Citizens Police Advisory Group

Hampton Police Division Office of the Chief of Police CITIZENS POLICE ADVISORY GROUP June 14, 2018 SUBJECT: Citizens Police Advisory Group Meeting – 6:00pm MEMBERS PRESENT: Chief Terry Sult Angelo Sugg, Jr. Anne Andrews Jonathan Welters Robert Boester Ret. Lt. Ed Barnes, Steve Bond, Assistant City Manager HPD Accreditation Mgr. John Gately Cheryl Steele Brandi Law, Deputy City Attorney Capt. John Wilkinson (for Lt. Col. Tim McCarty) Rev. Andre McCloud Bishop Lamont Moss Charles Powell MEMBERS ABSENT: Jimmy Gray, Councilmember James Bailey Ann Cherry William Beach Lt. Jason Price INTRODUCTIONS: • Chief Sult opened the meeting at 6:00pm. • Minutes from May 3, 2018 meeting – Chief Sult asked for a motion to approve the Minutes. o Robert Boester made the motion o Charles Powell seconded the motion. o All approved. o Minutes from the May 3, 2018 meeting were approved. ELECTIONS: • Chief Sult opened the floor for nominations of a Chairperson. Page 1 of 9  Hampton Police Division Citizens Police Advisory Group Meeting – June 14, 2018 o Robert Boester volunteered to serve as Chairperson. o No objections from the floor. o All in favor; yes. o Robert Boester was nominated Chairperson. • Chief Sult opened the floor for nominations of a Vice Chairperson. o John Welters volunteered to serve as Vice Chairperson o No objections from the floor. o All in favor; yes o John Welters was nominated Vice Chairperson CPAG TRAINING: • Mr. Boester agreed for Chief Sult to continue the meeting. • Chief Sult inquired the members how they’d prefer to receive training for this committee to better familiarize them with the duties of law enforcement. • Options discussed: o Hold a mini-Citizens Police Academy separate from meetings – 4-day class; or o Provide 1-hour training at the end of each meeting night. • After discussion, Mr. Boester suggested members be provided training 1-hour at the beginning of each meeting. o Angelo Sugg seconded the motion; o No objections from the floor; o All in favor; yes o Beginning with the August 2, 2018 meeting, 1-hour at the beginning of each meeting will be allotted as training for all CPAG members. INTRODUCTIONS: • Chief had everyone introduce themselves once again with a few new faces in the room. o Capt. John Wilkinson – filling in for Lt. Col. McCarty who will be leaving in July for another duty stations; Lt. Col. Leo Martin will begin July 12th in his place. o Ret. Lt. Ed Barnes, HPD Accreditation Manager – retired from HPD in 2001, and returned as the Accreditation Manager for the last 17 years; handles policies and all matters associated with HPD’s accreditation. Page 2 of 9  Hampton Police Division Citizens Police Advisory Group Meeting – June 14, 2018 o Robert Boester - retired attorney; was outside Counsel for the City for many years and worked in the Commonwealth Attorney’s office prior to private practice. o Lamont Moss – local pastor; retired from Langley March 2003. o Andre McCloud – local pastor; completed Citizens Police Academy and the Ministers Police Academy and was in the very first class of the Division’s Citizens Police Academy; became involved for stronger police presence in communities and have seen great improvement over the years; encourages citizens to be active in their neighborhoods; served as District 9 Commissioner, on the Citizens Planning Commission for 2 terms, and was part of the Strategic Planning Session; #1 priority is public safety. o Charles Powell – Police Officer with TNCC. o Ann Andrews – representative from the Unit Commission; also a graduate of the Citizens Police Academy and the City’s Diversity College; also had 15-20 of her students at TNCC attend the Diversity College classes; taught for 22 years at TNCC but have been teaching for 35 years; the Air Force brought her to Hampton in 1984. o John Gately – just completed the Citizens Police Academy this week; was in the military police for 21 years; was Provost Marshal of Operations; attended grad school; taught Ethics and English at the military academy in West Point. o Steve Bond – Assistant City Manager and representative from the City Managers’ office; was a prosecutor in Norfolk and Newport News, worked as a private practicing attorney before joining the Hampton City Attorney’s office; was promoted 4 years ago to Assistant City Manager and is also a graduate of the Citizens Police Academy. o John Welters – from the Neighborhood Commission; focus on healthy neighborhoods; Chair of the Resources Committee; his day job is the Deputy Information Security Officer at NASA, provides investigative support at NASA on computer crimes. o Brandi Law – Deputy City Attorney; represents the Public Safety departments with the City. o Angel Suggs, Jr. – born and raised in Hampton; received his undergraduate degree from the University of Richmond and now pursuing his Law and Public Safety Policy degree at Regent University. o Cheryl Steele – Senior Administrative Assistant for Chief Sult and will be attending meetings to take notes and coordinate each meeting. Page 3 of 9  Hampton Police Division Citizens Police Advisory Group Meeting – June 14, 2018 POLICY AND ACCREDITATION PROCESS: • Chief Sult asked Ret. Lt. Ed Barnes to discuss HPD’s policies in general and how accreditation affects these. • Ret. Lt. Barnes discussed how in 1972, then Chief Minetti had just taken over as Police Chief for the Division. o Policies and Procedures did not exist at that time. o General Orders were the standard for issuing directives and were very vague. o Late 1970’s to early 80’s, General Orders were put into policies. o The Division was first accredited with CALEA 1 in 1988; took approximately 7 – 8 years to become accredited. o In the 1990’s a State Accreditation process was established, but they have less standards than CALEA and then Chief Minetti decided he wanted only the international accreditation with CALEA. o CALEA’s Accreditation Committee is not comprised of just police officers; it is a very diverse group that