Citizen Police Advisory Committee

CITIZEN POLICE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES May 19, 2015 7:00 p.m. The Citizen Police Advisory Committee met in regular session on Tuesday, May 19, 2015, 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; David Bratcher Members Absent: Steve Grey; Rose Maez; Lisa Martin City Personnel Present: Steve Hebbe, Police Chief Lt. Casey Malone, Internal Affairs Sgt. Pat Flores, Internal Affairs Jennifer Breakell, City Attorney Sgt. Matt Veith, Internal Affairs 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 MEETINGS Chuck Culpepper moved to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of the March 17, 2015 as presented. Patricia Simpson seconded the motion. Motion carried. III. OPEN MEETINGS RESOLUTION After discussion, Chuck Culpepper moved to approve the Open Meetings Resolution with a change to the start time of the meetings to 6:00 p.m.; Patricia Simpson seconded. Motion carried. IV. CHIEF’S REPORT Chief Hebbe discussed the ongoing hiring process, stating that they only have one position left to fill. They should be at full staffing after that. They have been reviewing their use of force policy in light of the events happening around the country recently, and are also working with an outside consultant to also review them and offer suggestions. Chief Hebbe mentioned that CALEA went well, with this being the first time we seemingly made it through with no demerits. V. INTERNAL AFFAIRS REPORT Sgt. Pat Flores introduced Sgt. Matt Veith to the Board. Sgt. Veith and Sgt. Baric Crum will now be doing Internal Affairs. Sgt. Flores gave an overview of the March and April Internal Affairs reports. He stated that there have been 53 opened complaints so far this year, with the public being much more open and  transparent with the Police Department. Again, they are trying to be more proactive in their use of force allegations and are working with officers on how to approach people and minimize use of force. Deb Dumont mentioned that she’s noticed more “rule-based” allegations, which may be attributed to a younger department. Chief Hebbe stated that not only are the officers younger, but the supervisors are also younger, and they have a more proactive mentality. Lt. Casey Malone also mentioned that they have been after their officers and supervisors to document things more often and more accurately, so their statistics are accurate. Deb Dumont asked about the retention numbers for young officers, and how many quit within the first year. Sgt. Flores said he could provide those statistics for us. VI. NEW/OLD BUSINESS a. MEMBERS – Deb Dumont stated that CPAC had received a letter from somebody in the Detention Center, but his letter was not clear, so we replied and asked him to be more specific, and have not received a response since then. But Chief Hebbe stated that the department is making a change on their end as a result of this letter, and are going to be clearer in their response letters to the complainants. b. CITIZEN INPUT – None. VII. 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