15 Principles for Reducing the Risk of Restraint-Related Death

As you know from CIRSA’s recent Blog Post, written by Jonathan Abramson and Julie Nikolaevskaya of the law firm SGR, LLC, the Colorado Legislature recently adopted House Bill 24-1372 (the “Bill”) establishing new restrictions and policy and training requirements regarding the use of prone restraints by law enforcement. Among other requirements, the Bill requires law enforcement agencies to adopt written policies and procedures concerning officers’ use of the prone position and prone restraint by no later than July 1, 2025. Also, beginning on or before July 1, 2026, each agency required to adopt policies and procedures must implement and train its officers on the provisions of the policies and procedures.

In the wake of high-profile incidents around the county, legislative and media attention on the use of the prone position and prone restraint has increased, both in Colorado and around the county. But, the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) recently observed, “much of the public discourse on the subject has focused on the terminology that is used to describe these incidents” with these “public debates about language ‘avoid[ing] the harder issue of how police, EMS, and others can improve their response to medical-behavioral emergencies.’” To address this gap, PERF, in September 2024, published a report titled 15 Principles for Reducing the Risk of Restraint-Related Death, intended to provide guidance on how to handle situations that may necessitate restraint but also could pose a heightened risk to the individual being restrained. While the PERF Report is not intended for direct adoption by law enforcement agencies, it provides guiding principles that may be a useful resource for members’ law enforcement policymakers who are involved in the development of written policies and procedures pursuant to the Bill. A copy of the report can be accessed at the above link.