The Long Beach Police Department this week released data showing its use of force incidents have dropped significantly in recent years, but serious use of force cases still disproportionately involve Black residents, analyses have shown.

Over the past five years, overall use of force incidents in Long Beach dropped roughly 30% from 493 in 2015 to 340 last year. Officer-involved shootings have also decreased, from nine in 2015 to three last year.

The data was released in a city memorandum this week ahead of a Public Safety Committee meeting on Tuesday to discuss police use of force cases, training and possibly appointing a special prosecutor to handle police misconduct cases.

The meeting comes as police departments across the country face heightened scrutiny following the death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer last month. Floyd’s death has sparked calls for major overhauls in funding for police departments and use of force, especially against Black individuals.

This week, the Los Angeles City Council voted to cut its police department’s budget by up to $150 million—funds that will instead be invested in communities of color.

The Long Beach City Council hasn’t discussed changes in funding for its police department, but the city has moved forward with a “Framework for Reconciliation” plan to focus on racial injustice, police reform and policy changes.

Tuesday’s Public Safety meeting, called by committee chair Suzie Price, will focus on the police department’s use of force policies and opportunities for training in areas including community policing and racial bias. The meeting will also include a report on the events related to the May 31 mass protests in the city.

Price, a top prosecutor for the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, said the city should push for change.

“We do not want residents to be fearful of our officers, and we cannot allow for a system that protects those who misuse their powers as defined under the laws and protections of this nation,” she said. “Significant improvements are possible here and they must be made.”

The police department’s use of force data release this week does not include a breakdown by race.

Use of force and arrest data from the LBPD

While police have significantly reduced their overall use of force cases, force is still disproportionately used against Black residents.

According to 2018 data from California Department of Justice, 29% of the most serious uses of force were against Black individuals in Long Beach, though Black people make up about 12% of the city’s population.

A new law, SB1421, that went into effect last year, mandates that police departments publicly reveal records on officer misconduct and serious use of force.

A Post analysis of 25 use of force cases released by the department for 2018 and 2017 under SB 1421 found that nearly half of those cases involved Black individuals.

Of the 25 cases, eight involved officers using the controversial carotid restraint, which renders a suspect unconscious, but can be deadly. Long Beach last week joined other police departments in suspending the practice amid national protests over police violence.

Overall, a small portion of police contacts in Long Beach result in use of force. Last year, officers had 408,979 public contacts, and of those, 234, or 0.06%, resulted in a reportable use of force, according to police data.

The police department in its memo this week said it is working on building community trust with changes including a new “Early Intervention System” which will allow supervisors to review officers’ behavior trends.

On Friday, the department announced changes to its “no-knock” warrant policy, in which officers can immediately enter a home without notification.

Police Chief Robert Luna in a statement said the warrants can be useful in some circumstances, but they can also put officers and residents in dangerous situations. Officers will now need multi-level approvals for the warrants.

“We will continue to listen to our community in the spirit of building trust and reducing the overall use of force,” Luna said in a statement.

The Public Safety Committee will meet via teleconference at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday.