Mar 07, 2022 Public Safety Commission

WE'LL BE MOVING ON TO OUR OLD BUSINESS.

UM, UH, FIRST WILL BE A RECOMMENDATION FROM COMMISSIONER BERNHARDT ON THE CONSOLIDATION OF THE FORENSICS LAB.

UM, AT APD COMMISSIONER BERNHARDT.

IF, UM, YOU COULD WALK US THROUGH THE RECOMMENDATION PLEASE.

CHAIR, CHAIR.

YOU WANT TO DO THE MINUTES FIRST CALL FOR YOUR APPROVAL.

YOU'RE RIGHT.

[1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – Jan. 24, 2022 and Feb. 7, 2022 4:20pm-4:25pm]

UH, APOLOGIES.

WE'RE GOING TO MOVE THROUGH THE APPROVAL OF MINUTES.

I BELIEVE WE HAVE TWO MONTHS WORTH OF MINUTES, UM, THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT BOTH FOR JANUARY 24TH

[00:05:02]

AND FOR FEBRUARY 7TH.

UM, IF YEAH, IF THERE ARE ANY EDITS, UM, OKAY.

HEARING NO OBJECTIONS OR EDITS WE'LL, UM, GO AHEAD AND ADMIT THEM AS APPROVED AND MOVE

[2.a. Recommendation on consolidation of Forensics Lab and APD (sponsored by Commissioner Bernhardt and Ramirez) 4:25pm-4:35pm ]

ON TO OLD BUSINESS.

UM, FIRST STEP, LIKE I MENTIONED WAS, UM, THE RECOMMENDATION ON THE CONSOLIDATION OF THE FORENSICS LAB COMMISSIONER BERNHARDT WILL BE ABLE TO WALK US THROUGH THAT RECOMMENDATION AND IF WE CAN PULL IT UP ON THE SCREEN FOR, TO BE PLEASED, LOOK AT THAT'D BE GREAT.

SO CAN EVERYBODY HEAR ME, I GUESS THAT'S A SILLY QUESTION.

ANYWAY.

UM, UH, THIS IS A RECOMMENDATION THAT, UM, BASICALLY TALKS ABOUT HOW CURRENTLY THE AUSTIN FORENSIC SCIENCE BUREAU IS BOTH, UM, BUREAUCRATICALLY, STRUCTURALLY AND, UH, BUDGETARILY UNDER THE MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL OF THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT.

UM, IT TALKS ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THE OLD AUSTIN CRIME LAB, UM, WHICH HAD SEVERAL PROBLEMS, UH, BOTH WITH, UH, HAVING QUALIFIED STAFF AND WITH TAKING CARE OF DNA EVIDENCE, UM, IN A COMPETENT MANNER, UM, BOTH IN PROCESSING IT IN A TIMELY AND EFFECTIVE WAY, FOLLOWING SCIENTIFIC PROTOCOLS AND JUST MAINTAINING SAMPLES.

UM, THEY HAD A PROBLEM WITH MOLD ON SAMPLES, UM, AND ALSO WITH BEING ABLE TO MAINTAIN A SUFFICIENT BUDGET TO HAVE, UM, SUFFICIENT, UM, STAFFING.

UM, THE RECOMMENDATION ALSO GOES THROUGH, UH, WHY IT'S IMPORTANT TO HAVE AN INDEPENDENT FORENSIC LAB AND THEN MAKES A RECOMMENDATION THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UM, MAKE THE FORENSIC SCIENCE BUREAU, UM, BUDGETARILY AND STRUCTURALLY INDEPENDENT FROM APD.

AND I GUESS I MOVE THAT.

UH, DO WE NEED TO EACH VOTE ON THIS INDIVIDUALLY? I THINK WE'RE JUST GOING TO SEE IF WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO A VOTE.

UM, OPEN UP THE FLOOR TO ANY COMMENTS, QUESTIONS, IF YOU COULD PUT THE SCREEN BACK UP FOR ME MOMENTARILY SO THAT I CAN SEE EVERYONE.

SO IF WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, DISCUSSION, OKAY.

WITH THAT.

IF I CAN GET A MOVE FOR A VOTE, I SUPPOSE, A MOTION FOR A VOTE FROM SOMEONE ON THE FLOOR MOVED.

SO WE NEED TO DO A VERBAL VOTE ON THE RECOMMENDATION AS WELL.

CORRECT? MS. JACKSON? YES.

SO I'LL GO AHEAD AND GO THROUGH ROLL CALL.

UM, REBECCA GONZALEZ.

UH, YES.

UH, REBECCA WEBER.

I VOTE, YES.

UH, KATHLEEN HOUSE IN FLOCK.

UH, QUEEN AUSTIN, UH, JOHN T KICKOFF.

AND THEN I'LL JUST MOVE THROUGH WHO'S PRESENT.

UM, MICHAEL SIERRA RAVELLO.

AND, UM, I'LL VOTE IN FAVOR AS WELL.

MS. JACKSON WITH THAT ARC RECOMMENDATION IS APPROVED.

OH, DID WE GET A SECOND OF THE MOTION TO VOTE? I'LL SECOND THAT MOTION TO VOTE.

COMMISSIONER WEBER.

I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'VE DONE WHATEVER WE NEED TO DO TO GET THIS ON A COUNCIL AGENDA.

WE CAN DO THAT, MAKE SURE WE DO THAT.

AND THEN, OKAY.

AND WITH THAT, UM, WE ARE GOING TO GO AHEAD AND MOVE INTO A NEW BUSINESS.

UM, WE HAVE, I'M SORRY, JUST POINT OF ORDER.

UM, I THINK WE HAVE TO VOTE SPECIFICALLY ON THAT ISSUE.

OH, OKAY.

WE HAVE TO VOTE TO GET IT ON COUNCIL AGENDA.

MAYBE JACKSON, CAN WE PASS THE RECOMMENDATION? YEAH.

MAY I MOVE FOR THAT? OH, I WILL MOVE THAT.

SO THEN I GUESS WE'LL PUT IT TO A VOTE, UM, TO SEND IT TO COUNCIL AND CHAIR.

[00:10:01]

WE SEND IT TO COUNCIL.

I WILL SECOND THAT IF YOU NEED A SECOND.

AND WE WILL DO ANOTHER ROLL CALL FOR VOTE.

COMMISSIONER GONZALES FAVOR IN FAVOR.

UM, COMMISSIONER WEBER.

COMMISSIONER HOUSE INPUT.

COMMISSIONER KICKOFF.

UH, COMMISSIONER SIERRA YES.

COMMISSIONER BERNHARDT.

COMMISSIONER HALL MARTIN.

AND, UM, I VOTE IN FAVOR AS WELL AS JACKSON.

THAT'S GREAT.

UNANIMOUS WITH ALL PRESENT.

THAT, I THINK WE ARE NOW READY FOR NEW BUSINESS.

UM, AND THANK YOU FOR THAT COMMISSIONER WEBER.

UM, WITH

[3.a. Public Safety Organizations Quarterly Report – Austin-Travis County EMS (sponsors: Commissioner Hausenfluck and Gonzales) 4:35pm-4:55pm ]

UM, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND MOVE TO OUR PUBLIC SAFETY ORGANIZATION REPORT.

UM, THIS MONTH, UM, WE HAVE EMS UP, SO IF WE CAN GET THAT GOING.

GOOD AFTERNOON.

I'M TERESA GARDNER ASSISTANT CHIEF WITH AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY EMS, UM, WITH OUR QUARTERLY REPORTS.

UM, I'VE INCLUDED A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION THIS QUARTER THAT, UH, MOVING FORWARD, IF YOU'D LIKE TO SEE MORE OF THE SAME OR, UH, ADJUST IT IN OTHER WAYS.

UM, WE CAN CERTAINLY DO THAT, BUT I DID WANT TO JUST HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE SEEING IN OUR SYSTEM.

SO, UM, WITH OUR FIRST SLIDE, THIS IS, UH, REFLECTIVE OF THE NUMBER OF TOTAL INCIDENTS IN THE EMS SYSTEM FROM JANUARY 19, UH, TO THIRD, JANUARY, 2022.

AND AN INCIDENT IS ANY OF THE CALLS THAT COME INTO OUR EMS CALL CENTER.

AND AS YOU CAN SEE, WE'VE HAD SOME ANOMALIES STARTING IN THE SPRING OF 2020, WHERE WE STARTED TO DIP DOWN RELATED TO THE START OF OUR PANDEMIC.

AND WE WERE STARTING TO TREND UPWARDS WITH THAT, UM, THAT FAINT ORANGE LINE THAT YOU SEE AS A TREND LINE THAT WE'RE MONITORING OVER THE PAST THREE YEARS OF WHERE OUR CALL VOLUME IS GOING PAST TWO YEARS HAVE BEEN, UM, NOT SO NORMAL FOR ANY OF US.

SO WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO WATCH THAT, TO SEE IF WE CONTINUE TO SEE AN INCREASE.

SO THIS WOULD BE OCTOBER 1ST, 2021 THROUGH DECEMBER 31ST, 2021.

OUR NEXT SLIDE, UM, NOT ALL CALLS INTO THE EMS CENTER, UM, RESULTS IN A PATIENT CONTACT.

UM, SO THIS IS, UH, ANOTHER VIEW, VERY SIMILAR SINCE 2019 OF WHAT THOSE PATIENT CONTACTS HAVE BEEN LIKE, UM, FOR THE PAST THREE YEARS AND A PATIENT CONTACT FOR US AS CLEARLY ANY ANYBODY THAT WE TRANSPORT TO THE HOSPITAL TREAT AND RELEASE ON SCENE, THINGS LIKE THAT.

SO AGAIN, WE SEE THE ANOMALY WITH THE COVID PANDEMIC STARTING IN 2020, AND WE'RE KIND OF SEEING A FLAT TREND LINE WITH THAT, BUT AGAIN, WITH THINGS NOT BEING SO NORMAL, WE'LL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THAT AS WELL.

AND THEN OUR NEXT SLIDE, JUST LIKE ALL, UH, CALLS INTO THE 9 1, 1 CENTER DON'T NECESSARILY RESULT IN A PATIENT CONTACT, NOT ALL THOSE PATIENT CONTACTS RESULTS IN A PATIENT TRANSPORT TO THE HOSPITAL.

AND SO AGAIN, YOU SEE THE SAME ANOMALY IN 2020 WHERE WE DIPPED DOWN.

UM, BUT WE ALSO SEE THAT TREND LINE IS STARTING JUST A SLIGHT DECREASE OF OUR PATIENT TRANSPORTS OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS.

AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THAT.

THAT MAY BE A RESULT OF SOME OF THE OTHER INITIATIVES THAT WE HAVE GOING AS WELL WITH OUR TELEHEALTH IN THE COMMUNICATION CENTER, OUR COMMUNITY HEALTH PARAMEDIC PROGRAM, AND OTHER INITIATIVES THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT TO TRY TO REDUCE THAT BURDEN.

OUR NEXT SLIDE GETS INTO OUR PARTY ONE COMPLIANCE BY DISTRICT FOR THE FIRST QUARTER OF FISCAL YEAR 22.

AND ALL THE CALLS THAT COME INTO THE EMS CALL CENTER, WE TRIAGED FROM A PRIORITY ONE THROUGH PRIORITY FIVE WITH PARTY, ONE BEING THE MOST SERIOUS OF CASES THAT COME IN.

SO THAT WOULD BE UNCONSCIOUS CARDIAC ARREST, UH, SOME OF THE SERIOUS STROKES AND HEART ATTACKS THAT WE MIGHT SEE.

OUR GOAL HAS BEEN TO ARRIVE ON SCENE FROM THE TIME OF THE CALL, UH, WITHIN NINE MINUTES AND 59 SECONDS FOR THE FIRST QUARTER OF THE YEAR, YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE'S ONLY TWO DISTRICTS THAT WE'RE ACTUALLY MEETING THAT THAT'S IN DISTRICT THREE AND DISTRICT NINE, AND THE REST OF THE DISTRICTS WHERE WE RANGE FROM ARRIVING ON SCENE WITHIN A LITTLE OVER 10 MINUTES TO A LITTLE OVER 12 MINUTES WITHIN THAT, THAT BLUE LINE THAT YOU SEE ACROSS THE BOTTOM IS ANOTHER INDICATOR OF JUST THE PERCENTAGE OF PARTY ONE CALLS HER COUNCIL DISTRICT.

SO THERE ARE VERY LOW NUMBER OF CALLS.

SO THERE'S NOT MUCH RANGE FOR US TO, UM, HAVE ANY, ANY, UM, OUTLIERS ON A RESPONSE TIME.

SO THIS TRACKS WITH OUR OVERALL CALL VOLUME AND PARTY ONES, WHICH REPRESENT ABOUT 8% OF OUR TOTAL CALL VOLUME, AND THEN OUR NEXT SLIDE, IT WAS A VERY COLORFUL AND BUSY SLIDE.

AND I HAVE A LOT

[00:15:01]

MORE DETAIL ON THIS IN FUTURE MEETINGS IF YOU'D LIKE TO, TO, UM, DIVE DEEPER INTO IT.

BUT THIS IS ABOUT COUNCIL DISTRICT.

AND AGAIN, THAT PARTY ONE THROUGH FIVE FOR EACH DISTRICT AND, UM, WHAT PROPORTION OF CALLS WE SEE.

SO AGAIN, THAT BOTTOM LINE, THAT BLUE LAYER, THOSE ARE OUR PARTY ONE CALLS, WHICH ARE, UM, AGAIN, THE HIGHEST PRIORITY AND, UH, THE ABOUT 8% OF OUR CALL VOLUME, UM, PARTY TWO IS THAT ORANGE BAND GRAY IS THE PARTY THREE.

AND THEN OUR LOWEST PRIORITY CALLS ARE IN THAT YELLOW AND BLUE BAND, WHICH REPRESENT ABOUT 43% OF OUR OVERALL CALL VOLUME.

AND THEN IN THESE NEXT SLIDES THAT WE'RE GOING TO GET INTO, UM, THESE ARE FROM A PRESENTATION THAT, UH, CHIEF JASPER BROWN DID WITH THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE, UH, THAT COUNCIL COMMITTEES A FEW WEEKS AGO.

AND IT'S REGARDING OUR DEPARTMENT STAFFING.

UM, AS YOU CAN SEE IT'S AND FOR BACKGROUND, THIS IS CURRENT AS OF FEBRUARY 28TH.

SO LAST MONDAY, THINGS CERTAINLY CHANGE, UM, SOMETIMES ON A WEEKLY BASIS.

SO THIS IS A SNAPSHOT OF WHAT THIS LOOKED LIKE LAST WEEK.

OUR CURRENT AUTHORIZED STRENGTH FOR OUR SWORN PERSONNEL IS 6 64.

WE HAVE 546 OF THOSE FILLED WITH 118 VACANCIES.

51 OF THEM ARE AT THE ENTRY LEVEL.

44 OF THEM ARE IN THE FIELD ON AN AMBULANCE SEVEN ARE IN OUR COMMUNICATIONS CENTER OF THE OTHER 67 OPEN POSITIONS.

THOSE ARE PROMOTED POSITIONS WITH THE LARGEST BULK IN OUR CLINICAL SPECIALIST, WHICH IS OUR ALS MEMBER ON AN AMBULANCE.

AND OUR NEXT SLIDE, THIS IS OUR DEPARTMENT SEPARATIONS FOR THE FIRST QUARTER OF 20 20 22.

AND THEN AGAIN, OCTOBER 1ST THROUGH DECEMBER 31ST, WE HAD 18 EMS UNIFORM STAFF SEPARATIONS ACROSS VARIOUS RANKS.

SEVEN OF THEM ARE RETIREMENTS AND THE TOTAL OF 18 REPRESENTED ABOUT 3% TURNOVER RATE OF OUR ENTIRE SWORN STAFF.

OUR NEXT SLIDE HERE IS, UM, A COMPARISON OF WHAT OUR YEARLY ATTRITION HAS BEEN AND OUR NEW HIRES HAVE BEEN.

SO THIS GOES BACK TO 2015, THAT RED BAR REPRESENTS THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT HAVE LEFT DURING THE YEAR AND THAT GREEN BARS, THE NUMBER OF NEW EMPLOYEES THAT WE HIRED DURING THAT SAME YEAR.

SO WE'VE HELD ABOVE WATER FOR, FOR MOST OF THOSE YEARS, JUST IN TERMS OF ATTRITION AND CADETS.

HOWEVER, AS WE GET INTO OUR NEXT SLIDES, YOU'LL SEE THAT, UM, WE HAVE A CUMULATIVE OF VACANCIES.

WHAT THAT BLUE BAR IS, IS AGAIN THE, THE NUMBER OF THE SEPARATIONS THAT WE SAW IN THE RED BAR ON THE PREVIOUS SLIDE PLUS THAT ORANGE, WHICH REPRESENTS THE NUMBER OF NEW FTES THAT WE GOT EACH BUDGET YEAR.

SO FOR EXAMPLE, IN 2021, WE HAD 67 NEW POSITIONS ADDED TO OUR BUDGET IN ADDITION TO THE 53 SEPARATIONS, WHICH RESULTED IN 120 VACANCIES FOR THAT YEAR.

AND IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, YOU CAN SEE HOW THAT HAS HAD AN IMPACT WHEN, UM, WE ACCOUNT FOR THE SEPARATIONS PLUS THE NEW FTES.

THIS IS WHERE WE SEE THAT OUR VACANCY GAP.

AND THEN OUR NEXT SLIDE IS ONTO OUR RECRUITING INFORMATION.

OUR NEXT ACADEMY STARTS MARCH 28.

THERE ARE 18 FIELD AND ONE COMMUNICATIONS MEDIC IN IT.

WE HAVE OUR EEO BREAKDOWN FOR YOU THERE.

UM, WE ALSO JUST CONCLUDED A HIRING PROCESS FOR FIELD AND IT WAS SCHEDULED TO END IN FEBRUARY, BUT WE DID EXTEND IT TO MARCH 4TH BECAUSE OF THE NUMBER OF INCOMPLETE APPLICATIONS THAT WE HAD.

AND THAT'S FAIRLY COMMON WITH MOST OF OUR HIRING PROCESSES, BUT OUR RECRUITING STAFF HAS REACHED OUT AND, UM, YOU KNOW, ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO FINISH THOSE APPLICATIONS, THE SYSTEM WITH GETTING THEIR DOCUMENTATION AND INTERVIEWS SHOULD BEGIN NEXT WEEK.

NOW, IN THIS PARTICULAR THING, I DID GET AN UPDATE.

UM, EARLIER TODAY, UH, WE HAD A TOTAL OF, I BELIEVE 134 TO CLOSE OUT FOR THE PROCESS WITH 56 ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS TO MOVE FORWARD.

