The Los Angeles Police Department saw a 25% reduction in officer-involved shootings last year, compared to the previous year, according to a report presented to the Board of Police Commissioners Tuesday.
The 2018 Use of Force Year-End Review Report found the department had 1.7 million contacts with the public in 2018, which was about 86,000, or 5%, more than 2017. Of those contacts, 33 resulted in officer-involved shootings last year, down from 44 in 2017.
The report also found there was a 56% reduction in the number of officers discharging their weapons, from 110 to 48, along with a 49% reduction in the total number of rounds fired, from 491 to 250.
LAPD Chief Michel Moore credited newer department policies that call on officers to use more de-escalation techniques as a top reason for the decrease in deadly encounters.
The department's officers "the vast majority of the time are finding a successful way in resolving difficult and often chaotic situations successfully without having to resort to force in any manner," Moore said.
Moore said the number of officer-involved shootings was the second lowest in 30 years, noting that during the 1990s, the number of shootings was frequently in the 90s or above 100.
The board did not vote on the report, which will be made available on the department's website, lapdonline.org, but plans to have it back on the agenda next week after giving the public time to review it.
