Employment Law: Revised Policy to Lessen Suspect-Deputy Violent Confrontations to be announced

February 17, 2010

Los Angeles- A revised policy that can lessen violent or fatal confrontations between suspects and deputies will be announced by Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca as a response to the boost in the number of deadly shootings involving the department’s deputies.

According to reports, the policy will encourage deputies to contain possible wrongdoers and wait for back up instead of immediate confrontation and arrest.

The change will be a primary factor in determining whether a specific deputy has acted improperly in the occurrence of a shooting.

This move was done after a number of publicized shootings involving deputies during chases. The number of recorded fatal shootings increased from nine in 2008 to 16 in 2009.