AND THEN THE SAME FOR OUR COMMUNICATIONS HIRING PROCESS.

IT JUST CLOSED WITH A SEVEN APPLICATIONS UNDER REVIEW AND THE NEXT FIELD AND COMMUNICATIONS ACADEMY WILL START JULY THE FIFTH AND MOVING ONTO THE NEXT SLIDE.

THIS IS OUR PROMOTION PROCESS.

AS YOU SAW, THE MAJORITY OF OUR VACANCIES ARE WITHIN THAT CLINICAL SPECIALIST PROMOTION PROCESS.

THE NEXT TEST IS IN MAY, I BELIEVE IT'S MAY 10TH.

AND FOR THOSE 61 VACANT VACANT POSITIONS, ONCE I, UM, TAKE THE TEST AND THAT CIVIL SERVICE LIST IS APPROVED, THEN THEY'LL MOVE INTO A ADVANCED LIFE SUPPORT CLASS THAT'S REQUIRED TO COMPLETE BEFORE.

UH, BEING ON THE AMBULANCE OF OUR CURRENT STAFF THAT ARE ELIGIBLE TO TEST ARE 59 THAT CURRENTLY HOLD A PARAMEDIC CERTIFICATION.

[00:20:01]

AND WE DO CONDUCT GETTING DR OWN INTERNAL PARAMEDIC COURSE, AND THERE ARE 20 ENROLLED ENOUGH THAT THEY HAVE A FEW MORE MONTHS UNTIL THEY COMPLETE THAT.

AND MOVING ON INTO OUR, UM, LONGEVITY FOR FILLING THESE VACANCIES.

UM, CURRENTLY WE ARE NEGOTIATING THE EMS CONTRACT AND PAYING BENEFITS WILL OBVIOUSLY BE A PART OF THAT.

AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE TALKED PUBLICLY ABOUT IN BARGAINING IS A MUTUAL INTEREST TO HIRE INTO THAT DIRECTLY INTO THAT PROMOTED RANK AT CLINICAL SPECIALISTS TO HELP CLOSE THAT GAP THAT THEY CAN SEIZE, UH, FASTER THAN WHAT WE CAN DO.

NOW.

OTHER THINGS THAT WE'VE DONE, WE, UM, WE CHANGED TO A 24 ON 72 OFF SCHEDULE THAT STARTED A YEAR EARLIER THAN ANTICIPATED IN, UH, LAST YEAR.

AND WE ARE CURRENTLY IN A PILOT PROGRAM TO REDUCE MANDATORY OVERTIME BY PROVIDING FINANCIAL INCENTIVE, TO VOLUNTEER, TO WORK EXTRA DUTY NEXT AGAIN, UM, WE CONTINUE TO EVALUATE OUR FATIGUE MANAGEMENT PROCESSES.

TWO ONE OF THEM IS HOW WE BALANCE OUR SYSTEM.

AND BY THAT WE, UM, TRY TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL OF OUR STAFF ARE DISTRIBUTED APPROPRIATELY ACROSS ALL OF OUR SHIFTS SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE ONE SHIFT THAT'S HEAVIER, HEAVIER STAFF THAN ANOTHER, THAT RESULTS IN OVERTIME FOR, UM, CERTAIN SHIFTS.

WE'VE ALSO LOOKED AT RELOCATING SOME OF OUR DEMAND UNITS TO OUR HIGHER CALLED DENSITY AREAS, UM, IN AN EFFORT TO REDUCE THAT CALL VOLUME IN THAT WORKLOAD, UH, FOR THOSE SURROUNDING AMBULANCES, WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT WAYS THAT WE CAN REDUCE THE WORKLOAD OF, UH, REDUCING CALL VOLUME.

SO A LOT OF IT IS, UM, AN OUR OTHER PROGRAMS THAT WE HAVE.

SO OUR RISK REDUCTION THAT, UM, WHAT FALL PREVENTION AND OUR CPR PROGRAMS, OUR CAR SEAT PROGRAMS, UM, OTHER THINGS LIKE THAT THAT MIGHT HELP REDUCE, UM, IMPROVE, IMPROVE SOME SAFETY MEASURES IN THE QUEUE, IN THE COMMUNITY, AND ALSO HOW WE MANAGE OUR LOWER PRIORITY CALLS.

NOT EVERYONE IS BEST SERVED BY, UM, AMBULANCE TRANSPORT TO AN EMERGENCY ROOM.

AND WE HAVE, UM, MANY OTHER SERVICES THAT WE'RE ABLE TO PROVIDE LIKE TELEHEALTH AND OUR PARAMEDIC CONSULT LINE COMMUNITY HEALTH, PARAMEDICS, AND REFERRAL TO MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES AS, SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO WORK ON ENHANCING THOSE INITIATIVES TOO.

AND THEN FINALLY ON OUR HORIZON AND COUNCIL CONFIRMED OUR NEW EMS CHIEF A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO, ROB LIBERATES WILL START NEXT MONDAY ON MARCH 14TH.

SO RIGHT OFF THE BAT, WE'LL GET HIM FULLY IMMERSED IN SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST.

UM, SO THAT THAT'S EXCITING TIME FOR US.

UM, WE ALSO HAVE, UH, A PILOT PROGRAM WITH, UH, OFFICE OF THE CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER THAT, UM, WE HAVE WHOLE BLOOD AVAILABLE ON, UM, A FEW OF OUR FRONTLINE UNITS THAT ARE ABLE TO GET THAT TREATMENT INTO THE FIELD, UM, IMMEDIATELY TO THOSE WHO, WHO NEED IT MOST.

AND WE'RE HAVING REALLY GOOD OUTCOMES WITH THAT.

AND WE HOPE TO EXPAND ON THAT IN THE FUTURE TOO.

AND I SPOKE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE COLLABORATIVE CARE CLINICAL CONSULT LINE.

THOSE ARE PARAMEDICS IN OUR CALL CENTER THAT ARE ABLE TO FURTHER TRIAGE SOME OF THE LOWER PRIORITY CALLS THAT COME IN TO HELP NAVIGATE PEOPLE TO BETTER RESOURCES AND GET THEIR, GET THEIR NEEDS TAKEN CARE OF.

AND THE SAME WITH TELE-HEALTH.

ANOTHER AREA THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT IS A REDUCTION OF THE USE OF RED LIGHTS AND SIRENS.

IT'S ONE OF THE RISKIEST THINGS THAT WE DO IN THE COMMUNITY, UM, THAT THE RESPONDING TO, UM, CALLS AND TRANSPORTING TO HOSPITAL WITH LICENSED SIRENS, UM, IT'S A RISK FOR OUR EMPLOYEES, OUR PATIENTS IN THE COMMUNITY.

UM, AND WE ARE LOOKING AT WAYS THAT WE CAN REDUCE THAT, UM, IN A SAFE AND RESPONSIBLE WAY.

AND THEN THE FINAL THING IS, AS WE JUST TOUCHED ON HIS STAFFING PLAN, THAT THE COUNCIL INITIATIVE, UM, AND RECOMMENDATION FOR ALL OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY AGENCIES TO CONTINUE ADDRESSING HOW TO, UM, ADDRESS OUR VACANCIES.

AND WITH THAT QUESTION, THANK YOU.

UM, COMMISSIONER WEBER.

I SEE YOU READY WITH A HAND UP.

UM, CHIEF GARDNER, I, I JUST WANTED SOME CLARIFICATION ABOUT, UM, STAFFING LEVELS.

SO ON SLIDE EIGHT, IT SAYS 18 SEPARATIONS AND SEVEN RETIREMENTS FOR Q1 OF THE FISCAL YEAR.

AND I JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY THAT THAT WAS 18 PLUS SEVEN.

NO, THAT'S AN 18 TOTAL.

GOT IT.

OF THE 8, 10, 7 WERE RETIREMENTS.

GOT IT.

FIRST OF THE YEAR THROUGH, I THINK YOU SAID FEBRUARY 28.

AND THEN WE SEE ON, UM, SLIDE NINE, THE ATTRITION IN 2022 IS FOUR.

IS THAT FROM THE

[00:25:01]

THAT'S CORRECT.

UM, AND THIS COULD BE, IT NEEDS TO BE UPDATED EVEN FURTHER THAN THAT, BUT, UM, THAT WAS AT THE TIME THAT THIS PRESENTATION WAS CREATED.

SO IT WAS Q1 OF THE CALENDAR YEAR.

UH, I'M SORRY.

THE PREVIOUS SLIDE ON SLIDE EIGHT W UM, THAT IS OCTOBER 1ST THROUGH DECEMBER 31ST.

AND THEN IS THIS SLIDE AID IS THE FISCAL YEAR IN SLIDE NINE IS THE CALENDAR YEAR, BUT IT IS NOT, I BELIEVE CURRENT THROUGH WHEN, UH, I BELIEVE IT IS CURRENT THROUGH, UM, THE END OF FEBRUARY.

AND THEN, UM, ON SLIDE 10, YOU SEE THE SAME NUMBER FOR SEPARATIONS.

THAT MAKES SENSE TO ME, BUT THEN ON SLIDE 11, I SEE 25 VACANCIES.

EH, CAN YOU HELP, CAN YOU HELP EXPLAIN WHAT THAT NUMBER MEANS? BUT IN 2022, I THINK THAT THIS IS PROBABLY THE ANOMALY BETWEEN WHEN WE WERE LOOKING AT THE DIFFERENT DATA AND I CAN CERTAINLY UPDATE THIS FOR A FUTURE ONE TO, TO HAVE IT ACCURATELY REFLECTED.

UM, BUT I BELIEVE THAT THE VACANCIES AT THAT POINT IN TIME, UM, IT WORKED WERE CUMULATIVE VERSUS THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT RESIGNED.

SO WHEN, WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT THAT PREVIOUS SLIDE WHERE IT HAD THE FOUR, THOSE WERE THE FOUR THAT HAD RESIGNED, UM, AND THIS IS JUST THE TOTAL VACANCIES AT THAT POINT IN TIME, BUT I CAN GET CLARIFICATION ON THAT FOR YOU AS WELL.

I THINK IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA BECAUSE THESE SLIDES GO INTO, YOU KNOW, THEY GET POSTED AND IT IS KIND OF ABSOLUTELY A LITTLE BIT CONFUSING.

UM, AND THEN, SO MY FINAL QUESTION JUST ABOUT VACANCIES IS, UM, IF IT IS IN FACT 25 SINCE THE FIRST OF THE YEAR, IS THAT CONCERNING OR IS THAT ABOUT WHAT YOU WOULD BE EXPECTING AND, UM, YOU KNOW, ARE YOU, ARE YOU DRAWING ANY CONCLUSIONS FROM THAT? SO AGAIN, UH, LET ME CLARIFY YOUR QUESTION.

ARE YOU ASKING IF WE'VE HAD 25 PEOPLE RESIGNED SINCE JANUARY? UM, YES.

I'M ASKING, WELL, WHAT I'M REALLY ASKING ABOUT HOW MANY SEPARATIONS SINCE JANUARY, AND I THINK IT'S EITHER IT'S BETWEEN FOUR AND 25, RIGHT.

FOR RIGHT AT THE TIME IT WAS FOR, WE HAVE NOT HAD 25 RESIGNATIONS SINCE THE 1ST OF JUNE.

BUT YOU DON'T KNOW.

UM, OKAY.

SO YOU'VE HAD FOUR RESIGNATIONS THE FIRST TO BE IN HERE THROUGH THE END OF FEBRUARY, CORRECT.

GOT IT.

THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER GONZALEZ.

I SAW YOUR HAND UP AS WELL.

THE STAFF STAFFING EVALUATION FOR ALL PUBLIC SAFETY, I BELIEVE THAT CIVILIAN STUFF IS GOING TO BE CONSIDERED AS WELL.

THANK YOU FOR ALL THE INFORMATION.

UM, CHIEF GARDNER, I WANTED TO GIVE A COUPLE OF POINTS.

SO ON THE FIRST THREE SLIDES, I THINK THAT'S GREAT INFORMATION.

AND I WOULD LOVE TO SEE IF WE CAN HAVE THE INCIDENTS, THE CONTACT AND THE TRANSPORT OVERLAID, BECAUSE I PERSONALLY WOULD LOVE TO SEE KIND OF THE DIFFERENCES, RIGHT? LIKE HOW MANY DROP OFF AND IN TRANSPORTS AND HOW MANY DROP-OFF OR OPPOSITE HOW MANY DROP-OFF AND CONTACTS VERSUS TRANSPORT.

SO I WOULD LOVE, AND OBVIOUSLY YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO BACK ALL THE WAY THROUGH 2019.

IF YOU JUST TAKE THE, UH, 20, 21, 20 22, I THINK THAT WOULD STILL BE A, A SIGNIFICANT POINT OF DATA.

UM, SO I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THAT OVERLAID AND THEN ON SLIDE, HOLD ON, LET ME GET THE NUMBER WHERE YOU HAVE THE SLIDE SIX, WHERE YOU HAVE THE PRIORITY PERCENTAGE BY DISTRICT, INSTEAD OF THE NUMBERS ON THOSE, UH, P ONE THROUGH P FIVE.

CAN YOU DO THE PERCENTAGES? UM, THAT, THAT MAKES MY EYES, MY BRAIN, CAN'T DO MATH THAT FAST TO ADD THOSE ALL TOGETHER AND GET PERCENTAGES BY DISTRICTS.

SO INSTEAD OF JUST THE STRAIGHT UP NUMBER, IF YOU COULD DO THE PERCENTAGES, THAT WOULD BE AWESOME.

ABSOLUTELY.

AND THAT'S IT FOR ME.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

GREAT INFORMATION.

DO WE HAVE ANY MORE QUESTIONS ONLINE FROM ANYONE I HAD? UM, ONE MORE QUESTION.

WELL, JUST FOR FUTURE REPORTS, I WAS REALLY INTERESTED IN HEARING A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT, UM, THE TELE-HEALTH CALLS AND THE COMMUNITY HEALTH PARAMEDIC CALLS THAT ARE HAPPENING JUST IN TERMS OF VOLUME, UM, AND HOW MUCH THAT MIGHT BE TAKING OUT OF, YOU KNOW, THE, UM, HOW MUCH THAT'S, HOW MUCH OF THAT DIVERSION IS, IS HELPING.

IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO GET A SENSE OF WHAT THAT VOLUME IS LIKE.

AND JUST ALSO IN GENERAL, I'VE BEEN ON A KIND OF KICK WANTING TO GET A SENSE OF, UM, CIVILIAN VACANCIES AS WELL.

UM, NON-SWORN STUFF.

UM, AND THAT CAN JUST BE A TOP NUMBER, A PERCENTAGE SORT OF, THAT WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL AS WELL, BECAUSE I BELIEVE AS COUNCIL GOES INTO THE,

[00:30:02]

SO I'D LIKE TO HEAR ABOUT THAT AS WELL.

THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER WEBER.

ANYBODY ELSE? OH, COMMISSIONER KICKOFF.

YEAH.

CHIEF GARDNER.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR REPORT.

UH, IN REGARDS TO THE, UH, RECRUITING AND HIRING PROCESS, I'M JUST CURIOUS AS TO WHAT, UM, YOUR STARTING PAY RATE IS AND HOW THAT COMPARES WITH OTHER CITIES SUCH AS DALLAS, SAN ANTONIO.

UM, WELL, THAT'S AN INTERESTING QUESTION.

IT'S ONE THAT WE ARE SPEAKING ABOUT QUITE A BIT, UM, DURING THIS BARGAINING SESSION, CURRENTLY OUR, UM, MEDIC STARTING RATE, UM, AND I'LL USE APRIL BECAUSE THERE IS AN, AN INCREASE COMING IN APRIL IS $19 AND 56 CENTS AN HOUR.

AND THAT'S ROUGHLY OVER BETWEEN 40 AND $45,000 A YEAR FOR AN EMT BASIC.

UM, WE DID HAVE SOME COMPARISONS FOR, UM, OTHER EMS AGENCIES.

IT IS DIFFICULT TO COMPARE US BECAUSE ONE EMS AGENCY HAS ONE EMS AGENCY, UNFORTUNATELY.

SO THERE ARE AGENCIES WHO HIRE ONLY PARAMEDIC CERTIFIED INDIVIDUALS, WHICH THEY ARE AT A DIFFERENT, UM, PAY RATE THAN WHAT AN EMT WOULD BE.

UM, OUR EMT ARE, YOU CAN BE AN EMT, YOU CAN BE A PARAMEDIC AND, YOU KNOW, IT, IT, IT GETS DIFFICULT TO COMPARE APPLES TO APPLES, SO TO SPEAK.

UM, BUT WE DO COMPARE THAT AND IT IS PART OF WHAT WE'RE DISCUSSING IN THE ONGOING BARGAINING.

YOU HAD ONE MORE QUESTION.

WAS THAT NATURE? YES.

OH, GREAT.

UM, CHIEF GARDNER, I JUST WANTED TO FOLLOW UP ON THAT FOR THOSE OF US THAT ARE WATCHING THE NEGOTIATIONS PLAY OUT.

MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THAT MANAGEMENT HAS TURNED DOWN THE ASSOCIATIONS PAY PROPOSAL, BUT HASN'T YET PROPOSED ANYTHING IN ITS PLACE.

IS THERE, UM, CAN YOU GIVE US AN UPDATE ON THAT? I, I CAN'T PROVIDE MUCH OF AN UPDATE ON THAT AND I, I KNOW THAT THERE ARE ONGOING CONVERSATIONS ABOUT WHAT, UM, THE NEXT ROUND AND THE NEXT, UM, PROPOSALS WILL BE.

UM, BUT IN TERMS OF THE, THE AUTHORITY FOR WHAT THAT PAID PROPOSAL WILL BE, I DO NOT KNOW.

I MEAN, UM, I'LL JUST, I'LL JUST GIVE A COMMENT, I GUESS, AND I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU, WEREN'T PREPARED TO TALK ON THAT, SO IT'S FINE.

BUT, UM, IT SEEMS LIKE THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH RECRUITING AT THE AGENCY.

UM, THESE, THE APPLICATIONS FOR THE, UM, MOST RECENT AND THE UPCOMING ACADEMIES SEEM VERY LOW.

UH, BUT PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG.

AND SO COMMISSIONERS, I WOULD JUST, UM, JUST LIKE COMMISSIONER CURE, COUGH BROUGHT UP, IT'S GOTTA BE RELATED TO HOW LOW THE STARTING PAY IS, WHICH WE ACTUALLY, AS A COMMISSION HAVE ASKED COUNSEL TO, CORRECT, IT'S VERY LOW AND THERE'S A REASON WHY MEDICS ARE LEAVING THE AGENCY AND GOING AND WORKING, UM, AS, YOU KNOW, PRIVATE MEDICS FOR TESLA OR AMAZON, OR WHAT HAVE YOU, IT'S BECAUSE THEY PAY MORE THAN WE DO.

