[CALL TO ORDER]
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I THINK WE'LL GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED IN.
SEE IF KAREN AND RICHARD CAN JOIN US.
UM, THIS IS THE FEBRUARY 7TH MEETING OF THE COMMUNITY POLICE REVIEW COMMISSION.
AND, UM, THIS IS COMMISSIONER GONZALEZ, BERKER.
I'LL TAKE ROLL, UM, COMMISSIONER FLORES, FLORES, PRESENT COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ, PRESENT COMMISSIONER MCCRARY.
[a. Presentation by Kroll Associates on Evaluation of Austin Police Department: Use of Force / Public Interactions / Recruitment, Selection, and Promotions]
TODAY WE HAVE A PRESENTATION BY COLIN ASSOCIATES ON THEIR RECENT REPORT, UM, ABOUT THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT EVALUATION OF AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT, USE OF FORCE PUBLIC INTERACTIONS, RECRUITMENT SELECTION IN PROMOTION.SO I WILL TURN IT OVER TO THE CRAWL TEAM AND THEY WILL TELL US MORE ABOUT THE WORK THEY DID.
AND A GOOD, GOOD EVENING, EVERYONE.
IT'S VERY NICE TO, UH, TO BE HERE.
UM, UH, BEFORE WE BEGIN, I JUST WANT TO BRIEFLY INTRODUCE, UH, THE MEMBERS OF THE CRUEL TEAM THAT ARE, THAT ARE PRESENT TONIGHT.
UM, UH, SO MY NAME IS MARK EYLERS.
I'M A MANAGING DIRECTOR IN PHILADELPHIA, UH, FOR KROLL.
UM, I'M A FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR.
UH, I SPENT ABOUT 18 YEARS AS A ASSISTANT US ATTORNEY, UM, STARTING IN WASHINGTON, DC, UH, WHERE I PROSECUTED A NUMBER OF SERIOUS FELONIES, RAPES AND HOMICIDES AND SO FORTH.
AND THEN ABOUT 10 MORE YEARS IN, IN PHILADELPHIA, IN THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA, UH, WHERE I WAS IN THE ORGANIZED CRIME STRIKE FORCE.
AND SINCE I'VE BEEN WITH CROWELL, I'VE DONE A NUMBER OF, UH, POLICE REVIEWS AND INVESTIGATIONS, AND I'VE ALSO SPECIALIZED IN, UH, SEXUAL ASSAULT AND HARASSMENT DISCRIMINATION, INVESTIGATIONS FOR, YOU KNOW, UNIVERSITIES AND COMPANIES AND ORGANIZATIONS.
UM, WE HAVE TONIGHT, UH, TWO OF OUR NATIONAL RENOWNED POLICE EXPERTS WITH US.
UM, AND I'LL JUST INTRODUCE YOU, MAYBE WHEN I CALL YOUR NAME JUST A WAVE SO WE CAN SEE, UH, FIRST WE HAVE RICK BROWN.
UM, RICK SPENT, UH, 28 YEARS WITH THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE POLICE, UH, ULTIMATELY SERVING AS DEPUTY COMMISSIONER.
UH, RICK'S AN EXPERT IN USE OF FORCE DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION, RECRUITING PRACTICES AMONG OTHER THINGS.
HE ALSO HAS SERVED ON A NUMBER OF INDEPENDENT MONITOR TEAMS, UH, OVER THE LAST, UH, 10 OR 12 YEARS.
UM, AND ALSO THEN WE GOT DAN LINSKEY, UH, AND DAN IS A MANAGING DIRECTOR IN CURLS, BOSTON OFFICE.
HE SPENT 29 YEARS WITH THE BOSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT, INCLUDING FIVE YEARS AS CHIEF OF THE DEPARTMENT WHERE HE IMPLEMENTED A NUMBER OF INNOVATIVE MEASURES AND GAINED A NATIONAL REPUTATION AS AN EXPERT IN COMMUNITY ORIENTED POLICING AND POLICE ADMINISTRATION.
UM, ALSO WITH US TONIGHT IS LARRY MAYS.
WHO'S ONE OF OUR PROJECT ADVISORS.
UH, LARRY, YOU JUST WANT TO WAVE.
UM, LARRY IS, UH, HAD PREVIOUSLY SERVED FOR SIX YEARS AS CHIEF OF HUMAN SERVICES FOR THE CITY OF BOSTON, UM, WHERE HE LED COMMUNITY-BASED INITIATIVES TO REDUCE CRIME AND STABILIZED COMMUNITIES.
UH, HE CURRENTLY SERVES AS VICE PRESIDENT OF PROGRAMS FOR CATHOLIC CHARITIES IN MASSACHUSETTS, WHERE HE LEADS PROGRAMS ON ADULT EDUCATION, IMMIGRATION RESETTLEMENT, AND POVERTY STRATEGIES.
AND LARRY LARRY'S ALSO SERVED ON A POLICE OVERSIGHT PANEL THAT REVIEWS CITIZEN COMPLAINTS AGAINST THE BOSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT.
UM, UNFORTUNATELY ONE PERSON WHO COULDN'T BE HERE TONIGHT IS DR.
WHO'S A PROFESSOR OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI AND THE DIRECTOR OF THE UC CENTER FOR POLICE RESEARCH AND POLICY.
UM, SHE'S OUR EXPERT IN BIAS BASED POLICING.
AND SHE LED OUR DATA ANALYSIS EFFORTS IN TWO MAJOR PORTIONS OF OUR REPORT.
SO WE'LL DO OUR BEST WITHOUT HER, BUT, UM, JUST SO YOU KNOW, SHE WAS, UH, KINDA CAUGHT OUT AT THE LAST MINUTE.
SHE HAD TO, SHE WAS ASKED TO BRIEF THE GOVERNOR OF OHIO AND HIS STAFF ON, ON VIOLENCE REDUCTION STRATEGIES AND A SERIES OF MEETINGS THAT WERE CANCELED LAST WEEK DUE TO SNOW.
AND THEY WOUND UP BEING HELD TODAY AND TOMORROW.
AND SHE'S ALSO MEETING TONIGHT WITH THE STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL STAFF, UH, IN A MEETING THAT WAS ALSO RESCHEDULED FROM, FROM LAST WEEK.
UM, BUT YOU DID TELL ME TO LET YOU KNOW THAT IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS THAT, THAT WE CAN'T SUFFICIENT ANSWER THAT YOU MAY HAVE TONIGHT, UH, SHE'D BE AT LEAST ON THE DATA ANALYSIS, SHE'D BE HAPPY TO RESPOND TO THEM, UM, LATER IN, IN WRITING.
SO PROBABLY GOOD IF I, IF I DO I HAVE THE ABILITY TO SHARE, UH, I'M GONNA TRY TO SHARE MY SCREEN HERE.
SO CAN EVERYBODY SEE THAT? OKAY.
SO, UM, WE WANT TO TALK ABOUT WHAT WE CALL OUR PHASE B REPORT TONIGHT.
UM, AND WE CALL IT THE PHASE B REPORT,
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UM, BECAUSE, UH, PHASE A OF OUR, OF OUR, UH, WORK FOR THE CITY OF BOSTON WAS COMPLETED BACK IN APRIL AND IT INVOLVED ASSESSING THE, UH, THE APD TRAINING ACADEMY ON ITS ABILITY AND READINESS TO PREPARE CADETS FOR POLICING IN A MULTI-ETHNIC URBAN POPULATION.UM, AND WE'RE CURRENTLY CURRENTLY COMPLETING ANOTHER REPORT OF THAT ANALYSIS, UH, AS YOU KNOW, OUR ROLE AS INDEPENDENT EVALUATOR OF THE TRAINING ACADEMY.
AND ACTUALLY THAT REPORT SHOULD BE COMING OUT IN THE NEXT TWO OR THREE WEEKS.
UM, HOWEVER, THE, THIS PHASE OF CROWS EVALUATION ESSENTIALLY ADDRESSES, UH, FOUR AREAS.
SO FIRST WE, WE LOOKED AT, UM, APD USE OF FORCE INCIDENTS FROM, UH, UH, JANUARY OF 2017 TO DECEMBER, 2020, OR THAT FOUR YEAR TIMEFRAME.
WE DID A QUALITATIVE REVIEW AND ANALYSIS OF KIND OF A DEEPER DIVE OF SIX MONTHS WORTH OF THOSE CASES, 1300 PLUS OF THOSE CASES IN 2019.
AND RICK WE'LL BE TALKING ABOUT THAT IN A BIT.
UH, WE ALSO LOOKED AT, UH, UH, APDS INTERACTIONS WITH CIVILIANS, UH, LOOKING AT THINGS LIKE TRAFFIC STOPS, ARRESTS CITATION SEARCHES DURING THE CALENDAR YEAR OF 2020.
AND THEN WE ALSO LOOKED AT APDS RECRUITMENT SELECTION AND PROMOTION POLICIES AND PRACTICES.
AND IN EACH OF THESE AREAS, WE EXAMINE POTENTIAL DISPARITIES INVOLVING RACE, ETHNICITY, GENDER, AND THE POTENTIAL IMPACT THAT THE DEPARTMENT'S POLICIES AND PRACTICES HAVE ON HISTORICALLY UNDER UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS.
SO AS A BACKDROP BEFORE KIND OF SHOWING OUR FINDINGS ON THE DATA ANALYSIS OF APD USE OF FORCE INCIDENTS FOR FOUR YEARS, UH, IT'S IMPORTANT TO SORT OF UNDERSTAND THAT THE LIMITATIONS OF WHAT AGGREGATE DATA OR POLICE DATA CAN AND CANNOT TELL US.
SO AGGREGATE POLICE DATA ALONE CANNOT PROVE OR DISPROVE A RACIALLY BIASED POLICING.
AND IT SHOULD NOT BE VIEWED EITHER BY POLICE OR RESIDENT STAKEHOLDERS AS SORT OF A PASS FAIL TEST, BUT IT CAN BE USED AS A DIAGNOSTIC TOOL THAT HELPS PINPOINT THE DECISIONS, UH, THE GEOGRAPHIC AREAS AND PROCEDURES THAT MIGHT NEED PRIORITY ATTENTION, PARTICULARLY WHEN ADDRESSING THE PROBLEM OR PERCEPTION OF RACIAL BIAS.
NOW, THERE'S A FEW CONCEPTS IN TERMS THAT, THAT OUR ANALYSIS EXAMINED ONE, WE LOOKED AT DISPROPORTIONALITY, THIS IS, THIS IS THE DIFFERENCE IN OUTCOMES WITHIN A SINGLE RACIAL ETHNIC GROUP, UH, COMPARED TO THAT GROUPS REPRESENTATION IN A SELECTED COMPARISON POPULATION, SUCH AS RESIDENTIAL POPULATION.
UM, WE ALSO LOOKED AT DISPARITY, WHICH IS A DIFFERENCE IN OUTCOMES ACROSS GROUPS, IN POLICING AND, AND RACIALLY BIASED POLICING OCCURS WHEN LAW ENFORCEMENT INAPPROPRIATELY CONSIDERS RACE OR ETHNICITY IN THEIR DECISIONS TO INTERVENE, UH, IN A LAW ENFORCEMENT CAPACITY.
NOW STATISTICAL ANALYSIS CAN MEASURE DISPARITY AND DISPROPORTIONALITY, BUT NOT BIAS.
UM, THESE ANALYSES CANNOT RELIABLY BE USED TO DETERMINE THE REASONS FOR THESE DIFFERENCES AND EVEN HIGH LEVELS OF DISPARITY MAY OR MAY NOT NECESSARILY BE PROOF OF BIAS.
SO IF THAT'S TRUE, WHY DO WE DO IT? WHY DO WE DO THE ANALYSIS? WELL, FIRST IDENTIFYING DISPARITY ALLOWS YOU TO EXAMINE PATTERNS AND TRENDS MORE CLEARLY OR CLOSELY.
IT HELPS IDENTIFY THE QUESTIONS TO ASK, TO DETERMINE WHETHER THERE ARE LEGITIMATE EXPLANATIONS FOR THE DISPARITIES, AND IT HELPS TO DEVELOP MORE APPROPRIATE CORRECTIVE MEASURES SUCH AS TRAINING, SUPERVISION AND POLICY.
SO WITH THOSE LIMITATIONS IN MIND, UM, LET'S REVIEW JUST SOME OF THEM, SOME OF THE FINDINGS THAT WE WE MADE.
SO FIRST WE LOOKED AT TRENDS, UH, AND WE SHOW, WE SAW THAT FOR THE FOUR YEARS OF DATA FROM 2017 TO 2020 APD ARRESTS DECLINED BY OVER 50% DURING THAT TIMEFRAME, WHILE THE USE OF FORCE INCIDENTS INCREASED BY NEARLY 60%.
NOW THIS MAY BE PARTIALLY EXPLAINED BY A CHANGE IN THEIR USE OF FORCE REPORTING LEVELS, WHICH HAPPENED IN 2019.
AND IT ADDED SOME LOW LEVEL USE OF FORCE INCIDENTS THAT WEREN'T PREVIOUSLY CAPTURED IN THEIR REPORTING.
THERE WAS ALSO A SPIKE IN THE NUMBER OF UNKNOWN INDIVIDUALS THAT EXPERIENCED USE OF FORCE IN 2020, THAT WAS LIKELY DUE TO BE CIVIL UNREST.
UM, UH, THAT HAPPENED THAT SUMMER IN RESPONSE TO THE DEATH OF GEORGE FLOYD.
WE ALSO LOOKED AT PERCEIVED IMPAIRMENT.
UM, SO ALTHOUGH FOR SEVERITY DID NOT SIGNIFICANTLY VARY ACROSS RACIAL OR ETHNIC LINES, INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE PERCEIVED TO BE IMPAIRED THAT IS UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF DRUGS OR ALCOHOL, OR THAT HAD PERCEIVED MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES.
THOSE INDIVIDUALS WERE FOUND TO BE AT A MUCH HIGHER RISK OF EXPERIENCE, USE OF FORCE THAN INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE NOT IMPAIRED.
HOWEVER, FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO WERE NOT IMPAIRED, UH, WE FOUND THAT BLACK INDIVIDUALS EXPERIENCED USE OF FORCE AT TWICE THE RIGHT TWICE THE RATE AS DID
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WHITE INDIVIDUALS.UM, SO THERE MAY BE A NUMBER OF FACTORS THAT EXPLAIN THAT, BUT IT'S A SIGNIFICANT FINDING IN THE SENSE THAT, UM, DURING USE OF FORCE INCIDENTS DURING THIS FOUR YEAR TIMEFRAME WHERE, UM, THERE WAS NO PERCEIVED IMPAIRMENT BY THE OFFICER, IN OTHER WORDS, DID NOT PERCEIVE DRUGS OR ALCOHOL OR MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES AT STATE WHERE THAT INVOLVED BLACK INDIVIDUALS, NOT ONLY WERE THEY MORE LIKELY TO BE, UH, HAVE USE OF FORCE WHERE THERE WAS NO PERCEIVED IMPAIRMENT, BUT ON A, LITERALLY ON A TWO TO ONE RATIO COMPARED TO WHITE INDIVIDUALS, THEY HAD FORCE USED AGAINST THEM WHERE THERE WAS NO, UH, PERCEIVED IMPAIRMENT.
NOW WE ALSO LOOKED AT REPEAT USES OF FORCE.
UM, AND WE FOUND 30% OF INDIVIDUALS WHO HAD FORCE USED AGAINST THEM WERE INVOLVED IN MORE THAN ONE, UH, USE OF FORCE EVENT DURING THE FOUR YEAR STUDY, BLACK INDIVIDUALS WHO EXPERIENCED USE OF FORCE WERE MORE LIKELY TO HAVE EXPERIENCED MULTIPLE USE OF FORCE ENCOUNTERS AND INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE PERCEIVED TO BE IMPAIRED WERE ALSO MORE LIKELY THAN THOSE WITH NO NOTED IMPAIRMENT TO HAVE EXPERIENCED MULTIPLE SEPARATE USE OF FORCE ENCOUNTERS.
WE ALSO FOUND THAT THE FREQUENCY OF USE OF FORCE VARIES DRAMATICALLY ACROSS APD SECTORS OR GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRICTS.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, GEORGE SECTOR, WHICH IS THE DOWNTOWN ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT, IS THE SMALLEST GEOGRAPHICS SIZE.
IT'S ALSO THE LEAST POPULATED.
AND YET THE SECTOR ACCOUNTED FOR NEARLY A QUARTER OF INDIVIDUALS WHO EXPERIENCED FORCE NEARLY TWICE THE PERCENTAGE OF ANY OTHER SECTOR AND A RATE OF USE OF FORCE PER 10,000 RESIDENTS.
THAT WAS 21 TIMES HIGHER THAN THE NEXT HIGHEST SECTOR.
SO HOW DO YOU MEASURE DISPARITY? SO RESEARCHERS AND SOCIAL SCIENTISTS USE BENCHMARK ANALYSIS, WHICH ENTER THE NATIONAL CONVERSATION AS PART OF TRAFFIC STOP AND RACIAL PROFILE AND RESEARCH IN THE 1990S.
AND THEY, THAT THE PERCENTAGE OF TRAFFIC STOPS BY RACE HAD TO BE COMPARED TO SOME OTHER DATA OR BENCHMARK TO DETERMINE THE LEVEL OF DISPARITY.
AND THESE ANALYSES CAN NOT CAN APPLY TO ANY POLICE OUTCOMES.
YOU CAN LOOK AT STOPS ARRESTS, USE OF FORCE, ET CETERA.
NOW, RELIABLE BENCHMARKS ARE PROXY MEASURES FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE EITHER SIMILARLY SITUATED OR AT RISK OF EXPERIENCING THE SAME OUTCOME, ASSUMING NO BIAS EXISTS, AND NO BENCHMARKS CAN EXAMINE ALL RISK FACTORS THAT MIGHT EXPLAIN RACIAL OR ETHNIC DIFFERENCES IN OUTCOMES AND RESULTS VARY WIDELY.
AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, DEPENDING ON THE BENCHMARK USED AND CAN LEAD TO DRAMATICALLY DIFFERENT CONCLUSIONS.
SO WE EXAMINE FIVE BENCHMARKS OR COMPARISON GROUPS.
WHEN WE DID THESE, UH, UH, ANALYSIS, WE LOOKED AT RESIDENTIAL POPULATION IN THE CITY OF BOSTON BASED ON CENSUS DATA.
WE LOOKED AT THE ARRESTEE POPULATION.
SO WE LOOKED AT JUST THOSE INDIVIDUALS WHO WERE ARRESTED.
UM, AND WE LOOKED AT BOTH ALL ARRESTS AND FOR ALL OFFENSES.
AND WE LOOKED AT ARRESTS FOR ONLY PART ONE VIOLENT OFFENSES, MOST SERIOUS CRIMES.
AND THEN WE LOOKED AT THE CRIMINAL SUSPECT THAT, WHICH IS DIFFERENT THAN THE ARREST DATA, AND THAT IT'S BROADER.
AND IT'S BASED ON, UM, REPORTS OF CRIME BY OTHERS, PEOPLE OTHER THAN ANOTHER REPORTS OF CRIME BY CITIZENS TO THE POLICE.
SO IT SORT OF TAKES AWAY THE POLICE DECISION-MAKING FACTOR IN, IN MAKING ARRESTS AND SO FORTH.
