A Denver police corporal has been suspended and three other officers have been reprimanded in a use-of-force case involving a restraint and multiple failures to use body cameras, an ongoing problem within the department.

Officers had used a restraint to hog-tie a man who had become verbally abusive and profane as he kicked the back-seat safety screen in a patrol car. The officers placed him face-down in the back of a patrol car and the man became unconscious while he was being transported.

Cpl. Jeffrey Behnke did not properly use the restraint and then failed to tell his supervisor, a sergeant, that the restraint had been used. He was suspended without pay for four days, according to a copy of his May 29 disciplinary letter.

Officers Nicholas Dietz, William Brohm and David McArdle received reprimands for failing to activate their body cameras, the letter said.

So far this year, 12 officers have been disciplined for failing to use their body cameras. In 2017, 62 officers were disciplined for failing to use body cameras, while eight were punished in 2016, according to data provided by the Department of Safety. More than 1,400 officers wear the cameras.

Last year, Denver’s independent monitor said the department had too many cases where officers failed to use their body cameras, and he urged the department to improve training. The command staff agreed to do so.

The restraint, officially called a RIPP restraint device, is approved under the Denver Police Department operations manual. It is used infrequently, and Behnke said he had never been trained to use it. Officers can use it when handcuffs are not enough to keep a person under control and the person’s behavior is threatening property damage or harm to others, the letter said.

But officers are supposed to roll people on their sides after the device is used and call for an ambulance so medical professionals can check a person for injury. If a person is transported in a patrol car while wearing the restraint, they must be allowed to sit up and must wear a seat belt, the letter said.

Behnke did not do any of those things, the letter said. He also did not tell his sergeant about using the restraint when she came to the scene after the man fell unconscious. Behnke did, however, include the information in a written report and when the sergeant saw a reference to the restraint in that report she called Behnke and other officers back to the station to discuss it, the letter said. Behnke then filled out a use of force report.

Behnke has admitted his mistake and said he did not intend to punish or harm the man when he tied him. Medical professionals determined the man had passed out because of intoxication and dehydration and not because of the restraint, the letter said.

The police department is expected to finalize a new use of force policy later this month.