Personnel, not policy, take charge when arrest made

Most arrests result in no injury to either suspects or officers. (Courtesy image)

ROCHESTER - A Rochester Police Captain who formerly led a tactical team said on Tuesday that when it comes to executing arrest warrants there are few procedures, policies or protocols in place, and that lawmen instead rely heavily on highly skilled personnel trained to respond quickly to any contingency.

In a wide-ranging interview regarding how police deal with arresting individuals suspected of various offenses - from petty crimes to major felonies - Rochester Police Captain Paul Toussaint said “every single case is different, no two are the same.”

It should be noted that the genesis of this story came after the recent death of Benjamin Shannon as state Parole and Probation officers and a Strafford County Sheriff’s Deputy sought to arrest him in on a bail infraction in Rochester last month, but Toussaint’s comments on Tuesday are in no way related to that case. They are, instead, simply a glimpse into how officers work in the field, each arrest bearing its own varying nuance and risk factor.

First, there is the level of response from police to an arrest location. Toussaint said that in the Rochester Police Department, that if the department is sending someone out to arrest an individual there will always be at least two officers dispatched. He said a wide array of factors determine the level of response, including the nature of the offense, the expected disposition of the arrestee and several other factors as well. He said it could go all the way to a SWAT team if circumstances dictated it.

Once officers get to an arrest location, the number of variables increases exponentially.

He said in the overwhelming majority of cases, there is no resistance to the arrest, but if there is, it can range anywhere from verbal to physical.

“Sometimes they’ll say they’re not going, mostly it’s just a verbal protest,” Toussaint said. He said when that happens police usually just continue the arrest procedure and take the subject into custody. “The amount of times it goes beyond verbal is rare,” he added.

However, just last week it did. As Rochester Police attempted to arrest a stabbing suspect on March 28, the suspect spat at officers and scuffled with them on Winter Street in downtown Rochester.

As far as writing policies or procedures that would cover the myriad of situations police are confronted with during an arrest, it would be virtually impossible, and potentially dangerous, Toussaint said.

The policy you put in place might be detrimental to a safe arrest the very next incident, he said.

“Things happen too fast,” he said. “You can’t write a policy for it. These officers are highly trained to respond to any situation. Every case is different.”