AND WE LOOKED AT THE CRIMINAL SUSPECT POPULATION AGAIN FOR ALL OFFENSES.
AND THEN WE ALSO DID A NARROWER, UH, LOOK AT IT FOR PART ONE VIOLENT OFFENSES.
ANGLE, IF SHE WERE HERE, SHE'D EXPLAINED THAT THAT RESIDENTIAL CENSUS THAT IS, IS A PARTICULARLY FLAWED BENCHMARK IN TERMS OF ABILITY TO MEASURE RISK, BECAUSE IT DOESN'T ACCURATELY MEASURE THE INTERACTIVE NATURE OF THE CONTACTS WITH POLICE, SUCH AS THE LEVELS OF RESISTANCE OR OTHER LEGAL AND INCIDENT CHARACTERISTICS, OTHER BENCHMARKS, WHICH USE THE RACIAL, ETHNIC COMPOSITION OF EITHER ARRESTEES OR SUSPECTS AS ESTIMATES FOR INDIVIDUALS AT RISK OF HAVING FORCE USED AGAINST THEM, ADDRESS SOME OF THOSE LIMITATIONS THAT ARE INHERENT IN THE POPULATION-BASED BENCHMARKS.
IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT ALL THESE BENCHMARKS ARE FLAWED IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, BUT WHEN ANALYZING DATA FOR EVIDENCE OF POLICE BIAS IN PARTICULAR, UH, THE POPULATION BASED BENCHMARKS SHOULD BE USED ONLY AS A COMPARISON TO THE, THE ARREST AND SUSPECT BENCHMARKS.
SO WHAT DO THESE NUMBERS SHOW? WELL, THIS IS SHOWING SOME DISPARITY RATE RATIOS BY RACE, UH, USING THE DIFFERENT BENCHMARKS.
SO YOU CAN SEE ON THE GREEN BAR, FOR EXAMPLE, BLACKS WERE 6.7 TIMES MORE LIKELY THAN WHITES TO HAVE FORCE USED AGAINST THEM COMPARED TO THEIR REPRESENTATION IN THE RESIDENTIAL POPULATION.
AND HISPANICS WERE 1.5 TIMES MORE LIKELY TO HAVE FORCE USED AGAINST THEM THAN WHITES COMPARED TO THEIR REPRESENTATION IN THE RESIDENTIAL POPULATION.
BUT WHEN YOU COMPARE TO THE ARREST AND THE SUSPECT BASED BENCHMARKS, THESE DISPARITIES WERE, WERE SUBSTANTIALLY REDUCED.
FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN YOU LOOKED AT ALL ARRESTEES, UM, BLACKS WERE STILL 1.2 TIMES OR 20% MORE LIKELY TO HAVE FORCE USED AGAINST THEM COMPARED TO WHITES.
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WHEN YOU LOOKED AT PART ONE VIOLENT, UH, ARRESTS, BLACKS AND HISPANICS WERE ACTUALLY LESS LIKELY THAN WHITES IN THAT MORE LIMITED POPULATION TO EXPERIENCE SPORES.WHEN YOU LOOKED AT ALL SUSPECTS, UM, IT WAS RELATIVELY EVEN ACROSS THE BOARD.
AND WHEN YOU JUST LOOKED AT VIOLENT ONE OR PART ONE VIOLENCE SUSPECTS, UM, HISPANICS WERE ABOUT THE SAME, UH, AND BLACKS LESS LIKELY COMPARED TO WHITE STAFF FORCE USED AGAINST THEM IN THAT, UH, MORE NARROW POPULATION.
NOW, SIMILAR RESULTS SHOW UP WITH THE DATA WHEN APPLIED TO EACH, UH, GEOGRAPHICAL SECTOR.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, THERE WERE MAJOR DISPARITIES AGAIN, AND USE OF FORCE FOR BLACKS ACROSS ALL APD SECTORS AND FOR HISPANICS AND HALF OF THOSE SECTORS.
BUT WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE REST OF THE POPULATION, THERE WERE MINOR OR NO DISPARITIES IN USE OF FORCE FOR BLACK INDIVIDUALS, UM, AND HISPANICS, AT LEAST IN MOST SECTORS, TWO SECTORS.
HOWEVER, THE GEORGIAN IDA SECTORS SHOWED THAT HISPANICS WERE STILL ONE AND A HALF TIMES MORE LIKELY TO HAVE FORCE USED AGAINST THEM THAN WHITES IN THOSE SECTORS, JUST LOOKING AT THE ARRESTEE POPULATION AND THE, AND THEN WHEN YOU LOOKED AT THE CRIMINAL SUSPECT, UH, BENCHMARKS, THERE WERE MINOR OR NO DISPARITIES IN USE OF FORCE, UM, FOR BLACK AND HISPANIC INDIVIDUALS IN MOST SECTORS.
HOWEVER, GEORGE SECTOR DID SHOW A BLACK INDIVIDUALS WERE STILL 1.2 TIMES MORE LIKELY TO HAVE FORCE USED AGAINST THEM THERE.
AND IN TWO SECTORS, UM, HISPANICS WERE 1.2 AND 1.6 TIMES MORE LIKELY TO HAVE FORCE USED AGAINST THEM IN THOSE SECTORS.
NOW, WE ALSO DID A WHAT'S CALLED A MULTI-VARIANT STATISTICAL ANALYSIS, UM, WHICH, WHICH IS REALLY JUST A WAY TO KIND OF LOOK AT OTHER FACTORS AND IS A LITTLE MORE NUANCED IN ITS ITS APPROACH.
UM, AND WE EXAMINE THE 126,000 ARRESTS DURING THAT FOUR YEAR TIMEFRAME TO DETERMINE PREDICTORS OF FORCE DURING POLICE ENCOUNTERS THAT RESULTED IN ARREST AND NOT SURPRISINGLY THE STRONGEST PREDICTORS OF FORCE WITHIN ARRESTS ARE LEGAL AND INCIDENT CHARACTERISTICS.
SO ARRESTS WERE MORE LIKELY TO INVOLVE FORCE WHEN THE INDIVIDUALS WERE ULTIMATELY PLACED IN CUSTODY, OR IF IT OCCURRED ON A WEEKEND, OR IF IT INCLUDED A WEAPON SEIZURE OVERALL, THERE WERE SMALL RACIAL DISPARITIES, BUT BLACKS WERE SLIGHTLY MORE LIKELY THAN WHITES TO BE INVOLVED IN ARRESTS THAT BALD FORCE ARRESTS WITHIN AREAS OF HIGH VIOLENT CRIME RATES HAD A, AT A GREATER LIKELIHOOD OF USE OF FORCE.
UM, NOT TOO SURPRISING, BUT, UH, BLACK INDIVIDUALS ARRESTED IN COMMUNITIES WITH LOW VIOLENT CRIME RATES WERE SLIGHTLY MORE LIKELY TO HAVE FORCE USED AGAINST THEM WHEN COMPARED TO WHITE ARRESTEES.
SO TO KIND OF SUMMARIZE, UM, WHAT WE JUST TALKED ABOUT, AGAIN, FORCES SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED DURING THE FOUR YEAR PERIOD ARRESTS DECREASED, UM, OTHER TRENDS NOTED IMPAIRED INDIVIDUALS OR INDIVIDUALS WHO WERE EXPERIENCED MENTAL OR BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CRISIS.
THOSE ARE THE MOST AT RISK FOR HAVING FORCE USED AGAINST THEM.
THE MAJORITY OF USE OF FORCE INCIDENTS INVOLVE THOSE FAT ONE OR COMBINATION OF THOSE FACTORS.
UM, THERE ARE SOME RACIAL AND ETHNIC DISPARITIES ACROSS THE STATISTICAL TECHNIQUES.
THE MAJORITY OF DISPARITIES REPORTED ARE SMALL AND MAYBE THE RESULT OF UNMEASURED FACTORS, BUT THERE WERE CONSISTENT FINDINGS ACROSS THESE TECHNIQUES FOR RACIAL, ETHNIC DISPARITIES IN THE GEORGE SECTOR.
AND THERE WERE CONSISTENT PROBLEMS IN DATA COLLECTION THAT LIMITS OUR ANALYSIS.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, UH, REALLY THE STRONGEST PREDICTORS OF FOUR STATISTIC, UH, PREDICTORS STATISTICALLY OF WHETHER OFFICERS USE FORCE INCLUDE, UH, INDIVIDUALS RESISTANCE TOWARD OFFICERS AND THE SEVERITY OF THE ARREST OFFENSE, HOWEVER, RESISTANCE AND OFFENSIVE EQUITY ARE NOT RELIABLY MEASURED IN APDS ARREST DATA.
AND SO THOSE TWO STRONGEST PREDICTORS OF THE LIKELIHOOD OF USE OF FORCE COULDN'T BE INCLUDED IN OUR STATISTICAL MODELS.
SO I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO RICK.
UM, AND HE'S GOING TO EXPLAIN A MORE DETAILED, KIND OF A DEEPER DIVE ANALYSIS WHERE WE ACTUALLY LOOKED AT 1,321 USE OF FORCE INCIDENTS IN 2019.
INITIALLY WE HAD RECEIVED, I THINK THERE WAS A LITTLE OVER 1,512, UH, INCIDENTS OF A USE OF FORCE CASES WITH IT LIKE TWIN 960, SOME ODD NUMBERS OF USE OF FORCE.
UH, WHEN WE ACTUALLY, UH, WE HAVE A TEAM OF EXPERTS TO THROUGH THESE CASES AND LOOKED AT EACH ONE TO DETERMINE THAT WE SAW SOMETHING OF CONCERN IN REGARDS TO, UH, AN ESCALATION OR AN UNNECESSARY USE OF FORCE.
UM, AS WE WENT THROUGH THE REPORTS WE FOUND OUT THERE WAS A COUPLE HUNDRED OF THESE CASES THAT DIDN'T INVOLVE FORCE AT ALL, THEY WERE, THEY WERE IN OUR BATCH.
SO THAT'S WHY WE'RE IN 1321 INCIDENTS WITH 29 60 USES OF FORCE FOR THAT SIX MONTH PERIOD FROM JUNE 1ST, 2019
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THROUGH NOVEMBER, UH, WE IDENTIFIED 112 INCIDENTS THAT THAT CAN SAY CONTAINED, UM, UH, WERE INCIDENTS OF CONCERN.LET'S CALL IT THAT WHERE EITHER THE USE OF FORCE WE FELT WAS INAPPROPRIATE FROM THE BEGINNING, OR WE FELT THAT, UH, THE INITIAL ENCOUNTER WAS APPROPRIATE.
HOWEVER, AS THE INCIDENT CONTINUED ON, THE ESCALATION WAS A RESULT OF THE, UH, APD AND NOT ANYTHING THAT THE CITIZEN, UM, UH, WAS INVOLVED IN THE 30 CASES.
SO, SO 82 OF THESE INCIDENTS, UH, INVOLVE 88 DIFFERENT INDIVIDUALS, UH, 30 CASES INVOLVED, ADDITIONAL ISSUES OF CONCERN.
AND WHAT I MEAN BY THAT IS WE'LL, WE'LL, WE'LL GET TO THAT THINGS LIKE THE BODY CAM FOOTAGE AND THE POLICE REPORTS WERE SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT, AND IT WEREN'T THAT WASN'T ADDRESSED IN THE REVIEW PROCESS.
UM, THINGS LIKE, UH, TASER WARNINGS BEFORE YOU SAID TASER AND WEREN'T USED OR IMPLEMENTED PRIOR TO THE USE OF FORCE AS REQUIRED BY POLICY THERE AT APD.
UM, WE ALSO HAD, UM, UM, SITUATION WHERE, UH, FIELD TRAINING OFFICERS WHO ARE, I THINK IDENTIFIED THREE OF THEM THAT ACTUALLY WERE INVOLVED IN THESE EITHER AN ESCALATED ERROR OR AN INAPPROPRIATE USE OF FORCE WHILE IN THE PRESENCE OF A TRAINEE.
UM, SO THAT GOES TOWARD THE, THE TRAINING OF OFFICERS.
SO IT WAS SO, SO OUT OF THAT 1321 AT 112 INCIDENTS, IT WAS 8.5% OF THESE CASES WERE OF CONCERN TO US.
UM, IN ALL CASES, SUPERVISORS AND SUPERVISORS WERE INFORMED, UH, THAT THERE WAS A USE OF FORCE AND WHAT THERE WAS AN ARREST MADE THE SUPERVISORS APPROVE THOSE ARREST.
SO I WANT TO BE CLEAR ON THAT.
UH, YOU SEE THE BREAKDOWN THERE, THE, THE, THE BREAKDOWN OF THE INDIVIDUALS IN THESE CASES, 28.4% WERE BLACK, 21.6% WHITE, 47.7% HISPANIC AND ASIAN OTHER, UH, 2.3%.
THESE ARE THE, WE CAN SEND IT A PROBLEM.
AREAS THAT WE IDENTIFIED FOR THE REPORT.
ONE IS THE STOP AND FRISK WITHOUT REASONABLE SUSPICION.
UM, THERE WOULD BE SITUATIONS THAT WE CITED IN A REPORT WHERE AN INDIVIDUAL, UH, POLICE OFFICERS WERE DISPATCHED TO, UH, SOMETIMES WE'RE DISPATCH AND, OR, UH, INVOLVED IN SELF-INITIATED, UH, EVENTS WHERE A PERSON, THEY WOULD INFORM THE PERSON THAT, HEY, THEY WERE JUST THERE TO ASK QUESTIONS.
THEY DIDN'T HAVE NEAR WEREN'T GOING TO BE ARRESTED.
NO CRIME HAD OCCURRED THAT SORT OF THING, BUT YET THEY GO TO HANDCUFFS WITHIN A MATTER OF MINUTES, UH, PUT, ASK THE PERSON TO TURN AROUND, PUT THE HANDCUFFS ON THEM.
UH, I'M GOING TO CHECK YOU FOR WEAPONS KIND OF THING.
AND IF THE PERSON RESISTED IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM BY PULLING THEIR ARM, WHICH COULD BE A NATURAL REFLEX THIS WAY, MAN, YOU'RE PUTTING THE HANDCUFFS ON ME.
YOU SAID I WASN'T UNDER ARREST, BUT YOU'RE PUTTING HANDCUFFS ON ME.
IF THE PERSON PULLED THEIR ARM AWAY, UH, THEY WOULD END UP WITH A RESISTING ARREST OR AN OBSTRUCTION OR RESISTING SEARCH CHARGE.
UH, AND THEN A SUPERVISOR WOULD THEN ULTIMATELY APPROVE THAT.
UM, MY VIEW OF THAT, OUR VIEW OF THAT IS THAT IS, IS IN AN INAPPROPRIATE USE OF FORCE FROM THE VERY BEGINNING.
IF YOU DON'T HAVE REASONABLE SUSPICION THAT A CRIME HAS OCCURRED OR IS ABOUT TO OCCUR, UH, TO GO HANDS ON WITH SOMEONE THAT QUICKLY WITHOUT DOING SOME ADDITIONAL DILIGENCE OR GATHERING SUBMISSION INFORMATION TO JUSTIFY THAT IS PROBLEMATIC, IT WOULD BE SITUATIONS ALSO WHERE IT WOULD, UM, UH, OFFICER'S ENCOUNTERED WOULD BE APPROPRIATE.
UH, BUT THEN DURING THE COURSE OF THE ENCOUNTER, THINGS WOULD GET OUT OF HAND AND IT WOULD BE AN ESCALATION OF THE FORCE USED.
UH, AND IT WOULD BE FROM OUR VIEW, UH, UNNECESSARY BY THE APD, UH, YOU KNOW, THEIR POLICY CLEAR TO SAY, IT'S CLEARLY STATES THAT OUR OFFICERS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE INVOLVED IN TRYING TO DEESCALATE SITUATIONS.
THESE SITUATIONS, WE FOUND THAT THAT THAT GOAL OF THE POLICY WAS NOT MET.
OF COURSE, I'VE ALREADY MENTIONED RESISTING TO DETENTION SEARCH CHARGES.
UH, THOSE, THOSE, UH, UM, A LOT OF TIMES WE SAW CASES WHERE THOSE DID NOT INVOLVE ANY UNDERLYING CHARGES TO BEGIN WITH.
SO YOU'VE GOT TO RESISTING ARREST.
IF YOU GOT SOMEBODY INVOLVED IN A, LET'S SAY A ROBBERY AND YOU'D GO, YOU'D GO TO ARREST HIM.
YOU WOULD HAVE THE ROBBERY AND THE RESISTING.
WE ACTUALLY SAW STAND-ALONE CHARGES FOR RESISTING ARREST SEARCH WITH NO UNDERLYING CHARGE THAT LED TO THE, TO THE, TO THE RESISTING ARREST, SUPERVISORY ISSUES, THINGS LIKE, UM, APPROVING ARREST WITHOUT LOOKING AT THESE, IT DOESN'T APPEAR THAT THOSE THINGS WERE EVALUATED BY THE SUPERVISOR.
I SAW ONE CASE THAT I CAN REMEMBER THAT A SUPERVISOR SAID, WELL, THE OFFICER ACTUALLY BROUGHT IT UP
[00:25:01]
AND SAID, HEY, I DON'T THINK I, THE FORCE WAS ALREADY USED.AND THE OFFICER SAID, I DON'T THINK I HAVE PROBABLE CAUSE TO ARREST.
AND THE SUPERVISOR DID AGREE, BUT THAT WAS THE ONLY A CASE THAT I SAW IN A RESISTING SITUATION WHERE THERE WASN'T REASONABLE SUSPICION OR PROBABLE CAUSE THAT THE SUPERVISOR SAID IT'S NOT APPROPRIATE TO CHARGE THERE.
UM, OTHER THINGS, SUPERVISORY ISSUES, FOR INSTANCE, UH, THE BODY WORN CAMERA FOOTAGE AND THE, THE, THE REPORTS SUBMITTED BY THE OFFICERS.
AND I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT MINUTIA, I'M TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, FACTS THAT OCCURRED.
UH, IF YOU LOOK AT THE BODY-WORN CAMERA TO REPORT IS CLEARLY A CONFLICT THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED BY THE SUPERVISOR IN THE EITHER THEY'RE PREPARING THE USE OF FORCE INFORMATION REVIEW, OR WHEN THEY DO THEIR REVIEW OF THE REPORT, AT LEAST ADDRESSING WHY THERE'S A CONFLICT AND, AND GETTING THAT RESOLVED ALREADY MENTIONED, UH, TASER USAGE.
IT SEEMS LIKE WE FELT THAT THE TASER MAY HAVE BEEN USED, UH, IN, IN AN INAPPROPRIATE MANNER.
IT ACTUALLY ESCALATED THE FORCE A LITTLE BIT, UH, AND YOU KNOW, PROPER WARNINGS WEREN'T GIVEN AND THAT SORT OF THING.
AND CLEARLY APD POLICY REQUIRES THAT, UM, THE POINTING OF FIREARMS, UM, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT DOESN'T CARRY AS A USE OF FORCE UNDER THEIR USE OF FORCE POLICY, BUT THEY DO CAPTURE THAT INFORMATION SEPARATELY.
NOW THEY DO CAPTURE SOME OF IT IF IT'S IN CONJUNCTION WITH OTHER FORCE.
