The Denver Police Department is changing its use-of-force policy, directing officers to avoid rushing into volatile situations and, instead, to employ de-escalation techniques that limit using weapons against people they encounter.

Denver Police Chief Robert White on Wednesday announced changes, which were written by his command staff in response to the public’s changing expectations for police officers. The changes should keep officers and the public more safe, he said.

“Citizens have raised the bar as it relates to what they expect from the police department,” White said. “They raised the bar, so I think it’s only appropriate that we raise the bar also. Expectations have changed.”

The policy’s rollout was criticized by the police union and community groups because it did not include their input on the front end. Denver’s Citizen Oversight Board and independent monitor were left out, even though a city ordinance says they should be involved in developing police policies.

Revised Policy • Includes a graphic to help guide officers on how they should respond to escalating resistance from people they encounter.

• Includes policy changes made earlier under White’s direction, including bans on shooting at moving cars and punching people who are trying to swallow drugs.

• Still allows officers to shoot people when there is an immediate threat of death or serious injury.

• Allows officers to shoot dangerous animals.

“The PPA is very disappointed in this new policy for many reasons,” Nick Rogers, president of the Police Protective Association, wrote in an e-mail. “First and foremost, the PPA never had any input on this policy. And, according to the 21st Century Policing report, it’s important to include input from community members and OFFICERS.”

The proposed changes to Denver’s use-of-force policy follow a national trend of major cities rethinking how their police interact with citizens after high-profile police shootings around the United States, often involving the deaths of unarmed black men.

White said he considered President Barack Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, models used by other large-city police departments and recommendations from the Police Executive Research Forum, a policing think tank where he serves as secretary of the board of directors.

During a 30-minute presentation Wednesday morning, White talked about his philosophy and how officers must move beyond traditional policing.

The new policy emphasizes the words “necessary” and “reasonable,” rather than legal standards set by state law and precedents established in court cases.

Police traditionally have been guided by legal standards such as shootings being justified if the officer felt his life or someone else’s was in immediate danger.

“That was the comfort zone we were in,” White said. “We want these actions to not only be legal but to be necessary, appropriate and reasonable.”

The policy, which is 10 pages, defines reasonable and necessary force as: “A standard which requires officers to use only that degree of force that is reasonable and necessary under the totality of the circumstances to safely accomplish a legitimate law enforcement function.”

Denver police officers will be expected to demonstrate emotional intelligence, to be critical thinkers and to be polite and professional while remaining in control, White said.

“Citizens complain that officers are very rigid and disrespectful,” he said.

Officers no longer will be told to “stand your ground” and resolve situations as fast as possible, White said. Instead, they will be expected to keep themselves and others out of harm’s way while taking time to think through possible outcomes, he said.

“Officers will ensure they do not engage in unreasonable actions that precipitate the use of force because of tactical, strategic or procedural errors that place themselves or others in jeopardy,” the policy said.

The police department’s revised policy acknowledges officers sometimes will have no choice but to use lethal force, especially when someone pulls a gun on them.

It could mean some situations that led to fatal police shootings in recent years could be avoided in the future.

For example, officers might have been expected to respond differently in the case of Paul Castaway, a Native American who was shot and killed in July 2015 by an officer in a mobile home lot in south Denver.

Castaway was experiencing a mental health crisis, and his mother had called police for help. Officers chased Castaway, who was carrying a kitchen knife, into the mobile home lot. Once he was cornered, Castaway approached officers while holding the knife to his own neck. He was shot when he did not follow orders to drop the weapon.

The officer who shot Castaway was found to be legally justified by District Attorney Mitch Morrissey, who reviews cases based on state law and legal precedent set by court cases. He also was in compliance with the department’s established use-of-force policy.

But under the new policy, those officers could be required to back off and rethink how they should approach Castaway and to use accepted tactics to de-escalate situations involving someone in a mental health crisis.

The police department’s policy rewrite follows the Denver Sheriff Department’s new use-of-force policy, which was developed in 2016 as part of its ongoing reform effort. Those changes were developed after more than a year of meetings held by a task force organized specifically to modernize the policy.

The sheriff’s department’s policy is more specific in defining exactly when officers can and cannot use force. It also encourages de-escalation and “verbal judo” to avoid physical confrontations with inmates.

The police department delivered copies of its revised policy to its officers and to community members on Wednesday morning. The department will accept public comments on the policy until Feb. 4 and will decide whether changes will be made to the draft, based on those recommendations, White said.

White wants a final policy in place by March 1 and wants the department’s 1,460 officers to be trained on it by midsummer. Once all officers are trained, they will be held accountable under the new standard.

The police department’s new policy does not change how the district attorney evaluates cases under the law.

Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, said he gave the Denver policy a quick review and believes it is forward-thinking and in line with changing attitudes about policing.

“The new thinking is how do we keep officers from getting hurt and not hurting people either,” Wexler said. “You have to give officers the right policy and the right training to keep them from getting hurt and to resolve these situations peacefully.”

Already, White has faced criticism for dismissing previous offers of community input on the new policy. But White has said he and his command staff are capable of writing a modern, progressive policy and better understand how it will affect other department policies.

Lisa Calderon, co-chairwoman of the Colorado Latino Forum’s Denver chapter, said a mere e-mail address for community feedback is not enough when it comes to communicating with the public.

“This is a totally unacceptable way to incorporate community,” Calderon said in an e-mail.

Nick Mitchell, the independent monitor, said he was reserving comment on the policy until he had adequate time to study it.

Mayor Michael Hancock praised the chief and the policy.

“Chief White and the Denver police have put forth a progressive draft policy, and we hope the community answers their call for input,” he said. “The department’s open approach allows for the individual and the organized alike to have equal voices in the policies of their police department. We have every expectation that the (independent monitor) will assist with providing recommendations from the citizen’s perspective, which is highly valued in this process.”

Community input is important because use of force is the most difficult issue police departments face, said Laurie Robinson, a crime and public policy professor at George Mason University who served as co-chairman of President Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing.

The task force’s recommendations, which set a new standard for policing in the United States, called on police departments to include community members in writing policies.

“People need to feel they are part of the process,” Robinson said. “They need to feel they are respected and included. Even if they are happy about the product, if they feel they were disrespected in developing it, they may have a chip on their shoulder.”

But Matt Murray, Denver’s deputy chief, said the public has a month to provide feedback and the chief will stand by his word to consider all recommendations.

“You don’t have to be at the table writing it to give input and feedback,” Murray said.

As for the police union, Rogers said the policy’s section on “force guiding principles,” especially a directive that officers avoid prematurely drawing firearms, was creating anxiety for the rank-and-file members.

“Much of this section sets officers up for failure and may also result in many more officers being injured due to under-reacting and or hesitation,” Rogers said.