The chief of the Orlando Police Department wants to make it crystal clear to his officers that excessive force will never be tolerated.

If an officer witnesses another officer using excessive force, they are to stop it and report it.

  • New directive reminds Orlando police officers to intervene in cases of police excessive force
  • Officers did not intervene in three recent cases of excessive force
  • In 2015, out of 15,000 arrests, 515 used force, but only 9 complaints were reported

When Chief John Mina was asked if he thought his officers on the scene were doing enough to intervene with excessive force cases, he said, “absolutely.”

But he wants the entire department to know that he has no tolerance for excessive force and will hold other officers accountable if they don’t try to stop it, as he stated in a department-wide directive.

“Put it in our policy and make it real clear,” Mina said.

We took closer look at some of the most recent excessive force cases to see if all responding officers were following that protocol.

In three of the most recent excessive force cases, charges were brought against Orlando police officers.

Body camera captured Officer William Escobar kicking a suspect on the ground in 2014.

Witness cell phone video revealed Officers David Cruz and Charles Mays surrounding a suspect on the ground and kicking him in 2015.

And surveillance video of Officer Peter Delio shows him striking a handcuffed suspect in his stomach in 2014.

Not once on camera did another officer intervene.

“There is always a duty to intervene if another officer is crossing the line,” Mina said.

Internal investigations were conducted and all four officers were found to be at fault for violating policy. But it is not clear if any other officers on the scene were disciplined for failing to stop the excessive force.

“Of course we always want our officers to report any violations,” Mina said.

Overall, officials said use of force at OPD is down 30 percent since 2012. 

Last year, out of 15,000 arrests, 515 used force, but only nine complaints were reported. 

So looking at the big picture, Mina said this new directive is not aimed at his officers, but is a response to what is going on throughout the nation.