SO THERE'S A SEPARATION THERE.
UM, SO MY REVIEW OF THAT, THOSE CASES IN PARTICULAR, UH, THE CONCERNS I HAD WERE IN CASES WHERE LET'S JUST SAY, THERE'S A TRAFFIC STOP FOR A TRAFFIC TICKET.
YOU WOULDN'T EXPECT TO BE PUTTING A FIREARM AT SOMEBODY CAUSE DEADLY FORCE IN THAT SITUATION, IF YOU EMPLOY THAT DEADLY FORCE, YOU HAVE NO IMMEDIATE THREAT.
YOU HAVE NO SERIOUS CRIME INVOLVED.
YOU HAVE NO RESISTING ARREST, CERTAINLY THAT, THAT, THAT USE OF FORCE WOULD BE UNJUSTIFIED OR INAPPROPRIATE UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES.
SO IN THOSE CASES WHERE WE IDENTIFIED THAT WE FELT THAT THAT WAS OVER THE TOP BY AN OFFICER.
UM, WE, WE NOTED THOSE CASES AND I THINK THERE WAS NINE OF THEM ON A FAMILY HERE.
I THINK IT WAS NINE OF THEM, BUT WE ALSO JUST SO, YOU KNOW, IN OUR RECOMMENDATIONS, WE RECOMMEND THE APD CAPTURED THAT AS A USE OF FORCE AND THAT THEY TRACK THAT, AND THIS, THIS, THIS DEPARTMENTS THAT TRACK THAT AND ANALYZE IT AND ADDRESS IT, WE'RE LESS LIKELY TO HAVE ACCIDENTAL DISCHARGES.
IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S A CITIZEN AND OFFICER IT BENEFITS BOTH THE DEPARTMENT AND THE COMMUNITY.
IF THOSE THINGS ARE, ARE PROPERLY VETTED ALSO, UH, UH, WE SAW SEVERAL CASES.
I THINK THERE WAS FIVE OF THEM WERE NECK TO CHOKE HOLDS, WERE EMPLOYED.
UH THAT'S YOU KNOW, WITH ALL THIS GOING ON IN THE COUNTRY, YOU'D SEE THAT.
AND THEN THAT'S NOT A NAPD POLICY THAT RESTRICTION, UH, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S BEING RECOMMENDED, BUT CERTAINLY SEEING THAT WAS A FLAG TO ME.
UM, BASED ON MY EXPERIENCE ALSO HEAD STRIKES CAN HAVE FATAL CONSEQUENCES.
SO ANYTIME YOU SEE HEAD STRIKES, EVEN WITH A CLOSED FIST, UH, IT CAN HAVE, UH, I'VE ACTUALLY SEEN IT IN MY CAREER WHERE AN INDIVIDUAL GOT STRUCK IN THE HEAD WITH A FIST AND IT KILLED THEM.
SO, SO, YOU KNOW, THOSE, THOSE ARE SOMETHING WE, THAT WE LOOK AT, UH, ANOTHER TYPE OF USE OF FORCE WHERE DEADLY FORCE COULD, COULD HAVE AN IMPACT.
UH, AND WE LOOKED AT THOSE AND NOTED THOSE CASES.
UH, WE NOTED THERE WAS 21 OR SO I THINK IT WAS 21 CASES, UH, INVOLVING MENTAL HEALTH RELATED ISSUES.
UH, AND 19 OF THEM, WE FELT THAT THE FORCE WAS ESCALATED UNNECESSARILY IN THOSE CASES.
UM, SO WE NOTED THOSE FOR THE REPORT.
UM, SOME OF THOSE FELL RIGHT INTO THAT OTHER, THAT OTHER CATEGORY WE TALKED ABOUT EARLIER, STOP AND FRISKING WITHOUT REASONABLE SUSPICION, YOU KNOW, NO CRIME HAS BEEN COMMITTED TO PERSONS HAVING AN EVENT.
AND IT ENDS UP IN A USE OF FORCE, SOME OF THESE CALLS WHERE PAY, CHECK ON THE WELFARE OR A DISTURBANCE, AND IT ENDS UP IN A USE OF FORCE, UH, THAT SORT OF THING.
UH, BODY-WORN CAMERAS, UH, THE TWO THINGS WITH THOSE WAS THERE WERE SOME OCCASIONS WHERE THEY WEREN'T ACTIVATED.
THERE WAS, THERE WAS CERTAINLY, WE GAVE THE, THE DEPARTMENT CREDIT FOR THOSE CASES WHERE AN OFFICER SAID, MY BODY-WORN CAMERA WASN'T ACTIVATED BECAUSE IT, IT, IT WAS MALFUNCTIONING FOR THE SHIFT OR, YOU KNOW, IT RAN OUT OF POWER OR WHATEVER, IF THERE WAS AN EXPLANATION, BUT IF THERE WAS NO EXPLANATION, CERTAINLY THAT'S SOMETHING IN A REVIEW YOU SHOULD BE LOOKING FOR.
UH, WE ALSO SAW WITH THE BODY-WORN CAMERAS AT TIME CONFLICTED WITH THE USE OF FORCE REPORT, OR THE REPORTS SUBMITTED BY THE OFFICER THAT WEREN'T ADDRESSED, UH, IN THE DOCUMENTATION, WE HAD A CHANCE TO READ IT.
SO THOSE ARE THE KEY, UH, AREAS OF THE, OH, I ALREADY MENTIONED FTO FTOS.
THERE WAS THREE OF THEM WHERE THE FTO HAD A TRAINING WITH THEM AND WAS INVOLVED IN, UH, EITHER A STOP WHERE NO CRIME WAS INVOLVED AND EMPLOYED FORCE OR ESCALATED THE FOREST IN THE PRESENCE OF A TRAINEE
[00:30:01]
FRESH OUT OF THE ACCOUNT.MARK, CAN I TURN IT BACK TO YOU? ALL RIGHT.
SO, UM, WE ALSO EXAMINE MOTOR VEHICLE STOPS FROM, UH, JANUARY TO DECEMBER, 2020, THAT 12 MONTH PERIOD.
WE LOOKED AT THE OUTCOMES OF THE STOPS.
SO WHETHER THERE WAS A WARNING CITATION OR ARREST, AND WE ALSO LOOKED AT WHETHER SEARCHES OCCURRED DURING THOSE ENCOUNTERS.
AND THEN WE ALSO, WITHIN THIS ANALYSIS, LOOKED AT THE FOUR YEARS OF ARREST DATA, UH, AS WELL AS ARREST AND SEARCHES WITHIN ARRESTS, UH, FOR THAT PERIOD NOW, UM, AS WE'VE NOTED BEFORE THE STOP AND ARREST DATA SUFFERED FROM A NUMBER OF, OF LIMITATIONS.
SO WHICH WE WANNA ADDRESS HERE, BUT WHICH LED TO A NUMBER OF, UH, DETAILED RECOMMENDATIONS IN OUR REPORT FOR HOW THE DEPARTMENT CAN BETTER COLLECT AND PROCESS THAT AND MOVE MOVING FORWARD.
SO WHAT, UH, WHAT WERE SOME OF OUR FINDINGS? HOWEVER, UM, SO THE MOST RELEVANT PREDICTORS OF STOP OUTCOMES WERE LEGAL AND INCIDENT, INCIDENT CHARACTERISTICS, UH, BUT EVEN CONTROLLING FOR THESE, UH, THERE WERE SIGNIFICANT RACIAL AND ETHNIC DIFFERENCES IN APD STOP OUTCOMES.
SO BLACK AND HISPANIC INDIVIDUALS WERE SLIGHTLY LESS LIKELY TO BE ISSUED A WARNING COMPARED TO WHITE INDIVIDUALS, UH, HISPANICS, HOWEVER WERE ONE AND A HALF TIMES MORE LIKELY TO BE ISSUED A CITATION THAN WHITE INDIVIDUALS AND BLACK AND HISPANIC INDIVIDUALS WHO WERE 1.7 OR 70%.
AND 1.5 OR 50% TIMES MORE LIKELY TO BE ARRESTED COMPARED TO WHITE INDIVIDUALS.
NOW I'M LOOKING AT SEARCHES DURING, UH, 2020 TRAFFIC STOPS, UM, SEARCHES WERE CONDUCTED IN, UH, 7.6% OF THE 68,000 TRAFFIC STOPS THAT WE LOOKED AT.
MOST OF THOSE SEARCHES OVER 60% WERE FOR MANDATORY REASONS THAT IN OTHER WORDS, THEY'RE REQUIRED BY POLICY, BUT ABOUT 37% OF THOSE SEARCHES WERE BASED ON PROBABLE CAUSE.
AND THAT'S HAD SOME LEVEL OF DISCRETION ON THE PART OF THE OFFICER, AND WE FOUND THAT BLACKS AND HISPANICS WERE TWICE AS LIKELY AS WHITES AND THREE TO FOUR TIMES MORE LIKELY THAN OTHER RACES AND ETHNICITIES TO BE SEARCHED DURING, DURING TRAFFIC STOPS.
NOW, THE MOST COMMON REASONS FOR SEARCHES ARE PROBABLE CAUSE SEARCHES INCIDENT TO ARREST AND INVENTORY OF TOWED VEHICLES.
UM, SEARCHES INCIDENT TO ARREST AND INVENTORY ARE KIND OF MANDATORY SEARCHES AND THE PROBABLE CAUSE OR THE DISCRETIONARY ONES.
UH, WE FOUND THAT WHITE INDIVIDUALS MORE LIKELY TO BE SEARCHED INCIDENT TO ARREST, BUT BLACK AND HISPANIC INDIVIDUALS WERE MORE LIKELY TO BE SEARCHED BASED ON PROBABLE CAUSE.
NOW ALMOST A QUARTER OF ALL SEARCHES RESULTED IN SEIZURES OF CONTRABAND, UM, AND BLACK AND HISPANIC INDIVIDUALS WERE, UH, SLIGHTLY MORE LIKELY THAN WHITE INDIVIDUALS AND OTHER, UH, RACES AND ETHNICITIES TO HAVE CONTRABAND TEASED DURING BOTH THE DISCRETIONARY AND THE MANDATORY SEARCHES.
SO, AND, AND JUST SORT OF A SUMMARY OF, OF THE VEHICLE STOPPED AT.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT OF DATA, IT'S 179 PAGE REPORT.
SO I'M TRYING TO, WE'RE TRYING TO KIND OF JUST, UH, GIVE YOU THE HIGH LEVEL, UM, POINTS HERE.
BUT, UM, SO WITH VEHICLE STOPS, OF COURSE THERE ARE SERIOUS DATA LIMITATIONS.
WE COULDN'T DO BENCHMARK ANALYSIS WITH THAT DATA.
THREE QUARTERS OF THOSE STOPS WERE FOR MOVING TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS.
THERE WERE SOME RACIAL, ETHNIC DIFFERENCES IN THE REASONS FOR THE STOP.
THE MAJORITY OF STOPS RESULT IN WARNINGS, EITHER VERBAL OR WRITTEN, UH, ARREST IS INFREQUENT ONLY ABOUT 5%, BUT THERE ARE RACIAL, ETHNIC DIFFERENCES IN VEHICLE STOP OUTCOMES, EVEN AFTER CONTROLLING FOR SOME OTHER FACTORS.
SO AGAIN, HISPANIC INDIVIDUALS, ONE AND A HALF TIMES MORE LIKELY THAN WHITES TO BE ISSUED CITATIONS AND BLACK AND HISPANIC INDIVIDUALS.
1.7 AT 1.5 TIMES MORE LIKELY TO BE ARRESTED COMPARED TO WHITES AND IN SEARCHES DURING STOPS, AGAIN, SEARCHES OCCUR INFREQUENTLY ONLY ABOUT SEVEN AND A HALF PERCENT OF ALL STOPS.
UM, MOST ARE LIKELY THEY'RE MOST LIKELY FOR MANDATORY REASONS.
UM, BUT 11% OF BLACKS WERE STOPPED AT 10% OF HISPANICS STOPPED, ARE SEARCHED COMPARED TO SAY 5% OF WHITE INDIVIDUALS AND 2.7, 2.7% FOR ASIANS AND OTHERS.
UM, THE RACIAL, ETHNIC DIFFERENCES, AND THE REASONS FOR SEARCH BLACK AND HISPANICS, UH, ARE MORE LIKELY SEARCHED FOR DISCRETIONARY REASONS, WHITE INDIVIDUALS, MORE LIKELY FOR MANDATORY, UM, AND A HIGHER PERCENTAGE OF BLACK AND HISPANIC DISCRETIONARY SEARCHES DID RESULT IN CONTRABAND SEIZURES.
AGAIN ABOUT 32% OF BLACK INDIVIDUALS WHO WERE SEARCHED, UH, THERE WAS CONTRABAND SEAS COMPARED TO 28% FOR HISPANICS AND 24% FOR WHITES.
SO, UH, WE ALSO LOOKED AT THE FOUR YEARS OF ARREST DATA.
[00:35:01]
EXAMINED 128,000, UH, ARRESTS DURING THAT TIME.AND AGAIN, UH, ARREST STEADILY DECLINED BY 51% DURING THIS TIME.
AND THAT DECREASE IN ARREST WAS FAIRLY CONSISTENT ACROSS RACIAL AND ETHNIC GROUPS, UH, ARREST RATES DIFFERED ACROSS SECTORS, HOWEVER, BUT GEORGE SECTOR WAS A CLEAR OUTLIER.
UM, HAD AN ARREST RATE FIVE TIMES THE RATE OF THE NEXT CLOSEST SECTOR AND THE ARREST RATE IN GEORGE SECTOR FAR EXCEEDED WHAT MIGHT BE EXPECTED EVEN BASED ON THAT IS ELEVATED LEVEL OF CRIME.
UM, WE FOUND THAT A CLOSE TO 80% OF ARRESTS INVOLVE SEARCHES.
UM, THERE WERE NO RACIAL OR ETHNIC DIFFERENCES IN SEARCHES DURING ARRESTS, UM, BUT 30% OF SEARCHES DURING ARREST RESULTED IN CONTRABAND SEIZURES.
8% OF WHICH WERE, UH, RESULTED IN A WEAPON.
THE OVERALL SEIZURE RATE WAS HIGHEST FOR BLACK ARRESTEES.
UH, THE WEAPON SEIZURE RATE WAS A LITTLE HIGHER FOR BLACKS AND HISPANICS THAN WHITES, ABOUT A 1% DIFFERENCE.
SO JUST A SUMMARY OF, OF THE ARREST DATA FINDINGS, UM, AGAIN, DECLINE ARRESTS OVER THE PERIOD, CONSISTENT ACROSS RACIAL AND ETHNIC GROUPS.
THREE QUARTERS OF ARRESTS, UH, INDIVIDUAL WERE TAKEN INTO CUSTODY.
UH, BLACKS WERE SLIGHTLY MORE LIKELY TO HAVE NON-CUSTODIAL ARRESTS, THE ARREST RATES DIFFERENT ACROSS ALL APD SECTORS, BUT GEORGE SECTOR WAS AN OUTLIER AND BOTH THE ARREST AND THE FORCE RATES WERE OUT OF PROPORTION TO THE POPULATION, TO THE REPORTED CRIMES, TO THE VIOLENT CRIME AND IN SEARCHES DURING ARREST, WHILE THERE WAS THAT A LIMITATIONS AND 80% IN BALL SEARCHES, UNLIKE TRAFFIC STOPS, THERE WERE NO RACIAL OR ETHNIC DIFFERENCES IN SEARCHES DURING ARRESTS, UH, 30% RESULTED IN CONTRABAND SEIZURES.
AND AGAIN, UM, LACK OF ARRESTEES WERE MORE LIKELY TO HAVE CONTRABAND SEIZURES THAN OTHER RACIAL ETHNIC GROUPS, AND THE PERCENTAGES ARE SHOWN ON THIS.
SO WE THEN, UH, OUR FINAL KIND OF SECTION OF THE REPORT, AT LEAST SUBSTANTIVE SEXUAL REPORT BEFORE WE GOT THE RECOMMENDATIONS, LOOKED AT RECRUITMENT SELECTION AND PROMOTIONS.
UM, I'LL JUST SORT OF GIVE YOU THE HIGH LEVEL FAIRLY QUICKLY ON THIS, BUT WE TOOK A LOOK AT THE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES, UM, SEE HOW THEY POTENTIALLY IMPACT HISTORICALLY UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS, SUCH AS WOMEN AND PEOPLE OF COLOR.
AND WE FIRST LOOKED AT THE OVERALL DIVERSITY WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT AND IN THIS GRAPH, THE, THE DARK BLUE BAR SHOWS THE RACIAL, ETHNIC BREAKDOWN OF APD PERSONNEL AS OF MARCH, 2021.
AND THE LIGHT BLUE BAR SHOWS CITY PROPORTIONS BASED ON RESIDENTIAL DATA.
AND WHAT THIS DATA SUGGESTS IS THAT WHITES, UM, WHITE OFFICERS ARE OVERREPRESENTED IN HISPANIC AND ASIAN PACIFIC ISLANDERS ARE UNDERREPRESENTED COMPARED TO THE RACIAL, ETHNIC MAKEUP OF AUSTIN'S POPULATION.
THE NEXT SLIDE SHOWS THE RACIAL, ETHNIC BREAKDOWN BY RANK WITHIN APD.
UM, AND AS YOU CAN SEE, BLACK AND HISPANIC OFFICERS ARE UNDERREPRESENTED AT SOME OF THE UPPER RANKS, UH, WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT WOMEN WHO OF COURSE MAKE UP FOR HALF OF AUSTIN'S POPULATION ACCOUNT FOR ONLY ABOUT 10 OR 10% OF ALL APD OFFICERS.
THAT'S SLIGHTLY UNDER THE NATIONAL AVERAGE.
I THINK THE NATIONAL AVERAGE IS AROUND 12 OR 13%.
UM, HOWEVER, THE UPPER RANKS OF THE DEPARTMENT FROM WHEN IT STARTS AND LOOKING AT RECRUITMENT, WE FOUND THAT, UH, APDS RECRUITING AVERAGE DO REACH A LARGE GROUP OF CANDIDATES, NEARLY TWO THIRDS OF THOSE WHO 10% OF THOSE WHO, WHO ACTUALLY EXPRESS INTEREST IN ACTUAL, I THINK WE LOST YOUR AUDIO WAS BREAKING UP.
I JUST SEND MARKET TAX, LETTING HIM KNOW THAT THIS WAS HAPPENING.
MARK, CAN YOU HEAR US NOT IF HE CAN HEAR, OKAY, YOU'RE ON MUTE MARK.
TAKE ME IT OFF AND SEE IF WE GOT YOU
[00:40:06]
IMMEDIATELY AGAIN, MARK.DO YOU WANT TO MARK, DO YOU WANT TO PUT THE SLIDES UP AND I CAN CALL THE REST OF IT IF FOLKS CAN HEAR ME? SO WE LOOKED AT THE HIRING AND SELECTION PROCESS, UM, AND THE AUSTIN PD HAS A WIDE RANGING HIRING PROCESS AND DID A GOOD JOB OF GETTING OUT AND GETTING DIVERSE CANDIDATES TO START THE APPLICATION PROGRAM.
UM, THERE WAS A TOTAL OF 6,601 TOTAL APPLICANTS.
