Citizen's Review Board

Wichita Citizen Review Board Minutes City Hall Board Room 455 N. Main Wichita, KS 67202 April 26, 2018 4 p.m. Present: Doug Nolte, Stephanie Luna, Tonja Sowder, Jay Fowler, Jennifer Magaña, Timothy Sims, Janet Miller, Robert Thompson, Donte Martin, Shaun Rojas, Dennis Bender (on phone), Odell Harris Jr., Jaime Lopez, Sharon Ailslieger, Barry Grissom (unable to connect on phone). Item 1: Call to Order Fowler called the meeting to order at approximately 4:10 p.m. Item 2: Approval of Minutes Fowler asked if there were any changes. Lopez stated….. Minutes will be updated. Fowler made a motion to approve minutes with Lopez revision. The motion was seconded and motion passed unanimously. Item 3: Public Agenda Janice Bradley – Speaker #2 Item 4: Remarks/Discussion on CRB – Chief Gordon Ramsay Chief Ramsay introduced the Deputy Chiefs – Anna Hatter, Jose Salcido and Troy Livingston. They gave a brief history of their time with the Wichita Police Department. Ramsay noted he had promoted these individuals to Deputy Chiefs because they share his vision and direction for the Department focusing on community policing and relationships. Ramsay noted a WSU study of WPD was initiated by the City in 2015 to be the roadmap for the department and set the foundation for the Strategic Plan. There was concern about community relations, racial profiling, staffing, and overall direction of the department. He noted they have a diverse staff with a wide variety of backgrounds – 74% have a four year degree. This is important because he wants people who have had different life experiences who can relate better to the individuals served. Upon his arrival to the department he saw that officers on the street are busy – going from call to call and not having time to get to know the community. The City Council and Manager supported conducting a staffing study that was initiated in 2016. Out of this study, it was recommended that an additional 48 police officers and 24 support staff were needed. The study looked at how many hours in a shift officers had to work beyond 911 responses and discovered they do not have the down time to build trust in the community. Wichita Citizen Review Board April 26, 2018 Page 1 of 5 Ramsay noted that officers needed more training on de-escalation skills. He also noticed many positive things like the Homeless Outreach Team. This team shows compassion to the homeless. He noted that all officers have gone through basic mental health first aid training and 40% more have had extensive crisis intervention training. Ramsay reviewed the Strategic Plan which will be the department’s road map for the next five years. Goal 1 – Relationship Building – This is the basis for the direction and focus of the department. The department’s Vision Statement is working in partnership with our community to deliver exceptional police services with professionalism and fairness. Ramsay the department is getting feedback from the community via online surveys and attending community meetings. The community can also sign up to receive emails regarding crime in their neighborhoods. The department has created new partnerships – recently with the YMCA Saturday Safe Nights from 8 p.m. to midnight where approximately 200 youth attend with officers volunteering to work the event. It has been so successful that the Y is looking at expanding the program to the North Y. They are working to get officers out of the car and on foot or on bicycles to get to know the community. Last year the department received a grant for officers to be on foot or on bicycles on Broadway and it has made an impact. Goal 2 – Infrastructure – Technology, Equipment, Facilities – The department began purchasing less than lethal weapons upon his arrival. Tasers work about 50% of the time, but have some limitations. The department sad purchased bean bag shot guns, but those can still be dangerous. His preferred less than lethal weapon is a foam 40mm gun that shoots foam rounds. They purchased several at $3,000 each in 2016 and have purchased several more since then. These have been used approximately 15 times and his goal is to continue expanding use of these tools. These less than lethal tools are not used in quickly evolving situations. In the facilities there is a need to have a victim’s area to make it more welcoming and less threatening. Goal 3 – Community Safety – They have seen an upward trend in shootings. The change in gun laws in 2014 hinders the officers’ ability to get guns off of the streets out of the hands of bad guys. The department’s case clearance rates are higher than the national average. Property crimes are higher which is tied to drug crimes. Goal 4 – Staffing – A salary study was conducted and the department would like to implement the recommended staffing plan. The Council is debating how to cover the additional staffing costs. Ramsay asked the Board to look at the Strategic Plan so they can have discussions on it later. He asked if there were any questions. Ramsay was asked how he saw the Board working with him on policy development. He responded that he wants to have community engagement and have the Board have an impact on the policies. He wants officers to think about discretion in their work and to think of the spirit of the law versus the letter of the law. He would like the Board to advise him on things he may not see in the policy to make them a better police department. He sees the Board’s role as a guide to policy. Wichita Citizen Review Board April 26, 2018 Page 2 of 5 Ramsay was asked what his initiatives are for the Board. He stated he welcomes the scrutiny of cases and the department in order to make the department better. He wants to know what the Board is hearing in the community and sees the Board as a team. He wants the Board to gain an understanding of laws, policies and best practices. He would also like the Board’s help in fielding complaints or concerns and communicating those to him. He stated that nothing is off the table as to what they discuss; however, personnel matters will be confidential and discussed