includes judges, lawyers, prosecutors, business owners, etc. o The Pursuit Policy years ago was only about 3 pages long; since that time, it has been updated about 6 times. o Blue Team Reporting was added last year to the policy which is a reporting program where all incidents and pursuits are entered into the system for tracking purposes. o For the Division to be accredited with CALEA, all policies must meet certain accreditation standards. o Policies formerly were given to each new officer in the form of a binder; since April of this year, all policies are housed electronically and all officers have access to those policies via their cell phones. o In years past, policies were reviewed by staff, any necessary changes were made and then the final policy was produced. o Beginning in the 1990’s, the Policy Review Committee was established comprising of representatives from all units throughout the Division. o Policies are distributed via email to Committee members requesting review; any changes, additions or deletions are received by Ret. Lt. Barnes. o After Committee reviews, recommended changes are sent to the Assistant Chiefs and Captains; any recommendations are again returned to Ret. Lt. Barnes. 1 CALEA – The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies – an international accreditation agency. Page 4 of 9  Hampton Police Division Citizens Police Advisory Group Meeting – June 14, 2018 o After Assistant Chiefs and Captains provide their recommendations, those comments are forwarded to the Committee for additional review and feedback. o Thereafter, a draft is forwarded to the City Attorney’s office for review; once approved, the final product is provided to the Chief for signature. o Entire review process takes about 1 month to complete. o Accreditation - HPD goes through the Accreditation process every 4 years to remain accredited. o Documents are reviewed yearly by CALEA auditors, to include policies and procedures, to ensure all policies meet accreditation standards and HPD continues to follow all policies. o During the last Accreditation process, HPD was accredited with the Gold Standard, having met all 435 standards required to receive this award. • Per Chief Sult, as the CPAG reviews policies, we will have Ret. Lt. Barnes attend these meetings as our expert on policies; he’s recognized nationally as an expert on policy and procedures; Ms. Law from our City Attorney’s office will provide us the legal guidance. • Policies are modified based on national trends that come before national organizations like PERF 2 and other national organizations; Chief and Assistant Chiefs attend national conferences each year to learn of the emerging trends in law enforcement which helps to update policies. • PERF is currently working with HPD on a research project to see how HPD handles investigating homicide cases; based on the initial oral report there are a few things we can improve upon; it’s good to have outside experts come in to review our processes to see where we can make improvements. • PERF holds meetings regularly in Washington DC to discuss critical issues affecting policing which helps to formulate policies and updates as needed; these meetings also help us learn what other cities are doing and what the Department of Justice recommends as standards. • When the Ferguson incident occurred, policing took some self-reflection – reviewed Use of Force, De-escalation and balanced them against the President’s 21st Century Policing Report; HPD was found to be 80% compliant with that report. • Nothing in the 21st Century Report was a surprise to law enforcement professionals; this committee was formed based on that report. • Use of Force Policy – very little wording has changed due to the CALEA Accreditation standards and Supreme Court Law; can add more information to the policy but cannot remove anything that would be less than the CALEA standard. 2 PERF – Police Executive Research Forum Page 5 of 9  Hampton Police Division Citizens Police Advisory Group Meeting – June 14, 2018 • Policy changes – Ret. Lt. Barnes can track changes to our policies all the way back to the 1980’s when they were first established; we make sure that national trends are monitored; the CALEA Accreditation Committee is constantly evaluating national trends and updating their standards; when a standard is changed, HPD must make any changes to meet that revised/updated standard. • Policy changes are sent out to the Division via email with two attachments: o One copy is the “clean” copy (final signed version); and o Second copy is highlighted showing each change to the policy. • HPD’s Training Unit will send out a Training Bulletin on each policy update or new policies; Supervisors will review those bulletins at roll-call and then have each officer sign off as having received the information and that they understood its content. • Also, when a court case determination has come out creating a new standard the City Attorney’s office works closely with HPD’s Training Unit to create Training Bulletins on that new standards; this is how officers are kept apprised on changes to the law. • Policies are guidelines; we want to set up our officers for success; want them to be able to make good decisions and have the community be comfortable with those decisions. • The goal for us is about staying as professional as we can and balancing that policy by criminal and civil law, while being frugal with tax dollars. • Policy must mirror criminal and civil laws but also protect officers and HPD from civil liability; officers are trained on policy at the Police Academy. • Will also discuss the PIT Maneuver 3 that HPD is planning to implement; officers who are trained in this process will have to be certified by attending a driver training course. • Pursuit Policy: o This policy is a balancing act between how severe the offense is and how will this protect the community. o Once the officer turns on his vehicle lights, he is held to a gross negligence standard. o For a department to be found guilty of gross negligence, attorneys would have to prove that there was absence of all care during the pursuit. o Civil liability is also important to take into account. 