UH, 5,890 WERE DISQUALIFIED AT SOME POINT DURING THE PROCESS 711 HOURS.
WE BECAME CADETS AT THE ACADEMY BETWEEN, AND THAT'S FROM CLASSES ONE 30 TO 1 43.
UM, WE SAW THAT THE WRITTEN TEST HAD SOME DISPARITIES, UH, RACIAL DISPARITIES WITH IT, UH, THE MDRT, AND AS A RESULT, IT WAS UPGRADED TO A NEW TEST THAT STILL HAS SOME DISPARITIES, BUT IS A MUCH BETTER, UM, AND CLOSES THE GAP ON THOSE DISPARITIES.
UM, IT'S ALSO A HARDER TEST TO PASS.
UH, IT WAS MORE ACADEMICALLY CHALLENGING FOR ALL OF THE INDIVIDUALS INVOLVED.
NEXT SLIDE, MARK, THE PHYSICAL ABILITY TEST.
THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT RACIAL, ETHNIC DIFFERENCES, UH, PAST GENDER DIFFERENCES AND THE PHYSICAL ABILITY TESTS HAVE BEEN ELIMINATED.
AND, UM, WE BELIEVE THERE'S EVEN FURTHER ANNOTATIONS THAT THE ACADEMY IS GOING TO MAKE TO THE PHYSICAL AGILITY TEST, UH, THAT THAT WILL, UH, HOPEFULLY BE MORE ALIGNED THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, EQUALLY TEST FEMALES FOR THEIR STRENGTHS, UH, AND MALES FOR THEIR STRENGTHS AND NOT HAVE A DISPARATE IMPACT.
UH, THE TWEAKING THAT PROCESS NOW, UM, BLACK APPLICANTS WERE DISQUALIFIED MORE OFTEN DUE TO CREDIT HISTORIES.
WHAT APPLICANTS WERE DISQUALIFIED MORE OFTEN DUE TO POLYGRAPH MEDICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL EXAMS, UH, AND DRUG USE 30% OF WHITE APPLICANTS WERE DISQUALIFIED DUE TO DRUG USE, UH, 16.2% OF BLACK AND 21.8% OF HISPANIC, UH, APD HIRES.
ULTIMATELY 66 OF APD HIRES ARE WHITE, UH, HISPANIC HIRES WITH 21.5 BLACK AT 7.7 AND ASIAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER AT 4.5%.
NEXT SLIDE, MARK, THE PROMOTIONAL PROCESS.
THERE WERE NO SIGNIFICANT GENDER DIFFERENCES IN PROMOTIONAL OUTCOMES, ASIANS AND WHITE, UH, PROMOTIONAL CANDIDATES WERE MOST LIKELY PROMOTED IN BLACK AND HISPANIC CANDIDATES.
THE PROMOTIONAL TEST, UM, MAY HAVE AN ADVERSE IMPACT ON CANDIDATES OF COLOR AND OLDER CANDIDATES.
UM, WE HAVE SEEN THIS A YEAR ALREADY BONUS POINTS FOR, UH, BLACK OFFICERS AND HISPANIC OFFICERS.
WHO'VE BEEN ON THE JOB FOR A PERIOD OF TIME, HAVE BENEFITED RECENTLY FROM SENIORITY BENEFIT, UH, SENIORITY TIME BEING AT NSF PROCESS.
SO THERE'S SOME WORK TO BE THERE AND SOME, SOME ARE PROVEN AND POSSIBLE.
UH, THE ASSESSMENT CENTER, ASIAN AND WHITE CANDIDATES SCORED SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER ON ASSESSMENT CENTERS THAT BLACK AND HISPANIC CANDIDATES, UH, ASSESSMENTS IN A SCHOOL IS HAVING A DISPARATE IMPACT ON BLACK AND HISPANIC PROMOTION CANDIDATES FOR SERGEANT, UM, PERCENT OF CANDIDATES PROMOTED, UH, OF THOSE WHO SAW A PROMOTION ASIAN PACIFIC ISLANDERS, 72.7% WHITE, 60.1% BLACK, 56.4 AND HISPANIC 54.3%.
AND THAT IS, UH, SOMETHING THAT ALL POLICE DEPARTMENTS ARE EXPERIENCING.
UM, I HAD MY OWN EXPERIENCE WHERE WE HAVE A WRITTEN TEST ON JUST THE INFORMATION AND WE WOULD HAVE A DISPARATE IMPACT.
AND THEN WE WOULD HAVE AN ASSESSMENT CENTER AND WE HAVE A DISPARATE IMPACT.
SO I THINK AUSTIN, OUR RECOMMENDATION AND AUSTIN IS GOING TO BE LOOKING WITH SOME OF THE, AND IT'S NOT UNIQUE TO LAW ENFORCEMENT, RIGHT? SO, UM, STUDIES OF HR DIRECTORS SHOW THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, SIMILARLY SITUATED RESUMES WHERE PEOPLE IDENTIFY THE NAME AS BEING EITHER WHITE OR HISPANIC OR AFRICAN-AMERICAN, EVEN THOUGH EVERYTHING'S EXACTLY THE SAME, UH, HISPANIC AND AFRICAN-AMERICANS HAVE, UH, OUTCOMES.
SO A LOT OF ASSESSMENT CENTERS ARE DONE EITHER IN PERSON OR ON VIDEO.
AND THERE'S THOUGHT NOW TO DOING JUST LIKE WE'RE DOING RIGHT WHERE YOU SHUT THE CAMERA OFF, DOING THE ASSESSMENT WHERE YOU CAN'T SEE AND THE PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES OF THE PERSON AND TRYING TO SEE IF WE CAN GET ANY BIAS OUT OF IT.
SO SOMETHING WE'D BE TALKING TO THE APD ABOUT NEXT SLIDE, MARK RECOMMENDATIONS.
UH, SO THIS GROUP, I KNOW A LOT OF FOCUS ON DATA AND IMPROVING DATA COLLECTIONS.
AND WE THINK THERE IS SOME, UH, NEED AND ABILITY TO IMPROVE DATA COLLECTIONS AND THE TYPES OF DATA THAT IS COLLECTED
[00:45:01]
AND TO MAKE SURE THAT DATA SETS ARE TALKING TO EACH OTHER FROM APD THAT'S ARREST DATA USE OF FORCE DATA AND TRAFFIC STOP DATA, UM, USE OF FORCE RECOMMENDATIONS.UH, WE HAVE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE APD POLICY, UH, TRAINING, UM, TO, TO TRY AND, YOU KNOW, LOOK AT THOSE CASES WHERE OFFICERS ARE GOING HANDS ON AND PUTTING HANDCUFFS ON PEOPLE BEFORE ESTABLISHING REASONABLE SUSPICION OR PROBABLE CAUSE.
UM, YOU CAN DETAIN SOMEONE WITH HANDCUFFS WITH REASONABLE SUSPICION, EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE PROBABLE CAUSE.
UM, BUT, UH, IT SEEMS LIKE, UH, THOSE WERE BECOMING THE, UH, RULE, NOT THE EXCEPTION AND, UH, THAT THAT'S A TRAINING SITUATION WHERE WE HAVE TO TRAIN OFFICERS AGAIN.
WE ALSO HAVE TO RETAIN SUPERVISORS.
UH, THE APD HAS RESPONDED TO OUR REPORT AND SAID THAT THEY HAVE NOW CENTRALIZED THEIR USE OF FORCE A REVIEW PROCESS.
SO INSTEAD OF 15 DIFFERENT COMMANDERS, LOOKING AT FOUR DIFFERENT WAYS FROM OFFICERS WHO THEY MAY HAVE RELATIONSHIPS WITH AND WORK WITH ON A DAILY BASIS, IT'S AN INDEPENDENT GROUP REVIEWING ALL OF APD USE OF FORCE THROUGHOUT THE DEPARTMENT THAT CAN HOPEFULLY SET A STANDARD AND MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE IS HELD TO THE SAME STANDARD.
UH, NEXT SLIDE, MARK, UM, ORGANIZATIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS, EXAMINE THE TRENDS, EXAMINE RACIAL, ETHNIC DISPARITIES, MONITORED OVER TIME, PRE STATISTICAL FINDINGS AS A DIAGNOSTIC TOOL, ADOPT A HOLISTIC APPROACH, EXPLORE OTHER DATA SOURCES, POTENTIAL FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO RACIAL, ETHNIC DISPARITIES, UNDERSTAND THE LIMITATIONS OF THE DATA.
UM, SO AS MARK MENTIONED EARLIER, AND I, I WON'T DO THIS JUSTICE, BUT YOU KNOW, DR.
UM, THIS IS A MOMENT IN TIME AND IT'S A MEASURE AND IT'S A DIAGNOSTIC TOOL TO SEE WHERE APD IS NOW AND WHERE THERE IS AN ABILITY TO MAKE CHANGES AND HAVE SOME BETTER OUTCOMES THAT ARE MORE, UH, EQUITABLE.
UH, IT, ONE, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT STANDS OUT IS THE GEORGE SECTOR.
AND WHEN WE PRESENTED THIS TO CITY COUNCIL, UM, THEY, YOU KNOW, WERE ALREADY WORKING ON GEORGE, UH, AND, AND TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA.
AND OUR THOUGHTS WERE THIS, THIS IS RIPE FOR A PROBLEM SOLVING POLICING INITIATIVE, WHERE THE BUSINESS OWNERS, THE COMMUNITY, THE OUTREACH GROUPS, THE SERVICE GROUPS, WHETHER IT'S, UH, CLERGY OR HOMELESS OUTREACH ADVOCATES OR IMMIGRATION, UH, SUPPORT FOLKS ARE WORKING IN DRUG AND ALCOHOL REHABILITATION, UH, WORKING ON A UNIFIED PROBLEM TOGETHER.
AND BECAUSE OF THE NUMBERS ARE SO HIGH THERE, UH, AN INVESTMENT, A PROBLEM SOLVING SOLUTION, AND GEORGE COULD ACTUALLY BRING DOWN THE NUMBERS ACROSS THE ENTIRE CITY.
UM, WELL, GREAT EFFORTS TO INCREASE DIVERSITY.
HOW DO WE KEEP THOSE CANDIDATES IN? UM, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS WE LOOKED AT IS THE CREDIT HISTORY, AND I THINK APD IS REVAMPING THE CREDIT HISTORY AND TO SEE WHAT THAT MEANS.
AND IF THERE'S AN ABILITY TO, YOU KNOW, UH, WORK AROUND THAT, UM, UH, RECRUITING EVENTS, UH, THERE ARE SOME THAT ARE VERY SUCCESSFUL AND THERE'S A DISCONNECT.
SO THE RECRUITED, SOME PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, HEY, GIVE ME YOUR NAME AND YOUR EMAIL AND YOUR PHONE NUMBER.
UM, A LOT OF US DON'T LIKE TO GIVE OUR EMAIL TO, TO, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WHO MIGHT BE SENDING US EMAILS, RIGHT? SO WE GIVE A FAKE EMAIL.
SO RECRUIT IS, DON'T HAVE THE EXACT NUMBERS ON WHETHER THEY WERE RECRUITING SOMEONE AT A JOB FAIR AT A HISTORICAL BLACK COLLEGE UNIVERSITY, AND ACTUALLY WHO WENT THROUGH THE PROCESS BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT EMAIL.
SO LOOKING AT WHAT THAT DATA IS, UM, DEVELOPING COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS, UH, WHAT WE'VE SEEN IS THE, YOU KNOW, THE ACADEMY WORK WITH, UH, THE TWO WEEKS BEFORE THE RECRUITS EVEN STARTED, UH, HOPEFULLY CAN BE BUILT ON AND CONTINUE THROUGHOUT, UH, OFFICE'S CAREERS AND A FOCUS ON THAT.
AND THE DISTRICTS THAT ARE DOING IT, UH, THE IMPROVEMENT OF DATA COLLECTION, LINKING THAT DATA AND MAKING THAT DATA SPEAK TOGETHER, RIGHT.
IT'S GREAT TO HAVE DATA, BUT IF YOU'RE NOT ACTUALLY GOING IN AND UTILIZING IT AND SEE WHAT IT SAYS, THEN IT'S SOMETIMES WASTING RESOURCES, UM, IS, UH, YOU KNOW, RE-INSTITUTE THE EXPLORER PROGRAM AND THE INTERNSHIP PROGRAM.
THERE'S A LACK OF DIVERSITY IN, UH, APD FOR OFFICERS THAT HAVE GRADUATED FROM THE ACADEMY.
UH, SOME OF THAT FROM OUR INTERVIEWS WITH RECRUITS, UM, OF COLOR WHO, UH, WERE LEAVING THE ACADEMY OR WHO GRADUATED THE ACADEMY, TALKED ABOUT THE ACADEMICS, UM, ARE CHALLENGING FOR SOMEBODY WHO DIDN'T MAYBE HAVE A PRIVATE SCHOOL EDUCATION.
DIDN'T HAVE, YOU KNOW, TWO PARENTS AT HOME WHO WERE HELPING THEM WITH THE EDUCATIONAL PROCESS.
SO THAT'S AN EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE THE INTERNSHIP PROGRAM AND EXPAND THAT WHERE WE FOCUS ON INTERNING, UH, INTERNS OF COLOR AND DIVERSITY THROUGHOUT THE, THE AUSTIN AREA, HAVE THEM COME IN AND UNDERSTAND THE POLICE DEPARTMENT FOR TWO YEARS PERIOD OF TIME.
AND THEN THEY GET FIRST PREFERENCE TO, UH, GET INTO THE POLICE ACADEMY BY SUGGESTION WOULD BE THAT WHILE THEY'RE INTERNING, UH, THE VR ORGANIZED PROGRAM, SO THAT WE'RE ACTUALLY TRAINING THEM AND PREPARING THEM AND FEEDING THEM SOME OF THE ACADEMY LIFESTYLE ON THE COURSES SO THAT THEY ARE NOT OVERWHELMED WHEN THEY SHOW UP IN THE ACADEMY ONE DAY ONE, AND THEY ACTUALLY MIGHT HAVE THE SKILL SETS TO PERFORM
[00:50:01]
BETTER, UH, AND HAVE BETTER OUTCOMES.AND IF WE, UM, YOU KNOW, BRING IN INTERNS OF COLOR AND DIVERSITY, UH, WE'LL HAVE A HIGHER LIKELIHOOD OF, OF CHANGING OUR NUMBERS.
WE DID A SIMILAR PROGRAM IN BOSTON, AND THAT WAS THE, THE CIVIL SERVICE TEST WAS SUPPORTING OUR EFFORTS TO DIVERSIFY A BOOK THROUGH SOME LANGUAGE SELECTION PROCESS AND THE CADET PROGRAM.
WE WERE ABLE TO ACTUALLY GET BETTER DIVERSITY NUMBERS, UM, CONSIDER REALISTIC JOB PREVIEW, UH, AS FAR AS THE PHYSICAL FITNESS TEST, UH, AND CONTINUE EVALUATE DISQUALIFICATION FACTORS TO SEE WHY WE'RE LOSING CANDIDATES, UH, YOU KNOW, IF 7,000 PEOPLE ARE APPLYING, UH, WHY WE'RE LOSING PEOPLE NOW, YOU KNOW, I WAS ONCE ON THE RECRUITING TEAM AT BPD AND HAD A YOUNG MAN COME IN FOR HIS INTERVIEW.
AND I SAID, DO YOU REALIZE YOU HAVE THREE OPEN, VERBALLY WARRANTS OUTSTANDING FOR YOUR ARREST? AND HE SAID, YEAH, IS THAT GOING TO BE A PROBLEM? AND I SAID, YES, IT IS.
SO THERE ARE GOING TO BE SOME PEOPLE THAT ARE DISQUALIFIED.
UM, BUT THERE'S SO MUCH TIME, ENERGY AND EFFORT PUT INTO RECRUITING.
IF WE GET GOOD CANDIDATES, YOU KNOW, ANYTHING WE CAN DO OR APD CAN DO TO SUPPORT THEM THROUGH GETTING THROUGH THE PROCESS AND GRADUATION IS GOING TO BE KEY.
UM, MARK, DO WE GET ANOTHER SLIDE? ARE WE, UM, THE WRITTEN TESTS DISPARITIES, AS WE SAID, THE NEW TEST IS BETTER, BUT STILL HAS SOME DISPARITIES, UH, YOU KNOW, BRINGING IN AN INDEPENDENT CONSULTANT TO LOOK AT THE PHYSICAL FITNESS REQUIREMENTS.
I THINK THEY'RE, THEY'RE KIND OF TWEAKING THEM NOW, AS WE SAID, FROM THEIR RESPONSE TO OUR PRESENTATION, UH, PREPARING PEOPLE FOR THE PHYSICAL ABILITIES TEST, UM, KEEPING TRACK OF THAT OLD BULLET PROCESS AND REFORMING THAT, UM, MENTORSHIP PROGRAMS FOR, UH, OFFICERS OF COLOR, UM, OFFICERS OF LBGTQ, UH, WOMEN, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE SUPPORTED BY, YOU KNOW, SENIOR MEMBERS OF THE DEPARTMENT, UPPER RANKS AND SEE THAT THERE IS SOME UPWARD MOBILITY AND CAN KIND OF BUILD THE SKILL SETS THEY NEED TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN THE PROMOTIONAL PROCESS, UTILIZE A PROMOTIONAL SCORE DATA, CONSIDER DIFFERENT WAYS OF DOING THE ASSESSMENT CENTERS.
AS WE MENTIONED EARLIER, AND LOOK AT THE WEIGHTING OF THE TEST, YOU KNOW, DO SOME PEOPLE ACTUALLY COMMUNITY OUTREACH OFFICES, HOW DO WE MEASURE THAT AS OPPOSED TO JUST HOW WELL THEY DO ON MEMORIZING INFORMATION, THAT'S IN A TEXTBOOK.
UH, AND THAT IS PROBABLY BY ENHANCING CAREER DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES.
UM, SO I SAID THIS A COUPLE OF TIMES.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'VE HEARD IT, BUT I DIDN'T SPEAK UNTIL I WAS THREE.
MY MOTHER HAD ME TESTED THOUGHT I WAS ACTUALLY MUTE.
SHE SAYS, SO I'M GOING TO SHUT UP.
AND WE WOULD LIKE TO DO A QUESTION, ANYTHING WE HAVEN'T COVERED HERE A BIT BEFORE WE MOVE ON.
COULD I JUST WANT TO ADD TWO THINGS ON ONE, ONE TO WHAT DAN SAID EARLIER ABOUT THE RECRUITMENT? UH, I WAS ALSO INVOLVED IN RECRUITMENT IN MY FORMER CAREER, BUT ALSO LOOKING AT THE APD DATA.
THERE ARE SOME, EVEN THOUGH WE'RE SAYING COLLECT MORE DATA, UM, THERE THERE'S LIMITATIONS THERE TOO, BECAUSE THEY WEREN'T REALLY ANALYZING THE DATA THAT WHEN WE ASK QUESTIONS, WELL, WHY IS SOMEBODY DROPPING OUT HERE? THERE? THEY WEREN'T REALLY LOOKING AT THAT.
SO PART OF OUR RECOMMENDATIONS IS TO DRILL THAT DOWN.
