Citizen Police Advisory Committee

CITIZEN POLICE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES September 17, 2013 7:00 p.m. The Citizen Police Advisory Committee met in regular session on Tuesday, September 17, 2013, at 7:00 p.m. in the Executive Conference Room at City Hall, 800 Municipal Drive, Farmington, New Mexico, 87401. Members Present: Deb Dumont, Chairman; Chuck Culpepper, Patricia Simpson, Rose Maez, and Steve Grey Members Absent: Lisa Martin City Personnel Present: Kyle Westall, Police Chief Taft Tracy, Internal Affairs Casey Malone, Internal Affairs Sergeant Michele DeLese, School Resource Officer Coordinator Jason Eley, Assistant City Attorney Kim Parrish, Administrative Assistant I. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Chairman Deb Dumont at 7:00 p.m., and there being a quorum of members present, the following proceedings were duly had and taken. II. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING Steve Grey moved to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of July 16, 2013 as presented. Rose Maez seconded the motion. Motion carried. III. CHIEF’S REPORT, CHIEF KYLE WESTALL Chief Westall reported on the recent flooding, stating that they had to even call out the SWAT team to help manage streets and intersection. He also discussed the hiring of new recruits. Chief Westall brought up the topic of the Animal Control Officers moving from PRCA to the Police Department. He sent a couple officers for training to prepare for this move. He stated that he will be retiring at the end of this year, and discussed the recent PERA changes being the main reason for that, also saying that 7 of the 9 Police command staff were also considering retirement. On September 16, 2013 he promoted two of his captains to the position of Deputy Chief to help alleviate some of the retirements. The City Manager would like to have the new Police Chief on board within the first couple weeks in January.  There are also two sergeant positions vacant, which he will be trying to fill before he retires. IV. INTERNAL AFFAIRS REPORT, LT. TAFT TRACY Lt. Tracy gave an overview of the July and August Internal Affairs reports. Deb Dumont asked if it would be possible to have a review of the March 22, 2013 IA case at the next meeting. Steve Grey asked when police officers know when to use a taser and what amount of harm it causes. Lt. Tracy described the different uses of force when a situation escalates. In general, if somebody is injured when they are tased, it’s because of their fall to the ground, and not actually from the taser. Officers are trained on when and where to tase people, and on what part of the body. V. TRAINING Michele DeLese gave a Power Point of the School Resource Division. They provide a positive image and relations with students, staff, parent, etc. They have six SRO’s total. They provide classes and programs for juveniles to help keep them out of the system, as well as outreach programs for the community. Rose Maez asked if there was still a lot of bullying. Officer DeLese explained that they try to educate 5 th graders the most, and they also work closely with Junior Highs. If bullying is happening on the buses, the school normally handles those situations. They also do training for emergency drills and lockdowns to help prepare for anything that could happen. VI. OLD BUSINESS None. VII. NEW BUSINESS a. MEMBERS – None. b. CITIZEN INPUT – None. c. CASE REVIEW – None. VIII. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Committee, and, upon motion duly made and seconded, the meeting was adjourned. ____________________________ ______________________________ Deb Dumont, Chairman Kimberly Parrish, Secretary