Sioux City’s Police Department is continuing to be proactive in improving communication efforts with its citizens.
Lt. Pat Breyfogle heads the department’s Community Policing effort which divides the city into nine districts:
OC…..solve problems together. :15
Last Thursday around a hundred people attended a town hall meeting at the Public Museum on why and how the police use force when apprehending a suspect.
Breyfogle says the public doesn’t realize that a single punch, taser hit or bullet won’t always stop an attacker from assaulting someone:
OC………and not to do. ;20
Lt. Breyfogle says joint efforts with local groups like “Unity in the Community” help promote a better understanding of why officers sometimes have to use force while on duty:
OC………don’t have to. ;20
The officers can face split second decisions when confronting suspects where they have to determine if a gun pointed at them is real or a toy.
Force would potentially be used if the officer determines the suspect is a threat to citizens or to the police, are they resisting arrest, fleeing a crime or hiding and the severity of the crime.