UH, AND THE OTHER THING I JUST WANTED TO MENTION ON THE USE OF FORCE, UM, YOU HEARD, YOU HEARD MARK EARLIER TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, UH, THIS, THIS CAN GIVE YOU INFORMATION TO DRILL DOWN IN OTHER AREAS.
THE SIX MONTHS WINDOW THAT WE LOOKED AT WAS RANDOMLY SELECTED AND WE SURFACE THOSE ISSUES.
SO, SO THAT'S JUST AN EXAMPLE WHERE A QUALITATIVE REVIEW OF THE WHOLE AGGREGATE BROUGHT UP SOME ADDITIONAL FINDINGS THAT THE DEPARTMENT CAN, YOU CAN HANG YOUR HAT ON.
THESE ARE, THESE ARE ACTUALLY FROM THE CASES, THE INCIDENT REPORTS THAT ARE FILED BY THE DEPARTMENT.
SO I JUST WANT YOU TO KEEP THAT IN MIND FOR SOME ADDITIONAL CONTEXT.
NOW WE'RE READY FOR YOUR QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL OF THAT INFORMATION.
IT WAS A LOT TO TAKE IN, AND THERE WAS A LOT OF GOOD STUFF IN THERE AS FAR AS, UM, WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE COMMUNITY AND WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH BOSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT.
UH, ONE OF MY QUESTIONS REVOLVES AROUND THE ANALYSIS OF THOSE USE OF FORCE INCIDENTS.
UM, YOU SAID THAT A LOT OF THOSE INDIVIDUALS ARE SOME OF THE INDIVIDUALS WHO HAD EXPERIENCED A USE OF FORCE WERE KNOWN TO APD AND ALSO EXPERIENCED MORE THAN ONE USE OF FORCE.
UM, WERE YOU ABLE TO IDENTIFY THE OFFICERS THAT HAD MORE THAN ONE USE OF FORCE DURING THAT TIME PERIOD? NO.
DURING THIS PARTICULAR PROCESS, UM, WE HAVE TO PROTECT THE IDENTITY OF THE INDIVIDUALS INVOLVED BECAUSE IT IS A STUDY AND WE HAVE ACADEMIC RESEARCHERS INVOLVED INVOLVED IN THAT.
SO THAT INFORMATION IS SOMETHING THAT WE WEREN'T AGGREGATING FOR ANY TYPE OF REPORT OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
IT IS SOMETHING THAT THE DEPARTMENT SHOULD HAVE A PROCESS WHERE THEY'RE LOOKING AT OFFICES THAT ARE INVOLVED IN MULTIPLE USE OF FORCE.
[00:55:01]
UM, LOOKING AT OFFICERS WHO WERE INVOLVED IN, YOU KNOW, MULTIPLE COMPLAINTS, UM, SOMETIMES COMPLAINTS THAT CAN, SOMETIMES THERE'S NOT ENOUGH EVIDENCE.IT'S KIND OF, YOU KNOW, THEY SAID, THEY SAID, UM, AFTER, YOU KNOW, SEVERAL OF THOSE COMPLAINTS, UM, I USED TO SAY, WELL, YOU KNOW, IF THERE'S AN, EVEN THOUGH HE SAID, YOU KNOW, EIGHT UNSUSTAINED COMPLAINTS, IT'S ALL THE SAME, UH, BAD, UH, CONDUCT, I THINK WHERE THERE'S SMOKE, THERE'S SOMETIMES FIRE.
SO THE DEPARTMENT SHOULD HAVE, UH, WE USED TO CALL IT, UH, UH, THE, UH, SO WE WOULD LOOK AT ACCIDENTS.
OFFICERS ARE INVOLVED IN ACCIDENTS.
WE LOOK AT THEIR, UH, THEIR TIME AND ATTENDANCE.
WE LOOK AT THEIR, UM, USE OF FORCE.
WE'D LOOK AT FEAR, UM, ARREST.
AND WE LOOK FOR DISCRETIONARY ARRESTS, RIGHT? UH, ONE OF MY OFFICERS WHO WAS LEADING AN INTERNAL AFFAIRS COMPLAINT, HE HAD HE'S IN MY OFFICE AND HE HAD 51 COMPLAINTS.
AND HE, HE SAID, WELL, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WHO MAKE ARREST GET COMPLAINTS.
AND I SAID, ALL OF YOUR ARRESTS FOR DISORDERLY PERSON IN A AND B UH, I HAVE COPS WHO WERE MAKING ARMED ROBBERY, ARREST, CARJACKING, ARRESTS, FELONY TRAFFICKING ARREST.
THERE'S NO COMPLAINTS AGAINST THEM.
EVERY ONE OF YOUR ARREST IS BECAUSE YOU HAVE A TOUGH TIME HAVING A CONVERSATION WITH SOMEBODY, AND THEN IT'S CONTEMPT OF COP AND THEY'RE GETTING PUT INTO HANDCUFFS.
SO WE DIDN'T PARTICULARLY LOOK AT THAT, BUT THAT IS SOMETHING THAT THE ID PROCESS SHOULD BE LOOKING AT OFFICES, SORT OF HAVING AN HOPEFULLY FLAGGING IT, RIGHT? SOME OF THAT CAN BE AN OFFICER WHO'S GOING THROUGH, YOU KNOW, PTSD FROM AN EVENT HE HAD IN THE STREET, A MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS, ALCOHOL DRUG ISSUE, UM, MARITAL ISSUES AT HOME SLEEP ISSUES.
IT'S AMAZING HOW MANY COPS WORK 16 HOUR DAYS AND HAVE SLEEP APNEA AND DON'T SLEEP AND LACK OF SLEEP CAN CAUSE THEM TO BE, YOU KNOW, ON, ON A, YOU KNOW, TRIGGERS EDGE.
SO WE DIDN'T CATCH IT IN THE STUDY, BUT IT IS SOMETHING THAT APD SHOULD BE LOOKING AT IN THEIR PROCESS OF EVALUATING ID.
MY COMMANDERS USED TO LOOK AT THAT QUARTERLY, AND THEN I WOULD HAVE, UH, TWICE A YEAR, WHAT I WOULD LOOK AT THE PERSONNEL ASSESSMENT REPORTS TO MAKE SURE WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY RED FLAGS AND OUTLIERS OUT THERE.
THAT'S, THAT'S HELPFUL TO KNOW.
UM, AND WE'LL DEFINITELY FOLLOW UP WITH APD TO SEE IF THEY ARE LOOKING AT THAT ON A REGULAR BASIS, BECAUSE I THINK, UM, NOT ONLY IS IT INTERESTING TO SEE WHO IS KNOWN TO APD, BUT ALSO WHO IS GENERATING, IF THERE ARE ANY PEOPLE WHO ARE GENERATING A LOT OF THAT VOLUME WHEN IT COMES TO AS USE OF FORCE AND THAT'S THE APD WITH, WITH THE COMMANDER, RIGHT? SO THE OFFICER WHO'S IN THE QUIET NEIGHBORHOOD AREA OF LOSTON WITH HIS FAMILIES, AND THERE'S NOT A LOT OF GANG VIOLENCE AND NOT A LOT OF CLUB ACTIVITY.
HE PROBABLY SHOULDN'T HAVE, YOU KNOW, FIVE PEPPER SPRAY USES THIS YEAR, RIGHT? THE OFFICER WHO WAS DOWNTOWN IN THE CLUBS WORKING MIDNIGHT TO FOUR EVERY THURSDAY, FRIDAY, SATURDAY NIGHT, WELL, 10 USES OF PEPPER SPRAY MIGHT BE, MIGHT BE OKAY FOR HIM BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THE PEPPER SPRAY IS PROBABLY PREVENTING HIM FROM HITTING SOMEBODY WITH A BATON OR, YOU KNOW, BREAKING UP A FLIGHT.
SO IT'S GOOD TO HAVE THE WHO'S DOING IT.
AND THEN TO DRILL DOWN INTO, OKAY, ARE WE CONCERNED ABOUT IT OR IS IT AN ENVIRONMENTAL FACTOR OR IS IT A TRAINING FACTOR, UM, OR POLICY FACTORS? SOMETIMES OUR POLICIES CREATE CONCERNS THAT, UH, THAT WE SHOULD BE AWARE OF TO ANY OF THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS, HAVE QUESTIONS, FEEL FREE TO JUMP IN, GO AHEAD.
UM, WE SAW, OR WE HEARD A FEW TIMES THAT ARRESTS HAVE DECREASED SINCE 2017.
AND I WAS CURIOUS IF THE NUMBER OF OFFICERS STAFF IN TERMS OF STAFFING NUMBERS, IF THAT WAS RELATED TO THE DECREASE, OR IF THAT WAS MEASURED ALONGSIDE WITH THE NUMBER OF ARRESTS.
AND THIS ALSO HAS TO DO WITH THE DOWNTOWN SECTOR THAT HAD MORE ARRESTS VERSUS ANY OTHER SECTOR, WHAT THE STAFFING WAS DOWNTOWN VERSUS THE OTHER SECTORS, IF THAT WAS LOOKED AT, I DON'T BELIEVE THOSE, UM, PARTICULAR NUMBERS WERE LOOKED AT, BUT I DO THINK THAT, UM, I, I DON'T THINK THE NUMBER OF OFFICERS CERTAINLY WOULDN'T EXPLAIN THE DECLINE IN ARRESTS TO THE EXTENT THAT IT WAS.
SO IT WAS LITERALLY A 50% DECLINE OVER THAT FOUR YEAR PERIOD.
UM, SO THAT WOULD BE WAY OUT OF PROPORTION TO WHATEVER DECLINED IN THE NUMBER OF OFFICERS THERE ARE, UH, IN THAT TIMEFRAME, ALTHOUGH THERE HAS BEEN A DECLINE IN THE NUMBER OF OVERALL OFFICERS IN THAT TIMEFRAME.
UM, BUT, UH, AS, AS FAR AS, UH, THE OTHER ISSUES, I DON'T THINK WE WERE ABLE TO MAKE THAT WE REALLY WEREN'T LOOKING AT THAT SPECIFIC FACTOR.
I DON'T BELIEVE WHAT WAS THE LATEST STATE WE LOOKED UP UP TO WHEN, UH, WELL, THE ARREST DATA WAS 2017 TO 2020, SO 17, 18, 19, 20 END OF 2020.
SO THE BEGINNING OF COVID AND KIND OF THE NATIONAL PROTESTS, UM,
[01:00:01]
AGAINST POLICE AND, AND CAUSING FOR A FORM, I THINK, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT, SAY, STARTING WITH BALTIMORE, THE FREDDIE GRAY CASE, YOU STARTED TO SEE POLICE DEPARTMENTS, UH, WHO WERE ENCOURAGING OFFICERS TO BE LESS PROACTIVE, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY WERE TRYING.AND IN SOME CASES, YOU KNOW, CRITICAL INCIDENT DEBRIEF STRATEGIES THAT COME INTO PLAY, WHERE WE STARTED TO TALK ABOUT, OKAY, IT'S LEGAL TO ARREST THEM, BUT DO WE HAVE TO ARREST THEM? IS THERE SOMETHING ELSE? I THINK IT WOULD TAKE A DEEPER DIVE TO LOOK AT THE NUMBERS.
UM, CERTAINLY NUMBERS CAN PLAY INTO IT, BUT I THINK IT MIGHT BE, UH, COVID AND THE NATIONAL MOVEMENT TO TRY AND CHANGE POLICING AND TRY AND DO THINGS IN A DIFFERENT WAY THAT HAVE POLICE NOT BEING AGGRESSIVE AS THEY USED TO BE.
I KNOW HERE IN AUSTIN, THERE WERE DEFINITELY SOME SHORTAGES IN STAFFING, AND THEN THERE WAS A SHIFT TO NOT RESPOND TO SOME CALLS THAT WAS SHARED, UM, CITYWIDE.
SO I WAS KIND OF CURIOUS IF THAT WAS LOOKED AT, UM, ANOTHER QUESTION I HAD WAS ABOUT THE SUPERVISORY ISSUES, WHICH IRONICALLY IS RELATED TO ONE OF THE REASONS THAT I JOINED THE COMMISSION.
SO I WAS CURIOUS IF YOU ALL COULD EXPAND ON THAT IN TERMS OF, JUST FROM THE CASES THAT WERE REVIEWED, HOW INVOLVED SUPERVISORS WERE, WHEN IT CAME TO APPROVING, UM, AN ARREST, WAS IT, WERE THERE QUESTIONS ASKED OR WAS IT THE BACK AND FORTH, I GUESS I'M CURIOUS, UM, WHAT YOU SAW IN YOUR CASE REVIEWS.
YES SOMETIMES THE WAY THAT THE USE OF FORCE REPORTING POLICY IS COUCHED AS IT'S A USE OF FORCE INQUIRY, UH, WHAT THE, WHAT THE OFF THE SUPERVISOR COMES OUT AND INTERVIEWS LIKE, I'VE SEEN A COUPLE OCCASIONS WHERE, AND THIS IS A BAD PRACTICE WHERE THE SUPERVISOR INTERVIEWED THE OFFICERS COLLECTIVELY TOGETHER.
THEY SHOULD BE INTERVIEWED SEPARATELY.
YOU KNOW, THAT YOU DON'T GROUP INTERVIEW, UH, WHEN YOU HAVE SOMETHING LIKE THAT, UH, CLEARLY, UH, YOU KNOW, TH TH THOSE KINDS OF THINGS POPPED UP ONCE IN A WHILE, BUT ALSO THE SUPERVISOR, IT SEEMED AS THOUGH WAS JUST REPORTING BASICALLY WHAT THE OFFICERS WAS TELLING THEM.
UH, THERE WAS NO PROBING AS, AS A FORMER SUPERVISOR AND INVESTIGATOR, I WOULD ASK PROBING QUESTIONS.
WHAT WAS REASON FOR THIS ENCOUNTER TO BEGIN WITH? WHY WERE YOU HERE? YOU KNOW, WHAT LED YOU? WHAT WAS YOUR, WHAT WAS YOUR CAUSE TO DO WHAT YOU DID HERE WITH THIS INDIVIDUAL THAT LED TO THIS ARREST WAS THE UNDERLYING CHARGE.
I WOULD ASK THOSE QUESTIONS AND A SUPERVISOR WHO'S TRAINED AND KNOWS HOW TO INVESTIGATE AND MAKE INQUIRIES AND USE OF FORCE WOULD ASK THOSE KINDS OF QUESTIONS.
SO YOU WOULD JUST BASICALLY SEE AN OFFICER'S REPORT.
AND THE OFFICER WOULD SAY, THIS IS THE RESPONSE TO RESISTANCE.
UH, LAY IT ALL OUT AND SAY, SUPERVISOR NOTIFIED, RESPONDED TO THE SCENE AND APPROVED THE ARREST.
AND THEN YOU, THEN YOU LOOK INTO THE REPORT, YOU WOULD SEE A USE OF FORCE AREA THAT SAID ARREST APPROVED BY, OKAY.
BUT THE SUPERVISOR WAS COLLECTING THE DATA AND DIDN'T APPEAR TO BE MAKING ANY, TAKING ANY SUPERVISORY ACTIONS THAT THEY COULD THERE.
EXCEPT IN ONE CASE THAT ONE CASE I WAS TELLING YOU ABOUT WHAT THEY OFFICER BROUGHT IT TO THE SUPERVISOR AND SAID, I DON'T THINK I HAVE IT.
UM, BUT IT WASN'T THAT I DIDN'T SEE ANYTHING, NOTHING SURFACE THAT WE CAN REMEMBER WHERE THE SUPERVISOR SAID, YOU KNOW, THAT'S INAPPROPRIATE, YOU SHOULDN'T DO THIS.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE GOING TO SEND YOU FOR TRAINING, OR WE'RE GOING TO PUT THIS IN YOUR FILE.
WE WEREN'T SEEING ANY OF THAT.
AND ALSO SUPERVISORS, UH, IN THESE CASES, WE SAW ESCALATION, UH, OR INAPPROPRIATE FORCE.
THAT'S, THOSE ARE CERTAIN THINGS A SUPERVISOR CAN, CAN TRAIN ON AND MENTOR, UH, DEPENDING ON IF THIS PERSON'S NOT INJURED OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH SAYING, HEY, LOOK, YOU WANT TO FAST HERE, SLOW IT DOWN.
YOU KNOW, THOSE SORTS OF THINGS, WE DIDN'T SEE ANY OF THAT.
UH, EXCEPT FOR THE ONE CASE WHERE IN THE PROBLEMATIC CASES WE SAW WHERE THE SUPERVISOR, UM, AGREED WITH THE OFFICER, OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, BEING A FIRST TIME SUPERVISOR, IF I'M LOOKING AT WHAT'S BEING TOLD TO ME, AND I'M REVIEWING THAT OFFICER'S REPORT, THAT'S GOING TO GO UP THE CHAIN OF COMMAND.
AND I LOOKED AT THE BODY-WORN CAMERA FOOTAGE, AND I SEE THAT THERE'S SIGNIFICANT ISSUES OR CONFLICTS.
YOU KNOW, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THEY SHOULD BE ADDRESSING BEFORE IT GOES UP THE PIPELINE.
UM, THOSE ARE SUPERVISORY ISSUES.
UM, ANOTHER ONE STANDS OUT IN MY HEAD WAS THERE WAS A CASE.
I CLEARLY, I'M A FORMER INTERNAL AFFAIRS COMMANDER.
AND I'M CERTAINLY IN AS A SUPERVISOR, IF I SAW SOMETHING THAT COULD BE MISCONDUCT IN MY REVIEW, I'D BE REFERRING IT TO INTERNAL AFFAIRS.
I CLEARLY SAW A CASE THAT I FELT SHOULD HAVE BEEN SENT TO INTERNAL AFFAIRS TO BE INVESTIGATED, AND CLEARLY WENT NOWHERE.
UH, THE OTHER THING I SAW IN AN INAPPROPRIATE USE OF FORCE, UH, INVOLVING A MENTAL HEALTH SITUATION, THE SUPERVISOR WAS A PART OF THE RESPONSE.
THERE WAS A SUPERVISOR THERE, YOU KNOW, WITNESSED THE ACTUAL USE OF FORCE BEING EMPLOYED.
[01:05:01]
AND IT SEEMED TO BE A THAT'S WHAT I CAN SAY.IT, IT SEEMED TO BE THAT THE OFFICER DID EMPLOY IT.
UH, AND THE SUPERVISOR WERE NOT ON THE SAME PAGE.
WELL, WHO'S IN CHARGE OF THAT SCENE.
SO SUPERVISORS RIGHT THERE ON SITE, IT'S NOT TAKING ACTION.
I'M GOING TO PREVENT FROM HAPPENING WITHOUT MY APPROVAL.
AND SO, SO THOSE ARE, THOSE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS TASER POLICY.
IF SOMEBODY IS EMPLOYING THE TASER AND THEY'RE NOT ON A POLICY, YOU'D EXPECT A SUPERVISOR TO MAKE NOTE OF THAT.
UH, THAT SHOULD BE A PART OF THAT USE OF FORCE INQUIRY.
AND THAT SHOULD BE EITHER HANDLED OR REFERRED TO SOMEONE WHO'S GOING TO HANDLE IT THROUGH TRAINING AND OR D ALL THE WAY UP THROUGH DISCIPLINE IF NEEDED.
UH, WE DIDN'T SEE ANY OF THAT.