SO WE'RE TRAINING PEOPLE UP AND THEN THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, AT OUR TAXPAYER EXPENSE AND THEN THEY'RE NOT GETTING PAID ENOUGH FOR THEM TO STICK AROUND.

AND SO THEY'RE MOVING ON TO PRIVATE CORPORATIONS.

SO BASICALLY WE'RE SUPPLEMENTING THESE CORPORATIONS, UM, FOR HAVING, YOU KNOW, ONSITE HEALTHCARE.

SO, UM, I, I LIKE TO ASK THE MS. JACKSON TO, UH, PUT ON A FUTURE AGENDA THAT WE GET AN UPDATE ON THE NEGOTIATIONS.

AND I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR AGAIN FROM THE ASSOCIATION ABOUT WHAT THEIR PROPOSAL IS, AND MAYBE BY NEXT MONTH, IF WE HAVE IT ON THE AGENDA, THE CITY WILL HAVE PUT OUT THEIR COUNTER PROPOSAL AND THEN, UM, WE'LL KNOW EVERYONE'S POSITION.

UM, DO WE HAVE ANY MORE QUESTIONS, IF NOT THINK WE MIGHT BE READY TO MOVE ON.

UM, MOVING ON TO OUR NEXT AGENDA ITEM.

WE'VE GOT ONLINE TO DO THE PRESENTATION, CHIEF STEWART AND OUR, UH, WILDFIRE MITIGATION OFFICER JUSTICE JONES.

THANK YOU TO PARTNER.

UM, MOVING ON TO

[3.b. Wildfire Resolution #20160512-016 Update (sponsors: Commissioner Gonzales and Ramirez) 4:50pm-5:15pm]

OUR NEXT AGENDA ITEM.

UM, WE HAVE WILD, UH, WILDFIRE RESOLUTION UPDATE.

UM, SHE FIRES.

YEAH.

JARED COMMISSIONERS.

THANK YOU FOR LETTING US VISIT WITH YOU ON THAT.

UH,

[00:35:01]

I'LL YIELD THE FLOOR TO THEM TO SHARE OUR UPDATE ON THE WILDFIRE RESOLUTION.

UH, YOU GUYS ON MUTE, WE CAN'T HEAR YOU.

UM, I THINK WE'RE, WE'RE WAITING ON GETTING THE PRESENTATION UP NEXT.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE.

UM, WE'RE, UH, TAKING A TEAM APPROACH IN UPDATING THE COMMISSION AND WE'RE EXCITED TO BE HERE.

I'M JUSTICE JONES, BALLPARK MITIGATION OFFICER WITH AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT.

AND I'M HERE WITH MY DIVISION CHIEF, CARRIE STEWART.

AND WE'RE GOING TO UPDATE YOU ON THE SIX KEY BULLET POINTS OF THE COUNCIL OF WILDFIRE RESOLUTION.

AND I'M GONNA START BY PROVIDING A QUICK OVERVIEW OF THE FIRST THREE.

AND WHAT I WANTED TO MAKE EVERYBODY AWARE OF IS THIS IS A ONLINE VERSION OF A PRESENTATION THAT YOU CAN DOWNLOAD IF YOU LIKE BY CLICKING THE PRINT BUTTON.

UM, SO IF YOU WANT TO TAKE A TIME TO LOOK AT THIS OFFLINE, YOU CAN DO SO, OR YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THAT PRESENTATION.

UH, THE FIRST THING THAT WE'D LIKE TO TALK ABOUT IS THE NUMBER OF LOCAL LEVEL COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLANS THAT WE'VE COMPLETED AND IMPLEMENTED.

AND TO DO THAT, WE'LL JUST SCROLL DOWN THROUGH THE HUB TO DATE.

WE'VE COMPLETED 20 LOCAL LEVEL COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLANS AND WHERE WE'RE IMPLEMENTING THOSE PLANS.

AND THAT MEANS, UM, IMPLEMENTING, UM, RECOMMENDATIONS FOR STRUCTURAL HARDENING AND FUELS MITIGATION AND COMMUNITY EDUCATION IN THOSE AREAS.

IN ADDITION, UM, YOU CAN SCROLL THROUGH THE HUB AND GET AN OVERVIEW OF EACH OF THE COMMUNITIES THAT ARE CURRENTLY COVERED ON OUR WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN.

UM, A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THOSE COMMUNITIES AND THEIR STATUS.

THE SECOND BULLET, AND SECOND UPDATE IS THE NUMBER OF LOCAL LEVEL COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLANS THAT WE HAVE STARTED.

UM, BUT YET DEMAND COMPLETED.

SO THERE'S, UM, 24 LOCAL CWP PS THAT ARE IN THE WORKS.

UM, THESE ARE COMMUNITIES THAT ARE ACTIVELY ENGAGED AND, UM, WORKING WITH US TO DEVELOP PLANS, OUTLINE HOW THEY'RE GOING TO PROTECT THEIR COMMUNITY IN THE INEVITABILITY EVENT OF A WILDFIRE.

AND AGAIN, YOU CAN CLICK ON EACH OF THESE COMMUNITIES AND, UM, GET SOME BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND A PHYSICAL LOCATION OF WHERE THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING WITH THESE COMMUNITIES IS TAKING PLACE.

THE THIRD PIECE OF THE COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLANNING IS A PERCENTAGE OF HIGH RISK.

WE AREAS IN WHICH IDENTIFICATION OF A POTENTIAL LOCAL CWPP IS STILL ONGOING.

AND SO WE HAVE A CWPP COVERING, UM, OVER HALF OF THE COMMUNITY, UM, AREAS THAT ARE HIGH RISK.

WE'RE STILL WORKING WITH EXISTING COMMUNITIES, UM, IN THOSE OTHER AREAS, THE OTHER 49% TO DEVELOP THEIR PLANS, MEANINGFUL PLANS THAT THEY CAN IMPLEMENT TO REDUCE THAT RISK.

AND AGAIN, MAP HIGHLIGHTS AREAS AND PERCENTAGE OF AREAS THAT ARE COVERED BY COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN.

AND YOU CAN ACCESS INFORMATION ON EACH OF THESE COMMUNITIES THROUGH THE NEXT SUMMER.

I HAND IT OVER TO CHIEF STEWARD TO UPDATE US ON THE REMAINDER OF THE BULLETS THAT AFTERNOON, EVERYONE, OUR FULL FOURTH BULLET POINT IS THE NUMBER OF PRESENTATIONS AND EVENTS AND HOME ASSESSMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN PROVIDED IN THE LAST SIX MONTHS.

SO WE'VE DONE THROUGH THE WILDFIRE DIVISION, 17 PRESENTATIONS AND 15 HOME ASSESSMENTS.

SO YOU CAN, UH, JUST LIKE WITH THE PREVIOUS BULLETS, WE CAN SCROLL DOWN AND YOU CAN SEE THE NOTES, UH, ON EACH OF THOSE ASSESSMENTS OR PRESENTATIONS AND WHERE THOSE HAPPENED.

UM, AND IT'LL HIGHLIGHT THOSE ON THE MAP FOR YOU AS WELL.

AND YOU CAN SEE WHAT KIND THAT IT WAS.

UH, MIGHT'VE BEEN A PRESENTATION TO AN HOA OR A HOME ASSESSMENT FROM AN INDIVIDUAL COMMUNITY MEMBER.

THE FIFTH BULLET THAT WE HAVE IS THE NUMBER SIZE TYPE AND LOCATION OF FUELS MITIGATION ACTIVITIES THAT WE'VE CONDUCTED.

SO WE'VE CONDUCTED 15 PROJECTS AND TREATED A TOTAL OF 1,177 ACRES IN THE PAST SIX MONTHS.

YOU CAN ALSO SEE, UM, AS YOU SCROLL THROUGH HERE, HOW THOSE WERE TREATED.

SO A MECHANICAL FIELD TREATMENT MIGHT BE A SHADED FUEL BREAK, AND THEN WE'VE DONE NINE PRESCRIBED FIRES FOR

[00:40:01]

A TOTAL OF OVER 2000 ACRES.

AND IF YOU SCROLL THROUGH THIS SECTION HERE, YOU CAN HAVE THOSE AREAS HIGHLIGHTED ON THE MAP AND KNOW WHETHER THAT WAS A PRESCRIBED FIRE FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL PROJECT THAT'S ON THE MAP OR WHETHER IT WAS A SHADED FUEL BREAK OR A MECHANICAL TREATMENT.

AND THEN OUR LAST BULLET POINT IS THE NUMBER OF TRAINING HOURS RECEIVED.

AND THE NUMBER OF TRAINING HOURS CONDUCTED IN THE LAST SIX MONTHS.

AND THAT'S ALSO IDENTIFIED BY TRAINING TYPE, WHETHER THAT WAS A PLANNING EFFORT OUTREACH, WHETHER IT'S RELATED TO RESILIENT LANDSCAPES OR TO RESPONSE.

THIS IS ALSO GOING TO INCLUDE THE NEW RESPONDING TO THE INTERFACE CLASS THAT WE DID A TRAIN THE TRAINER FOR LAST SUMMER.

AND WE'VE STARTED ROLLING THAT OUT TO OUR OPERATIONS UNITS, UH, THIS PAST MONTH.

AND SO THAT RTI OR RESPONDING TO THE INTERFACE TRAINING IS INCLUDED IN THOSE NUMBERS AS WELL.

AND AGAIN, IF YOU WANTED TO SCROLL THROUGH HERE, YOU COULD SEE THE TYPE OF ACTIVITY, UM, BEING TRAINING, BUT ALSO WHAT EXACTLY WE WERE DOING AT THE TIME THAT WE REPORTED THAT TRAINING IN THE FIELD.

AND UNLESS THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS, UH, THAT'S ALL WE HAVE FOR THIS SLIDES TO, TO COVER OUR BULLET POINTS.

THANKS COMMISSIONER GONZALEZ.

UM, CAN WE PULL UP THE COMMISSIONERS? UM, MULTI-VIEW AGAIN, SO THAT WE CAN SEE IF WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.

THERE WE GO.

HI EVERYONE AGAIN.

UM, ANY QUESTIONS COMMISSIONER BERNHARDT? HI.

UM, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE UPDATE.

UM, IT'S REALLY DIFFICULT TO INTERACT WITH THE, UM, NAPS, UH, FROM A DISTANCE I'M ACTUALLY ON AN IPAD.

SO LIKE I CAN'T SEE THE SCREENS VERY WELL AT ALL.

UM, BUT THE LAST TIME WE DID Y'ALL DID A PRESENTATION IN PERSON.

I REMEMBER BEING VERY CONCERNED ABOUT, UM, THE NUMBER OF INTERACTIONS WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS, UM, AND MITIGATION EFFORTS IN TERMS OF, UM, BRUSH AND THAT SORT OF THINGS GOING ON ON THE EAST SIDE OF TRAVIS COUNTY IN AUSTIN, UM, COMPARED TO THE WEST SIDE.

UM, AND I WAS WONDERING IF YOU COULD GIVE ME A SENSE OF SORT OF HOW THAT'S GOING AND, UM, IF THERE'S BEEN ANY CHANGE IN, IN SORT OF MAKING AN INCREASED EFFORT, UM, YOU KNOW, IN SOUTHEAST AND, UH, NORTHEAST AUSTIN, WHERE WE KNOW THAT THERE'S A SIGNIFICANT, UM, WHEW RISK, OR IS THAT WHAT WE SAY? WHAT DO WE SAY, WILDFIRE RISK? WE JUST USE THE WORD WILDFIRE RISK.

UM, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I'M, I'M WORRIED THAT FOLKS WHO ARE LOWER INCOME ARE, ARE LIKELY TO BE EVEN LESS PREPARED, AT LEAST IN TERMS OF THE MATERIALS THAT THEIR HOMES ARE, ARE BUILT FROM ARE NOT GOING TO BE, UM, LIKE THE MOST RECENT MATERIALS.

IF, IF, IF TEXAS IS DOING ANYTHING, UM, IN TERMS OF, UM, BUILDING CODES, UM, REQUIRING FOLKS TO USE STUFF THAT'S MORE FIRE RESISTANT.

UM, YOU KNOW, THAT'S NOT HAVING A HUGE IMPACT ON FOLKS WHO HAVE OLDER HOMES, SO SURE.

I CAN SPEAK TO THAT.

AND THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.

IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO US.

IF YOU RECALL, WE'RE ONE OF ONLY TWO DEPARTMENTS IN THE COUNTRY THAT DEVELOPED A WILDFIRE VULNERABILITY VIEWER THAT ALLOWS US TO LOOK AT HOW PEOPLE WILL BE POTENTIALLY IMPACTED BY A WILDFIRE.

UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE RECOGNIZED IS IN EAST AUSTIN IS PREDOMINANTLY, UH, BRUSH AND GRASS FIELD MODEL.

AND SO MANY OF THE MITIGATION ACTIVITIES THAT HAVE BEEN TAKING PLACE, WE HAVEN'T DONE A GOOD JOB CAPTURING THEM BECAUSE IT'S TAKING PLACE IN THE FORM OF MOWING OR OTHER MAINTENANCE ACTIVITY THAT WE HAVEN'T LUMPED IN OUR TRADITIONAL MODEL.

WE'RE NOW GLEANING THAT INFORMATION AND WORKING TO PULL THAT INTO THE HUB.

AND SO WHAT YOU'LL SEE IS EAST AUSTIN IS GOING TO BE REALLY HIGHLIGHTED IN THE AREAS WHERE WE CAN MANAGE THAT WITH EXISTING STRATEGIES, THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN, BECAUSE IT IS GRASS AND WOODLANDS.

WE USE A LOT OF PRESCRIBED BURNING PREDOMINANTLY OR PRESCRIBED BURNING IS HAPPENING IN THE EAST SIDE OF AUSTIN.

SO THAT'S ANOTHER TOOL AT OUR DISPOSAL.

SO I'LL THINK YOU'LL START TO SEE THAT MORE ACCURATELY FOR REFLECTED.

WE'RE ALSO EXCITED THAT WE ARE, UM, NOT TO RECOGNIZE OUR FIRST EAST AUSTIN FIRE NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED FIREWISE COMMUNITY.

SO THAT'S A BIG STEP FOR US IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.

WE FEEL, EVEN THOUGH WE KNOW WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO IN THAT REGARD, UM, THE THIRD PART OF YOUR QUESTION IS THE STRUCTURE HARDENING THE WAY THAT WE EVALUATED WILDFIRE RISK IN AUSTIN DOES PICK UP THE RISK AND GRASS FIRE AREAS, WHICH IS UNIQUE.

AND IF YOU LOOK AT PLACES LIKE COLORADO, WHERE THE MARSHALL FIRE RECENTLY HAPPENED, THEY DIDN'T IDENTIFY ALL THOSE AREAS IN THEIR WOOEY.

SO OUR BEST START IS TO RECOGNIZE THAT WE HAVE THAT PROBLEM, THAT WE'RE STARTING TO GRAVITATE

[00:45:01]

TOWARDS ADDRESSING IT.

UM, ANY HOME THAT'S BEING CONSTRUCTED EAST AUSTIN, AND A LOT OF THE DEVELOPMENT IS HAPPENING ON THE EAST SIDE IS GOING TO BE IN COMPLIANCE WITH WHAT WE CODE, IF IT'S AN, UH, AN AREA THAT'S DESIGNATED.

AND SECONDLY, WE'RE SEEING A LOT OF RETRO BUILDS AND REMODELS OF THESE SIDES.

SO THROUGH ATTRITION, WE'LL GRADUALLY START TO SEE SOME OF THOSE HOMES, UH, RETROFITTED TO BE MORE INITIAL RESISTANCE.

UM, BUT THIS IS GOING TO BE AN ONGOING EFFORT AND YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT TO BRING TO THEM.

I HAVE ONE FOLLOW-UP QUESTION.

I HADN'T THOUGHT ABOUT THIS BEFORE.

I KNOW THAT THERE ARE, UM, SOME FUNDS AVAILABLE USUALLY THROUGH AUSTIN ENERGY, UH, TO, TO WEATHERIZATION.

UM, ARE, IS THERE ANY POOL OF MONEY AVAILABLE LOCALLY FOR FOLKS TO DO, UM, HARDENING, UM, IF THEY OWN AN OLDER HOME AND DON'T HAVE A HUGE AMOUNT OF RESOURCES, UM, TO DO THAT KIND OF THING, TO MAKE THEIR HOME MORE FIRE RESISTANT, THERE ARE A FEW ASPECTS THAT WE'VE IDENTIFIED THAT ARE READY MADE WITHIN THE CITY.

LIKE THE WINDOW REBATE PROGRAM.

THOSE ARE THE SAME TYPE OF WINDOWS WE'D RECOMMEND FOR IGNITION RESISTANT CONSTRUCTION.

THERE ISN'T A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH THAT'S BEEN DEVELOPED TO HELP OFFSET THOSE COSTS AS OF YET.

I SAW YOUR HINT.

UM, YEAH, I ACTUALLY HAVE BETTER ACCESS I'M AT MY COMPUTER.

SO I, I WAS LOOKING FOR THE SAME THING, COMMISSIONER BERNHARDT THAT YOU WERE, AND HONESTLY, EVEN IN THE PAST SIX MONTHS, IF YOU LOOK AT OUTREACH EVENTS, THERE'S ONLY TWO DONE IN EAST AUSTIN.

SO I WOULD JUST LIKE TO CONTINUE TO CHALLENGE YOU GUYS TO REALLY, YOU KNOW, THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX AND MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE SERVING THE COMMUNITY.

YOU GUYS ARE DOING GREAT WORK.

YOU ALL ARE DOING GREAT WORK.

I'VE BEEN INVOLVED WITH HIS COMMISSION AS LONG AS YOU HAVE BEEN FUNDED.

AND AS LONG AS YOU HAVE BEEN SPEAKING TO US.

SO I JUST WANT TO CONTINUE TO SAY THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT, THAT WE'RE REALLY CONCERNED ABOUT, AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THESE OUTREACH EVENTS AND ALL OF THESE THINGS ARE HAPPENING AT EQUALLY AMONGST OUR DISTRICTS.

SO, YES.

JUST TAKING IT TO THE FLOOR ONE LAST TIME TO SEE IF WE HAVE ANY MORE QUESTIONS.

ITEM ON THE AGENDA, WELL, FOR OF NEW BUSINESS IS, UM, A REVIEW OF THE CRAWL CONSULTING REPORT PHASE, UM, FOR AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT.

