Savannah Police Department to include civilian participants on use of force review committee

Caption

Savannah Police Department Chief Lenny Gunther speaks at a press conference regarding use-of-force policy updates.

Credit: Tyler Davis/The Current GA

The Savannah Police Department (SPD) will be making a few crucial updates to their use-of-force policy violation reviews following two police encounters that circled social media in the last year. 

The Use of Force Review Committee will now include three civilian participants — one faith leader from the local community and two representatives appointed by City Council, SPD Chief Lenny Gunther shared during a press conference Friday morning. The committee will also include a non-SPD use of force expert. 

These changes follow two incidents — one occurring in June of last year and the other in May of this year — where officers were shown using excessive force on citizens.

The May 20 incident, which occurred at the McDonald’s on Skidaway Road, led to the arrest of Kwame Williams and his mother, Rainer Ross, with charges for simple assault and obstruction.

One of the officers on the scene was found to have violated SPD’s treatment of others policy due to his use of “vulgar language.” The officer was found to have not violated the use-of-force policy.

“We understand and acknowledge that there were opportunities for the officers to attempt to de-escalate this situation and use proper language when addressing these community members,” Gunther said. “His recommended discipline is in the appeals process, he will receive additional training on de-escalation and effective communication under stressful situations.”

Earlier this month, Savannah Mayor Van Johnson called for major changes in the way use-of-force investigations are handled. 

“This is more than a policy change; it is a shift in how we share our power, our authority, responsibility and providing a voice to our community,” Gunther said. “These individuals will participate fully in the review process, ensuring that community perspectives are integrated directly into our oversight mechanisms.”

When asked how much weight the civilian participants would have in the review process, Gunther said that while he is sure their voices will be “loud and held in heavy consideration,” the exact weight will have to be built alongside the creation of the board.

When it came to the arrest of Marquel Robinson, which occurred in June 2024, Gunther said there was a “breakdown in the [investigation] process,” leading him to not hear about the investigation until March 2025. 

Following that breakdown in communication, Gunther has since instituted a 24-hour of all use-of-force incidents at the commander level.

“Now that we’ve completed the use of force review, our focus will turn to supervisor responsibility and holding commanders and supervisors responsible for complying with our established timelines for reviewing incidents of this nature,” Gunther said.

For the total of nine officers involved in the Robinson incident, seven officers received discipline. Six of those seven were found to have violated the use-of-force policy and two of those six resigned prior to the completion of the investigation. 

Of the five remaining officers, one received a five-day suspension, one received a two-day suspension and one received a one-day suspension. The remaining two are continuing the appeals process. 

When asked what message he had for the community, Gunther reiterated that while the use of force is not pretty, it should always be done with “respect for human rights and dignity.”

“We have a job to do. And unfortunately, you have people that break the law. It does not mean that they should be treated without respect, but treated instead with dignity,” Gunther said. “I would assure the community that they have a very good police department, and that the members of the Savannah Police Department care deeply about everyone in this community, and we will do out best to continue to serve this community with integrity, with honesty and even [more] importantly, with compassion.”

This story comes to GPB through a reporting partnership with The Current.