LET ME JUST SAY ONE OTHER THING ABOUT THIS.
KEEP IN MIND THIS, THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT IS GOING THROUGH RE-IMAGINING IT? THE ACADEMY.
SO WE'VE GOT ALL THIS GOOD TRAINING GOING IN, UH, ALL THESE CHANGES, YOU KNOW, TOWARD A MORE GUARDIAN CENTRIC POLICE DEPARTMENT.
AND THEN YOU HAVE TO FILL TRAINING OFFICERS WHO WE'RE WORKING ON RIGHT NOW.
WE'RE WORKING ON GETTING THEIR POLICY REVISED IN THERE, BUT LET'S FACE IT ONCE THAT OFFICER, AT LEAST FIELD TRAINING, THE PERSON OR PERSONS THAT HAVE MORE INFLUENCE ON THEM, ON THEIR CAREERS, ON THE STREET, IS THERE A FIRST-LINE SUPERVISOR AND IN AUSTIN, THAT'S EITHER GOING TO BE THAT CORPORAL FOR THOSE SERGEANTS TO COME OUT THERE.
THOSE ARE THE PEOPLE THEY SEE ON A DAILY BASIS.
SO TO ME, AS A FRONTLINE SUPERVISOR AND MY EXPERIENCE, THERE IS AN ADDITIONAL AREA.
THAT'S A GAP IN WHAT THEY DO THERE.
THEY SHOULD BE ADDRESSING SOME OF THESE ISSUES.
I WAS GOING TO SAY THE SAME THING THAT FRONTLINE SUPERVISOR CAN MAKE OR BREAK AN ISSUE, UH, COMMUNITY RESPONSE, UM, YOU KNOW, I'VE SEEN SITUATIONS GO BAD AND BECAUSE THE SERGEANT SHOWED UP AND JUST CHECK THE BOX TO SAY, I WAS HERE, YOU HAVE TO TELL THEM I RESPONDED.
UH, AND I'VE SEEN SITUATIONS GO, RIGHT? CAUSE THE SERGEANT STEPPED UP AND SAID TIME OUT.
GET ME A ID LOCKED THIS CRIME SCENE DOWN.
UM, THIS IS NOT UNIQUE TO AUSTIN, UH, SUPERVISORS WHO HAVE, UNFORTUNATELY WE, WE WERE POLICE OFFICER.
WE'RE WORKING WITH THE MEN AND WOMEN ON OUR SHIFT AND WE TAKE A TASK FOR KNOWLEDGE.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE WERE ABLE TO FILL OUT MORE BUBBLES BETTER THAN SOMEBODY ELSE.
AND I GET PROMOTED, PROMOTED TO SERGEANT.
UM, WE OFTEN FAIL TO TRAIN SERGEANTS ON WHY THEY'RE, WHAT THEY'RE DOING, HOW THEY SHOULD BE DOING IT, HOW THEY GO FROM BEING A FRONTLINE TROOP TO SOMEBODY WHO'S RESPONSIBLE FOR MAINTAINING THE PROFESSIONALISM OF THE TROOP AND THEIR RESPONSIBILITY TO DO INVESTIGATIONS.
WE HAD IT IN BOSTON WITH USE OF FORCE WHERE I WAS LOOKING AT.
I HAD SUPERVISORS WHO WERE DOING EXACTLY THAT WE HAD A FORM THEY HAD TO FILL OUT AND THEY WOULD CHECK YEP.
SPOKE TO THE OFFICES, GOT REPORTS.
UM, DID THIS GO? AND THEY WOULD CHECK ALL THE BOXES.
AND THEN I WOULD READ THE REPORTS.
AND I'D SAY, SERGEANT, DID YOU READ THE OFFICER'S REPORTS? BECAUSE THE FLOOR OFFICERS HAVE CUT AND PASTED THE EXACT SAME REPORT WITH THE SAME TYPOS AND SPELLING ERRORS AND PUT IT UNDER THEIR OWN NAMES.
W DO YOU THINK THAT WAS, UH, AN ACCURATE REPORT? DO YOU THINK, YOU KNOW, CUTTING AND PASTING IS GOING TO BE HELPFUL TO THE PROCESS TO JUST SPEAK TO THE SUSPECT? WELL, CHIEF, I CAN'T SPEAK TO THE SUSPECT.
HE'S GOT A SIXTH AMENDMENT, RIGHT AGAINST SELF-INCRIMINATION.
YOU'RE NOT INVESTIGATING THE CRIME.
HE'S CHARGED WITH YOU'RE INVESTIGATING WHETHER USE OF FORCE WAS THERE AND I'VE SEEN IT.
THE SUSPECT IS GOING TO SAY, WAIT A MINUTE, THESE GUYS WERE COMPLETELY WRONG.
OR THE SUSPECT OFTENTIMES WILL SAY I WAS A JERK.
I SHOULDN'T, I SHOULDN'T, I I, MY, MY FAULT.
RIGHT? WELL, THAT'S, THAT'S A GOOD THING TO KNOW, BECAUSE YEARS LATER, WHEN THE LAWSUIT COMES, THE SUPERVISORS GET CONTEMPORARY STATEMENTS FROM THE SUSPECT AS TO WHAT WAS HIS STATE OF MIND AT THE TIME THERE WERE INDEPENDENT WITNESSES, YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY IN THE GEORGE SECTION, RIGHT? THERE ARE BARTENDERS AND, AND DOORMEN WHO PROBABLY THROWING PEOPLE OUT OF THE CLUB BEFORE THE OFFICERS WENT HANDS ON.
THEY CAN SAY EXACTLY WHAT WAS GOING ON BEFORE.
AND MAYBE DURING THE ENCOUNTER, UM, HELPFUL TO SHOULDN'T BE HELPFUL TO THE OFFICERS IF THEY DID THINK BY THE NUMBERS.
AND IF YOU KNOW, IT'S A FRIEND OF THE SUSPECT WHO SAYS, WAIT A SECOND, HE WAS WALKING AWAY.
AND THIS COP COULD, YOU KNOW, HE DIDN'T LIKE THE WAY HE WAS TALKED TO.
HE, HE GOT CONTEMPT, THE COP AND HE WENT OVER AND GRABBED HIM FOR NO REASON AND SLAMMED HIM INTO THE GROUND.
THAT'S, THAT'S SOMETHING WE SHOULD REPORT IN DOCUMENTS.
SO ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS WE HAVE IS TO MAKE SURE THERE'S A, A THOROUGH TRAINING PROGRAM FOR SUPERVISORS, JUST FOR INVESTIGATING FORCE.
AND I THINK AUSTIN'S IN THE RIGHT PLACE THAT THEY'VE NOW CENTRALIZED IT.
SO THAT THERE'S ONE CENTRAL UNIT LOOKING AT THIS, WHICH TAKES AWAY SOME OF THE PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS THAT CAN SOMETIMES CLOUD THIS.
IF I'VE WORKED IN A, IN A STATION WITH THIS PERSON FOR 10 YEARS, IT'S PROBABLY HARD FOR ME TO, YOU KNOW, BE THE BEST BOSS I CAN, IF I THINK, OH BOY, YOU MADE A MISTAKE THERE.
HOPEFULLY I'VE GOT THE COURAGE TO DO IT, BUT I'M A LOT BETTER.
SERGEANT HAVING BEEN A POLICE CHIEF, I CAN TELL YOU THAT.
UH, CAUSE I, I WOULD HAVE DONE IT A LOT BETTER AS A SERGEANT IF I KNEW NOW, IF I KNEW THEN WHAT I KNOW NOW, AND IF I CAN JUST ADD ONE ADDITIONAL THOUGHT TO THIS, YOU KNOW, WE TALK ABOUT HOLDING OFFICERS ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR CONDUCT ON THE STREET.
BUT ALONG THIS REVIEW PROCESS, SUPERVISORS GOT TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE WHEN THEY FAIL TO DO THEIR DUTY
[01:10:01]
AND SUPERVISE AND ENFORCE POLICY.I MEAN, THEY'RE, THEY'RE THE ONES THAT ARE THE MANAGERS OF THE DEPARTMENT.
THEY'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR PUSHING AND MAKING SURE THESE OFFICERS ARE HEARING THE POLICY.
AND IF OFFICERS ARE OUT THERE AND NOT THAT THEY'RE NOT BEING HELPED AS A SUPERVISORS ABSENT, YOU KNOW, OUT THERE AND ABSENT, THEN YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE A CONTINUATION.
IT'S JUST GOING TO CONTINUE TO DEFEAT ITSELF.
AND OUR POLICY IS PROBLEMATIC, IT'S UP TO THE SUPERVISORS TO BRING THAT UP AND IDENTIFY THAT TO US.
OUR POLICY IN BOSTON WAS THAT IF WE USED OUR STICK OR OUR OSI SPRAY, WE HAD TO FILL OUT A USE OF FORCE REPORT.
HOWEVER, THERE WAS NOTHING THAT REQUIRED POLICE OFFICERS WHO HAD TO PUNCH SOMEBODY 15 TIMES OR, YOU KNOW, ME STRIKE THEM AND, AND, AND, YOU KNOW, HIT THEM WITH SOMETHING ELSE.
UM, SO THEY WEREN'T REPORTING THAT USE OF FORCE.
SO THEY WOULD RATHER FIGHT YOU AND, AND, AND, AND NOT USE THE TOOLS WE GIVE YOU TO GET YOU IN CUSTODY QUICKLY.
UM, AND, AND, YOU KNOW, HAVE A BUNCH OF PUNCH IN WHICH CAN CAUSE ALL KINDS OF INJURIES AND IT DOESN'T LOOK GOOD.
AND THEY WOULD RATHER DO THAT BECAUSE IT MEANT A LESS PIECE OF PAPER.
AND THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO DO A USE OF FORCE REPORT THAT WAS INVESTIGATED BY US.
SO WE HAD TO CHANGE THAT EVERYTHING IS USE OF FORCE, EVERYTHING GETS REPORTED INVESTIGATED.
UM, AND THERE'S NO JUST ENCOURAGING OFFICERS NOT TO USE THE TOOLS WE GIVE THEM BECAUSE, UM, YOU KNOW, PAPERWORK WOULD, UH, WOULD FOLLOW THEM.
UM, ANOTHER QUOTE, I HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION, UM, WHEN IT CAME TO COLLECTING DATA ON ANY OF THESE, UM, KIND OF THE ESCALATING TO THE POINT WHERE, UH, RESISTING ARREST WAS USED.
AND I WAS MAINLY THINKING ABOUT THAT ONE, WAS THERE ANY COLLECTION OF DATA AS IT RELATES TO THE TENURE OF THE OFFICER CURIOUS, BECAUSE I KNOW THAT WE'RE GOING THROUGH THE REVAMPING AND I DON'T THINK THAT THIS, UM, THIS, THIS TIME PERIOD, UM, WAS THE SAME AS THE TIME PERIOD AS THE REVAMP OF THE TRAINING, BUT JUST KIND OF A THOUGHT THAT I'VE HAD IS HOW ARE WE GOING TO TRAIN THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN ON BOARD FOR SOME TIME VERSUS THE NEWER ONES THAT ARE GETTING THE NEW TRAINING? SO I WAS CURIOUS IF THERE WAS TENURE TRACKING ON THE DATA, BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE WASN'T NO WAIT, WE DIDN'T TRACK THAT.
HOWEVER, THAT THAT DEESCALATION TRAINING AND ALL THAT IT'S IMPORTANT TO BE A PART OF THE ANNUAL OR THE MANDATORY IN-SERVICE TRAINING, THE DEPARTMENT, UH, GIBBS.
SO WHATEVER THE, THE, THE COUPLE OF TOP TWO THINGS, THERE'S TWO PRONGS HERE.
NUMBER ONE, THAT WE GET THE FIELD TRAINING OFFICERS TEACHING IT CORRECTLY IN THE FIELD.
FIRST, SECONDLY, WE GET THE SUPERVISORS ALL TRAINED ON THE, THE ICAT, WHICH IS, WHICH IS A DEESCALATION TRAINING THAT HAS BEEN SHOWN TO REDUCE, USE OF FORCE TRULY THROUGH RESEARCH.
UM, SO THAT'S, THAT'S THE KEY TO AUSTIN TO GET THOSE, THOSE SUPERVISORS, UH, TRAINED IN IT, MAKING SURE THEY UNDERSTAND IT, AND THEN THEY GOTTA BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR MONITORING AND MAKING SURE THAT THE DEESCALATION POLICIES ARE BEING FOLLOWED BASED ON THE TRAINING THAT THEY'VE RECEIVED.
I CAN TELL YOU THIS, WHEN WE FIRST GOT TO AUSTIN, WE ASKED ABOUT THE ESCALATION TRAINING.
WE KIND OF WERE INFORMED AT THAT ALL DEPARTMENT.
BUT IT SEEMS LIKE IT DOESN'T SEEM THAT EVERYBODY GOT IT.
CAUSE IF THEY DID, THEY'D BE ABLE TO TELL US THE, OH, WE HAD THAT, I GOT TRAINING.
THEY WERE LIKE, WHAT? IT WAS ICAT.
WELL, I MEAN, I, CAT IS THE NAME OF THE TRAINING, YOU KNOW, SO, SO, SO THAT'S GOING TO BE KEY THAT THE, THE, THE CURRENT OFFICERS OUT THERE ALL GET THE TRAINING AND IT'S DOCUMENTED, AND THEN THERE'S SOME UPDATES WHEN THE UPDATES COME OUT, DID HE GET THE UPDATES? ACTUALLY, I ALSO HAD A QUESTION, UM, KIND OF TO PIVOT INTO THE TESTING FOR THE, SINCE WE'LL KIND OF TALK ABOUT THE ACADEMY AND I, EXCUSE ME, I'M GETTING OVER A COLD.
SO I COUGH AND I SOUND TERRIBLE, BUT I, UH, SO MY QUESTION IS ABOUT THE WRITTEN TEST.
SO THE APPLICANTS ARE TAKING WRITTEN AND THEN THAT'S KIND OF DISQUALIFYING A LOT OF PEOPLE OF COLOR.
AND I HAVE KIND OF TWO QUESTIONS, I GUESS.
MY CAT HAS A LOT TO SAY AS WELL.
UM, MY FIRST QUESTION IS, ARE THE PEOPLE GRADING THE TESTS OR I DON'T.
I MEAN, I, IT SOUNDS LIKE TALKING ABOUT LIKE A HIGH SCHOOL CLASS OR SOMETHING, BUT OTHER PEOPLE GRADING THE TESTS, AWARE OF THE RACE OF THE PERSON WHO TOOK THE TEST, IS THAT A FACTOR, OR I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHY THIS IS HAPPENING, WHY THESE WRITTEN TESTS ARE FAILING, LIKE WHY THESE, UH, THEY'RE MOVING PEOPLE BASED ON THESE WRITTEN TESTS.
UH, IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING OF THE TESTS ARE GIVEN AND THERE'S LIKE SCAN OF TRONIC TEST, RIGHT? SO IT'S A MACHINE THAT DOES THE GRADING, UM, SO THAT IT DOESN'T UNDERSTAND
[01:15:01]
OR HAVE ANY BIASES THAT IT JUST GOES OFF OF WHAT THE ANSWERS ARE.UM, THE TEST ITSELF, HOWEVER, CAN BE DISCRIMINATING AGAINST PEOPLE OF COLOR.
UM, WE DID AN ANALYSIS OF OFFICERS WHO WERE GOING INTO MY SUPERVISORY RANKS AT THE CITY OF BOSTON.
AND I THINK IT'S PROBABLY FINE TO ANALYSIS IN AUSTIN.
IF I LOOKED AT THOSE WHO WERE SUCCESSFUL IN TAKING A TEST, UH, I'D FIND THAT THEY WENT TO, UH, EITHER THE HIGHER, UH, BETTER PRIVATE EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS AND SOME OF THE SUBURBAN COMMUNITIES WHERE THERE WAS A LOT OF RESOURCES, UM, ARE CATHOLIC SCHOOLS, PRIVATE SCHOOLS, UH, WHERE BASICALLY YOU'RE, YOU'RE TAUGHT HOW TO TAKE A TEST AND YOU TEACH, THEY TEACH KIDS HOW TO TEACH FOR THE TASK RIGHT THERE.
THEY'RE DOING A LOT OF COLLEGE PREP AND A LOT OF SAT PREP.
SO THEY WERE ACTUALLY GETTING YOU READY TO FILL OUT, UH, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A CERTAIN SCIENCE, LIKE, ALL RIGHT, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE ANSWER IS, BUT I KNOW THAT ONE, ISN'T IT.
AND THIS ONE SEEMS LESS WORSE.
UM, IF YOU HAVEN'T HAD THAT OPPORTUNITY THOUGH, THE TEST GENERALLY WILL NOT WORK FOR YOU.
AND WE USUALLY FIND THAT THOSE ARE KIDS FROM COMMUNITIES OF COLOR THAT DIDN'T HAVE THE SAME SCHOOL SYSTEM COMING UP, WHICH IS WHY OUR RECOMMENDATION ON THE INTERN PROGRAM IS TO GO OUT AND RECRUIT INTERNS AND THEN PROVIDE LIKE A TWO YEAR SUPPORT PROGRAM TO BUILD THOSE TEST TAKING SKILLS, UH, WHEN YOU GET TO THE ACADEMY.
SO I HAVE A FOLLOW-UP QUESTION.
SO WHAT I'M HEARING YOU SAY IS THAT THIS IS LIKE A MULTIPLE CHOICE, LIKE A SAT T IT'S NOT, UM, I GUESS I WAS THINKING WRITTEN ESSAY WHEN IT WAS SAYING WRITTEN, SO THIS IS LIKE A MULTIPLE CHOICE.
SO THAT'S WHERE I WAS GETTING CONFUSED.
THIS ONE, I LIKE, I APPRECIATE THE INFORMATION AND I I'VE HEARD THIS BEFORE.
THIS IS SOMEONE MENTIONED THAT EARLIER, THIS IS A NATIONWIDE PROBLEM.
THIS IS A TESTING ISSUE THROUGHOUT OUR EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM.
SO THIS IS A DISPROPORTIONALITY PROBLEM NATIONALLY.
UH, SO IT'S NOT SURPRISING TO SEE IT HERE, BUT I WANTED TO FOLLOW UP WITH THAT.
UM, MUCH LIKE JESSICA WAS INTERESTED IN THE REPEAT USE OF FORCE ON INDIVIDUALS THAT HAVE BEEN INVOLVED, UM, IN THE POLICE SYSTEM.
AND I WAS CURIOUS IF THERE'S ANYTHING EITHER COLLECTED OR THAT YOU NOTED IN YOUR CASE REVIEWS THAT INDICATED WHY IS IT THEY'RE LOOKING AT THE HISTORY? I MEAN, I WAS TRYING TO THINK OF DIFFERENT REASONS WHY SOMEONE WOULD HAVE USE OF FORCE USE ON THEM MULTIPLE TIMES.
AND I DIDN'T KNOW IF IT WAS, THEY WERE PULLING UP THE PERSON'S NAME AND SEEING A HISTORY AND THAT'S LEADING THEM TO ALREADY KNOW IN THE PAST HAS HAPPENED.