BOTH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.

UM, THANK YOU, CHIEF FIRES.

UM, WE'LL BE MOVING ON TO THE NEXT ITEM.

UM, OUR LAST

[3.c. Review of Kroll Consulting Report (Phase B) Austin Police Department (sponsors: Commissioner Bernhardt and Ramirez) 5:05pm-5:45pm]

UM, I BELIEVE WE HAVE SOME PEOPLE FROM APD, KATHERINE JOHNSON AND PEOPLE FROM KROHL JOINING US.

GOOD EVENING.

I'M MARK ELDERS HERE FROM CROWELL, AND I BELIEVE I SHOULD HAVE, UH, MY COLLEAGUES, DAN LINSKEY AND RICK BROWN.

THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.

AND YOU CAN JUST GET STARTED, UM, WHEN YOU'RE READY.

IS, IS RICK GONE? UM, I DON'T SEE RICK AT THE MOMENT.

HE WAS, HE SAID HE WAS, HE WAS PUT IN AS A PARTICIPANT, BUT NOT A PANELISTS.

I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S A WAY TO I'M IN THE ATTENDEES SECTION ON THE PARTICIPANTS LIST.

SO JUST NEED TO BE THAT.

AND AS A PANELISTS, I HEAR RICK, BUT I DON'T SEE HIM.

UM, WE CAN HAVE HIM IF, IF HE WANTS, UM, CAN TRY LOGGING OFF AND LOGGING BACK ON.

OTHERWISE WE'LL JUST GO WITH AUDIO WITH HIM FOR NOW.

AND THAT WAY WE CAN GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED.

UM, DO I HAVE THE, IS IT, IS IT POSSIBLE FOR ME TO, TO SHARE THE SCREEN, UM, AS WELL, SO I CAN PUT UP A POWERPOINT THE APPROPRIATE TIME.

IN PHILADELPHIA, UH, AND I'M A FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR HAVING SPENT ABOUT 18 YEARS AS AN ASSISTANT US ATTORNEY FIRST IN THE WASHINGTON DC, UH, AND LATER IN THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA.

UM, WELL LET ME, LET ME GET STARTED.

AND, UM, I'LL, I'LL INTRODUCE, UH, US AND INCLUDING RICK AND DAN, AND THEN WE'LL, UH, WE'LL DO A BRIEF PRESENTATION AND THEN OPEN IT UP FOR QUESTIONS, BUT THANK YOU, FIRST OF ALL, FOR INVITING US TO SPEAK BEFORE YOU TONIGHT.

UM, AND TO PRESENT OUR FINDINGS ON THE PHASE B REPORT, UH, ON THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT, UM, JUST BY WAY OF INTRODUCTION, MY NAME IS MARK EHLERS I'M, UH, ENGAGEMENT LEADER ON THIS PROJECT.

I'M A MANAGING DIRECTOR AT CROWELL, UH, BASED

[00:50:01]

AND SINCE JOINING KROLL IN, IN 2006, I'VE CONDUCTED MANY POLICE AGENCY REVIEWS AND INVESTIGATIONS, AND I'VE ALSO INVESTIGATED DOZENS OF, UH, SEXUAL ASSAULT, HARASSMENT AND DISCRIMINATION, UH, INVESTIGATIONS FOR A NUMBER OF ENTITIES, UM, WITH MEATS.

AND I ARE TWO OF OUR NATIONALLY RENOWNED POLICE EXPERTS.

UM, SO RICK BROWN WHO HOPEFULLY WILL BE ADMITTED AS A PANELIST OR AT LEAST BE ABLE TO HEAR HIM.

UH, RICK SPENT 29 YEARS WITH THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE POLICE.

WE SERVED AS DEPUTY COMMISSIONER, UM, AND HE'S AN EXPERT IN USE OF FORCE DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION AND RECRUITING PRACTICES AMONG OTHER AREAS.

AND HE SERVED ON SEVERAL INDEPENDENT MONITORED TEAMS, UH, PURSUANT TO STATE AND FEDERAL CONSENT DECREES OF POLICE DEPARTMENTS THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES.

UH, AND ALSO WITH US AS DAN LINSKEY, DAN, UH, IS ALSO A MANAGING DIRECTOR IN A CRAWL HE'S IN PRO'S BOSTON OFFICE.

UH, AND DAN SPEAK PREVIOUSLY SPENT 28 YEARS, UH, WITH THE BOSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT.

AND, UH, THAT INCLUDED FIVE YEARS AS CHIEF OF THE DEPARTMENT WHERE HE IMPLEMENTED A NUMBER OF, UM, INNOVATIVE MEASURES, UH, AND GAINED A REPUTATION NATIONALLY AS AN EXPERT ON COMMUNITY ORIENTED POLICING AND POLICE ADMINISTRATION.

SO WITH THAT, I'M GOING TO TRY TO SHARE MY SCREEN.

UM, IDENTIFYING DISPARITY ALLOWS YOU TO EXAMINE PATTERNS AND TRENDS MORE CLOSELY.

SO HOPEFULLY, UM, YOU CAN SEE THAT.

UM, SO JUST AS, UH, WE CALL THIS THE, THE PHASE B REPORT BECAUSE, UH, THE INITIAL PHASE OF OUR BAR REVIEW, WHICH WAS CALLED PHASE WAS COMPLETED BACK IN APRIL OF 2021.

AND IT INVOLVED ASSESSING THE APD TRAINING ACADEMY ON ITS ABILITY AND READINESS TO PREPARE CADETS FOR POLICING IN A MULTIETHNIC, UH, URBAN POPULATION, CONSISTENT WITH BEST PRACTICES.

UM, WE RECENTLY COMPLETED A SEPARATE REPORT ON OUR ROLE AS INDEPENDENT EVALUATOR OF THE POLICE ACADEMY.

UH, AND THAT WAS THIS YEAR, JUST A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO ON FEBRUARY 16TH.

HOWEVER, THE PHASE B REPORT, UM, ADDRESS FOUR DISTINCT AREAS AND HOPEFULLY SOME, OR ALL OF YOU HAD A CHANCE TO SEE OUR REPORT.

IT IS QUITE LENGTHY IT'S, UH, I THINK IT'S AROUND 170 PLUS PAGES LONG.

SO IT'S, IT'S VERY LENGTHY, IT'S ESSENTIALLY FOUR REPORTS IN ONE.

UM, SO WE'RE JUST GOING TO GIVE YOU A KIND OF A HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW TONIGHT AND TRY TO SLEEP AS MUCH TIME FOR QUESTIONS.

UM, BUT THE REPORT DOES COVER FOUR BASIC AREAS.

WE FIRST LOOKED AT, UH, APD USE OF FORCE INCIDENTS, UH, FROM 2017 TO 2020.

UH, SO THIS WAS A 48 MONTH TIMEFRAME.

WE ALSO DID A, A MORE DETAILED QUALITATIVE REVIEW AND ANALYSIS OF APPROXIMATELY 1,321 USE OF FORCE INCIDENTS FROM JUNE TO NOVEMBER, 2019.

UM, WE ALSO LOOKED AT APDS, UH, PUBLIC INTERACTIONS WITH CIVILIANS, LOOKING AT TRAFFIC STOPS, ARRESTS CITATIONS SEARCHES DURING CALENDAR YEAR 2020.

UH, AND THEN FINALLY WE LOOKED AT, UH, APDS RECRUITMENT SELECTION AND PROMOTION POLICIES AND PRACTICES.

AND IN EACH OF THESE AREAS, WE EXAMINED, UH, POTENTIAL DISPARITIES INVOLVING RACE, ETHNICITY, AND GENDER, AND THE POTENTIAL IMPACT THAT THE DEPARTMENT'S POLICIES AND PRACTICES HAVE ON HISTORICALLY UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS.

SO WHAT WE CALL SECTION THREE, WHICH WAS OUR REVIEW AND DATA ANALYSIS OF USE OF FORCE FROM 2017 TO 2020.

LET ME JUST NOTE INITIALLY, IT'S, IT'S IMPORTANT TO BE AWARE OF THE LIMITATIONS OF WHAT AGGREGATE POLICE DATA CAN AND CANNOT TELL US, UM, AT ANY GIVEN TIME.

SO AGGREGATE POLICE THAT ALONE COULD NOT EITHER PROVE OR DISPROVE, UH, RACIALLY BIASED POLICING, FOR EXAMPLE.

AND IT SHOULDN'T BE VIEWED EITHER BY THE POLICE OR BY RESIDENTS STAKEHOLDERS AS A SORT OF PASS FAIL TEST, BUT IT CAN BE USED AS A DIAGNOSTIC TOOL TO HELP PINPOINT THE DECISIONS, THE GEOGRAPHIC AREAS, UH, AND THE PROCEDURES THAT MAY NEED PRIORITY ATTENTION, PARTICULARLY WHEN ADDRESSING THE PROBLEM OR PERCEPTION OF RACIAL BIAS.

UM, SO WHILE STATISTICAL ANALYSIS CAN MEASURE DISPARITY OR DISPROPORTIONALITY, WHICH IS WHAT WE ATTEMPTED TO DO IN THIS REPORT, UH, IT REALLY CAN'T MEASURE BIAS PER SE.

UM, IT CAN'T BE RELIABLY USED TO DETERMINE THE REASONS FOR DISPARITIES AND EVEN HIGH LEVELS OF DISPARITY ARE NOT NECESSARILY MAYBE, BUT NOT NECESSARILY PROOF OF BIAS.

SO IF THAT'S TRUE, WHY DO THE ANALYSIS? WELL, THERE'S A FEW REASONS FIRST,

[00:55:01]

IT HELPS IDENTIFY THE QUESTIONS TO ASK, TO DETERMINE WHETHER THERE ARE LEGITIMATE EXPLANATIONS FOR DISPARITIES, AND IT CAN HELP DEVELOP MORE APPROPRIATE CORRECTIVE MEASURES SUCH AS TRAINING SUPERVISION.

SO WITH THOSE LIMITATIONS IN MIND, UM, I'M JUST GOING TO REVIEW SOME OF OUR FINDINGS, ALTHOUGH IN THE INTEREST OF TIME, UH, WE'LL LIMIT OUR PRESENTATION AGAIN, JUST TO SOME HIGH LEVEL FINDINGS.

SO WE LOOKED AT SOME TRENDS, UM, FROM 2017 TO 2020.

AND THE FIRST THING WE FOUND WAS THAT APD ARRESTS IN THAT TIME PERIOD DECLINED BY OVER 50% WHILE USE OF FORCE INCIDENTS INCREASED BY ABOUT 58%.

NOW THIS WAS PARTIALLY, ALTHOUGH NOT ENTIRELY EXPLAINED BY A CHANGING IN APD USE OF FORCE REPORTING LEVELS IN SOMETIME IN 2019, UM, WHICH ADDED SOME LOW LEVEL USE OF FORCE INCIDENTS THAT WERE NOT PREVIOUSLY CAPTURED, UH, IN APDS REPORTING.

UH, IT ALSO WAS CAUSED PROBABLY PARTLY BY A SPIKE IN THE NUMBER OF UNKNOWN INDIVIDUALS WHO EXPERIENCED FORCE IN 2020, UM, LIKELY DUE TO THE CIVIL UNREST THAT SUMMER IN RESPONSE TO THE DEATH OF GEORGE, GEORGE, FLOYD, AND OTHER, UH, INCIDENTS.

UM, WE LOOKED AT INDIVIDUAL IMPAIRMENT BY RACE AND ETHNICITY, AND WE FOUND THAT ALTHOUGH FORCED SEVERITY DID NOT SIGNIFICANTLY VARY ACROSS RACIAL AND ETHNIC LINES, INDIVIDUALS WHO WERE PERCEIVED TO BE IMPAIRED THAT IS UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF DRUGS OR ALCOHOL OR THOSE WHO WERE PERCEIVED TO HAVE MENTAL HEALTH OR BEHAVIORAL CRISIS ISSUES.

UH, THOSE INDIVIDUALS WERE AT A HIGHER RISK OF EXPERIENCING USE OF FORCE THAN INDIVIDUALS WHO WERE NOT IMPAIRED.

HOWEVER, UM, FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO WERE NOT IMPAIRED, UM, THERE WAS A, UH, SIGNIFICANT, UM, RACIAL DISPARITY IN THE SENSE THAT BLACK INDIVIDUALS EXPERIENCED USE OF FORCE AT TWICE THE RATE AS THE WHITE INDIVIDUALS, AMONG THOSE INDIVIDUALS WHO WERE NOT IMPAIRED EITHER THROUGH DRUGS OR ALCOHOL OR ANY KIND OF MENTAL HEALTH OR, OR BEHAVIORAL CRISIS.

UM, WE ALSO LOOKED AT REPEAT USES OF FORCE, AND WE FOUND THAT 30% OF INDIVIDUALS WHO HAD FORCE USED AGAINST THEM WERE INVOLVED IN MORE THAN ONE USE OF FORCE EVENT DURING THE FOUR YEAR STUDY.

UM, BLACK INDIVIDUALS WHO EXPERIENCED USE OF FORCE WERE MORE LIKELY TO HAVE EXPERIENCED MULTIPLE USE OF FORCE ENCOUNTERS.

AND WE FOUND THAT INDIVIDUALS WHO WERE PERCEIVED TO BE IMPAIRED WERE ALSO MORE LIKELY THAN THOSE WITH NO NOTED IMPAIRMENT TO HAVE EXPERIENCED MULTIPLE SEPARATE USE OF FORCE ENCOUNTERS.

UH, WE ALSO FOUND THAT THE FREQUENCY OF USE OF FORCE VARY DRAMATICALLY ACROSS APD SECTORS OR GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRICTS.

SO THE GEORGE SECTOR, WHICH IS THE DOWNTOWN ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT ACCOUNTED FOR ALMOST A QUARTER OF INDIVIDUALS WHO EXPERIENCED FORCE, UH, IN THE TIME PERIOD EXAMINED.

AND THIS IS 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 NOW TO MEASURE DISPARITY RESEARCHERS AND SOCIAL SCIENTISTS HAVE USED WHAT THEY CALL BENCHMARK ANALYSIS, WHICH IS A CONCEPT THAT ENTERED THE NATIONAL CONVERSATION AS PART OF TRAFFIC STOP AND RACIAL PROFILE AND RESEARCH IN THE 1990S, UM, RELIABLE BENCHMARKS ARE OUR PROXY MEASURES FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE, UH, SIMILARLY SITUATED OR AT RISK OF EXPERIENCING THE SAME OUTCOME, ASSUMING NO BIAS EXISTS.

UM, NO BENCHMARKS CAN EXAMINE ALL RISK FACTORS THAT MIGHT EXPLAIN RACIAL OR ETHNIC DIFFERENCES IN OUTCOMES AND REPORT RESULTS WILL VARY WIDELY DEPENDING ON THE BENCHMARK USED AND CANDACE LEAD TO DRAMATICALLY DIFFERENT CONCLUSIONS.

UM, SO FOR EXAMPLE, LOOKING AT THIS CHART, UM, WE FIND IF WE LOOKED AT RESIDENTIAL POPULATION AS OUR BENCHMARK MOTHERS, WE COMPARE USE OF FORCE AMONG PARTICULAR RACIAL OR ETHNIC GROUPS, UM, COMPARED THE, THE, THE, THE RATE OF USE OF FORCE AGAINST THOSE GROUPS COMPARED TO THEIR PERCENTAGE OF THE AUSTIN RESIDENTIAL POPULATION BASED ON CENSUS DATA, WHICH ARE THE GREEN, UM, UH, BARS HERE, YOU SEE THAT THERE'S ACTUALLY VERY, UH, GROSS DISPARITIES IN THE SENSE THAT BLACKS WERE 6.7 TIMES MORE LIKELY THAN WHITES TO HAVE FORCED USE AGAINST THEM, UH, COMPARED TO THEIR REPRESENTATION IN THE REP IN THE RESIDENTIAL POPULATION, HISPANIC INDIVIDUALS ARE ONE AND A HALF TIMES MORE LIKELY THAN WHITES THAT FORCE USE AGAINST THEM AGAIN, COMPARED TO THEIR REST RESIDENTIAL POPULATION.

BUT WHEN THESE, UH, THE SAME USE OF FORCE INCIDENTS ARE COMPARED, UM, TO ARREST AND SUSPECT BASED BENCHMARKS.

SO EITHER LOOKING AT ALL

[01:00:01]

ARRESTEES OR PART ONE ARRESTEES, OR ALL SUSPECT DATA OR PART ONE SUSPECT DATA, THE, UH, DISPARITIES WERE MUCH REDUCED WITH ONE EXCEPTION.

HOWEVER, WHEN WE LOOKED AT THE ALL AMONG ALL ARRESTEES, BLACKS WERE STILL 1.2 TIMES MORE LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE FORCE COMPARED TO COMPARED TO WHITES.

BUT WHEN WE EXAMINED, UH, PART ONE VIOLENT ARRESTEES, UM, ALL SUSPECTS AND PART ONE VIOLENCE SUSPECTS, THERE WAS LITTLE DIFFERENTIAL BETWEEN BLACK, HISPANIC, AND WHITE ARRESTEES OR SUSPECTS REGARDING THE LIKELIHOOD OF EXPERIENCING FORCE AMONG THOSE MORE NARROW POPULATIONS.

SO AGAIN, LOOKING AT RESIDENTIAL POPULATION, THERE WERE MAJOR DISPARITIES IN USE OF FORCE, UH, FOR BLACK INDIVIDUALS AND HISPANIC INDIVIDUALS ACROSS ALL OUR APD SECTORS FOR BLACKS AND, UM, MOST SECTORS FOR HISPANIC INDIVIDUALS.

BUT WHEN IT WAS NARROWED TO THE ARRESTEE POPULATION, THERE WERE MUCH FEWER DISPARITIES.

UH, HOWEVER, UM, TWO SECTORS, GEORGIA AND IDA DITCH STILL SHOW HISPANICS AS ONE AND A HALF TIMES MORE LIKELY TO HAVE FORCE USED AGAINST THEM IN THOSE SECTORS, COMPARED TO WHITES, JUST LOOKING AT THE ARRESTEE POPULATION AND THEN LOOKING AT CRIMINAL SUSPECT POPULATION.

UM, IT'S A, THERE WEREN'T BEEN MINOR OR NO DISPARITIES IN USE OF FORCE IN MOST SECTORS.

HOWEVER, GEORGE SECTOR STILL SHOWED BLACKS 1.2 TIMES MORE LIKELY TO HAVE FORCE USED AGAINST THEM IN THAT SECTOR COMPARED TO WHITE INDIVIDUALS AND EDWARDS AND GEORGE SECTOR SHOWED HISPANICS, UM, MORE LIKELY TO HAVE FORCE USED AGAINST THEM IN THOSE SECTORS.

