all three of those cases, young male drivers tried to flee and struck, dragged or came close to running over police officers in the process,” the Honolulu Advertiser reported at the time.

Current HPD policy on the use of force provides general guidance applicable to these situations.

The department’s Policy Number 1.04, dated April 24, 2015 and available for viewing on the HPD website, provides: “A firearm shall not be discharged at a moving vehicle unless the operator and/or occupant(s) of the vehicle pose an immediate threat of death or serious bodily injury and/or are attempting to use deadly force against the officer or other(s).”

In addition, officers are required to “take reasonable measures to avoid placing themselves in the path or potential path of a suspect vehicle.”

The new national consensus policy tweaks this language and in context appears to impose additional restrictions.

National Policy More Restrictive

According to the consensus policy recommendation, police are prohibited from shooting at a moving vehicle unless “a person in the vehicle is threatening the officer or another person with deadly force by means other than the vehicle,” or the vehicle is deliberately trying to hit the officer or another person, “and all other reasonable means of defense have been exhausted (or are not present or practical), which includes moving out of the path of the vehicle.”

The guidelines authorize the use of deadly force to stop a suspect fleeing, but only if the officer “has probable cause to believe that the person has committed, or intends to commit a felony involving serious bodily injury or death, and the officer reasonably believes that there is an imminent risk of serious bodily injury or death to the officer or another if the subject is not immediately apprehended.”

“Officers shall use force only when no reasonably effective alternative appears to exist and shall use only the level of force which a reasonably prudent officer would use under the same or similar circumstances,” the new consensus policy provides.

The new guidelines leave lots of wiggle room, but the trend is clearly toward ending the practice of shooting into moving cars.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, which boasts some 10,000 law enforcement personnel, last year adopted a new policy prohibiting shooting at vehicles under most circumstances.

The new L.A. sheriff’s department policy provides: “Firearms shall not be discharged at a stationary or moving vehicle, the occupants of a vehicle, or the tires of a vehicle unless a person in the vehicle is imminently threatening the Department member or another person present with deadly force by means other than the moving vehicle.”

“In other words,” as National Public Radio put it, “unless another weapon is present, stop shooting into cars.”

Police departments in Los Angeles and New York had already taken action credited with virtually eliminating such shootings.

Other police departments  adopting “hold your fire and get out of the way” policies include Denver, which changed its policy in 2015, and Orlando, Florida, which followed suit last year.

HPD needs to follow suit, sooner rather than later.