NORFOLK, Va. — One year after protesters spent days camped outside Norfolk City Hall, the police use-of-force information they wanted is now publicly available.
Police Chief Larry Boone made the announcement at Tuesday's city council meeting.
Last June, protesters demanded NPD to release use-of-force reports from the past decade.
“If you have nothing to hide, then this is beneficial for you as well," said a protester named Rich.
Protester Windsor Rachel agreed.
“It ends when there is complete transparency, because if these people are meant to serve and protect us, we need to be able to trust them."
At the time, the department didn’t release a lot of details about situations in which officers use force, which could involve stunning, beating, or shooting people. There also was no way for the average person to find out if methods that have been used vary by location in the city or by the race of the people who were involved.
Three days after the protesters set up camp, City Manager Dr. Chip Flier said in a statement, "Releasing this data once a year in the annual report is inadequate. We can and should do better.”
RELATED: Norfolk city manager issues statement about releasing use of force police reports more frequently
Boone told protesters he would be open to releasing that data.
Fast forward to July 2021, that data is now publicly available.
"We’re gonna be bold about it. We’re gonna be straightforward. We’re not hiding anything," said Boone. "As the citizens will see, they have a very professional police department when it comes to use-of-force."
The police personnel, citizen complaints, and use-of-force data on the city’s website go back five years and will be refreshed every weekday, according to NPD.
The data hub shows officer and citizen demographics for the overall Norfolk population and is broken down by interactions by race. Arrest demographics are shown side-by-side with population demographics and use-of-force data is available by zip code, as well as by demographics.
It does not include exact addresses, specific names, or citizen complaints that are actively being investigated.
"This profession has had some unfortunate setbacks and it’s not so much anymore what we say, it’s, 'Show me, okay?' It’s, 'Show me, so I can see for myself if what you’re saying is actually true,'" Boone said.
He said this is the first version of the online data and there will be updates moving forward. This is just the first step.
"What I would hope, or what the city would hope, is that it just gets better with time and better looks like more transparency."
NPD policy requires a use-of-force report every time an officer has to do more than put handcuffs on someone or use their hands to hold, guide, or lead a person.
According to that newly released data, between July 2016 and July 2021, Norfolk Police were called over 1.2 million times. Use of force was reported in 2,071 of those calls, which is about 0.17%.
Four people died during those situations, all of which involved an attack on an officer with a weapon.
During Tuesday's meeting, the Norfolk Police Department and Center for Policing Equity also announced a partnership to eliminate racially disparate policing.
CPE will analyze NPD data and give recommendations on how the department can improve its policing to decrease racial disparities and inequities. Those findings will be made public and the community will be given the chance to share their own experiences.
“This bold move, to be the first police department in the nation to partner with the Center for Policing Equity, speaks volumes to NPD’s efforts in promoting transparency and accountability on behalf of the community we serve," Boone said in a press release.