SO JUST IN SUMMARY, UM, IN THIS SECTION OF THE REPORT, WE FOUND THAT, YOU KNOW, FORCE HAS SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED DURING THE FOUR YEAR PERIOD WHILE THE REST SHARPLY DECREASED THE INDIVIDUALS, MOST LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE FORCE WHERE THOSE WHO WERE IMPAIRED BY EITHER DRUGS OR ALCOHOL OR INDIVIDUALS EXPERIENCED MENTAL AND BEHAVIORAL CRISIS ISSUES.

UM, AND THERE WAS SOME RACIAL AND ETHNIC DISPARITIES WERE FOUND ACROSS STATISTICAL TECHNIQUES.

THE MAJORITY OF THE DISPARITIES WERE, WERE RELATIVELY SMALL, MAY BE THE RESULT OF UNREAD MEASURED FACTORS, BUT IN, BUT ALL THIS DISCIPLINE TECHNIQUES FOUND RACIAL AND ETHNIC DISPARITIES AND USE OF FORCE IN THE GEORGE SECTOR.

SO, UH, WITH THAT, I'M GOING TO HOPEFULLY TURN IT OVER TO RICK.

RICK, ARE YOU ON? YES, IT APPEARS HIS JOINT, SO GREAT.

SO I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO RICK FOR THIS SECTION OF THE REPORT.

HE'S GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE, UH, QUALITATIVE USE OF FORCE ANALYSIS THAT OCCURRED, UM, OVER A SIX MONTH TIMEFRAME, WE WERE GIVEN DATA AND ALL OF THE, UH, INCIDENT REPORTS, BODY CAM FOOTAGE, DASH CAM FOOTAGE, AND SO FORTH, AND, UH, DID A THOROUGH AND DETAILED ANALYSIS OF THAT SIX MONTH, UH, SUBSET OF DATA.

SO, YES, THANKS, MARK.

AND GOOD EVENING, EVERYBODY.

UH, OUR TEAM, UH, UH, WE, WE WENT THROUGH 1,321, UH, INDIVIDUAL INCIDENTS INVOLVING USE OF FORCE, UH, FROM JUNE, 2019 THROUGH NOVEMBER, 2019 FOR SIX MONTH PERIOD.

AND, UH, SOME OF THE TH SOME OF THE TRENDS THAT WE NOTICED WAS SOME OFFICERS, CERTAINLY NOT ALL, BUT SOME OFFICERS APPEAR TO BE AGGRESSIVELY POINTING A STOP AND FRISK, UH, PATTERNS, UH, WITHOUT REASONABLE SUSPICION THAT EVEN, EVEN, UH, DETAIN A PERSON.

UM, SO OFFICERS WERE SUPPOSED TO HAVE BE ABLE TO ARTICULATE REASONABLE SUSPICION THAT CRIMINAL ACTIVITY IS HAPPENING OR IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN, UH, WHICH WE GIVE THEM THE ABILITY TO DO A PAT DOWN SEARCH FOR WEAPONS IF THEY BELIEVE THAT SUBJECT IS ARMED AND DANGEROUS.

SO IT'S SOME OF THE REPORTS THAT WE REVIEWED, UM, OFFICER SAFETY ALONE, UH, WAS, THIS WAS THE REASON THAT THE OFFICER DID THE PAT DOWN FRISK OF THE SUBJECT OF THE INDIVIDUAL.

THAT BY ITSELF IS NOT ENOUGH TO JUSTIFY A DETENTION, UH, IN THE SAME, IN THE SAME VEIN.

WE OBSERVED OFFICERS TELL THE SUBJECT THAT THEY'RE NOT UNDER ARREST AND THEN NOTHING WRONG, BUT IN THE MEANTIME, PUT YOUR HANDS BEHIND YOUR BACK, AND WE'RE GOING TO HANDCUFF YOU AND CHECK YOU FOR A WEAPON.

AND WHEN THE SUBJECT SAYS, WAIT, YOU JUST SAID, I'M NOT UNDER ARREST.

I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WRONG.

WHY ARE YOU PUTTING HANDCUFFS ON ME? ANY, ANY REFLEX ACTION? AND HE PULLING AWAY RESULTED IN A RESISTING ARREST CHARGE, OR, OR YOU'RE RESISTING A DETENTION CHARGE, UM, WHEN NO CRIMINAL ACTIVITY, UH, THAT LED TO THAT ENCOUNTER EXISTED.

UM, IN OUR VIEW, OUT OF THESE, OUT OF THESE, UH, 1,321 CASES IN 2,960 USE OF FORCE OF INDIVIDUAL USES OF FORCE, THERE WAS 112, UH, INCIDENTS THAT WERE ISSUES HAD HAD ISSUES OF CONCERN.

[01:05:01]

UM, WE FELT IN 82 OF THESE INCIDENTS, UH, INVOLVED INAPPROPRIATE FORCE OR UNNECESSARY ESCALATION OF THE ENCOUNTER BY THE OFFICERS, UH, THERE WAS 30 AND THOSE 82 CASES INVOLVED THE 88 INDIVIDUALS, UM, 30 ADDITIONAL CASES, UH, HAD ISSUES OF CONCERN, WHICH I'LL COVER YOUR SHIRT.

AND YOU'LL SEE THE BREAKDOWN IN THE ONES THAT WE WERE CONCERNED ABOUT, WHERE THERE WAS ESCALATION TO BREAK DOWN TO THE INDIVIDUALS.

BLACK WAS 28.4% WHITE, 21.6%, UM, HISPANIC 47.7 AND ASIAN, UH, OTHER 2.3%, UH, IN THOSE CASES, THE, UM, OUT OF ALL THOSE CASES, UH, THE ONE THING THAT THAT JUMPED OUT AT OUR TEAM WAS WHERE WAS THE SUPERVISOR, UM, SUPERVISORY ISSUES IN THE CASES WHERE THEY WERE UNJUSTIFIED OR INAPPROPRIATE USES OF FORCE, UH, A VIOLATION OF TASER POLICY OR REPORTS WERE SUBMITTED.

THERE WERE A CONFLICT WITH VIDEO.

THOSE JUST WENT INTO THE SYSTEM.

THERE WAS NOTHING IN THE RECORDS THAT WE REVIEWED, THAT THOSE ISSUES WERE ADDRESSED BY A SUPERVISOR, ADDITIONAL ISSUES BESIDES THE, THE, THE, THE QUICK, UH, HANDCUFFING WITHOUT REASONABLE SUSPICION.

WE IDENTIFIED IT.

WE IDENTIFIED NINE POINTING OF FIREARMS FOR ACTIVELY TARGETING A PERSON CASE CASES WHERE THE USE OF AT LEAST LETHAL FORCE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN JUSTIFIED.

AND I'M GONNA TOUCH ON, ON POLICY TOWARD THE END HERE AND TIED US ALL TOGETHER, UH, NECK RESTRAINTS AND OUR CHOKE HOPES.

WE IDENTIFIED FIVE CASES IN WHICH NECK RESTRAINTS OR CHOKE HOLDS WERE USED BY OFFICERS.

UH, THE USE OF LETHAL FORCE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN AUTHORIZED IN THOSE PARTICULAR CASES.

HEAD STRIKES.

WE IDENTIFIED TWO CASES WHERE HEAD STRIKES WERE USED, INCLUDING ONE WITH AN NYPD ISSUE, TASER AS AN IMPACT WEAPON.

IN THESE CASES, THE USE OF LETHAL FORCE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN AUTHORIZED.

WE HAD MENTAL HEALTH RELATED CASES.

WE IDENTIFIED AT 21 CASES, UH, INVOLVE THE MENTAL HEALTH COMPONENT, UH, AND OF THOSE 2119 OF THEM.

UH, WE DETERMINED THE USE OF FORCE WAS INAPPROPRIATE, UH, DURING THE ENCOUNTER, IN TWO OTHER CASES, THERE WAS OTHER ISSUES, WHETHER IT BE REPORTING OR, UH, THOSE, YOU KNOW, THOSE SORTS OF THINGS THAT WE NOTED IN THE REVIEW THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN CAUGHT BY A SUPERVISOR, BODY WORN CAMERAS.

WE IDENTIFIED 15 INCIDENTS IN WHICH OFFICERS FAILED TO ACTIVATE THEIR BODY-WORN CAMERAS OR OFFICIAL REPORTS CONFLICTED WITH THE VIDEO FOOTAGE.

AND THREE OF THE CASES, FIELD TRAINING OFFICERS FEEL FTOS WERE INVOLVED.

THE INAPPROPRIATELY ESCALATED USE OF FORCE ENCOUNTERS WITH INDIVIDUALS WHILE THEY HAD A TRAINING WITH THEM.

SO THE TRAINING, YOU GOT TO SEE, UH, THE, THEIR TRAINING OFFICER INVOLVED IN AN INCIDENT WHERE IT WAS ESCALATED BY THE SENIOR OFFICER.

NOW, I WANT TO TIE THE POLICIES INTO THIS A LITTLE BIT, JUST SO YOU HAVE SOME MORE CONTEXT.

ONE OF THE THINGS WE DID IS WE LOOKED AT THE POLICIES GOING BACK TO 2017, THE SEARCH AND SEIZURE POLICY.

THE APD SAYS THAT A PROTECTIVE FRISK IS BASED UPON A REASONABLE SUSPICION AND THEY CITE THE VERY RELEVANT CASE LAW TERRY VERSUS OHIO.

THIS WAS DECIDED IN 1968, THAT'S IN THEIR POLICIES IS 2017.

TWO YEARS LATER IS THE SAMPLE WE WERE LOOKING AT.

THE POLICY ALSO REQUIRES OFFICERS OFFICERS TO DEESCALATE POTENTIAL FORCE ENCOUNTERS.

THAT GOES BACK AS FAR AS 2018, THE YEAR BEFORE, ABOUT 18 MONTHS BEFORE OUR ACTUAL WINDOW THAT WE LOOKED AT, UM, THE, THE FORCE, UH, REPORTING INQUIRY ALSO DESCRIBES ACTIVE RESISTANCE AS BEYOND THE INITIAL STIFFENING BY A PERSON'S REFLEXES OR PULLING AWAY OFFICERS COMMONLY ENCOUNTER DURING HANDCUFFING.

UM, THAT WAS IN 2018.

AND IN 2019, THE FIREARMS POLICY SAID FIREARMS SHOULD NOT BE DISPLAYED IN A THREATENING AND INTIMIDATING FASHION.

AND THAT SINCE THE SITUATION MAY ESCALATE TO THE POINT WHERE DEADLY FORCE WILL BE AUTHORIZED, AND THE REASON I'M POINTING THIS, THESE ISSUES OUT, IT'S NOT UP TO THE ACADEMY TO ENFORCE THOSE POLICIES.

ONE IS WHEN AN OFFICER GRADUATES, IT'S NOT UP TO, YOU HAVE TOS, EVEN THOUGH WE HAD THREE, THEY SHOULD BE TRAINING APPROPRIATELY, BUT THE DAY-TO-DAY SUPERVISORS THAT ARE OUT THERE MONITORING PERFORMANCE, THAT OUR OFFICERS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE DEALING WITH THESE ISSUES AND THE 112 CASES THAT, THAT, THAT WE POINTED OUT.

UM, THERE WAS ONE CASE WHEN OFFICERS ONE HANDS ON WITH SOMEONE, PUT THEM IN CUFFS.

AND THEN WHEN THE SUPERVISOR ARRIVED SAID, YOU KNOW, UH, SUPERVISOR, I DON'T THINK I HAD ENOUGH CALLS TO DO THIS.

AND THE SUPERVISOR TALKED TO THAT INDIVIDUAL AND, BUT THE OFFICER BROUGHT IT TO THE SUPERVISOR'S ATTENTION AND THEY AGREED

[01:10:01]

THAT THEY DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH PROBABLE CAUSE TO, TO HANDCUFF AND DO WHAT THEY DID WITH THAT INDIVIDUAL.

SO THEY LET THEM GO.

THERE SHOULD BE A LOT MORE OF THAT IN MY OPINION, FROM WHAT WE REVIEWED.

UH, AND THAT WAS THE ONLY ONE THAT, THAT I COULD ANY OFFICER ACTUALLY BROUGHT THAT TO THE SUPERVISOR'S ATTENTION.

SO TO ME AS A REVIEWER, UH, THE APD HAS POLICY GUIDANCE IN PLACE, BUT IT'S UP TO THE SUPERVISORS, THE SERGEANTS AND CORPORALS, UH, AND THEN AS IT GOES UP TO THE CHAIN OF COMMAND, THEY RELY ON THOSE, THOSE FIRST-LINE SUPERVISORS WHO WERE CLOSEST TO THESE EVENTS TO MAKE SURE THEY TAKE THE APPROPRIATE ACTION WHEN IT COMES TO USE OF FORCE INCIDENTS.

UM, MARK, YOU CAN MOVE ON.

I'M GOOD.

UH, SLIGHTLY HIGHER FOR BLACK AND HISPANIC, UH, ARRESTEES VERSUS WHITE ARRESTEES.

THANK YOU, RICK.

SO, UH, IN ADDITION TO USE OF FORCE, UM, IN THE REPORT, WE ALSO EXAMINED A MOTOR VEHICLE STOPS DURING 2020, UH, THE OUTCOMES OF THESE STOPS, UH, SUCH AS WHETHER THEY WERE WARNING CITATIONS OR ARRESTS, AND WHETHER SURGERIES OCCURRED DURING THESE ENCOUNTERS.

AND THEN WE ALSO EXAMINED, UH, ARRESTS AND SEARCHES WITHIN ARRESTS FROM A FOUR YEAR TIMEFRAME, AGAIN, 20 17, 20 20.

UM, I WOULD NOTE THE STOP AND ARREST DATA SUFFER FROM A NUMBER OF LIMITATIONS, WHICH WE WANNA ADDRESS HERE, BUT WHICH LED TO A NUMBER OF DETAILED RECOMMENDATIONS IN OUR REPORT, UH, FOR HOW APD CAN BETTER, UM, COLLECT AND PROCESS DATA MOVING FORWARD.

AND I THINK THAT'LL BE AN IMPORTANT ISSUE FOR THE DEPARTMENT TO ADDRESS BECAUSE, UM, AGAIN, I THINK THERE'S SOME LIMITATIONS, UH, PARTICULARLY WITH THE STOP AND ARREST DATA THAT WE EXAMINED BECAUSE OF THE LIMITATIONS IN THE DATA AND WITH BETTER DATA, YOU CAN GET BETTER ANALYSIS, YOU CAN GET MORE DETAILED ANALYSIS, UH, AND IT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE GOOD FOR THE CITY TO HAVE FOR THE DEPARTMENT TO HAVE, UM, MOVING FORWARD.

UM, JUST AGAIN, SO SOME OF THE HIGH LEVEL FINDINGS IN THIS SECTION OF THE REPORT, UM, I WOULD NOTE THE MOST RELEVANT PREDICTORS OF STOP OUTCOMES WERE LEGAL AND INCIDENT CHARACTERISTICS, BUT EVEN CONTROLLING FOR THESE, WE FOUND SIGNIFICANT RACIAL AND ETHNIC DIFFERENCES IN APD STOP OUTCOMES.

UM, SO FOR EXAMPLE, BLACK AND HISPANIC INDIVIDUALS WERE SIGNIFICANTLY LESS LIKELY TO BE ISSUED A, A WRITTEN WARNING COMPARED TO, UM, WHITES, UM, HISPANIC INDIVIDUALS WERE ONE AND A HALF TIMES MORE LIKELY TO BE ISSUED CITATIONS THAN WHITE INDIVIDUALS AND BLACK AND HISPANIC INDIVIDUALS WERE 1.7 AND 1.5 TIMES MORE LIKELY TO BE ARRESTED, UH, DURING VEHICLE STOP OUTCOMES COMPARED TO WHITE INDIVIDUALS.

UM, AND AGAIN, JUST IN THE INTEREST OF TIME, I'M GOING TO KIND OF CUT TO THE CHASE ON A COUPLE OF THESE THINGS.

UM, THE, UH, RIGHT-HAND PORTION OF THIS SLIDE, UH, SUMMARIZES WHAT WE FOUND WHEN WE WERE LOOKING AT THAT SEARCHES DURING VEHICLE STOPS, UH, WE FOUND SEARCHES OCCURRED, FIRST OF ALL, YOU ONLY ABOUT 7.6% OF VEHICLE STOPS.

UM, BUT THERE WERE RACIAL AND ETHNIC DIFFERENCES IN SEARCHES.

SO, UH, WE FOUND 11% OF BLACK INDIVIDUALS WHOSE VEHICLES WERE STOPPED, WERE SEARCHED.

THIS COMPARES TO 10% OF HISPANIC INDIVIDUALS, UH, 5% OF WHITE INDIVIDUALS, 2.7% OF OTHER, UH, ETHNICITIES AND BLACK AND HISPANIC INDIVIDUALS WERE MORE LIKELY TO BE SEARCHED FOR DISCRETIONARY REASONS.

UH, HOWEVER, A HIGHER NUMBER OR A HIGHER PERCENTAGE OF BLACK AND HISPANIC DISCRETIONARY SEARCHES, UH, RESULTED IN CONTRABAND SEIZURES.

UM, I WOULDN'T SAY IT'S A, UH, A MAJOR DISPARITY, BUT, YOU KNOW, A FEW PERCENTAGE POINTS, UM, BETWEEN BLACK AND HISPANICS AND ANOTHER FEW PERCENTAGE POINTS, UH, FOR WHITE INDIVIDUALS IN LOOKING AT THE ARREST DATA FROM 2017 TO 2020, WE EXAMINED A 128,000 OR SO TOTAL ARRESTS DURING THAT TIMEFRAME.

UM, NOW WHILE PREVIOUSLY NOTED ARREST STEADILY DECLINED BY OVER 50%, DURING THAT TIME, THE DECREASE WAS CONSISTENT ACROSS, UH, RACIAL AND ETHNIC GROUPS, BUT ARREST RATES, UH, DIFFERED, UM, ACROSS ABD SECTORS.

AND AGAIN, GEORGE SECTOR WAS A CLEAR OUTLIER WITH AN ARREST RATE THAT WAS FIVE TIMES THE RATE OF THE NEXT CLOSEST SECTOR AND THE ARREST RATE AND GEORGE SECTOR FOREST SEEDED, WHAT MIGHT BE EXPECTED EVEN BASED ON THAT IS ELEVATED LEVEL OF CRIME.

