Police in Arlington used force against Black people about twice as many times as the next highest racial demographic in 2025, according to data from the police department.
The data comes from an annual report created by Arlington police, examining when, why and how police use force and against whom. It showed an 11% decrease in use of force incidents compared to 2024.
“We’re always looking for ways to do things safer and better here in Arlington,” Police Chief Al Jones told the council.
The department creates the report annually, partially as a participant in a voluntary effort by the FBI to gather data.
Officers used force against 1,589 people in 2025, according to police data.
Of those, they used force 848 times against Black people, 401 against Hispanic people, 308 against white people and 25 against Asian people, according to a report shared with city council Tuesday. Six people of undetermined race also faced police force.
In 2024, Black people made up 53.6% of those against whom force was used, coming out to almost the same percent in 2025.
The department reported it also used force against five animals.
Jones characterized incidents where police used force as “resistance or failure to comply” on the part of the person against whom force was used.
The department requires reports on use of force once it reaches a certain level. Using chemical sprays, empty hand control, conducted energy weapons (such as Tasers), impact weapons and deadly force require a use of force report.
Chemical sprays and empty hand control are only allowed if the person against whom force is used is actively resisting officers. They can use conducted energy weapons and impact weapons against people who are “assaultive,” and deadly force is only allowed as a response to deadly force.
Police opened fire on one person after he shot at them last year, according to Jones. The person ultimately surrendered to police, was taken into custody without further incident and the shooting was reported to the FBI.
The report said officers used force in 1,094 incidents in 2025, an 11% decrease from 2024.
Black men accounted for 39.1% of people against whom police used force, more than anyone else, according to the report. Hispanic men made up 29.5% of people against whom police used force, the second highest.
Jones said police only use force against people who are resisting officers and that the level of force used is directly related to the level of resistance.
“As long as our citizens comply with us, we're fine,” Jones said in response to a question by District 8 Council member Barbara Odom-Wesley. “When they don't comply, we have to actually deal with that, unfortunately.”
Odom-Wesley also asked about "verbal abuse," a metric Jones said police don't track. But, Jones said, officers hand out cards at the end of interactions that allow people to share feedback about the interaction and that's not something he's heard about in any of those responses.
Jones emphasized multiple times that officers only use force against someone who is refusing to comply or resisting officers.
When District 1 Council member Mauricio Galante asked about educating the public to avoid instances in which the use of force is necessary, Jones said his department hosts around 500 events a year to build relationships with the public and share that message.
He said the department is also going into schools to teach children to comply with officers’ lawful commands and that if that messaging sticks the city will see a decrease in how often force is used.
“We probably won't see it in our lifetime, but we'll see it eventually where we're getting to zero use of forces in our city,” Jones said.
He also said officers are required to undergo training to deescalate situations in which force might otherwise be used.
Most of the times police used force, officers were responding to a call for service. Of those 252,816 calls for service, responding officers used force 996 times.
Calls about assault had the highest number of instances of police force used against someone, followed by domestic disturbances.
Traffic stops accounted for 97 of the times police used force, according to the report.
Traffic stops and tactical operations saw the only categories with increases in the number of times police used force against someone. From 2024 to 2025, the number of traffic stops where force was used increase by 17. In tactical operations, police used force five times in 2025 compared to once in 2024.
The department said more than half of the incidents in which force was used were against people committing a felony – just more than 58%. More than 35% of instances where force was used, police said the target of that force was committing a misdemeanor.
The department also categorized the use of force incidents into categories of behavioral health and jail custody, making up about 5% and 1%, respectively.
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