Despite the fact that Belleville police officers responded to around 25,000 calls for service, last year officers only used physical force during 37 incidents.
The Police Services Board learned on Thursday that in 2019 there were 78 occasions in which officers had to use force in an arrest and 66 incidents in 2018.
Mayor of Belleville Mitch Panciuk says residents should be proud of their police service.
“These statistics bear out the fact that our members are doing an amazing job of de-escalating and preventing situations from becoming more violent. It shows professionalism, it shows compassion on the part of the members of the Belleville Police Service.”
The Emergency Response Unit was responsible for 26 of the 37 use of force incidents in 2020.
Meanwhile, Chief Mike Callaghan says the service issued an invitation to discuss use of force complaints by a group of residents however the group did not accept the invitation.
