GFPD provides information about April arrest at a casino

The following information is in response to a recent arrest made by Great Falls’ police officers. Every use-of-force event involving GFPD officers is reviewed through three levels of the chain of command, to ensure compliance with GFPD policy and Montana state law. We delayed this response to the community’s request for an explanation of this incident until the use-of-force review had been conducted.

The review of this incident found the three officers acted accordingly, and within GFPD policy and Montana state law.

On April 28, 2023 at approximately 11:45pm, officers were dispatched to a disturbance at a gaming establishment in the 1700 block of Fox Farm Rd. Three GFPD officers responded and initiated contact with a male matching the description provided in the complaint. The male, initially cooperative, was identified as Jordan Lopez. Knowing Lopez was on probation and restricted from entering establishments that serve alcohol, officers questioned Lopez about his being in the casino and about the reported disturbance. Lopez pushed through the officers and attempted to flee, a direct obstruction to the investigation the officers were conducting, thus a crime. The officers tried to take Lopez into custody by grabbing his arms and clothing.

Lopez actively resisted the officers’ demands, and attempts to restrain him, by pulling his arms away, stuffing his arms underneath his body, kicking, and rolling over. As the ground fight happened, a group gathered around the officers and Lopez, creating additional safety concerns for all involved. Several observers began to berate the officers and a few attempted to intervene by grabbing at the officers’ arms, others captured video of the incident.

Officers struggled with Lopez for several minutes before they gained control and placed him in handcuffs.

Lopez continued to resist being escorted to a patrol car, by becoming dead weight, refusing to walk, and eventually splaying his legs to prevent entering the vehicle. Once Lopez finally complied he was transported to jail and has since pled guilty to resisting arrest.

Since 2018, assaults on GFPD police officers have increased 133%, and persons resisting arrest has risen 72%. In 2022, GFPD officers used force, in response to a suspect’s level of resistance, 254 times.

A use-of-force ranges from simple physical restraint to administering lethal force. When a subject becomes noncompliant, an officer’s goal is to regain control as soon as possible while protecting themselves, the combatant, and those in proximity of the incident. A use-of-force is an officer’s last option, a necessary course of action to restore safety when other practices are ineffective. When a police officer uses force it must be higher than the level of the subject’s resistance, reasonable but not excessive.