UH, WE FOUND THAT ABOUT CLOSE TO 80% OF ARRESTS, UH, ULTIMATELY INVOLVE SEARCHES.

UM, AND WHILE THERE WERE, THERE WERE NO RACIAL, ETHNIC DIFFERENCES IN SEARCHES DURING ARRESTS, UH, 30% OF SEARCHES DURING ARREST RESULTED IN CONTRABAND SEIZURES.

UH, 8% OF SEIZURES RESULTED IN A WEAPON.

UM, THE OVERALL SEIZURE RATE WAS SLIGHTLY HIGHER FOR BLACK ARRESTEES AND THE WEAPON SEIZURE RATE WAS,

[01:15:01]

UM, NOT A HUGE DIFFERENCE, BUT ABOUT A ONE, 1% DIFFERENCE.

UM, AND THEN IN SECTION SIX OF OUR REPORT, UH, CRO REVIEWED APDS RECRUITMENT, SELECTION, AND PROMOTION POLICIES AND PRACTICES TO DETERMINE HOW THEY POTENTIALLY IMPACT HISTORICALLY UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS, SUCH AS WOMEN AND PEOPLE OF COLOR.

UM, I'LL JUST HIGHLIGHT A COUPLE OF THINGS HERE.

UH, WE FIRST LOOKED AT OVERALL DIVERSITY WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT.

UM, SO THIS, THIS GRAPH SHOWS THE, THE DARK BLUE BAR SHOWS THE RACIAL, ETHNIC BREAKDOWN OF APD PERSONNEL AS OF MARCH, 2021 BY ONE YEAR AGO, UH, THE LIGHT BLUE BARS SHOW THE CITY PROPORTIONS BASED ON, UH, RESIDENTIAL DATA.

SO THIS DATA JUST SHOWS IN GENERAL, UM, WHITE OFFICERS, UH, TEND TO BE OVERREPRESENTED AND HISPANIC AND ASIAN PACIFIC ISLANDERS PARTICULARLY ARE UNDERREPRESENTED COMPARED TO THE RACIAL AND ETHNIC MAKEUP OF AUSTIN'S POPULATION BASED ON CENSUS DATA.

UM, THIS SLIDE SHOWS THE RACIAL ETHNIC BREAKDOWN BY RANK WITHIN APD.

AND, UM, YOU CAN SEE THAT, YOU KNOW, WHITE OFFICERS TEND TO GET, UH, PROPORTIONATELY HIGHER IN, IN PROPORTION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER.

THE RANK GOES, UM, BLACK AND HISPANIC OFFICERS TEND TO BE UNDERREPRESENTED, AT LEAST AT SOME OF THE UPPER RANKS, NOT ALL, BUT CERTAINLY SOME OF THEM, UM, THE NEXT CHART SHOWED SIMILAR STATISTICS REGARDING WOMEN IN THE DEPARTMENT, OF COURSE, WOMEN ACCOUNT FOR HALF FOR, SO THE AUSTIN POPULATION THEY ACCOUNT FOR ABOUT A LITTLE OVER 10% OF ALL APD OFFICERS.

THIS IS SLIGHTLY UNDER THE NATIONAL AVERAGE.

UM, BUT EXCEPT THAT THE COMMANDER LEVEL, THEIR REPRESENTATION STAYS THE SAME OR IMPROVES, UH, THROUGH THE UPPER RANKS.

AND FINALLY, ON, ON RECRUITMENT, UM, WE DID FIND THAT APDS RECRUITING EFFORTS DO DO REACH A LARGE GROUP OF DIVERSE CANDIDATES.

THEY DO A PRETTY GOOD JOB, UH, IN THEIR RECRUITING EFFORTS AND OUTREACH.

UM, IN FACT, NEARLY TWO THIRDS OF THOSE WHO HAVE EXPRESSED INTEREST IN APPLYING TO APD AT A RECRUITING EVENT, UM, WERE, UH, EITHER BLACK, HISPANIC, ASIAN, UM, IDENTIFYING AS SOMETHING OTHER THAN WHITE.

UM, AND THEY ALSO HAD, YOU KNOW, A DECENT PERCENTAGE OF FEMALES, UH, SHOWING SOME INTEREST, HOWEVER, AND ALTHOUGH IT WAS NOT REFLECTED ON THIS SLIDE, LESS THAN 10% OF THOSE WHO EXPRESS INTEREST IN APD AT A RECRUITING EVENT, ACTUALLY FOLLOWED THROUGH AND APPLY, WHICH MAY PARTLY EXPLAIN WHY THE RECRUITMENT POOL DEMONSTRATES GREATER RACIAL, ETHNIC, AND GENDER DIVERSITY THAN THE CURRENT DEMOGRAPHICS OF THE DEPARTMENT.

UM, NOW I WON'T GO INTO IT HERE, BUT AGAIN, THE REPORT ADDRESSES SOME AREAS IN THE HIRING AND SELECTION PROCESS, AS WELL AS THE PROMOTION PROCESS WHERE, UM, WE IDENTIFIED SOME RACIAL AND ETHNIC DISPARITIES THAT CONTINUE TO EXIST IN THOSE AREAS AND WE'VE ADDRESSED, UH, ADDRESS THEM IN OUR RECOMMENDATIONS AND JUST BRIEFLY ABOUT THE RECOMMENDATION.

SO SECTION SEVEN OF OUR REPORT, UM, UH, HAS A NUMBER OF, OF RECOMMENDATIONS AND, AND FAIRLY DETAILED RECOMMENDATIONS.

FOR EXAMPLE, WE, UH, WE HAVE SOME, SOME EXTENSIVE RECOMMENDATIONS ON DATA COLLECTION EFFORTS AND WAYS TO IMPROVE DATA COLLECTION WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT.

AND THIS ADDRESSES ARREST DATA USE OF FORCE DATA, AS WELL AS TRAFFIC STOP DATA.

UM, WE ALSO HAVE A NUMBER OF USE OF FORCE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT ADDRESS POLICY ISSUES, TRAINING AND SUPERVISION.

UM, WE HAVE SOME ORGANIZATIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, RE REGARDING SOME OF THE TRENDS THAT WE'VE IDENTIFIED IN THE REPORT.

UH, SOME OF THE RACIAL AND ETHNIC DISPARITIES THAT WERE IDENTIFIED, UH, WAYS TO MONITOR THAT OVER TIME, UM, AND THEN TREATING STATISTICAL FINDINGS AS DIAGNOSTIC TOOLS AND, AND SO FORTH.

UM, AND THEN IN THE RECRUITMENT SELECTION AND PROMOTION AREA, WE HAD A NUMBER OF, UM, RECOMMENDATIONS ADDRESSING, UH, WAYS TO CONTINUE TO INCREASE DIVERSITY THROUGH, UH, RECRUITING EFFORTS, UM, UH, BETTER DATA LOOKING AT RECRUITING EVENTS, WHAT WORKS, WHAT DOESN'T WORK, UM, CONTINUING TO DEVELOP COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS, UH, BETTER, AGAIN, DATA COLLECTION AND LINKING TO THAT DATA AND SO FORTH.

AND THEN IN THE, UM, HIRING AND SELECTION AREA THAT WE, WE FOUND SOME DISPARITIES IN THE, UH, WRITTEN TESTS THAT NEED TO BE ADDRESSED.

AND THEN IN PROMOTIONS, UM, WE TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT MENTORSHIP PROGRAMS. UH, WE TALK ABOUT SOME DISPARITIES IN THE PROMOTIONAL SCORE

[01:20:01]

DATA, UM, AND ASSESSMENT CENTER SCORE DATA AND, UH, MAKE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS ON CAREER DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES.

SO, UM, WITH THAT, I WILL, UH, STOP SHARING.

UM, AND AGAIN, I WOULD JUST, UH, NOTE THAT WE, UH, YOU KNOW, GAVE WHAT IS WHAT I WOULD CALL A VERY ABBREVIATED HIGH LEVEL, UH, OVERVIEW OF WHAT IS OTHERWISE A VERY LENGTHY AND DETAILED REPORT, BUT WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THERE WAS PLENTY OF TIME TO ADDRESS ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE.

THANKS.

UM, BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO QUESTIONS, I JUST WANTED TO ASK IF WE COULD PLEASE GET THAT PRESENTATION, UM, TO MS. JACKSON, PLEASE.

THAT WOULD BE GREAT IF WE COULD ADD IT TO THE BACKUP MATERIALS.

UM, IT JUST MADE A LOT OF THE CROWELL REPORT, A LITTLE BIT MORE DIGESTIBLE, AND IT WOULD BE REALLY, I THINK, HELPFUL TO THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE.

UM, AND SO THE COMMISSIONERS HAVE IT AS WELL ON HAND.

UM, SO IF WE COULD GET THAT, THAT'D BE GREAT WITH THAT.

DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? I KNOW THAT WAS A LOT TO DIGEST COMMISSIONER BERNHARDT.

UM, I KNOW THIS IS GONNA SOUND A LITTLE BIT LIKE A GOTCHA QUESTION, BUT, UM, WHEN Y'ALL WERE TALKING ABOUT, UH, THE APD MANUAL AND, UM, THE REASONABLE SUSPICION STANDARD BEING ADDED AT LEAST IN 2017, UM, I, I KNOW AT LEAST, UM, MR. EYLERS IS GONNA KNOW THAT THAT STANDARD IS A LOT OLDER THAN THAT.

UM, AND, AND I'M ASSUMING IT WAS IN APD GUIDANCE BEFORE 2017 THAT YOU'RE, YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO STOP SOMEONE AND SEARCH THEM WITH NO, CAUSE LIKE IF IT DIDN'T, THAT JUST DIDN'T HAPPEN IN 2017.

ABSOLUTELY.

I MEAN, WE, WE, WE RECOGNIZE THAT THAT'S ANOTHER CASE.

UM, UH, I MEAN, THAT GOES BACK TO, I THINK THAT THE SIXTIES, UH, RIGHT, RIGHT, RIGHT.

BUT I JUST WANTED TO MENTION, OR WHAT I WAS TYING INTO WAS THAT IN THE WINDOW THAT WE WERE LOOKING AT, UH, YOU KNOW, TH TH THE STOP DATED OUR TEAM WAS LOOKING AT THAT THEY HAD GOOD INFORMATION TO LOOK AT.

AND THE WINDOW, THE SIX MONTH WINDOW OF MY REVIEW WAS A SMALL PART OF THAT OVERALL REVIEW.

I WENT BACK TO THAT TIME PERIOD, JUST TO SHOW THAT IT'S A SUPERVISOR WE RESPONSIBILITY, I THINK MOST, MOST POLICE OFFICERS IN THE COUNTRY KNOW THAT THAT'S THE CASE HAS BEEN AFTER QUITE A WHILE.

BLACK PEOPLE, HAVE, Y'ALL SEEN THAT IN OTHER CITIES OR IS THIS THE WORST YOU'VE SEEN? SO I'VE BEEN INVOLVED IN A COUPLE OF, UH, PROJECTS.

I JUST WANT TO, I JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY THAT FOR ANY, I GUESS, MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION WHO AREN'T LAWYERS, UM, YEAH.

TERRY VERSUS OHIO IS, IS OLDER THAN ME.

AND I FEEL PRETTY OLD IN 1986.

AND, AND IT'S, YOU KNOW, UM, WHAT EVERY POLICE OFFICER IS TAUGHT ACROSS THE LAND, THE CHALLENGE IS THERE IS ACADEMY RECRUITS TRAINING, AND THEN RECRUITS GO ON THE STREET AND SOMETIMES POLICIES CONSTITUTIONAL LAW CHANGES, RIGHT? SO IF YOU WERE INTERACTING WITH THE SAME INDIVIDUALS INVOLVED IN VIOLENCE EVERY NIGHT, OR ASSOCIATED WITH GANGS, SOMETIMES YOU FORGET THE CONSTITUTIONAL RESTRICTIONS ON YOUR ABILITY TO GO UP AND PATENT FOR SOMEBODY, AND IT JUST BECOMES HUMAN NATURE.

AND THAT'S WHY FIRST-LINE SUPERVISION AND SUPERVISION OF STOPS.

VIDEO REVIEW ARE CRITICALLY IMPORTANT SO THAT YOU CAN REMIND YOUNG COPS, WAIT A SECOND, DON'T FORGET YOUR ACADEMY TRAINING.

UH, IT'S DIFFERENT IN REAL LIFE.

UH, AND THEY MIGHT KNOW, YOU KNOW, IF I KNOW SOMEBODY WHO'S GANG INVOLVED AND I'VE ARRESTED HIM FOUR TIMES FOR FIVE ROUNDS, AND I SEE HIM ON A STREET CORNER, AND I'VE SEEN A FACEBOOK POST THAT THEY'RE INVOLVED IN GANG ACTIVITY AND HOLDING A PICTURE OF A GUN, AND I MIGHT HAVE VERY CAUSE AND REASON TO GO UP AND PET THEM, BUT REMINDING COPS THAT THEY NEED TO EXPLAIN EACH AND EVERY TIME THEY DO THAT IS A FRONTLINE SUPERVISOR ISSUE.

AND THAT'S KIND OF WHAT WE FLAGGED HERE IS THAT THAT'S INSTRUMENTAL TO MAKE SURE THE SUPERVISORS KNOW THEIR RESPONSIBILITY.

AND THERE'S OUR PROCESS TO REVIEW VIDEOS, STOPS AND ARRESTS JUST FOR THAT, BECAUSE YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.

TELL YOU THE OHIO IS, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING, WE WERE ALL NAILED INTO US IN THE ACADEMY MANY YEARS AGO.

CAN WE HAVE ANYONE ELSE COMMISSIONER WEBER? YEAH.

I WAS HOPING Y'ALL COULD PUT THIS REPORT IN SOME CONTEXT, HAVE YOU, UH, REVIEWED USE OF FORCE INCIDENTS FROM OTHER DEPARTMENTS AND FOUND THIS STARK OF RACIAL DISPARITIES AND THIS A BOREN? I CAN SAY IT, UM, PROBLEMS, ESPECIALLY WITH

[01:25:01]

UM, I WAS INVOLVED WITH THE ST LOUIS COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT, UH, AFTER THE MICHAEL BROWN SHOOTING, UH, TO LOOK AT WHAT WAS GOING ON IN ST LOUIS COUNTY, BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER THE SHOOTING, UM, DONE SOME OTHER INDEPENDENT EVALUATIONS OF SMALLER DEPARTMENTS THAN THAT.

UM, EVERYWHERE IN THE COUNTRY.

WE'RE SEEING DISPARITY IMPACTS OF PEOPLE OF COLOR WHO ARE INVOLVED WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT THAT RECEIVED A USE OF FORCE MORE OFTEN THAN OTHERS.

NOW, THE ACADEMICS WILL TELL YOU THERE'S A NEED TO STUDY THE WAY IN THE WILD FOR THAT.

UM, THERE WERE OTHER DEPARTMENTS WHO HAVE HAD MORE CHALLENGING ISSUES IN DEPARTMENTS THAT HAVE LIVED IN NEW YORK, FOR EXAMPLE, WITH SOME OF THE STOP AND FRISK ISSUES COMES UP, UM, HOW THE DATA PLAYS OUT IS ONE THING.

I THINK THE MAIN THING THAT THIS IS THAT THIS IS A, THIS IS A PLACE MARK.

SO THIS IS WHERE IT CURRENTLY IS.

AND WHAT CAN WE DO TO IMPROVE ON THE DISPARITIES THAT ARE THERE TO MAKE SURE WE MINIMIZE THOSE LOWER, THOSE, UH, GOING FORWARD.

UM, SO THIS IS AN ISSUE NATIONALLY, UH, WITH POLICE DEPARTMENTS BECAUSE GENERALLY COMMUNITIES OF COLOR HAVE MORE INTERACTION WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT.

AND BECAUSE OF THOSE INTERACTIONS, THERE'S USUALLY MORE USE OF FORCE INVOLVED.

IF I COULD JUST ADD ON TO DAN REAL QUICK, I'M SORRY, MR. BROWN.

BUT I WOULD REALLY JUST LIKE AN ANSWER BECAUSE I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE WAS A RACISM PROBLEM IN THIS COUNTRY, BUT WHAT I WANT TO KNOW IS IF THE RACISM PROBLEM AT THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT IS AS BAD AS FOR INSTANCE, IN ST.

LOUIS OR OTHER COUNTIES THAT YOU HAVE LOOKED AT, HOW DO YOU COMPARE THE USE OF FORCE AGAINST BLACK PEOPLE AND OUR COMMUNITY HERE TO THE USE OF FORCE AGAINST BLACK PEOPLE IN OTHER COMMUNITIES THAT YOU HAVE STUDIED ON THIS LEVEL? RICK, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT SOME OF YOUR MONITORSHIP WORK.

I CAN TELL YOU THAT THIS IS CONSISTENT WITH OTHER COMMUNITIES I'VE STUDIED.

AND I, I AGREE.

I WOULDN'T SAY THAT THAT, THAT, UH, AS FAR AS COMPARISONS, I'VE BEEN A MONITORING IN FIVE CITIES, UH, WITH CONSENT DECREES, AND THIS IS A PROBLEM THAT, LIKE DAN SAID IT IN POCKETS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.

I CAN'T, I, AS I SIT HERE, I CAN'T SAY THAT AUSTIN'S WORSE THAN ANOTHER CITY BECAUSE YOU GOT DIFFERENT SIZED DEPARTMENTS, DIFFERENT POPULATION MAKEUPS, AND ALL THAT.

THERE'S A LOT OF VARIABLES TO GO INTO ANALYZING THAT, BUT THE FACT THAT THE STOPS LIKE THIS OCCUR ARE OCCURRING ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY, BUT A LOT OF DEPARTMENTS.

AND I WOULD JUST NOTE A COMMISSIONER, I, IF, UM, AND, UH, I'M SURE YOU'VE SEEN THIS IN OUR REPORT.

AND IF YOU EXAMINE PARTICULARLY SECTION THREE, THERE THERE'S SOME MORE DETAILED EXPLANATION.

UM, PARTICULARLY FROM OUR FOLKS FROM UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI WHO, UH, DID A GOOD CHUNK OF THAT DATA ANALYSIS.

UM, AND THEY WOULD, IF THEY WERE HERE ABLE TO BE AT THIS MEETING TONIGHT, COULD CERTAINLY GIVE YOU THE ACADEMIC AND STATISTICAL DATA REASONS FOR WHY, UM, DEPENDING AGAIN, WHICH BENCHMARK YOU LOOK AT, UM, FOR USE OF FORCE, YOU KNOW, IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT RESIDENTIAL POPULATION, IT DOES LOOK LIKE THERE'S GROSS DISPARITIES, BUT, BUT LOOKING AT RESIDENTIAL POPULATION IS NOT EXACTLY A HIGHLY FLAWED BENCHMARK WHEN LOOKING AT RACIAL BIAS FOR PURPOSES OF THIS TYPE OF ANALYSIS.

