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Newport News Police Department
c. Officers will not employ carotid control, vascular neck restriction, or chokeholds. [4.1.6, 4.1.7,]
d. Officers should avoid the use of flashlights, radios, or any other item not issued specifically as a
defensive weapon, as a means of force, except as a spontaneous impact weapon, or when there is
reason to believe that imminent threat of death or serious physical injury exists, and no other
option is available.
5. Less lethal options may be used when in the officer’s opinion, persuasive speech or physical contact
controls are insufficient, unsafe or impractical to control or stop a risk of immediate danger that is
reasonably likely to be mitigated by such use of force.
a. Officers shall only employ less lethal options in accordance with recognized training guidelines.
b. Less lethal options shall not be deployed in situations where lethal force is warranted without
adequate lethal coverage present.
c. Less lethal options will not be used to threaten people or elicit information.
d. Less lethal options should not be used on people who are properly handcuffed or secured for
transportation unless the officer is physically threatened with active aggression by a handcuffed
subject and there are no other reasonable force alternatives. During these extreme situations,
less lethal options may be used to gain control of the individual.
e. Any less lethal option may be utilized against aggressive animals.
f. The use of vehicle take-down maneuvers involving the intentional pinning of a target vehicle with
law enforcement vehicles is prohibited unless the technique is deployed by task force officers,
who have received documented training on the maneuver during task force operations. All
procedures and documentation of this technique will occur in accordance with the partner
agencies’ policies and practices.
6. Chemical Deployment
a. Individuals contaminated with O.C. spray/fogger shall be sanitized when practical and/or
afforded medical treatment, if requested, prior to being transported. [4.1.5]
b. When practical, individuals contaminated with O.C. spray/fogger should be removed to an area
of uncontaminated air and faced into the wind prior to being transported.
c. Under no circumstances will an arrestee, contaminated with O.C. spray/fogger, be placed on their
stomach in a “face down” position while being detained, awaiting transportation, or being
transported.
d. Under no circumstances will an officer make use of a spit sock hood on a person who has been
sprayed with O.C.
e. After exposing a subject to O.C. spray/fogger, cool water should be used to flush the subject’s face
and eyes when practical. If the situation should arise to rinse the arrestee’s face prior to entering
the jail, a hose is available outside of the Newport News Sheriff’s Office Booking Area.
f. In all situations, if an arrestee should develop severe breathing difficulties or complain of having
an adverse reaction to the O.C. spray/fogger at any time while in police custody, they must be
transported immediately to the nearest hospital or treated by emergency medical personnel at
the scene.
g. Precinct officers may deploy the MK-9 fogger on suspects in disorderly crowds if they are
committing acts that expose officers and/or the public to serious injury. When feasible, and prior
to the discharge of the MK-9 fogger, officers shall give ample verbal warning that they are about
to deploy a pepper spray fogger to minimize the possibility of an innocent bystander being
exposed. Considerations for the warning shall include the use of amplification equipment, such
as a public address system, if available. Additionally, officers should consider other issues such
as wind direction, availability of gas masks for police and offenders, warning fellow officers, and
availability of egress routes for those who wish to disperse.
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