Police Commission

LACONIA POLICE COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES JANUARY 15, 2020 3:00 P.M. 1/15/2020 - Minutes 1. CALL TO ORDER Chairman Whittum called the meeting to Order at the above date and time. 2. SALUTE TO THE FLAG Chairman Whittum lead the Pledge of Allegiance. 3. RECORDING SECRETARY Executive Assistant Lori Marsh 4. ROLL CALL 4.A. Chairman Whittum recognized Commissioners present - Chairman Douglas Whittum, Commissioner Frank Mello and Commissioner Scott Davis. 4.B. Chairman Whittum recognized Staff present - Chief Matthew Canfield, Captain Allan Graton and Captain Michael Finogle. 4.C. Chairman Whittum recognized a quorum has been established and there are three Commission members present. 5. PERSONNEL MATTERS 5.A. Commendations & Awards No discussion. 5.B. Resignations/Retirement Chairman Whittum recognized Chief Canfield. Chief Canfield advised Bill Clary, who was still on the books as a Part Time Officer, has resigned. 5.C. Promotions/Classification Change No discussion. 5.D. Hirings Chairman Whittum recognized Captain Finogle. Captain Finogle asked the three newly hired Patrol Officers to step forward. Captain Finogle introduced John Skehan. He advised John was a Community Resource Officer with us for the past two summers and just obtained his Associates Degree and graduated in December. Captain Finogle introduced Michael Cleary, who is with the National Guard out of Massachusetts as an MP and also received his Associates Degree. 1/5  Captain Finogle introduced Ashley Thompson, who has a Master's Degree and Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice and Criminal Justice Management and graduated from Johnson & Wales. He advised all three will be going through a six week in-house program and will be attending the academy in May after completing the Field Training Program. 5.D.i. Swearing In of New Patrol Officers City Clerk Cheryl Hebert conducted the swearing in. 6. COMMAND STAFF REPORTS 6.A. Captain - Support Division Chairman Whittum recognized Captain Graton. Captain Graton advised we are almost complete with the radio system upgrade and are currently using the system. He indicated there is some more work to be done in the dispatch area with the new dispatch consoles and computers to run the system. He indicated they are breaking down the radios from all of the outside sites and soon after that they will have the Fire Department side of the radio system up and running so that can be tested as well. He indicated the three new cruisers purchased with this year's CIP money are slated to be built February 24th, noting that they had been ordered last May. He indicated he hopes to have them on the road this May. He stated he spoke with Irwin Motors and he suggested that we order now for anything after July 1st and we will go ahead and do so to try to get a head start. He indicated they are so backed up that everyone is waiting 10-12 months to get their cars. Commissioner Davis inquired about what happens with the old cars and Captain Graton advised they get transferred back to the City and issued out to other departments. Chairman Whittum inquired if they go to auction after that and Captain Graton advised yes. 6.A.i. Orders & Bulletins No discussion. 6.A.ii. Out-of-State School(s) Chairman Whittum recognized Captain Graton. Captain Graton advised he has three out-of-State schools, two of which were not on the agenda. He indicated the first is the Street Survival Seminar for Officer Rouse and Officer Perras. He indicated this school is in New Jersey in Atlantic City. He indicated the rooms are very inexpensive and they will drive down and back. Commissioner Davis inquired if there are any transportation costs associated with this and Captain Graton advised they will use one of the department cars and use a department gas card. Captain Graton advised he also has an out-of-State school request for Overdose Death Investigations for Detective Neri. He advised this is put on by NEHIDTA and is scheduled for April 23-24, 2020. He indicated there is a cost for the class, but no cost for anything else. He advised lastly there is an out-of-State school request for Technology Threats and Trends in Narcotic Investigations, again offered by NEHIDTA and again for Detective Neri. He indicated there is no cost for this class. 2/5  6.B. Captain - Operations Division Chairman Whittum recognized Captain Finogle. Captain Finogle advised they had a meeting earlier today to see how we will support the Sled Dog Derby if the snow cooperates. 6.B.i. Hirings No discussion. 6.C. Legal Prosecutor No discussion. 7. COMMISSION ACTION 7.A. Acceptance of minutes from previous meeting On a Motion made by Commissioner Mello, seconded by Commissioner Davis, and passed unanimously, the meeting minutes of December 18, 2019 were accepted. 7.B. Commission Vote.Out-of-State School.Officer Rouse and Officer Perras.Street Survival Seminar.02-18-2020 On a Motion made by Commissioner Mello, seconded by Commissioner Davis, and passed unanimously, the three out-of-State schools were approved. 8. REVIEW OF MONTHLY ACTIVITY REPORTS 8.A. Department Monthly Highlights Chairman Whittum recognized Chief Canfield. Chief Canfield reviewed the Department Monthly Highlights report. No further discussion. 8.B. Criminal Investigative Unit Statistics Chairman Whittum recognized Chief Canfield. Chief Canfield reviewed the Criminal Investigative Unit Monthly Activity Report, noting that most of the training hours were for in-service training as instructors. Commissioner Davis inquired about the training hours being down from last year and Chief Canfield advised these are not necessarily their training hours and a lot of times that could be instructor time. He advised it depends on the training unit itself, but if the Detective is a Firearms Instructor, then they go teach the class, which counts under the training hours, as well as in- service training, causing the number to fluctuate. 