This article examines the prevalence and severity of police use of force in Rhode Island by reviewing arrest reports from a sample of police departments. The article reports results from 3,300 adult arrests made by officers from 16 police departments that serviced rural, suburban, or urban communities. Force continua measured various types of force by police. Results show that police rarely used levels of force above restraints when arresting suspects. Rhode Island officers used physical force at a lower rate than did officers from other previous surveyed police jurisdictions. Rhode Island officers' reactions of force were mostly commensurate to suspects' actions of resistance during arrests. The authors give special attention to discussing implications that this study's results have for use-of-force training and reporting.
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