SO THIS IS HOW I'M GOING TO HAVE TO APPROACH IT MORE, YOU KNOW, WITH MORE FORCE OR I KNOW JESSICA ASKS THE QUESTION WAS, IS IT WAS THE PARTICULAR OFFICERS THAT WERE INVOLVED IN THE SAME INCIDENCES.
AND SO THEY REMEMBER THIS PERSON FROM BEFORE, DOES ANYTHING THAT KIND OF GAVE CLUE AS TO WHY INDIVIDUALS WOULD HAVE THE P AND USE OF FORCE ON THEM? UH, AND THERE WAS NOTHING THAT WAS KIND OF NOT SOMETHING THAT WE DROVE DOWN.
UH, AND KEEP IN MIND, WE WERE LOOKING AT A SIX MONTH SNAPSHOT NOT TO SAY THAT, WHICH WOULD BE A MAJOR UNDERTAKING.
IF THAT, IF THERE WAS FOUR YEARS WORTH OF LOOKING AT THOSE REPORTS, YOU COULD PROBABLY FERRET THAT KIND OF INFORMATION OUT.
UM, UH, CERTAINLY, UH, YOU KNOW, THE OFFICERS, I MEAN, WE, WE DIDN'T, WE DIDN'T DRILL DOWN ON IT, BUT, YOU KNOW, IT'S REASONABLE TO THINK THAT THERE'S, THERE'S PEOPLE THAT THEY ENCOUNTERED.
THEY PROBABLY KNEW, BUT THAT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE, WE WERE ABLE TO FAIR IT OUT IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM.
AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT SHOULD, AS WE TALKED EARLIER WITH JESSICA'S QUESTION, THAT'S SOMETHING, A PERSONAL ASSESSMENT MANAGEMENT MEETING WOULD COVER, RIGHT? HOW MANY, HOW MANY TIMES IS THE OFFICER USING FORCE WHERE THERE'S AN INJURY? HOW MANY TIMES DID THE OFFICER USING FORCE WITH REPEAT OFFENDERS AND THEN LOOKING AT SUSPECT DATA, UH, IS THIS SOMEBODY WHO'S GOT MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES THAT EVERY TIME THEY SEE THE POLICE, THEY JUST, THEY, THEY, THEY DON'T WANT TO SUBMIT TO HANDCUFFS, UH, IS THIS SOMEBODY WHO'S GANG INVOLVED AND, UH, IS GONNA, YOU KNOW, EVERY TIME THEY'RE OUT ON BAIL, THEY'RE GETTING GRABBED ON A FRIDAY NIGHT, THEY'RE GOING TO SPEND THE WEEKEND IN JAIL.
SO THEY'RE GOING TO GIVE IT THEIR BEST TO TRY AND KNOCK IT GRABBED ON A FRIDAY NIGHT AND SPEND THE WEEKEND AND TRY AND GET PICKED UP A MONDAY AND, YOU KNOW, BAIL OUT, UH, MONDAY AFTERNOON.
UM, IS IT SOMEBODY THAT HAS HAD A HISTORY OF ASSAULT OF BEHAVIOR ON POLICE? IS IT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE TYPES OF CALLS, UM, DOMESTIC CASES, OFTENTIMES, YOU KNOW, REPEAT DOMESTIC CALLS, UH, ARE VIOLENT AND, UM, AN OFFICE CAN GO HANDS-ON AND, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, IF, IF SOMEBODY IS STILL IN A CYCLE OF VIOLENCE AND YOU CAN'T BREAK IT, IT, IT JUST ESCALATES UP AND UP.
SO THAT ANALYSIS COULD BE DONE.
WE DIDN'T DO IT, BUT THAT SHOULD BE FAIRLY EASY FOR APD TO DO WITH THEIR PERSONNEL ASSESSMENT MEETING.
WELL, I WILL SAY THOUGH, WHAT WE DID LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, 30% OF THE CASES, UM, OR 30% OF THE INDIVIDUALS WHO HAD FORCE USED AGAINST THEM IN THAT FOUR YEAR STUDY WERE REPEAT, USES OF
[01:20:01]
FORCE.THEY HAD HAD MULTIPLE EXPERIENCES, AND IT WAS GENERALLY IN THE SMALLER SUBSET OF INDIVIDUALS WITHIN AUSTIN WHO ARE IN THE AT-RISK CATEGORY FOR HAVING FORCED YOU, SO THE MAJORITY OF CASES WHERE INDIVIDUALS WHO THERE WAS A PERCEIVED IMPAIRMENTS WITH DRUGS OR ALCOHOL WERE INVOLVED.
SO PRESUMABLY PEOPLE WHO, YOU KNOW, HAVE DRUG ISSUES AND SO ON, THEY'RE MORE LIKELY TO HAVE MULTIPLE ENCOUNTERS WITH POLICE OFFICERS DURING THAT FOUR YEAR TIME, SAME THING WITH INDIVIDUALS, WITH MENTAL HEALTH AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH ISSUES.
UM, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, THEY'RE AT A, THEY'RE AT A HIGH RISK CATEGORY FOR USES OF FORCE.
UH, THERE'S A LOT OF REASONS FOR THAT.
UM, BUT THAT PUTS THEM IN THE, THE RISK OF BEING POTENTIALLY A SUR, UH, AN INDIVIDUAL WHO MIGHT, UH, EXPERIENCE, YOU KNOW, MORE THAN ONE, YOU KNOW, KIND OF BAD ENCOUNTER WITH A, WITH A POLICE OFFICER.
UM, THOSE NUMBERS GO GO WAY DOWN, YOU KNOW, FOR INDIVIDUALS WHERE THERE IS NO PERCEIVED IMPAIRMENT OR THERE AREN'T IN THE AT-RISK CATEGORY.
UM, BUT SO WE WERE LOOKING AT THE OVERALL AGGREGATE NUMBERS TO GET, GET THOSE TRENDS.
UH, WE, WEREN'T LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO IDENTIFY WHO THOSE PARTICULAR INDIVIDUALS ARE, WHO THE PARTICULAR OFFICERS ARE, BUT THAT IS SOMETHING PRESUMABLY, UH, ABD, UH, CAN DO, OR, OR, YOU KNOW, I PRESUME THEY HAVE SOME OF THAT INFORMATION.
IF I CAN JUST ADD ONE ADDITIONAL THOUGHT AND DAN RAISED A GOOD ISSUE, THE APD HAS THE INTERNAL INFORMATION, WHETHER IT BE, THIS IS THINKING ABOUT THIS INTERNAL AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT I CAME FROM, WE HAD OVER 4,000 SWORN POLICE OFFICERS AND, AND I HAD STATEWIDE AUTHORITY.
AND IN THAT PERIOD OF TIME, I COULD TELL YOU WHO MY, WHO MY PEOPLE WERE.
THEY HAD REPEATS EITHER THROUGH ONE, IF YOU HAD SOMEBODY TO USE FORCE AND RESULTED IN AN INJURY, THERE WAS GOING TO BE SOME TYPE OF REPORT OR INVESTIGATION DONE.
AND EVENTUALLY IT WOULD MAKE ITS WAY TO INTERNAL AFFAIRS TO REVIEW, OR IF YOU HAD A COMPLAINT, SO A COMPLAINT TO INTERNAL AFFAIRS GUYS SAY, HEY, GUY ARRESTED ME BY THE TASE ME 10 TIMES.
AND I THOUGHT THAT WAS EXCESSIVE AND FILED A COMPLAINT.
SO THE PEOPLE IN INTERNAL AFFAIRS, UH, AND THEN ALSO IN THEIR SIU UNIT, THE SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT, UM, THEY CERTAINLY WOULD HAVE ACCESS TO THOSE KINDS OF RECORDS, WHETHER IT BE COMPLAINTS OR WHERE INDIVIDUALS WERE HURT, IT REQUIRED A REPORT, UH, OF A USE OF FORCE.
AND THEN YOU CAN, THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY SOME OF THOSE PEOPLE INTERNALLY WITHOUT ANY TYPE OF OUTSIDE PERSON COMING IN AND TRYING TO FIGURE IT OUT FOR THEM.
UM, SO THIS WAS IN THE GEORGE SECTOR, WHICH WE'VE DETERMINED IS DOWNTOWN, UM, WHICH IS OUR, LIKE HOW THE ENTERTAINMENT AREA OF AUSTIN.
UH, BUT I GUESS THE QUESTION IS, OR MY QUESTION IS, UH, LIKE IT, WAS IT, OR IS IT IMPORTANT I GUESS, OR WAS IT KIND OF RESEARCH? LIKE WHAT TIME OF DAY THIS STUFF IS HAPPENING? LIKE, IS IT HAPPENED THESE LIKE USE OF FORCE? IS IT HAPPENING, YOU KNOW, FRIDAY AFTER MIDNIGHT WHEN THE BARS ARE CLOSING OR IS IT, YOU KNOW, WHAT DOES THAT MATTER? I DON'T KNOW IF IT MATTERS.
I JUST THINK IT WOULD BE INTERESTING TO KNOW, LIKE, WHEN IS THIS STUFF HAPPENING? UH, ESPECIALLY SINCE IT IS HAPPENING, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE UTS DOWN THERE, ALL THE BAR, ALMOST ALL THE BARS ARE.
I MEAN, YOU KNOW, SO YOU'VE GOT ALL KINDS OF DIFFERENT PEOPLE DOWN THERE.
UH, WELL, ESPECIALLY BEFORE COVID, AND THEN THAT WAS ANOTHER QUESTION WAS A LOT OF THIS DATA GATHERED OR COULD THE WHOLE, LIKE ALL THE PROTESTS LAST SUMMER, OR THE SUMMER OF 2020 ALSO HAVE BEEN, BECAUSE THAT WAS ALSO DOWN IN THE GEORGE SECTOR WOULD HAVE BEEN ALL THOSE PARTICIPANTS.
THAT'S ALSO WHERE THE CAPITAL IS AND WHERE THE POLICE DEPARTMENT IS LIKE.
SO I'M JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT, UM, I GUESS THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.
SO, SO THE PROTESTS AND, UH, AND SO ON.
AND SO ONE OF THE SPIKES, FOR EXAMPLE, IN THE USE OF FORCE CASES IN THAT FOUR YEAR CAME IN AT A FOURTH YEAR, WHICH WAS 2020.
AND, AND IN ONE OF THE GRAPHS WE HAD HAD, IT SHOWED 720 UNKNOWN INDIVIDUALS HAD FORCED TO USE AGAINST THEM IN THAT ONE YEAR.
AND THAT WAS PRESUMABLY, AND THAT WAS A BIG SPIKE COMPARED TO THE OTHER YEARS.
AND IT WAS ALMOST CERTAINLY AS A RESULT OF THE PROTEST AND THE CIVIL UNREST, UM, WHICH HAPPENED IN THAT MOSTLY IN THE GEORGE SECTOR.
THE OTHER THING IS THERE THAT IT DID SHOW THAT USE OF FORCE HAPPENED MUCH MORE LIKELY ON A WEEKEND, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, THAN DURING THE WEEK.
UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE WENT OVER A COUPLE OF OTHER KIND OF SIMILAR CHARACTERISTICS, UM, THAT IMPACTED, YOU KNOW, OVERALL WHEN FORCE WAS MORE LIKELY TO BE USED
[01:25:01]
THAN, THAN OTHERWISE.UM, THERE'S PROBABLY ALL SORTS OF WAYS YOU CAN BREAK DOWN DATA AND REALLY DIG IN, BUT, UH, AGAIN, BUT THOSE, THOSE ARE A COUPLE OF THINGS I THINK THAT ARE CONSISTENT WITH, WITH WHAT YOU'RE SAYING THERE, PARTICULARLY IN GEORGE SECTOR.
UM, SO GEORGE SECTOR, AGAIN, IT'S NOT JUST THE ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT, BUT YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE, BUT BECAUSE IT IS, THERE'S A LOT OF BARS AND NIGHTCLUBS AND ALL THAT.
SO YOU'VE GOT, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE CONGREGATING THERE LATE AT NIGHT, A LOT OF ALCOHOL INVOLVED, SO YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE INCIDENTS AND BITES.
AND SO ON THAT, THAT LEADS TO SOME OF THESE INCIDENTS THAT DON'T HAPPEN IN OTHER PARTS OF TOWN AS MUCH.
AND THEN THE SAME THING, OF COURSE, IT'S GOING TO BE CONCENTRATED ON THE WEEKENDS FRIDAY NIGHT, SATURDAY NIGHT, SO FORTH.
AND, UM, AND THEN ON TOP OF THAT, IT'S BECAUSE IT'S WHERE IT'S LOCATED WHEN THERE IS A BIG PROTEST OR CIVIL UNREST, THAT'S WHERE A LOT OF IT HAPPENS.
AND WHEN THERE'S, YOU KNOW, UM, POLICE ACTION IN RESPONSE TO THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE WHAT HAPPENED IN THE SUMMER OF 2020, AND THAT'S ONE OF OUR HOMELESS SHELTERS IS DOWN THERE TOO, LIKE RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHTLIFE.
SO WE HAVE A WHOLE LOT OF FUN STUFF GOING ON DOWNTOWN.
THAT'S WHY I SAY TO CRIES OUT FOR A PROBLEM ORIENTED POLICING STRATEGY, WHERE ALL THE COMMUNITY SERVICE AGENCIES, THE BUSINESSES COME TOGETHER, WE HAD SAME ISSUES IN BOSTON SHOOTING, STABBINGS ASSAULTS, THURSDAY, FRIDAY, SATURDAY, SUNDAY NIGHTS, STARTING 11 TO 4:00 AM.
AND WE LOOKED AT IT, YOU KNOW, WE WERE DUMPING 80,000 PEOPLE OUT OF THE BARS ALL AT TWO O'CLOCK AT NIGHT, RIGHT? SO CAN WE DO SOME STAGGERING OF BAR TIMES THAT THEY TAKE TURNS WHERE THEY CLOSE AN HOUR EARLIER SO THAT WE DON'T ALL DUMP OUT.
AND THEN WE W WE FOUND A LOOPING PROBLEM WHERE, OKAY, THE BARS ARE OUT.
I CAN'T DRINK IN THE BAR, BUT I DON'T WANT TO GO HOME.
I'M HAVING CIGARETTES ON THE SIDEWALK.
UM, WE'D HAVE CARS THAT WERE LOOPING AROUND THE BLOCK TRYING TO SEE IF THEY COULD CONTINUE THE PARTY FOR THE NIGHT.
UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WERE TRAFFIC ISSUES.
AND SO WE, WE ACTUALLY STARTED BLOCKING TRAFFIC AND, AND CHANGE THE WAY TRAFFIC COULD WORK IN THE ENTERTAINMENT SECTION AT NIGHT JUST TO CHANGE THEIR PROBLEM.
AND I THINK THAT'S, YOU NEED TO LOOK AT WHY THE, WHY A USE OF FORCE IS OCCURRING.
WHAT TYPES OF CRIME IT IS WHEN THE DATES, IS THERE A PROBLEM BAR, IS THERE A BAR THAT'S OVER-SERVING PEOPLE OR BAR THAT'S, YOU KNOW, GET THE WRONG PRODUCER, UH, THAT'S, THAT'S BRINGING UP AN ELEMENT THAT'S INVOLVED IN VIOLENCE THAT YOU WANT TO CHANGE.
UH, THOSE ARE ALL THINGS THAT NEED TO LOOK A HOLISTIC VIEW.
AND THE GOOD NEWS IS THERE'S SO MUCH GOING ON.
AND GEORGE SAID, IF YOU CAN FIND A SOLUTION TO DEAL WITH THAT, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE A DISPARATE IMPACT OR A GOOD IMPACT ON DISPARATE IMPACTS OF USE OF FORCE ARRESTS.
AND IN ALL OF THE DATA THAT WE'RE TRYING TO LIKE MAKE MORE EQUITABLE.
AND THAT'S ALSO WHY WE SAID EARLIER THAT, YOU KNOW, THE, THE PURPOSE OF THIS DATA AND OUR REVIEW AND ANALYSIS WAS TO USE AS A DIAGNOSTIC TOOL.
SO ONE OF THE KEY FACTORS IN FINDINGS THAT WE HAD WAS THAT, HEY, THERE'S AN ISSUE GOING ON IN GEORGE SECTOR.
THAT'S, THAT'S NOT HAPPENING IN A LOT OF THE OTHER SECTORS.
EVERYTHING'S JUST WAY OUT OF PROPORTION THERE.
AND IT'S WAY OUT OF PROPORTION, WAY BEYOND WHAT YOU WOULD EXPECT.
YOU WOULD EXPECT SOME OF THESE SPIKES, JUST BECAUSE OF THE FACT THAT IT'S THE NIGHTCLUB DISTRICT AND WHERE THE PROTESTS ARE, BUT EVEN TAKING ALL OF THAT INTO ACCOUNT, IT'S STILL WAY OUT OF PROPORTION.
SO THEN WHAT YOU HAVE IS WHAT RICK DID WITH THE, WITH THE QUALITATIVE REVIEW.
AND YOU'RE LOOKING AT CASES AND YOU SEE SOME OF THE HIGHLY AGGRESSIVE, UH, ACTION ON CERTAIN POLICE OFFICERS WHERE THEY'RE ENGAGING IN STOPS AND FRISKS WITHOUT REASONABLE SUSPICION.
THEY'RE GOING HANDS ON MUCH TOO QUICKLY.
IT SEEMS TO ME, THEY'RE ESCALATING COUNTERS.
AND THEY'RE USING LAKES, SWEEPS, AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, FORCING PEOPLE ON THE GROUND AND, AND SO FORTH IN WAYS THAT I SUSPECT IF WE, IF WE LOOKED, I DON'T KNOW THIS FOR FACT, BUT I SUSPECT SOME OF THOSE ARE A NUMBER OF THOSE CASES ARE HAPPENING IN A PLACE LIKE THE GEORGE DISTRICT.
SO MAYBE WHAT, YOU KNOW, SO PART OF IT IS LIKE, OKAY, BD, YOU'VE GOT THIS DATA, YOU SEE, THERE'S AN ISSUE.
NOW YOU NEED TO TAKE A DEEPER DIVE AND REALLY SEE WHAT'S REALLY GOING ON THERE.
AND, AND DO ADJUSTMENTS NEED TO BE MADE, ARE YOUR OFFICERS WHO ARE PATROLLING THAT DISTRICT? ARE THEY JUST TOO AGGRESSIVE? MAYBE THERE'S A CERTAIN CULTURE, A CULTURE WITHIN A CULTURE.
YOU KNOW, THE OFFICERS WHO PATROL GEORGE AND FRIDAY NIGHTS AND SATURDAY NIGHTS AND SO FORTH, MAYBE, YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY, BECAUSE THEY SEE IT AND THEY HAVE A LOT OF THINGS GOING ON THERE.
YOU KNOW, MAYBE THEY'RE TAKING A, UH, AN OVERLY AGGRESSIVE APPROACH.
I DON'T KNOW, BUT THAT'S CERTAINLY THE DATA SUGGESTS THAT THAT'S A POSSIBILITY.
THOSE ARE THE TYPES OF THINGS THAT AT LEAST THE DATA DOESN'T ANSWER THAT QUESTION, BUT IT GIVES YOU AND THE DEPARTMENT THE ABILITY TO SAY, OKAY, WE NEED TO TAKE A CLOSER LOOK.
