LEA1 Chapter 3-RULE 4. PRE-OPERATIONAL CLEARANCE.pptx

law

1. RULE 4. PRE-OPERATIONAL CLEARANCE No police operation shall be conducted without the approval of the Chief/Commander/Head of the concerned Police Unit/Office. A pre-operational clearance shall be fi led by the Team Leader of the operating team/s prior to the conduct of the operation and shall be approved by the concerned Police Unit Commander. This clearance shall be submitted to the operations section/division of the concerned police unit for record purposes.

2. RULE 5. INTER-UNIT COORDINATION 5.1 Personal Coordination or by Official Representative Team Leader/s (TL) of local police units operating outside their territorial jurisdiction and National Support Units (NSUs) shall coordinate, personally or through an official representative, with the Police Regional, Provincial or City Police Office within whose jurisdiction the operation is to be conducted.

3. 5.2 Coordination by Filing Coordination Form Prior to the launching of the operation, except in cases where the formal (in writing) inter-unit coordination cannot be made due to the nature and/or urgency of the situation such as, but not limited to, cross-jurisdictional pursuit operations, coordination should be made formally using the prescribed Coordination Form, which shall be filed with the concerned operation center of the Police Regional, Provincial or City Office (Annex “A” – Coordination Form).

4. 5.3 Coordination by Practical/Available Means of Communication In cases where formal inter-unit coordination is not feasible, the Police Unit concerned shall endeavor to notify the territorial police office through any practical/available means of communication at anytime during the operation and, if not possible, shall accomplish and furnish the territorial Police Office a written incident report immediately after the termination of the operation.

5. RULE 6. REQUIREMENTS OF POLICE OPERATIONS 6.1 Basic Requirements Police operations like arrest, search and seizure, checkpoint, roadblocks, demolition and civil disturbance management shall be conducted as follows: a. With a marked police vehicle; b. Led by a Police Commissioned Officer (PCO); and c. With personnel in prescribed police uniform or attire. 6.2 Use of Megaphones and Similar Instruments During actual police intervention operations, the Team Leader shall use peaceful means including the use of megaphones or any other similar instruments to warn or influence the offender/s or suspect/s to stop and/or peacefully give up. 6.3 Warning Shots Prohibited The police shall not use warning shots during police intervention operations.

6. RULE 7. USE OF FORCE DURING POLICE OPERATIONS 7.1 Use of Excessive Force Prohibited The excessive use of force during police operation is prohibited. However, in the lawful performance of duty, a police offi cer may use necessary force to accomplish his mandated tasks of enforcing the law and maintaining peace and order. 7.2 Issuance of Verbal Warning The police officer must first issue a verbal warning before he could use force against an offender. As far as practicable, the verbal warning shall be in the dialect that is known to the offender or in the national language. Basically the verbal warning shall consist of the following: the police offi cer identifying himself; his intention; and what he wants the offender to do. If the offender is a foreigner, the verbal warning shall be done in the English language followed by a demonstrative act of the police officer’s intent. The verbal warning shall be done in a loud and clear manner.

7. 7.3 Non-Issuance of Verbal Warning When Excusable The failure to issue a verbal warning is excusable in cases where threat to life or property is already imminent,and there is no other option but to use force to subdue the offender 7.4 Use of Non-Lethal Weapon When suspect is violent or threatening, and that less physical measures have been tried and deemed inappropriate, a more extreme, but non-deadly measure can be used such as baton/truncheon, pepper spray, stun gun and other nonlethal weapon to bring the suspect under control, or effect an arrest.

8. 7.5 Application of Necessary and Reasonable Force During confrontation with an armed offender, only such necessary and reasonable force should be applied as would be sufficient to overcome the resistance put up by the offender; subdue the clear and imminent danger posed by him; or to justify the force/act under the principles of self defense, defense of relative, or defense of stranger. 7.6 Factors to Consider in the Reasonableness of the Force Employed A police officer, however, is not required to afford offender/s attacking him the opportunity for a fair or equal struggle. The reasonableness of the force employed will depend upon the number of aggressors, nature and characteristic of the weapon used, physical condition, size and other circumstances to include the place and occasion of the assault. The police officer is given the sound discretion to consider these factors in employing reasonable force.

9. 7.7 Responsibility of the Police Officer in Charge of the Operation The police officer who is in charge of the operation shall, at all times, exercise control over all police personnel in the area of operation, and shall exhaust all possible means to apply the necessary and reasonable force to protect lives and properties during armed confrontation.