8.C. Budget Reports Chairman Whittum recognized Captain Graton. Captain Graton advised we are trending under for bottom line about 3%. 8.D. Monthly Traffic Statistics 3/5  Chairman Whittum recognized Chief Canfield. Chief Canfield reviewed the Monthly Traffic Report. No further discussion. 8.E. Monthly Fleet Report No discussion. 9. CORRESPONDENCE TO AND FROM THE DEPARTMENT Chairman Whittum recognized Chief Canfield. Chief Canfield advised we received a nice thank you note from a couple on South Main Street, thanking us for our service. He also indicated the other day was Police Appreciation Day and Tyler Rouse's mother dropped off pizzas for the officers, as well as Tammy Horan, Detective Horan's wife, provided pizza for the evening shift. He noted this was a nice gesture of appreciation for what the officers do. 10. CHIEF'S REPORT Chairman Whittum recognized Chief Canfield. Chief Canfield reviewed the Overdose Statistics Report. He indicated we are certainly trending down, not to say the drug problem has changed drastically, but he thinks it has shifted a lot more to methamphetamine and probably a little bit of self use of Narcan or not necessarily being called. He also advised he attended the School Shooting Prevention Leadership Forum through the FBI National Academy Association last week in New York City. He advised it talked a lot about crisis planning, the age of school violence, a debrief of the Parkland shooting, as well as the FBI active shooter teams and resources available. He advised he brought this information back to be discussed in staff meetings to use for our benefit moving forward. He advised Lieutenant Kevin Butler continues to work with Homeland Security on another Full Scale Exercise. He advised it will be along the same lines with a table top discussion, an active shooter board game, and then a full scale exercise scheduled for sometime next fall. He advised the scenario will be changed a little bit and it will be a little more complicated than the drills we have done in years past, but certainly again bring some real world reality to it through some of the actual incidents that have occurred out there. He advised this involves a lot of work in putting together the grant process and the personnel to conduct it, but it very important in today's day and age. . He advised he is continuing to work with the United States Attorney's Office regarding the Project Safe Neighborhood Task Force to reduce gun violence in the State of New Hampshire and is also continuing to work with the IACP Committee on Terrorism, which is a committee he was appointed to through the International Association of Chief of Police and it helps a number of different organizations that are elected by the IACP to work on terrorism related issues. He advised there was an uptick in that due to our involvement with Iran and concerns with cyber and terror attacks here in the United States. 11. OLD BUSINESS No discussion. 12. NEW BUSINESS Chairman Whittum recognized Chief Canfield. 4/5  Chief Canfield advised he has a request for consideration and vote by the Commission. He indicated in this year's budget we were approved for $75,000.00 under Capital Expenditure. He indicated he is requesting to re-purpose this money for the purchase of an unmanned aerial vehicle, being a unit of two different unmanned aerial vehicles, otherwise known as drones. He advised this would be with the intention of creating a Drone Unit or UAV Unit within the department and have officers attend training to run these electronics. He advised the ability to launch these to get aerial views through the cameras for not only high risk tactical situations, but the ability to put a UAV and get a birds eye view without putting officers in jeopardy, is where law enforcement is going. He advised it could also be used for big events to clear roof tops for any types of threats of high grounds or people with rifles on roof tops, gathering intelligence or for search and rescue. He indicated Sergeant Sedgley has taken it upon himself to do a lot of research, beginning close to a year ago, and went out and attained his owner certification through the FAA, which governs these UAV's, and he is well up to speed on this. He advised there are several other agencies in the State that are using them and it is something that will not only increase overall event safety, but individual officer safety. He indicated re-purposing the money makes a lot of sense to create this program. Commissioner Davis inquired if there is one UAV that we get or different ones that can be purchased. Chief Canfield advised it is a series of two, so that one can be put in the air and when that one becomes low on battery, the other one can launch and take it's place, so you have video that will be streamed live to a command post without interruption. Commissioner Davis inquired if this something that would be viewed on a phone and Chief Canfield advised either on a phone or iPad. Commissioner Davis inquired about the cost and Chief Canfield responded that he believes we can purchase the whole package for the $75,000.00. He indicated they are a commercial grade drone that can run in cold temperatures and carry a payload of multiple cameras. Chairman Whittum entertained a Motion to approve the re-purposing of the $75,000.00 in funds for the purchase of the drone, made by Commissioner Mello, seconded by Commissioner Davis, and passed unanimously. 13. CONFIRMATION OF NEXT MEETING DATE The next Regular or Special Meeting date of February 19, 2020 was confirmed. 14. OTHER BUSINESS No discussion. 15. CITIZEN COMMENTS 16. NON-PUBLIC SESSION (According To RSA 91-A:3, II) 17. ADJOURNMENT On a Motion made by Commissioner Mello, seconded by Commissioner Davis, and passed unanimously, the meeting was adjourned at 3:23 pm. 5/5