Board of Police Commissioners

TOWN OF ZIONSVILLE, INDIANA BOARD OF POLICE COMMISSIONERS DECEMBER 21, 2020 at 8 a.m. PUBLIC MEETING MEMORANDA ELECTRONIC MEETING 1100 West Oak Street Zionsville, IN I. CALL TO ORDER President Nagy called the meeting to order and took attendance of the members. Members in attendance: President Suzy Nagy, Vice President Josh Garrett, Commissioner Joe Culp, Commissioner Bryan Traylor Members not in attendance: Commissioner Marsha Rosenfeld Also in attendance, Heather Willey, legal counsel for the Board of Police Commissioners, Chief Michael Spears, Lt. Drake Sterling, Detective Josh Samuelson. II. APPROVAL OF THE FOLLOWING MEETING MINUTES: (copies provided) JULY 20, 2020 SEPTEMBER 21, 2020 OCTOBER 26, 2020 Vice President Garrett made a motion to approve the minutes from the past meetings: July 20, 2020, September 21, 2020, October 26, 2020. Commissioner Culp 2nd the motion. All in favor, motion approved by a vote of 4-0. III. OLD BUSINESS None. IV. NEW BUSINESS A. APPOINTMENT OF THE THREE CANDIDATES RANKING HIGHEST ON OUR PATROL OFFICER ELIGIBILITY LIST Chief Spears and Lt. Sterling presented the (3) highest ranking candidates who have passed the Perf 77 Pension Board. These candidates are Thomas Beard, Kaitlyn Heffner and Nathaniel Scott. The Board has received an information packet for each candidate. Commissioner Culp asked if this process is typical with being so thorough looking for candidates. Chief Spears stated that this is typical and he wants to keep the board informed with the entire process. Vice President Garrett made a motion to approve the (3) police department candidates to be hired. Commissioner Culp seconded the motion. All in favor, motion approved by a vote of 4-0.  B. PRESENTATION AND APPROVAL OF OUR PROMOTION PROCESS Chief Spears presented the need for a merit based promotion process for the positions of Lieutenant and Sergeant. We will be using an outside agency to administer the tests and members from other agencies will conduct the interviews. Using outside agencies will make this a fair and unbiased process. Lt. Sterling explained the eligibility requirements for both the Lieutenant and Sergeant positions. With the approval of the Board the process will be posted and open for 14 days. The interviews and written assignment will be conducted in late January and the assessment exam will be held in mid-February. From this we will create an eligibility list that will be available to two years. Vice President Garrett asked how the selection of a community member would be conducted to participate. Vice President Garrett made a motion to approve the proposed promotion policy number 1002. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Traylor. All in favor, motion approved by a vote of 4-0. C. DISCIPLINARY MATRIX Chief Spears presented the Disciplinary Matrix Policy which will ensure fairness and consistency within the department. Lt. Sterling explained the Disciplinary Matrix in detail, stating that we have created a comprehensive list of disciplinary issues and a schedule that these will adhere to. There will be a reckoning period to make sure we do not see the same issues arise. This will be a progressive matrix, where discipline will escalate appropriately. This will help us discipline consistently and help first line supervisors implement discipline appropriately and consistently. Commissioner Traylor made a motion to approve the Disciplinary Matrix Policy number 321. Commissioner Culp seconded the motion. All in favor, motion approved by a vote of 4-0. D. C.A.L.E.A. OVERVIEW PRESENTATION Chief Spears presented the C.A.L.E.A. process for national accreditation. This process can take 3 to 4 years to complete. All of our policies will be in the C.A.L.E.A. format. Chief Spears asked the Board if they want to see all of these minor changes of policies that they have already approved, or just the new policies. Detective Josh Samuelson presented the accreditation process within C.A.L.E.A., which includes, standards, best practices and policies for departments. Commissioner Traylor asked if the policies that have already been proved previously under Chief Knox, meet these standards. Det. Samuelson explained that the previous policies are in place, and might have to have minor changes for C.A.L.E.A. We are using Power DMS, which is replacing Lexipol. Once our policies are approved they will be reviewed annually. They will also be available to be published publicly. Vice President Garrett inquired if the review of policies should be done individually or as a group. Chief Spears stated that most policies can be reviewed as a group, and new policies to the department can be reviewed individually. Commissioner Culp has left the meeting. V. OTHER MATTERS VI. ADJOURN Vice President Garrett made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Commissioner Traylor seconded the motion. All in favor, motion approved by a vote of 3-0. The next regular Board of Police Commissioners meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, January 19, 2021 at 8:00 a.m. or upon the conclusion of the Town Council meeting. Determination of the need for an electronic meeting will be evaluated prior to the meeting and final notice will be posted in compliance with the Indiana Open Door Law. In his Executive Orders 20-02, 20-04 AND 20-08 (collectively, the "Executive Orders"), Governor Eric J. Holcomb has ordered all political subdivisions of the State of Indiana to limit public gatherings and to implement the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's and the Indiana State Department of Health's recommended virus mitigation strategies. The Executive Orders suspend certain requirements for Essential Governmental Functions that facilitate Essential Infrastructure with respect to public meetings and open door laws, including suspending physical participation requirements by members of public agency governing bodies and permitting public attendance through electronic means of communications. As a political subdivision of the State of Indiana, the Zionsville Board of Police Commissioners must comply with the Executive Orders throughout the duration of the COVID19 Public Health Emergency. If an electronic meeting format is selected, members of the public shall have the right to attend Board of Police Commissioners Public Meetings via the following forms of electronic communication. A zoom link will be provided in the meeting notice.