Arlington police present 2024 use-of-force report; chief and independent reviewer cite robust documentation and ongoing analysis

Chief Al Jones, chief of the Arlington Police Department, presented the department’s 2024 Use of Force Report to the City Council, telling members that officers responded to roughly over 240,000 calls for service in 2024 and that the department documented what it describes as 1,235 use-of-force incidents involving 1,782 subjects.

The report said Arlington participates in the FBI’s National Use of Force Collection Project and that six incidents in 2024 met the FBI’s stricter reporting criteria (death, serious injury, or an officer discharge). Jones described a multilevel review process in which sergeants, lieutenants and deputy chiefs — plus a training-center review unit — examine every use-of-force report for policy compliance, training needs and trends.

The report outlines operational changes made since 2022: the department began tracking subject residency (resident, visitor or unhoused); patrol units received a 40-millimeter less-lethal launcher in 2023 (previously limited to SWAT); and officers received ballistic-shield training in February 2024. Jones said the department’s policy emphasizes de‑escalation, aftercare and the duty to intervene.

Jones described the 2024 statistics in greater detail. He said officers responded to roughly 240,000 calls — a 9.7% increase over the prior year — and that the use-of-force incident rate equated to about 5.1 incidents per 1,000 calls for service. The department reported six officer-involved shootings in 2024, five of which resulted in fatalities. Jones said 63% of calls that led to a use-of-force report were initiated by citizens, 17% were officer-initiated, and about 6.5% were related to traffic stops. He told councilors that approximately 62% of subjects in use-of-force reports were Arlington residents, about 25% were nonresidents and roughly 9% were listed as unhoused.

Dr. Jaya Davis, chair of the University of Texas at Arlington Criminal Justice Department, who partnered with the department for an independent review, told the council her team analyzed the department’s data and a randomly selected set of use-of-force incidents. "The data appear to indicate that officers' use levels of force were consistent with subject resistance," she said, adding that initial case reviews showed officers frequently reduced force levels as situations de‑escalated and that the department’s review process was not perfunctory.

Davis also noted findings on compliance and occurrences: in many incidents the recorded subject behavior was listed as compliant; when the team examined occurrences within incidents they found only small variation by race in the average number of force occurrences per incident. She said the review is ongoing and the team expects to provide further analysis on officer and subject demographics.

During questions from councilors, Council Member Bridal noted an increase in force against Hispanic females and asked whether that reflected broader trends. Jones replied, in part, that the department has seen rises in domestic-violence calls — a category that figures prominently in calls where force is applied — and reiterated the department’s emphasis on community compliance and review. Asked by Council Member (Doctor) Odom Westley whether the department documents abusive language and whether that is analyzed for connections to force, Jones said that abusive language is not among the specific criteria that triggers a formal use-of-force report; the department documents incidents that meet its reporting threshold and, he said, Arlington’s policy is among the most stringent in what it records.

Both Jones and Davis told the council the department is working to improve data systems for easier analysis and noted the possibility of new tools. Davis suggested exploring expanded use of unmanned aerial systems (drones) as first responders in some calls to provide faster situational awareness that might reduce some incidents that otherwise lead to force. Jones said the department will continue to refine training, reporting and public transparency.

The department did not propose any legislative changes at the meeting; both presenters said further findings from the academic review will be delivered to the council when available.