USE OF FORCE

Life Saving Award

NOV. 6 // Case #2203085: Officers responded to an unknown medical call. Upon arriving, the officers quickly learned that a woman in the home had overdosed on fentanyl. She wasn’t breathing, had no pulse, and was blue. The officers acted immediately and administered narcan, deployed the AED, and gave chest compressions. Due to the officers quick thinking and actions, they were able to get a faint pulse, and the woman began breathing again just as medical personnel arrived. Officers Chad Latka and Justin Bilyeu were recognized by the department at a City Council meeting for their actions and were presented with Life Saving Awards.

Law enforcement officers face many challenges and occasionally need to use force to subdue a violent offender or take a person into custody for their protection. Merriam officers arrested 1,091 individuals in 2022 and only used force in 67 of those incidents. This is a testament to our officers’ ability to de-escalate tense situations and gain compliance without force.

The Merriam Police Department makes it a top priority to conduct comprehensive examinations of any incident when force is involved in making an arrest. It's critical to be absolutely sure each use of force was necessary and within policy. Therefore, each incident is reviewed by the officer’s supervisor and a three-member Use of Force Panel for a thorough analysis. The panel and supervisor examine the reports, videos, witness statements, and other evidence to get a complete understanding of the incident. Recommendations then are made to the training committee to consider whether lessons learned from the incident could benefit all officers in future work and improve best-practice standards.

We believe our comprehensive oversight makes the community safer and our officers more accountable.