AND THAT'S WHY WE USE THE, UH, FOUR OTHER BENCHMARKS, WHICH DID NOT SHOW, UH, AT NEARLY SIGNIFICANT THE DISPARITIES WITH RESPECT TO USE OF FORCE AND THE LIKELIHOOD OF USE OF FORCE IN THOSE PARTICULAR AREAS.

NOW, OTHER DISPARITIES WE FOUND, UM, I THINK AS DAN AND RICK SAID, ARE, ARE NOT INCONSISTENT, UM, WITH A LOT OF OTHER DEPARTMENTS AROUND THE COUNTRY.

IT'S JUST AN UNFORTUNATE FACT THAT, THAT THERE ARE THERE CONTINUE TO BE A LOT OF, UM, RACIAL AND ETHNIC DISPARITIES, UH, IN POLICE ACTIVITY THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY.

AND IT'S DOING STUDIES LIKE THIS THAT AT LEAST GET, UH, HOPEFULLY GET THE CITIES AND THE DEPARTMENTS ON THE RIGHT TRACK TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE LOOKING AT THE RIGHT DATA AND THEN ADJUSTING, UH, POLICIES AND PROCEDURES AND PRACTICES, HOPEFULLY, UH, GOING FORWARD TO CORRECT THAT.

YEAH.

COMMISSIONER GONZALEZ.

IS THAT A HAND? I SEE.

OKAY, GO AHEAD.

I WASN'T SURE IF PERMISSION OR WHEREVER WAS DONE.

SO I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT A WAY TO WRAP THAT UP.

UM, OKAY.

SO ON ONE OF THE SLIDES YOU PUT TOGETHER A 10 PROBLEM AREAS, RIGHT? THEY WENT EVERYTHING FROM STOPPING FREDERICK ABOUT SUSPICION, TASER USAGE HAD STRIKES.

YOU MENTIONED THOSE AS, AS 10 PROBLEM AREAS.

CAN YOU NET IT

[01:30:01]

OUT FOR US? WHAT ARE, SO THESE ISSUES ARE DESPERATE, RIGHT? THEY'RE ALL OVER THE PLACE.

BUT WHAT I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT IS IS THIS A POLICY ISSUE? IS THIS A TRAINING ISSUE? CAN YOU AT LEAST LUMP A MAJORITY OF THEM INTO A GENERAL, WHAT IS A CAUSATION, IF YOU WILL, WHAT IS CAUSING THESE TOP 10 THINGS THAT YOU PUT BY THE WAY, THE NICE LITTLE COLORED SQUARES AROUND THESE HORRIBLE THINGS, BUT THAT'S A COLORED CIRCLE REALLY RED.

SO, I MEAN, CAN YOU EDIT OUT AND TELL US WHAT IS THE MAIN CAUSE OR A MAIN CONTRIBUTOR TO THESE 10 MAJOR PROBLEM AREAS THAT YOU CALLED OUT? OKAY, TAKE AN INITIAL SHOT AT THAT.

I'M SORRY.

IT'S MY PUPPY GREASE MY WIFE, AND SHE CAN TELL HIM LINE SUPERVISION ISSUES AND ONGOING TRAINING ISSUES, RIGHT? RECRUITS ARE TRAINED.

UH, PROCEDURES ARE IN PLACE.

THE POLICIES ARE THERE.

IT'S, WHAT'S ACTUALLY BEING WHAT IT SAYS.

ONE THING TO HAVE A POLICY TO ANOTHER IN OUR PRACTICE AND FRONTLINE SUPERVISORS ARE ABLE TO, UM, ENGAGE THAT IN, IN, IN DETERMINE WHETHER THAT'S A PRACTICE OR A POLICY AND ONGOING TRAINING AFTER INITIAL ACADEMY TRAINING, ONCE YOU'VE BEEN OUT IN THE FIELD AND FTL SUPPORT ARE PROBABLY THE THINGS THAT WOULD CONTRIBUTE MOST TO PREVENTING ISSUES OF THESE NATURES.

AND JUST TO ADD ON WITH, WITH DAN SAID, IN ADDITION TO THAT IN, IN, UH, IN, IN, IN SEVERAL OF THE CASES THAT WE REVIEWED, THERE WAS ACCOUNTABILITY ISSUES WHERE, WHERE IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN REFERRED TO INTERNAL AFFAIRS FOR INVESTIGATION AND POTENTIALLY DISCIPLINE.

SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT SUPERVISORY ACTION, IT'S NOT ONLY MENTORING AND TEACHING AND INSTRUCTING THE OFFICER, BUT TAKING APPROPRIATE ACCOUNTABILITY AT STEPS THAT THEY'RE REQUIRED TO DO AS A SUPERVISOR FOR THOSE OFFICERS THAT MAYBE WERE TRAINED ON IT AND CONTINUE TO DO IT, OR ONES THAT ARE JUST NEGLIGENT OR POTENTIALLY DID SOMETHING THEY SHOULDN'T HAVE DONE.

THAT'S UP TO THAT SUPERVISOR.

WHO'S CLOSEST TO THAT OFFICER IN THE FIELD AND TAKE THE PROPER STEPS TO ENSURE ACCOUNTABILITY IS ALSO A PART OF THIS PROCESS.

GREAT.

I HAVE ANOTHER ISSUE.

ANOTHER QUESTION ABOUT THE DATA, BUT IF SOMEONE ELSE HAS A QUESTION, I'M HAPPY TO LET SOMEONE ELSE, I DON'T SEE ANYONE ELSE.

GO AHEAD.

THE, THE, THE INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE, WAS REPORTED WIDELY IN MEDIA, IN STARBUCKS, IN PHILADELPHIA, UM, WERE STOPPED BY POLICE AND, AND, YOU KNOW, ARRESTED FOR TRESPASSING BECAUSE, UM, A MANAGER IT STARBUCKS CALLED THE POLICE AND SAID, THESE PEOPLE ARE ACTING SUSPICIOUS.

SO YOU MENTIONED A COUPLE OF TIMES ABOUT THE DATA ISSUES AROUND THE, UM, THE, UH, ARREST, UH, THIS, I THINK IT WAS TRAFFIC STOPS.

IS THAT CORRECT? IS THAT, YOU KNOW, CAN WE TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT? THE DATA LIMITATIONS AROUND THE VEHICLE STOPS AND ARREST? SO CAN YOU, THAT'S A, THAT'S A LOT OF TEXTS AROUND AND WHAT I'M, WHAT I'M COMING FROM AT THIS PERSPECTIVE IS WHAT CAN WE, AS A COMMISSION, PROVIDE THE DIRECTION ON THE POLICY AROUND THIS.

SO I WANT TO MAKE SURE THE DATA IS GOOD AND DATA IS USABLE.

IS THERE SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN TELL US THAT WE CAN ADVISE OR GIVE TO COUNCIL THAT WOULD HELP US WITH THIS DATA? IS THIS A PROBLEM THAT IS GOING TO CONTINUE OR IS IT GOING TO BE FIXED WELL? SO IN OUR, IN OUR RECOMMENDATIONS COMMISSIONER, UM, WE DID, AGAIN, WE, WE ADDRESS IT AND WE TRY TO GIVE SOME MANY DETAILED RECOMMENDATIONS ON HOW SPECIFICALLY THE DATA LIMITATIONS CAN BE CORRECTED AND GOING FORWARD.

SO IF THE DEPARTMENT, IN FACT, UH, IMPLEMENTS THE RECOMMENDATIONS, WE MAY, UH, WE DO BELIEVE THAT THAT WILL FIX A LOT OF THE ISSUES, BUT LET ME JUST TRY TO EXPLAIN MAYBE, UH, IN A NUTSHELL, WHAT AT LEAST ONE EXAMPLE OF, OF ONE OF THE DATA LIMITATIONS ON, UH, THAT, THAT EXISTS.

SO FOR EXAMPLE, THE STRONGEST PREDICTORS STATISTICALLY, UM, OF WHETHER OFFICERS USE FORCE, UM, INCLUDE, UH, INDIVIDUALS RESISTANCE TOWARD OFFICERS AND THE SEVERITY OF THE ARREST OFFENSE, BUT RESISTANCE AND OFFENSE SEVERITY ARE NOT, UM, RELIABLY MEASURED, UH, IN APDS ARREST DATA.

AND SO THE, THE TWO STRONGEST PREDICTORS OF THE LIKELIHOOD OF USE OF FORCE, COULDN'T BE INCLUDED, FOR EXAMPLE, IN OUR STATISTICAL MODELS.

THAT WAS A SORT OF ONE EXAMPLE NOW WITH RESPECT, UH, WITH THE, UM, UH, THE STOP AND ARREST THAT, UH, UH, THERE WERE A NUMBER OF OTHER LIMITATIONS.

UM, AND I'M, I'M NOT SURE I'M GOING TO BE ABLE TO COME UP WITH A GOOD EXAMPLE OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, BUT, WELL, LET ME JUMP IN WITH ONE PARTICULAR, MOST POLICE DEPARTMENTS ACROSS THE COUNTRY ARE STRUGGLING WITH, SO WE, WE, WE MEASURE THE STOP AND ARREST OUT THERE, RIGHT? BUT HOW DO WE GET TO THE ARREST? WAS THIS A SELF-INITIATED ARREST WHERE THE OFFICERS DRIVING DOWN THE STREET, THEY OBSERVED SOMEBODY TO BE OF UNLAWFUL DESIGN.

THEY GET OUT OF THE CAR, THEY DEVELOP REASONABLE SUSPICION.

IT GOES TO PROBABLE CAUSE THEY MAKE AN ARREST, RIGHT? AND THEY MADE A STOP.

AND WHY THEY MADE THIS STOP IS, IS WRITTEN IN THEIR REPORT OR THIS A NINE 11 CALL WHERE, UH, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, YOU KNOW,

[01:35:01]

WHAT WAS THAT? THE, UH, OBSERVATIONS OF THE POLICE OFFICERS AND THEIR BIAS, OR WAS IT THE OBSERVATIONS OF THE MANAGER AND THEIR BIAS? AND THERE'S NO DEPARTMENT I KNOW OF IN THE COUNTRY THAT IS DOING ANY FILTERING AT NINE 11, WHEN SOMEONE CALLS UP AND SAYS, THERE ARE THREE SUSPICIOUS MEN OUTSIDE MY HOME, AND THEY'RE ACTING SUSPICIOUS.

THERE IS NO, WHAT IS SUSPICIOUS? WHAT DO YOU MEAN? WHAT ARE THEY DOING? AND IS IT'S THE SAME THING SUSPICIOUS IF IT'S, YOU KNOW, 360 YEAR OLD, UH, WHITE MALES, UM, BECAUSE NONE OF THAT HAPPENS, WE DISPATCH CARS TO THOSE CALLS BASED ON WHAT CAN BE RESIDENTS BIAS.

AND THE OFFICERS ARE THEN RESPONSIBLE FOR INTERACTING WITH IN SOMETIMES OUR POLICIES.

FOR EXAMPLE, YOU KNOW, I I'VE SEEN CASES IN MY OWN CITY, BOSTON, WHERE A CALL CAME IN FOR THREE SUSPICIOUS USE, UH, SITTING ON THE FRONT STEPS OF HER HOUSE, THE POLICE AND DISPATCH.

THEN THERE'S THREE YOUNG, UH, KIDS OF COLOR WHO WERE SITTING IN THE FRONT STEPS, WAITING FOR A FRIEND TO COME HOME WHO LIVES IN A DIFFERENT APARTMENT.

THAT SHOULD BE IT.

OH, OKAY.

GENTLEMEN, WE'RE ALL SET.

SEE YOU LATER.

LIKE DESPAIR, WHETHER THEY WERE RACIAL AND ETHNIC DISPARITIES, FOR EXAMPLE, IN CITATIONS AND SEARCHES AND, UM, ARRESTS AND WARNINGS AND SO FORTH.

BUT YET, BECAUSE WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE'RE ACCOUNTING FOR STOCK DATA.

WE'VE ACTUALLY REQUIRED OFFICE TO THEN FILL OUT NAMES AND ADDRESSES AND IN FOLDING DESCRIPTIONS AND A FORM TO RECORD THAT TERRY STOP THAT MAY IN FACT, MAKE THAT ENCOUNTER MORE INTRUSIVE THAN IT HAS TO BE.

AND I DON'T THINK ANY POLICE DEPARTMENT IN AMERICA HAS GOT THAT DOWN YET.

AND A LOT OF DEPARTMENTS ARE NOT MEASURING SELF-INITIATED STOPS VERSUS RADIO CALLS AND NINE 11 STOPPED, UH, WHICH CAN SHOW WHETHER IT'S SOCIETAL ISSUES OR INDIVIDUAL OFFICER ISSUES THAT, THAT NEED TO BE CONSIDERED IN THE DATA.

AND IF I COULD JUST THROW ONE EXTRA THING OUT THERE, I WAS VERY INVOLVED EARLY ON IN THIS PROJECT WITH HELPING OUR RESEARCH TEAM COLLECT THE DATA AND, YOU KNOW, HATS OFF TO AUSTIN'S IT PEOPLE, BECAUSE I KNOW WE, WE, WE, WE DROVE THEM CRAZY FOR SEVERAL MONTHS BECAUSE THEY HAD TO DRAW DATA NOT ONLY FROM THEIR OWN SYSTEM, BUT THEY HAD OTHER SYSTEMS THAT LINKED TO THEM THAT MADE IT VERY CUMBERSOME AND VERY, VERY, UH, HEAVY TECHNICAL.

SO IT TOOK A WHILE TO GET THE DATA, AND THEN WE GOT TO CLEAN THE DATA.

SO HOPEFULLY, YOU KNOW, WELL, WE WERE VERY CONFIDENT IN WHAT WE WENT THROUGH WITH THE IT, PEOPLE THAT WE'VE BROUGHT SOME RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE CITY TO CONSIDER, TO HELP THEM GET THE, THE, THE TECHNOLOGY AND THE SYSTEMS THAT THEY NEED TO TALK TO ONE ANOTHER AND MAKE THIS NOT SUCH A BURDEN BURDENSOME PROCESS.

SO YOU CAN GET REAL DATA, REAL TIME DATA TO MAKE POLICY TRAINING AND OR WHATEVER KIND OF DECISIONS YOU NEED.

MAC.

I HAD A QUICK QUESTION, UM, THAT JUST HAD TO DO WITH THE PERCENTAGE THAT THESE CASES THAT YOU GUYS LOOKED AT REPRESENTED LIKE THE 1,321 CASES, 68,000 TRAFFIC STOPS.

WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE TOTAL OVER THE, THE FOUR-YEAR PERIOD DID THAT REPRESENT? WELL, THE 1,321, UM, USE OF FORCE INCIDENTS THAT, THAT RICK WAS DISCUSSING EARLIER, THAT WAS OVER A SIX MONTH TIME.

SO THAT WAS THE USE OF FORCE INCIDENTS THAT WE WERE GIVEN.

AND WE WERE ASKED SPECIFICALLY TO LOOK AT BY THE CITY, UM, FOR THOSE CASES WHERE WE HAD ALL OF THE INCIDENT REPORTS AND BODY CAMERAS AND SO FORTH.

UM, SO PROBABLY IF WE DOUBLED THAT, THAT WOULD BE THE TOTAL, UH, USE OF FORCE FOR THAT PARTICULAR YEAR.

UM, THE, AND JUST TO CLARIFY, SO FOR EXAMPLE, THE 112 CASES THAT WE IDENTIFIED THAT RICK DISCUSSED WERE PROBLEMATIC.

THAT'S 112 OF THE 1,321.

SO, YOU KNOW, REALLY OVER 90% OF THE USE OF FORCE INCIDENTS THAT, UH, OUR TEAM REVIEWED, UM, WE DETERMINED THAT THE, THE LEVELS OR THE USE OF FORCE IN THOSE PARTICULAR INCIDENTS, THOSE 90% OF THOSE INCIDENTS WERE JUSTIFIED AT LEAST UNDER THE LAW AND POLICY.

UM, AND IT WAS THE, IT WAS THE, YOU KNOW, APPROXIMATELY 9% OR SO OF THE CASES THAT WE IDENTIFIED, WHERE THERE WERE PROBLEMATIC INCIDENTS, IT LOOKED LIKE THERE WAS EITHER UNNECESSARY ESCALATION, INAPPROPRIATE USES OF FORCE OR SOME OTHER, UH, SOME OTHER ISSUES.

UM, THE, BUT IT'S SORT OF COMPARING APPLES AND ORANGES.

IF WE'RE LOOKING AT THE 1,321 VERSUS THE ARREST DATA THAT WE LOOKED AT.

CAUSE WE, WE LOOKED AT 128,000 ARRESTS OVER THE FOUR-YEAR PERIOD, BUT NOT, WE WERE TRYING TO LOOK AT ISSUES

[01:40:01]

UM, AND WE, WE LOOKED AT BOTH THE STOP TRAFFIC STOP DATA, WHICH WAS A SUBSET OF THAT.

UM, BUT WE ALSO LOOKED AT TOTAL ARREST DATA WITHIN, AND THIS WAS TRYING TO NAVIGATE THE VARIOUS DATA LIMITATION ISSUES THAT EXISTED FOR, FOR ALL OF THOSE, UH, SETS OF DATA.

UM, SO I'M NOT SURE I'M ANSWERING YOUR QUESTION, BUT, UH, I'M TRYING TO GIVE YOU JUST SOME CONTEXT OF HOW HAPPENED, WHERE, SO IF YOU WANT TO CLARIFY THE QUESTION, UH, HOPEFULLY WE CAN.

NO, I THINK THAT, I THINK THAT THAT HELPED, ESPECIALLY WITH REGARDS TO THE 1,321 CASES.

UM, AND THEN I THINK, UNLESS ANYONE ELSE HAS ANY MORE QUESTIONS, I HAD ONE MORE, UM, OH, COMMISSIONER WEBBER, GO AHEAD.

UH, FOR THOSE AT HOME AND THOSE OF US WHO WANT TO READ THE WHOLE REPORT, WHERE CAN WE FIND IT? SO I KNOW IT WAS POSTED, I MEAN, I CAN, I'M, I'D BE HAPPY TO SEND A, MAYBE I CAN SEND JANET A COPY OF THE, JUST THE PDF VERSION OF OUR REPORT AND WHEN I SEND THE POWERPOINT.

UM, SO SHE CAN HOPEFULLY DISTRIBUTE THAT TO, TO ALL OF YOU MIGHT BE THE EASIEST WAY, BUT IT IS POSTED ON, UM, ONE OF THE APD WEBSITES.