AND IN FACT, I JUST ADD ONE MORE THOUGHT TO THIS.
UM, LOOKING AT APDS POLICIES, THEY, THEY HAVE A CONTRACT WITH A COMPANY CALLED LEXIPOL THAT CREATES THEIR POLICIES FOR THEM.
UH, AND LEXIPOL WAS OWNED BY A FORMER POLICE OFFICER NOW ATTORNEY, UM, AND THEY, THEY HAVE VERY GOOD CORE.
NOW YOU CERTAINLY NEED TO CUSTOMIZE YOUR THEY'RE NOT
[01:30:01]
AN END ALL BE ALL.THEY'LL SEND YOU THE CORE STUFF, FOR INSTANCE, UH, THEY'LL SEND YOU, UH, YOU KNOW, THE REASONABLE, REASONABLE SUSPICION PART IS IN A POLICY, YOU KNOW, THE USE OF FORCE, THE GENERAL REQUIREMENTS IN AND REPORTING AND THAT SORT OF THING.
SO THE DEPARTMENT DOESN'T HAVE TO CREATE THESE POLICIES.
THEY HAVE THIS COMPANY DO IT, BUT THEY NEED TO TWEAK THOSE POLICIES, GIVING AN EXAMPLE.
UH, EVEN THOUGH MY REVIEW WAS OVER A SIX MONTH WINDOW IN 2019, I WENT BACK TO 2017 WHERE OUR AGGREGATE REVIEW STARTED TO SEE I'M THINKING, WELL, THEY PROBABLY DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING IN THE POLICY BACK THEN IN 2017 ABOUT DEESCALATION, BUT GUESS WHAT I FOUND THEY DID, THEY HAD OFFICERS SUPPOSED TO DEESCALATE, YOU KNOW, THOSE SORTS OF THINGS WERE IN THERE.
THEN YOU SEE, I WAS LOOKING FOR REASONABLE SUSPICION THAT TALKED ABOUT SEARCH AND SEIZURE.
AND IT SAID, RIGHT IN THE POLICY, YOU KNOW, UH, UH, PROTECTIVE FRISK BASED ON REASONABLE SUSPICION, THAT'S RIGHT IN THEIR POLICY.
UH, AND A LOT OF THESE THINGS THAT I, THE TASER POLICY ABOUT WARNINGS THAT'S IN THERE.
SO TH SO I WENT ALL THE WAY BACK TO 2017 AND FOUND MOST OF THIS STUFF.
UH, I THINK I FOUND A ONE POLICY THAT STARTED IN 2018 ESCAPES ME WHAT IT WAS AT THAT POINT.
SO OVER THE COURSE OF THE YEAR, THOSE POLICY MANUALS GET UPDATED EVERY THREE, FOUR OR FIVE MONTHS.
THERE'S USUALLY REVISED THIS DAY.
SO THEY'RE CONSTANTLY, THEIR CONTRACT IS CONSTANTLY UPDATING THESE POLICY.
SO WHAT IT MADE ME THINK IS DID THEY REALLY TRAIN TO THOSE POLICIES? IT'S ONE THING TO SAY, I HAVE A CURRENT POLICY IN PLACE THAT PROHIBITS THAT STRIKES UNLESS DEADLY FORCE OR SHOOTING IS AUTHORIZED.
WE'RE SHOOTING AT A MOVING VEHICLE OR CHOKE HOLDS.
IT'S ONE THING TO HAVE THAT AND SAY A HABIT.
IT'S ANOTHER THING TO TRAIN TO IT AND ENFORCE IT.
AND WHAT I'M LOOKING, WHAT I SAW THERE WAS A LACK OF ENFORCEMENT.
THEY HAVE THE POLICIES IN WRITING RIGHT THERE TWO YEARS BEFORE OUR DOGGONE REVIEW FOR THAT QUALITATIVE.
BUT YET I DIDN'T SEE, I SAW ESCALATION, NOT DEESCALATION.
TWO YEARS LATER, THERE SHOULD BE SOME DEESCALATION.
I SAID, I SHOULD'VE FOUND LESS OF THAT.
NOT MORE IS WHAT I'M GETTING AT.
SO, SO KEEP IN MIND IN, IN, IN YOUR REVIEW AND YOUR WORK, THE IMPORTANCE OF POLICIES AND THE ENFORCEMENT OF THOSE POLICIES, AND WHO'S RESPONSIBLE FOR ENFORCEMENT, IT'S KIND OF HARD FOR THE COMMAND STAFF.
THEY'RE NOT OUT THERE EVERY DAY.
IT'S THOSE FIRST LINE SUPERVISORS.
WE'RE GOING BACK TO THEM ENFORCING.
AND IF THEY HAVEN'T BEEN TRAINED IN THAT POLICY, WELL, THEN HOW CAN THEY ENFORCE? SO I HAVE A QUESTION THAT'S NOT PROBABLY SUPPORTED BY DATA, BUT MAYBE IT IS KIND OF TO GO BACK TO YOUR POINT ABOUT TRAINING, BUT THERE'S ALSO BUY-IN HOW DO YOU, I MEAN, YOU CAN TRAIN, BUT YOU DON'T GET BY IT.
SO HOW DO YOU GET THAT? BUY-IN FROM THE FIRST LINE SUPERVISORS, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, IT'S ONE THING TO SAY, WE'RE GOING TO TRAIN YOU ON THIS, BUT THEY DON'T, THEY DON'T HAVE TO FALL.
I MEAN, THEY DO HAVE TO FOLLOW.
I MEAN, YOU KNOW, BUT THEY DON'T, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW IF I'M BEING CLEAR OR NOT.
AND I UNDERSTAND YOUR QUESTION COMPLETELY BECAUSE I HAD TO DEAL WITH THAT.
UH, IN MY DEPARTMENT, I HAD, I HAD TO LEAD A REFORM WHEN IT CAME TO SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND SEXUAL MISCONDUCT BASED ON SOME BAD BEHAVIOR BY A TROOPER IN THE PHILADELPHIA REGION.
AND WE HAD TO GET BUY-IN ACROSS THE DEPARTMENT, STARTING AT THE ACADEMY AND OUR FIELD SUPERVISORS.
SO I HAD TO MAKE SURE MY CHAIN OF COMMAND, THAT THE INDIVIDUALS THAT WERE DELIVERING MY MESSAGE DOWN TO THE TROOPS THAT THEY BOUGHT IN YOUR FIRST LINE SUPERVISORS, BECAUSE THEY'RE GOING TO HOLD THE PERSON EXECUTING.
MOST OF THIS STUFF HAPPENS ON THE STREET.
THE LEVEL OF EXECUTION IS OUT WITH THE COMMUNITY, NOT SITTING IN AN OFFICE, LOOKING AT REPORTS.
SO, SO I HAD, I HAD SUPERVISORS IN MY CHAIN OF COMMAND, LIEUTENANTS AND SERGEANTS THAT I REMOVED AND THAT IRENE PUT HIM SOMEWHERE ELSE IF THEY WEREN'T BOUGHT IN.
AND IF THE ONES, EVENTUALLY, IF THEY DIDN'T BUY IT, THEY EITHER GOT REMOVED OR THEY GOT DISCIPLINED.
THERE'S WHERE THE ACCOUNTABILITY PIECE COMES INTO PLAY.
THEY EITHER GET WITH YOUR PROGRAM AND DAN KNOWS FULL WELL, HE HAD TO DO THE SAME THING.
YOU HAD TO HOLD THOSE SUPER ALL THE WAY DOWN TO GET THE BUY-IN.
BECAUSE IF YOU'RE, IF THE PEOPLE, YOUR MID-LEVEL SUPERVISORS, AREN'T DELIVERING YOUR MESSAGE AND ARE BOUGHT INTO IT, IT'S NOT GOING TO BE BOUGHT IN, IN THE FIELD.
I'VE WORKED A CASE IN ANOTHER CITY WHERE THE CHIEF WAS TELLING ME THIS WAS GOING ON IN THE FIELD.
I GO DOWN AND TALK TO THE PEOPLE IN THE FIELD.
THEY SAID, THAT'S NOT WHAT'S HAPPENING DOWN HERE.
AND I GO TALK TO THE MID-LEVEL COMMANDERS.
AND THEY'RE LIKE, NO, WE'RE NOT DOING THAT IN THE FIELD.
AND WHERE DID THE LIEUTENANTS AND CAPTAINS THOUGHT IT WAS? SO YOU DID.
SO THERE'S A GAP IN A BREAKDOWN IN THE WHOLE CHAIN.
AND THIS IS WHY, YOU KNOW, THIS WAS CRITICAL IN OUR REVIEW THAT THE SUPERVISOR'S GOTTA BE, FIRST OF ALL, YOU GOT TO GET THE RIGHT ONES IN PLACE.
THEY BUY INTO THE MESSAGE AND THE ONES THAT DON'T, YOU'RE GOING TO GOT TO TRAIN THEM OR HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE FOR NOT.
AND SO IN MY DEPARTMENT, WHEN I DID THAT, SOME FOLKS QUIT THE JOB, THEY RETIRED AND MOVED ON, BUT YOU EVENTUALLY CAN GET THAT.
BUY-IN IF YOU, IF YOU, IF YOU DO IT THE RIGHT WAY THERE TO CHECK MY,
[01:35:01]
YOU KNOW, YOU CAN'T HAVE SUPERVISE BY COMPROMISE AND YOU HAVE TO, YOU HAVE TO LEAD BY EXAMPLE.AND, YOU KNOW, UM, THERE WERE MANY TIMES IN MY DEPARTMENT WHEN I THOUGHT I HAD THE BEST POLICY AND PROCEDURE, THEN I GO DOWN AND JUMP IN A POLICE CAR WITH THE POLICE OFFICER WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR IMPLEMENTING IT.
AND I WOULD FIND OUT THAT SOMEWHERE ALONG THE WAY, EITHER MY POLICY WAS WRONG OR IT WAS INTERPRETED WRONG.
FOR EXAMPLE, I WANTED COPS OUT OF THE POLICE CAR FOR ONE HOUR, A DAY, WALKING AND ENGAGING THE COMMUNITY IN A POSITIVE MANNER.
SO IF YOU CAN DO IT GREAT, SOME, SOME DAYS YOU MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO DO IT.
AND IT WAS CALLED A CODE 19, AND I WAS MEASURING THE NUMBER OF CODE NINETEENS COPS DID.
SO IT STARTED OUT WHERE I STARTED THIS PROCESS AND I, YOU KNOW, UM, WOULD HEAR COPS GO OFF IN A CODE 19 AND I WOULD SWING BY AND I WOULD SEE THAT THE TWO COPS WERE, THEY WEREN'T DOING A WALK AND TALK.
SO THEY'RE LIKE, OKAY, CHIEF WANTS US TO DO THESE CODE NINETEENS.
I'M GOING TO GO WALK WITH YOU.
WHEN I COME AROUND THE CORNER AND FIND THEM SITTING IN THE CAR AND SAYING, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? AND THEN I WOULD CALL THE SERGEANT AND SAY, WHY IS IT THAT YOUR OFFICERS THINK THAT THEY CAN DO THAT? BECAUSE THEY MUST NOT THINK THAT YOU'RE GOING TO PROPERLY SUPERVISE THEM.
SO, UM, I WANT A REPORT FROM YOU AS TO WHY YOUR OFFICERS ARE NOT DOING WHAT WAS IMPLEMENTED IN THE CITY.
UM, AND THEN I GO OUT AND, YOU KNOW, I GOT THE LOCK, I GOT THE CODE 19 TO GET OUT OF THE CAR AND IT WAS THE WALK-IN STAND.
SO THEY GET OUT OF THE CAR AND CLOSE THE DOOR AND THEY'D STAND THERE.
AND, YOU KNOW, SO I WOULD GO WITH SUPERVISORS AND I WOULD GO TO THE AREA WHERE THEY WERE WALKING AND I'D GO INTO THE STORE WITH THE SERGEANT.
AND I WOULD SAY, HEY, HOW YOU DOING? HOW OFTEN DO YOU SEE THESE COPS OUT HERE? OH, THEY'RE HERE EVERY DAY.
UH, HAVE THEY EVER BEEN IN THE STORE TALK TO YOU ABOUT PROBLEMS OR ISSUES OR CONCERNS? NO, THAT'D BE A GREAT IDEA.
AND I WOULD SAY TO THE SERGEANT, WHY IS IT THAT YOUR COPS ARE STANDING OUTSIDE THE CAR AND NOT DO WHAT WE ASKED THEM TO DO? STRIKE TUCSON.
UH, AND THEN YOU STARTED HOLDING THAT SERGEANT ACCOUNTABLE.
UM, THEY, THEY START GETTING THE MESSAGE.
THE OTHER THING I FOUND IS THAT SERGEANTS WERE THEN SAYING, LOOK, I WANT YOU OUT OF THE CAR.
YOU GOT TO WALK UP AND DOWN THE STREET FOR ONE HOUR.
WELL, THEY WERE MAKING COPS DO THAT ON FRIDAYS AND SATURDAYS IN WEST ROXBURY IN FEBRUARY, WHEN IT'S TWO DEGREES OUT, THERE'S NOBODY ON THE STREET.
WHY ARE WE DOING THAT? WELL, CHIEF, YOU SAID YOU WANTED CODE NINETEENS.
WELL, I DON'T WANT TO WASTE THEIR TIME AND I DON'T WANT THE COPS TO SEE IT AS PUNISHMENT DUTY THAT THAT'S DONE.
SO YOU HAVE TO SOMETIMES ENCOURAGE THE COPS AS TO WHY YOU'RE DOING IT.
AND I WENT AND MET WITH THAT DISTRICT OF COPS AND SAID, I DON'T NEED YOU OUT HERE AT FOUR O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING OR FREEZING NIGHT.
HOW ABOUT AT SIX 30 WHEN THE COMMUTE IS, OR GOING TO THE TRAIN STATION, IF YOU CAN GET OUT OF YOUR CAR AND HELP PEOPLE CROSS THE STREET AND HAVE THAT CONVERSATION AND WISH THEM WELL, HELP THE KIDS GO TO THE SCHOOL BUS.
WOULDN'T THAT BE BETTER? EVEN IF YOU CAN DO THAT FOR HALF HOUR, 20 MINUTES, THEN THE NOT RIGHT.
UM, THERE'S NO COOKIE CUTTER SOLUTION, BUT YOU HAVE TO, YOU HAVE TO ENGAGE THE COPS.
SOMETIMES WE TELL COPS WHAT WE WANT THEM TO DO, AND I'VE DONE THAT.
AND THEN I REALIZED YOU HAVE TO GO BACK AND TELL HIM WHY YOU WANT HIM TO DO IT, AND THE BENEFIT OF IT.
AND IF COPS UNDERSTAND THE WHY, AND THERE'S A BENEFIT TO THEM, PEOPLE LIKE THE MORE THE JURY IS GOING TO BELIEVE THEM, MORE PEOPLE WILL SUPPORT THEIR EQUIPMENT REQUESTS AND NEEDS.
AND YOU KNOW, IF THEY'RE ROLLING AROUND IN THE STREET, MAYBE CITIZENS WILL HELP THEM ONCE THEY UNDERSTAND THERE'S A BENEFIT TO THEM, YOU CAN CHANGE IT.
BUT SOMETIMES YOU GOTTA CHANGE, YOU KNOW, ONE COP AT A TIME, ONE SERGEANT AT A TIME, AND THOSE WHO DON'T WANT TO BE ON THE BUS, THEY, THEY NEED TO, THEY NEED TO GET OUT, GIVE IT A SEAT UP OR SOMEBODY ELSE, SORRY.
UM, LIKE I SAID, MY MOTHER SAID I DIDN'T SHUT UP AND I APOLOGIZE FOR, YEAH, WE HAVE THE SAME BUY-IN ISSUES REALLY IN OUR, IN OUR REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF THE TRAINING ACADEMY, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THERE W THERE THEY'RE MAKING A LOT OF CHANGES.
UM, A LOT OF THE CHANGES ARE, YOU KNOW, HAVE BEEN RECOMMENDED BY, BY US AND OTHERS.
UM, THEY'RE DOING A LOT OF GOOD THINGS THERE WITH, WITH MORE COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, THEY ADDED THIS, YOU KNOW, GREAT TWO WEEK COMMUNITY CONNECT PROGRAM FOR THE CADETS AT THE BEGINNING, THEY'VE ADDED SOME, UH, DIVERSITY EQUITY, INCLUSION, CONTENT, UM, MINDFULNESS AND RESILIENCY, ALL OF THESE THINGS.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, HOW MUCH OF THAT IS, UH, IS IT A CHECK THE BOX AND HOW SUSTAINABLE IS IT GOING TO BE THAT THAT'S ALL GOING TO DEPEND ON BUY-IN.
AND ALSO, YOU KNOW, WE SEE OCCASIONAL ATTITUDINAL PUSHBACK ON SOME OF IT, AND IT REALLY COMES DOWN TO LEADERSHIP.
UH, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE GETTING GOOD MESSAGING FROM CHIEF TACONY.
AND SO THAT REALLY TOP LEADERS, BUT, YOU KNOW, THEY'VE ONLY GOT A LIMITED IMPACT, QUITE FRANKLY, THE FURTHER DOWN YOU GET.
AND THEN THE QUESTION IS, OKAY, HOW ABOUT THE LEADERSHIP AT THE ACADEMY ITSELF AND HOW ARE THEY ENFORCING AND MAKING SURE THAT THE INSTRUCTORS AND THE STAFF THERE, YOU KNOW, ARE REALLY UNDERSTANDING WHAT THEY'RE TRYING TO DO AND REALLY, YOU KNOW, BUY INTO IT SO THAT IT'S NOT JUST A CHECK, THE BOX APPROACH.
IT'S VERY, YOU KNOW, CHANGING CULTURE IN ANY ORGANIZATION
[01:40:01]
IS DIFFICULT CHANGING CULTURE.AND A POLICE ORGANIZATION IS REALLY DIFFICULT.
I THINK THAT IS ALL OF THE QUESTIONS WE MIGHT HAVE ERICA WAS THAT NO, UM, Y'ALL COVERED EVERYTHING THAT I WAS GOING TO FOLLOW UP ON.
THE ONLY OTHER THING I WAS GOING TO, UH, CHECK IN ABOUT WAS THE, UH, CREDIT HISTORY THING.
BUT THEN YOU MENTIONED THAT THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS GOING TO BE LOOKED AT IN THE FUTURE.
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR SHARING THIS INFORMATION AND FOR YOUR ANSWERS.
YOU'VE ALSO GIVEN US A LOT TO THINK ABOUT AND A LOT TO BE MINDFUL OF.
UM, AS WE THINK ABOUT APDS RESPONSE TO THIS, I KNOW THAT YOU SAID THEY'VE RESPONDED TO, TO SOME OF YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS ALREADY, BUT WE'LL DEFINITELY BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR SOME OF THESE OTHER THINGS, UM, TOO, THAT THERE'S SOME LOW HANGING FRUIT HERE THAT THEY COULD MAKE CHANGES ON RIGHT AWAY.
SO IT'LL BE, IT'LL BE INTERESTING TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR EVERYTHING.
UM, I THINK THAT IS EIGHT CHRISTINA.
YOU SAID THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMENT.
UM, WITH THAT, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND ADJOURN OUR MEETING TODAY.