in a closed session. Ramsay was asked about officers’ knowledge of the background of the community they serve. He was asked if it is communicated that poverty levels are effecting how teachers teach students because they are concerned with getting students fed more so than on education. Ramsay responded that juvenile incarceration is highly important to him and the department. He was surprised to learn that one of the number one reasons juveniles are locked up is failure to show up for a court appearance. Coaches were hired to work with the kids and lowered the incarceration rate for African Americans juveniles by 48%. He stated the new school superintendent is looking to keep kids in school and he is looking to keep kids out of juvenile detention. He and the school superintendent are lock step in their goals for kids. Ramsay was asked about the Crisis Intervention Training for all officers. He responded there are two mandatory in-service training annually. He is trying to ensure that the training correlates to the values in which they are moving the department and on current community issues. Training on vicious dogs was included in the most recent training. Last year’s training included implicit bias and previously on de-escalation tactics training. Ramsay emphasized he wants two way communication with the Board. Item 5: Bylaws finalization & Approval Fowler asked about revisions regarding terms and quorums. Magaña noted that the quorum could be the number that is needed to accomplish business which could be five as stated in the ordinance or changed to four. The terms in the ordinance were based on the policy direction given, but those could be discussed with Council. Fowler asked if the Board was comfortable with a quorum of four. All agreed this was acceptable. The Board agreed that a two year term would be better for the Board Chairman. Magaña stated the ordinance could be revised within a month for the Board’s review. Fowler noted in Article VII – Section 6 there was a line regarding alternates’ participation in closed sessions. He suggested striking the last line so alternates could participate on a case by case basis. After discussion, Board members stated they would support alternates being allowed to participate in closed sessions. Motion made to strike the last line of Article VII – Section 6 of Draft Bylaws. The motion was seconded and motion passed unanimously. Fowler suggested the language of Article VII – Section 5 be modified slightly regarding public comment. There was discussion on when to allow public comment. Fowler suggested they add “in connection with agenda items, the Board, at its discretion, may allow public comment at the time the agenda item is considered.” Motion to approve as amended. Wichita Citizen Review Board April 26, 2018 Page 3 of 5 Sims asked for clarification on term limits. Nolte asked the Board if they should consider two year terms for the entire Board rather than just for the Board Chairman. He explained they are tracking changes to the Bylaws in order to get the ordinance in line with the Bylaws. He stated the Board will see the draft changes in the ordinance to compare. Magaña stated it would be sufficient to have the term limits in the bylaws and the ordinance could read that term limits would be determined per the bylaws. Fowler asked for another draft to be done for review prior to the next meeting. Nolte agreed. Item 6: Election of Vice-Chair (pending Bylaws approval) Chairperson Fowler No action. Item 7A: New Business Fowler asked for the policy regarding officer identity/disclosure for the Board to discuss. Sims asked what state law requires regarding officer identity. Sowder asked if non-disclosure was a City policy and what other cities do. Nolte stated he could get that information for the Board on what state law requires, what other cities do, and how the current policy came into being. Miller requested best practices by national associations and also asked that Austin’s policy be included. Nolte stated he would provide the FOP’s position on officer disclosure and the rationale behind their position. Nolte added that all policies are online including Use of Force. Fowler responded that it is a community issue and can be discussed as a policy matter. It allows the Board to address a community concern and hear all sides. Motion by Sowder to request staff to provide a report on said topics. It was seconded and passed unanimously. Nolte stated he could give a status update at the next meeting and could give the full report in 60 days. Item 7B: New Business Fowler asked about the training component for the Board. Nolte asked if the Board would prefer to have training outside of the meeting rather than during the regular meetings. This could keep the meeting open for topics that the community is concerned with. He could accommodate the Board’s timeframe and topic if given specific requests. Fowler stated they would like a training on Use of Force – to cover both the policy and the training that officers receive. Nolte suggested that the Board review the Use of Force policy online. He asked the Board if they would want to go to the LETC for 4-5 hours to discuss the policy and then see the training officers go through or he could bring staff in for the next meeting for an hour discussion on Lethal Use of Force policy. Sims asked if the Board should consider meeting more often than once a month due to the number of topics that need to be covered. After much discussion it was determined that the Board would keep the meetings to once a month. Wichita Citizen Review Board April 26, 2018 Page 4 of 5 Fowler asked for an update on the swatting case for the next meeting. There was discussion on the agenda for the next two meetings. Nolte will send a link for the policies to the Board. The next meeting will be at 4 p.m. on Thursday, May 31 at a location to be determined. Item 8: Adjourn Fowler made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Sims seconded the motion. And the meeting was adjourned at 6:20 p.m. Wichita Citizen Review Board April 26, 2018 Page 5 of 5