UM, AND I THINK THE CITY MANAGER, UH, CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE HAD, UM, INITIALLY POSTED IT.

I, I DON'T HAVE THE LINK RIGHT OFF.

I CAN FIND THE LINK AND SEND IT TO YOU AS WELL.

BUT, UH, IT IS, IT IS ON THE WEBSITE SOMEWHERE AND IT WILL ALSO BE POSTED TO BACKUP MATERIALS FOR OUR MEETING TODAY.

IT WAS SENT ON FRIDAY.

SO IT WILL BE POSTED TO OUR BACKUP MATERIALS FOR THIS MEETING AS WELL, THE FULL REPORT.

BUT EITHER WAY, I'M HAPPY TO, I'LL SEND JUST TO MAKE IT EASY AS THOUGH I'LL BE HAPPY TO SEND OUT A COPY OF THE REPORT ALONG WITH THE, WITH THE POWERPOINT.

IN FACT, I'LL SEND THE POWERPOINT, THIS HAD, THIS HAD SOME HIDDEN SLIDES, CAUSE WE WERE TRYING TO JUST SORT OF, UM, CONSOLIDATE THE PRESENTATION.

I'LL MAKE SURE THE VERSION YOU GET IS THE, IS THE FULL VERSION WE SHOWED TO CITY COUNCIL, UM, ABOUT SIX WEEKS AGO OR FOUR WEEKS AGO OR WHENEVER.

AND I THINK IF WE HAVE ONE QUICK QUESTION LEFT, UM, WE CAN GO AHEAD AND DO THAT COMMISSIONER BERNHARDT.

ARE WE, UM, ARE WE GOING TO HEAR FROM THE POLICE OR IS THAT NOT HAPPENING? WE CAN COMMISSIONER.

I JUST, I THOUGHT SHE'D UNDERSTAND.

THAT'S HOW WE WERE WRAPPING THINGS UP.

WAS I MISTAKEN? YES.

MA'AM YOU'RE CORRECT.

WE HAVE OUR CHIEF DATA OFFICER, DR.

HE IS ON THE LINE IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR HIM.

WELL, I, I GUESS I, I THOUGHT THAT, THAT YOU, THE POLICE MIGHT SPEAK TO, WHAT'S GOING TO GET FIXED.

YES MA'AM.

SO WE'RE CURRENTLY RIGHT NOW IT'S A 178 PAGE REPORT.

AND SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE DOING A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW ON THAT AND PUTTING OUR RESPONSES TOGETHER.

UM, SO YOU GUYS KNOW RIGHT NOW THAT YOU CAN BE SUED FOR WHAT'S HAPPENING.

MA'AM WE UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT WAS A QUESTION.

SEEM SORT OF MORE HORRIFIED.

MA'AM WE UNDERSTAND WE CAN BE SUED AT ANYTIME FOR ANY REASON.

NO, NO.

WHAT I MEAN IS WHAT'S IN THE REPORT DOCUMENTS THAT WHAT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT IS DOING RIGHT NOW VIOLATES CONSTITUTIONAL LAW CLEARLY.

AND ANY CIVIL RIGHTS LAWYER IN THE STATE OF TEXAS WHO FEELS LIKE IT CAN FILE A LAWSUIT AGAINST THE CITY OF AUSTIN RIGHT NOW FOR WHAT THE POLICE HAS BEEN DOING AT LEAST SINCE 2019, AND PROBABLY FOR YEARS BEFORE THEN.

BUT THERE'S A TWO YEAR STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS ON A 1983 LAWSUITS.

SO YOU GUYS NEED TO STOP LIKE RIGHT NOW, LIKE, HAS IT, THAT'S WHAT I MEAN? LIKE IT'S NOT, YOU CAN BE SUED FOR ANYTHING.

YOU CAN BE SUED FOR STOP AND FRISK BECAUSE IT'S OFFICIALLY ILLEGAL.

YES, MA'AM OKAY.

I'M NOT TRYING TO BE A BITCH.

IT'S JUST, UM, LIKE I READ THIS REPORT AND I, YOU KNOW, I WORKED IN TEXAS FOR 20 YEARS.

I KNOW THIS PLACE IS NOT PRETTY, BUT YOU KNOW, I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE THINK AUSTIN IS A LIBERAL CITY AND YOU KNOW, THE AUSTIN STATESMAN COVERED THIS REPORT.

LIKE IT WAS LARGELY, OH, MOST INCIDENTS OF USE OF FORCE IN AUSTIN ARE OKAY.

LIKE THEY, THEY JUST BLEW THE HEADLINE ENTIRELY.

THEY PRETENDED LIKE NOTHING HAPPENED.

AND, UM, THIS REPORT IS INCREDIBLY DAMNING OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND I'M JUST ACTUALLY SORT OF AMAZED THAT THE CITY COUNCIL DOESN'T

[01:45:01]

I'M NOT SURE, I GUESS I WASN'T AT THE MEETING WHERE THEY, THEY HEARD THE REPORT, MAYBE THEY WERE HORRIFIED.

UM, BUT ANYWAY, OKAY.

SO, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN BE SUED AND YOU GUYS ARE WORKING ON A SOLUTION, BUT THEY HAVE TO READ 178 PAGES.

AND THEY, I MEAN, WHEN DID, Y'ALL GET A FIRST DRAFT OF THIS? LIKE WHEN DID, WHEN DID, UM, TO THE, THE PEOPLE WHO WERE THE VENDORS ON THIS, WHEN DID Y'ALL FIRST SEND A DRAFT TO THE CITY? WELL, WE HAD, WE ISSUED THE FINAL REPORT, UM, AND IT WAS MADE PUBLIC ON JANUARY 25TH.

AND I'M ASSUMING YOU TRADED DRAFTS WITH THE CITY MANAGER BEFORE THAT, RIGHT? WE DID.

AND WE ACTUALLY SHARED IT WITH, UH, WITH THE HIGH LEVELS OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.

SO CHIEF TACOMA, UM, DR.

CRAIG AND HENDERSON, PLEASE.

I MEAN, WHAT I MEAN, Y'ALL, AREN'T, THAT'S NOT AN, THAT'S NOT AN ACCEPTABLE ANSWER THAT Y'ALL ARE IN THE PROCESS OF READING 178 PAGES THAT YOU HAVE HAD SINCE LAST YEAR.

CRINGING QUESTION THOUGH.

MA'AM WE RECEIVED THE FINAL REPORT THIS YEAR AND OUR CHIEF DATA OFFICER DR.

CRANE DIN IS ON THE LINE AND CAN SPEAK TO OUR EFFORTS.

SO IT'S THIS, ISN'T A DR.

THIS ISN'T ABOUT LIKE CRUNCHING NUMBERS.

I MEAN, DR.

CRINNION IS A REALLY SMART GUY, BUT THIS IS ABOUT WHY A CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT CAN'T FOLLOW A CASE THAT WAS, WAS DECIDED BY THE US SUPREME COURT THREE YEARS BEFORE I WAS BORN JUST FOR LIKE, UH, FIVE YEARS BEFORE ROE VS.

WADE IN, IN CASE ANYBODY IS COUNTING, UM, YOU KNOW, FOR, FOR REFERENCE, IT'S BEEN AROUND THAT LONG.

UM, I MEAN, IT'S ACTUALLY THE KIND OF PRECEDENT THAT THIS SUPREME COURT USUALLY DOESN'T RESPECT.

UM, BUT AT THE TIME IT GAVE POLICE ACTUALLY MORE FREEDOM TO MESS WITH PEOPLE, RIGHT? LIKE, THAT'S THAT IT WAS A, IT WAS A MIDDLE GROUND, RIGHT? YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO HAVE PROBABLE CAUSE, UM, TO, TO LIKE DETAIN SOMEONE FOR A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME.

AND SOMEHOW, LIKE THAT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH AND WE'RE HAVING TO MESS WITH PEOPLE.

ANYWAY, I GUESS MY OTHER QUESTION IS, HAS ANYBODY AT THE CITY OF AUSTIN DISCUSSED HOW THEY ARE GOING TO ADDRESS ALL THE WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS THAT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT HAS CAUSED IN THE TRAVIS COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTS FOR EARACHE, EVADING ARREST, UH, RESISTING ARREST, AND APPARENTLY ASSAULT ON A POLICE OFFICER THAT WERE ALL MADE UP.

WHAT'S THE PLAN FOR THAT? MA'AM, THAT'S OUTSIDE THE PURVIEW OF THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT.

I MEAN, YOU GUYS MADE UP ALL THE CHARGES.

I WOULD THINK THAT YOU GUYS WOULD HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH THAT.

MA'AM, I'M NOT SURE IF THAT'S AN ACCURATE ASSESSMENT OF ALL THE CHARGES.

THAT'S WHAT THE REPORT SAYS.

IT SAYS PEOPLE FLINCHED AND THEY GOT ARRESTED FOR EVADING.

AND LET ME JUST SAY THAT THAT'S A REVIEW OF OUR TEAM DOING OF THE WRITTEN REPORT, THE VIDEO, WE DID NOT DO INTERNAL AFFAIRS INVESTIGATIONS INTO EACH INCIDENT WHERE WE GOT STATEMENTS FROM INDIVIDUALS GATHERED INFORMATION THAT MAY EXPLAIN WHY ACTIONS OCCURRED.

OUR REPORT WAS TO SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, ON OUR LOOK AT IT WITH THE INFORMATION WE HAD, THESE RATIOS AND CONCERNS THAT WERE PROBLEMATIC AND THEY NEED TO BE FURTHER REVIEWED.

IT'S MY BELIEF THAT SOME OF THESE WILL HAVE EXPLANATIONS AND, UH, YOU KNOW, CAN BE EXPLAINED AWAY WHEN OFFICERS ARE INTERVIEWED AND THE TOTALITY OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES ARE CONSIDERED.

OTHERS MAY BE CONCERNING AND NEED TO BE ADDRESSED WITH, UH, ISSUES INTERNALLY FOR DISCIPLINES RAINING.

AND MAYBE WITH THE TRAVIS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY, IF THERE WAS ANY IMPACT THAT SHOULD NOT EVER OCCURRED FOR AN INDIVIDUAL INVOLVED IN THE JUSTICE SYSTEM.

WELL, I'M, I'M AWARE OF WHAT A MORASS TRYING TO HOLD.

ALL OF A PEACE OFFICER ACCOUNTABLE FOR ANYTHING IS I WOULD BE WELL SATISFIED IF WE COULD JUST PUBLIC GET PUBLIC DEFENDERS INVOLVED IN FIGURING OUT HOW MANY PEOPLE PLED GUILTY TO RESISTING INNOVATING ON THE ROCKET DOCKET HERE IN TRAVIS COUNTY, WHO THEIR DEFENSE LAWYERS NEVER EVEN SAW DISCOVERY.

UM, AND DIDN'T ACTUALLY DO ANYTHING BECAUSE LIKE, THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DO THIS TO PEOPLE, HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE GET A CRIMINAL RECORD WHO DID NOT DO ANYTHING.

AND JUST FOR CLARIFICATION, MA'AM, I'M SORRY, NOT STOP AND FRISK AGENCY.

IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE'VE DONE A COMPREHENSIVE BREAKDOWN OR REVIEW OF THE USE OF FORCE CASES THAT WERE BROUGHT TO OUR ATTENTION.

IN ADDITION, WE ARE SUBMITTING POLICY CHANGES TO ADDRESS SOME OF THOSE CONCERNS THAT HAVE BEEN BROUGHT FORWARD.

AND, UM, AND JUST WITH ONE SECOND WITH THAT, WE, WE LITERALLY HAVE FIVE MINUTES LEFT

[01:50:01]

ON OUR AGENDA AND WE DO HAVE A HARD STOP AT SIX O'CLOCK.

I'M REALLY SORRY.

UM, I KNOW THAT THERE'S A LOT MORE DISCUSSION THAT WE WANT TO HAVE ON THIS.

UM, I'M I'M FINE.

SO WITH THAT, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND WRAP UP.

UM, THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR SPEAKING.

UM, I'M I REALLY AM SORRY TO STOP THIS SO ABRUPTLY, BUT WE DO REALLY HAVE A HARD STOP AT SIX O'CLOCK.

UM,

[4. Future Agenda Items 5:45-6:00pm ]

UM, WE CAN ADDRESS WHETHER OR NOT WE WANT FOLLOW-UP ITEMS IS WE WRAP UP WHERE WE TALK ABOUT FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. UM, DO WE HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS, COMMISSIONER WEBER? YES.

I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR AN UPDATE NEXT MONTH FROM I'D LIKE TO HEAR THE, UH, ASSOCIATION THAT EMS ASSOCIATIONS PAY PROPOSAL.

AND I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR THE CITY'S COUNTER-PROPOSAL AND THE CITY'S COUNTERPROPOSAL.

THEY'RE NOT TAKING RECOMMENDATIONS.

I'LL GIVE THAT A SECOND.

UM, ALSO, UM, IF WE COULD HAVE THE NEW EMS CHIEF, PLEASE JOIN US.

THAT WOULD BE REALLY GREAT.

WE'D LIKE TO MEET THEM COMMISSIONER GONZALEZ.

UM, YES.

I WOULD LOVE A REPORT FROM APD, UM, NEXT MONTH ABOUT WHERE WE ARE WITH THE PROPOSAL THAT, UM, AND THE SUGGESTED RECOMMENDATIONS THAT CURL HAS PUT TOGETHER AND WHERE THEY ARE, I'D LOVE A DETAIL, A DESCRIPTION OF WHAT POLICIES, WHAT IS BEING CHANGED.

ALL OF THAT BY THIS POINT, IT WILL BE APRIL.

THAT IS MORE THAN A QUARTER AFTER THIS REPORT HAS BEEN RECEIVED.

SO I WOULD LOVE TO SEE A FULL DOCUMENTATION FROM APD, UM, TO TALK ABOUT WHAT RECOMMENDATIONS THEY ARE GOING AT.

I WANT TO KNOW WHY AS WELL.

UM, AND THEN SECONDLY, UM, I WOULD LIKE TO FOLLOW UP, UH, THANK YOU FOR REMINDING ME DURING THE KROLL REPORT ABOUT THE, UH, DISTRIBUTION OF EMPLOYEES OF ALL OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY ORGANIZATIONS ON THEIR DIVERSITY.

SO GENDER RACE, ETHNICITY, UM, AND I WILL BRING OUR ORIGINAL DOCUMENTATION FROM, I THINK IT WAS SIX YEARS AGO.

UH, SO WE CAN DO A COMPARISON, SO, OKAY.

THAT SOUNDS GREAT.

ANYONE ELSE? COMMISSIONER BERNHARDT AND THEN COMMISSIONER WEBBER.

UM, I'M I, THIS IS NOT A NEW ITEM FOR DISCUSSION, BUT I'M PROBABLY GOING TO OFFER A RECOMMENDATION, UH, TO CITY COUNCIL TO, UM, PAY THE TRAVIS COUNTY PUBLIC DEFENDER TO DO AN INVESTIGATION INTO POTENTIAL WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS BASED ON THE CROW REPORT.

UM, AND I WILL TO FIGURE OUT IF THE CITY COUNCIL WILL SERIOUSLY CONSIDER THAT.

AND COMMISSIONER WEBER.

IF I COULD JUST ADD ON MS. JACKSON TAKE, UH, COMMISSIONER GONZALES'S, UM, REQUEST THAT WE ALSO GET AN UPDATE ON WHERE THE DEPARTMENT IS AT WITH ALL OF THE PREVIOUS KROLL RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THE DEPARTMENT AGREED WITH AND SAID THAT IT WOULD INSTITUTE, I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHICH ONES HAVE BEEN COMPLETED.

AND THEN I WILL ADD ONE TO THE LIST AS WELL AS JUST, UM, AS WE'RE GETTING CLOSE TO THE HALFWAY MARK IN THE YEAR, IF WE CAN GET AN UPDATE ON, I WOULD LIKE TO FIGURE OUT A WAY THAT WE COULD KEEP TRACK OF REIMAGINING PUBLIC SAFETY INITIATIVES AND HOW WE'RE TRACKING ON THAT.

I KNOW COMMISSIONER LEWIS HAD ASKED ABOUT THAT, UM, IF NOT LAST MONTH, THE MONTH BEFORE, BUT IT WOULD JUST BE SOME, SOME KIND OF REGULAR REPORT WOULD BE GREAT.

UM, JUST QUARTERLY BI-ANNUALLY SO THAT WE CAN SEE HOW STUFF HAS TRACKING ANYONE ELSE.

WITH THAT COMMISSIONER STILL INTERESTED IN THE BUDGET ITEMS AND WE'RE DOING BUDGET ITEMS. OKAY.

THE NEW BUDGET.

ARE YOU STILL INTERESTED IN MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS HERE IN THE, WELL, WE NEED TO DO RECOMMENDATIONS BY NEXT MONTH IN ORDER TO, FOR BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS.

UM, YOU CAN STILL HAVE BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS AFTER APRIL, BUT TO HAVE THEM INCLUDED.

AND SO WE'RE GOING TO HAVE BUDGET PRESENTATIONS NEXT MONTH ASKING, DO YOU WANT, IF THEY'RE READY? THAT WOULD BE GREAT IF WE HAVE BUDGET PRESENTATIONS READY, BUT HAVE YOU GUYS GOTTEN THE, THE, THE INS, LIKE THE STUFF FROM THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE AS OF NOW? NO.

SO, OKAY.

SO WE'RE NOT READY FOR BUDGET PRESENTATIONS YET? UM, I THINK WE AGREED THAT BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS AFTER WE HAVE BUDGET PRESENTATIONS IN HAND WOULD BE BEST.

A ROLL CALL FOR ADJOURNING? OKAY.

AND WITH THAT, SHOULD WE DO

[01:55:01]

UM, WE'VE LITERALLY GOT LIKE COUPLE A MINUTE, A MINUTE AND A HALF LEFT OR SOMETHING.

UM, SO I'LL JUST DO A ROLL CALL TO SOMEONE, NEED TO CALL FURNITURE AND MINT.

AND MOTION.

AND A SECOND THERE.

LET'S DO A QUICK ROLL CALL.

UM, COMMISSIONER GONZALEZ, S UH, COMMISSIONER WEBER.

KATHLEEN, UH, COMMISSIONER HEALTH AND SIMPLOT.

UH, COMMISSIONER KICKOFF.

UM, COMMISSIONER BERNHARDT? YES.

COMMISSIONER SIERRA.

OUR APOLLO HAS, IS NO LONGER WITH US.

COMMISSIONER MARTIN HALL MARTIN.