Citizens and Police Community Relations Advisory Board

Citizen and Police Community Relations Advisory Committee City Hall Commission Chambers Meeting Minutes 201 W. Central Avenue April 26, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. 1. CALL TO ORDER & ROLL CALL The meeting was called to order by Chairman Andy Oguntola at 6:00 p.m. Members Present: Andy Oguntola, Tiffany Davis, Dwight Wilson, Narvell Peterson, Deputy Chief Troy Schulze Members Absent: Moe Moyer Staff Present: Police Chief Chris Velasquez, Executive Assistant Judi Gladue. 2. BODY WARN CAMERAS Troy Schulze initiated the discussion of body worn cameras advising that the 8 cameras and equipment have been delivered and training will take place with these cameras in late May with Axon. Deputy Chief advised the policy is still being worked on. Discussion and comments regarding the body worn cameras: 1. Any time that the officer is in police mode, the cameras will be working with a few exceptions such as SRO’s interacting with students. 2. There will be signage at the police department with reminders to turn on and off cameras. 3. We now have eight cameras, but will be ordering more. 4. Deputy Chief explained how the cameras work and when they turn on. 5. Video from the cameras capturing criminal evidence be available when discovery occurs through the judicial system. 6. Discussion was held regarding video retention, which will be addressed in policy. 7. Deputy Chief cited some examples of when the cameras would start recording. 8. Deputy Chief responded to a question from Tiffany Davis as to what will be done with the officer if the camera is not turned back on. Deputy Chief advised that progressive discipline is used and each incident would be considered on a case-by-case basis. 9. Deputy Chief responded to Tiffany Davis’ concern of privacy issues. Deputy Chief explained what is exempt from public disclosure by Statute. 10. Narvell Peterson asked what type of feedback we received when talking to other agencies that used cameras. Deputy Chief advised that all of the agencies loved them and added that all of our officers wanted them. 11. Narvell Peterson asked if the cameras should be off when entering residences. Deputy Chief advised that inside residences is exempt from public disclosure but could be recorded. He explained the concern with an incident potentially occurring but the camera not recording. Further discussion was held regarding privacy matters. 12. Deputy Chief advised that there would be times that the cameras will record but the footage would not be public record. Chief Velasquez emphasized that anything recorded inside a private residence or medical facility is not public record per Statute. 13. Andy Oguntola mentioned that someone would need to be trained to look at the videos, which may require hiring people. Chief advised that we are going to have to hire and the person monitoring the videos will have supervisory rank. He said that we will run the program right and set the example for others to follow.  Citizen and Police Community Relations Advisory Committee City Hall Commission Chambers Meeting Minutes 201 W. Central Avenue April 26, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. 14. Deputy Chief advised we could E-Mail the policies we reviewed from different agencies. 15. Deputy Chief responded to some questions about reviewing video and said we did not plan to review each video as they are uploaded. 16. Cameras will be specifically assigned to officers and not rotated. 17. Deputy Chief explained how the videos would be “tagged” for ease of searching. 18. Cameras will be able to be live streamed by command staff and supervisors, giving us the ability to watch interactions while they are being recorded. He shared how this ability can be beneficial if an officer is in trouble. 19. There will be audits of the videos. 20. We will have 32 cameras very soon. 21. During our meeting with Axon on May 27, we will be able to learn more of what will be needed in terms of staffing and additional equipment. 22. Tiffany Davis asked if an officer did something to a video if it was tracked. Deputy Chief advised that all reviews and changes are tracked and will show up in a log. In addition, a video cannot be deleted without admin level permission. 23. Andy Oguntola asked what happens if a camera breaks and Deputy Chief responded that the camera would be replaced. He also said that we will have spare cameras. 24. Dwight Wilson asked how the first 8 officers will be selected to wear cameras. Deputy Chief advised that two officers were be picked by each patrol sergeant. Those officers are the ones that show the most productivity. 25. Sergeants will not have redaction or edit capabilities on the videos. 26. Dwight Wilson emphasized that this Board is here to work together and contact Commissioners to make sure adequate funding is available for more cameras, equipment and resources. 27. Deputy Chief responded to the question of how fast a camera would be replaced if damaged. He said we will have spares and the company has a “no questions asked” warranty. It will cover everything except for lost or stolen equipment. 28. Andy Oguntola asked if other agencies have created a different track of discipline for cameras. Chief Velasquez responded that every case is reviewed/investigated on a case-by- case basis. 29. Deputy Chief advised the system will track when the cameras are manually turned off. He said that would be a disciplinary consideration if an incident occurred and the camera was turned off intentionally. Again, this had to be considered on a case by case basis. 3. SUMMER PROGRAMS Narvell Peterson said that we need something for the summer and that he is trying to put something together. He also advised that some are getting with Officer Palmer to share ideas. He added that if we wanted to build trust, we needed to come up with something between the Housing Authority, the B Street Center and the police department. He advised he would like to have a meeting as soon as possible to get something done. Officer Palmer advised he is meeting with a large corporation to do something in Lake Wales. Narvell advised that Ms. Nealy is going to have a program and include police officers. He said that we need role models in our community. Andy Oguntola suggested a police program such as a PAL basketball league. Dwight Wilson advised he could help with that organization. Dwight suggested we could have officers meet with kids and show off our motorcycles and K9’s.  Citizen and Police Community Relations Advisory Committee City Hall Commission Chambers Meeting Minutes 201 W. Central Avenue April 26, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. 4. OTHER ISSUES 1. Dwight Wilson brought up the issue of complaints of speeding at school zones and ordinances regulating mobile car wash businesses because people are concerned. 2. Dwight also asked the status of Accreditation. Chief Velasquez advised that the contract is signed and submitted and payment has been submitted. Chief added that our policies are in good shape and that we are in 80% of policy completion. Chief also advised that we are working on forms. 3. Chief stated that we have executed the contract with the CPSM group. Chief is confident the study will help take us to a point where we are even better and strengthen our ability to be accredited sooner. 4. Commissioner Goldstein advised that the Commission will have a workshop on Wednesday and said that money will be brought up for everything needed for the cameras. Commissioner Goldstein added that cameras are a tool, but will not build trust. He mentioned he was in PAL when he was a child, saying it helped him learn about officers. He said that is what builds trust. 5. The next meeting will be on May 24, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. in the Commission Chambers at City Hall. 6. ADJOURN The meeting adjourned at 7:29 p.m.