Most Dayton police discipline investigations find no wrongdoing

Internal investigations into the conduct of Dayton police officers usually do not result in findings or dispositions that require punishment, according to recently released research.

Between 2014 and 2016, about 1,386 incidents involving Dayton officers were the subject of internal investigations, according to data from the 2017 Dayton Community-Police Relations report.

MORE: Dayton has least diverse police class in a decade

Of those incidents, 106 (or 7.6 percent of the total) were sustained, meaning the evidence proved the incident occurred and was unlawful and thereby resulted in discipline, ranging from oral reprimands to civil service charges, officials said.

For more than two-thirds of the incidents, the final disposition was “exonerated,” indicating the incident occurred but was determined to be lawful, the report says.

Almost 18 percent of incidents were unfounded (evidence shows incident did not occur), while about 7 percent were not sustained (no evidence to prove or disprove that an incident occurred).

MORE: Dear Johns: Dayton police warn suspected prostitution customers

The number of internal investigations are small compared to the number of interactions police have with citizens, according to the authors of the report.

In the two-year period studied, Dayton officers made more than 35,900 arrests, as well as countless other interactions, officials said.

Of the 1,386 incidents, 880 were initiated because of internal police procedures. About 506 of the incidents stemmed from citizens’ complaints.

Police regulations require investigations for incidents involving use of force, traffic crashes, forced entry, pursuits, firearm discharges and other situations.

Report highlights of police incidents from 2014-2016:

Total number of incidents: 1,386

Use of force reported internally: 472

Use of force allegations reported by citizens: 53

Poor conduct allegations reported against officers by citizens: 195

Reports for lack of service: 59

Number of vehicle pursuits: 39

Number of forced entries: 212

Accusations of racial profiling/bias: 17

A breakdown of police incidents by category and disposition/findings for 2014-2016.

Use of force:

Number of incidents/allegations: 472