Michigan FOIA Knowledge Center
How to Request Police Use-of-Force Records in Michigan
A use-of-force event can produce records across operational, investigative, medical, training, and equipment systems. A layered request is more reliable than asking only for “the use-of-force report.”
Incident-specific records
Request officer reports, supervisor review, force forms, photographs, body and dash video, dispatch records, witness statements, evidence records, medical-aid documentation, and final administrative findings.
Equipment records
For electronic-control devices, request download logs, firing data, cartridge records, and maintenance information. For firearm discharges, request round counts, laboratory or evidence records, and the administrative review.
Policies, training, and patterns
Request the policy in effect on the incident date, training materials, qualification records relevant to the involved force, and aggregate force data by type, outcome, location, or officer where appropriate.
Follow the review, not only the incident
The incident report tells what officers said occurred. The accountability record may be elsewhere: force reports, supervisor reviews, medical-response records, video, Taser downloads, firearm-discharge materials, policy, training, and after-action findings.
For broader analysis, ask whether the agency maintains an existing use-of-force database or annual export. A structured dataset can reveal frequency, officer, location, force type, injury, and disposition patterns that individual files cannot.
Requester checklist
- Force report
- Supervisor review
- All video/audio
- Equipment logs
- Policy in effect
- Aggregate data
Primary sources
External authorities control. Confirm the current statute, decision, policy, and local procedures before relying on them.