Manistee County sheriff presents 2025 Use of Force report, says office committed to transparency

Sheriff Brian Gutowski presented the Manistee County Sheriff’s Office 2025 Use of Force Report and framed it as part of the office’s transparency efforts. “I believe that the information contained in this report will substantiate our commitment to providing professional and ethical law enforcement and correctional service to our community,” Gutowski wrote in the report's message to the public.

The published report outlines the department’s Use of Force policy, states that policy has been certified by the U.S. Department of Justice and says it satisfies the Safe Policing for Safe Communities Executive Order requirements, including a respiratory‑restraint policy and training protocols (Appendix B). The report says there were no firearms discharged by deputies to protect against a threat of serious bodily injury or death during 2025; firearms displays related to two specific incidents are described in the appendix. The report also summarizes oversight steps: timely incident reporting, supervisor review, an instructor review, and escalation to outside investigators if misconduct allegations are substantiated (SEG 954–973, SEG 976–984).

The Use of Force report provides aggregate numbers for 2025, including road patrol statistics (5,847 calls for service and 297 arrests) and corrections and jail use‑of‑force counts. The document states the jail lodged 509 individuals during 2025 with an average daily population around 32 and describes nine instances of hands‑on force in the jail during the year (Appendix B; SEG 996–1000, SEG 996–1001). The sheriff’s report repeatedly links its policy and reporting practices to state law and the constitutional standards set by Tennessee v. Garner and Graham v. Connor, which the appendix cites when explaining legal authority and reasonableness standards (SEG 954–960).