3 PIT maneuver (Pursuit Intervention Technique) - is a pursuit tactic by which a pursuing car can force a fleeing car to abruptly turn sideways, causing the driver to lose control and stop; tactic is considered a less lethal means of terminating the pursuit.; Video 1; Video 2; Video 3; Page 6 of 9  Hampton Police Division Citizens Police Advisory Group Meeting – June 14, 2018 • Should police departments be sued, courts will look at three factors: o Nature of the crime committed; o Threat to the officer and others; and o Attempting to flee or resisting arrest. • In pursuit cases, court has said that police have to weigh the number of lives at risk and culpability of lives at risk versus the interest of catching the suspect; HPD is liable for officers’ actions. • When officers turn on their emergency lights, they must have reasonable suspicion in order to pursue; guiding principles for police pursuits are outlined in the 1983 Supreme Court case, Illinois v. Gates. 4 • All pursuits are documented in the Blue Team software, whether the pursuit was terminated by the officer or not; officers do not initiate a pursuit, suspects initiate the pursuit and the officer may or may not engage, based on the factors of the incident. • After major critical incidents, Supervisors will provide staff with a de-brief of the events of the incident. • PIT Maneuver3 is a non-deadly use of force tactic used at low speeds; HPD will incorporate speed restrictions when implementing this tactic so as not to jeopardize anyone in the vehicle, citizens or the officers; 2007 Supreme Court Decision, Scott v. Harris 5 supports this technique and will be used to formulate policy guidelines. • In this day and age when vehicles are used as weapons of mass destruction, for domestic and international terrorism, and in active shooter situations, the PIT Maneuver is the preferred method for terminating a pursuit. • Committee agreed Hampton can be the trend setter for the area on this pursuit termination method, since none of the other 7-cities use this method, except for the State Police. • 7-Cities Chiefs meet regularly to discuss emerging trends and to collaborate on joint initiatives; all seven agencies have recently aligned traffic stops creating a joint bulletin for motorists on what to expect during a traffic stop, but have not agreed on a standard pursuit policy. • HPD trains with the Security Force officers at Langley AFB in a number of different areas and they have granted HPD permission to use part of their flight line for training officers on the PIT Maneuver; only properly trained HPD officers with the appropriate vehicle equipment will be able to use this technique. • The PIT Maneuver will only be used for certain types of instances; will use the Scott v. Harris5 case as a guide for the policy. 4 Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213 (1983) 5 Scott v. Harris, 550 US 372 - Supreme Court 2007 Page 7 of 9  Hampton Police Division Citizens Police Advisory Group Meeting – June 14, 2018 • Chief Sult advised that a draft policy change will be brought back to this Committee for further review once completed. CPOP NIJ HOT SPOT GRANT: • This grant was awarded to both HPD and Newport News Police in partnership with the University of Chicago and George Mason University. • This is a research grant on how we deal with problem solving in our communities and will evaluate our problem solving skills within mini and micro hot spots. • Part of this process is to conduct surveys within our communities and they are in the process of hiring surveyors to go out into the communities to help with this process; if anyone needs additional information regarding this, please let us know and we will get that to you; however, the information sheet provided should be able to answer any questions. • If interested in helping to facilitate this survey within our communities, please sign-up on the sheet provided. PERF CRITICAL INCIDENT CONFERENCE: • Chief Sult discussed the recent PERF6 critical incident conference that focused on gun crime in communities that he attended. • This problem is facing communities all across the country; 170 police professionals were in attendance at this conference in Washington DC. • All agreed, it doesn’t matter what the gun laws are or how many arrests are made for gun law violations, if there are no consequences associated with violations of these laws, the problem will continue. • Chief Sult is working closely with the Commonwealth Attorney to come up with ideas of how to strengthen the consequences for these violations. o One suggestion was to establish a Court Watch Group to put expectations on the courts to help emphasize the communities’ expectations of case outcomes; such a group might look something similar to the M.A.D.D. organization. • Would like CPAG members’ thoughts and ideas on obtaining better accountability beyond the police for these violations; feel free to engage other groups for input as well and provide us with their perspective. 6 Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) Page 8 of 9  Hampton Police Division Citizens Police Advisory Group Meeting – June 14, 2018 CONCLUSION: • Mr. Boester asked if everyone liked this format moving forward; o All agreed. o Written materials will be provided in advance of the meeting, so if there are any questions prior to the meeting, can contact Mr. Boester or Chief Sult; o Will have an officer speak on a topic at each meeting for training; and o Then will continue discussions in this format. • Any topics members would like to look at further, please forward your request to Mr. Boester and/or Chief Sult. NEXT MEETING: • Thursday, August 2, 2018, 6pm o Location: HPD’s Real Time Information Center (RTIC), 22 Lincoln Street, 9th Floor, City Hall. Meeting adjourned at 8:07pm Page 9 of 9