Sorta . . . sorta uses it as a press opportunity. I give him a D or definitely “needs improvement”. Here’s the chief’s report to the Common Council for tonight, it leaves me with more questions than answers.
The chief was issued 6 lawful orders and so far he has followed xx of the:
Action Item 1: The Common Council hereby issues a lawful order to the Chief of Police to issue a SOP that explicitly details the goals, tactics, policies, and procedures to deal with an EDP (including those who are intoxicated). In order to do so MPD should refer to the International Association of Chief of Police’s model policy Responding to Persons Affected by Mental Illness or in Crisis (see Appendix) and the NYPD Patrol Guide related to Mentally Ill or Emotionally Disturbed Persons (see Appendix).
Action Item 3: The Common Council hereby issues a lawful order to the Chief of Police to issue updated MPD Use of Force and the Use of Deadly Force SOPs that explicitly incorporate the duty to intercede and de-escalate which are already included in MPD’s Code of Conduct and Core Values and the de-escalation SOP.
Action Item 4: The Common Council hereby issues a lawful order to the Chief of Police to incorporate language to emphasize an officer’s duty to preserve life, including the lives of those being placed into police custody into the MPD Use of Force and the Use of Deadly Force SOPs.
Action Item 6: The Common Council hereby issues a lawful order to the Chief of Police to develop programming to build officers’ mental health and resilience utilizing evidence based practices, which may include Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, and to provide cost estimates and a timeline for this work. The description of programming, timeline and cost-estimates shall be presented at the third quarter (September 2017) report to the Common Council (see Action Item 8).
Action Item 7: The Common Council hereby issues a lawful order to the Chief of Police to develop a comprehensive backup policy that addresses the need to protect public safety and officer safety. The backup policy should incorporate the principles of de-escalation and judicious use of force, as described in the relevant SOPs. The backup policy should clearly define procedures to ensure officers request and wait for backup in specific relevant scenarios such as:
• When an officer anticipates a need to use force, but has an opportunity to retreat or is not facing immediate threat;
• When an officer is dealing with an EDP or a resistant intoxicated person;
• When backup is expected to arrive within a certain amount of time;
• When an incident involves violence or violence is anticipated;
• An occurrence involving the use, display or threatened use of a weapon;
• Domestic disputes;
• Areas where communications are known to be deficient; or
• Any occurrence involving a subject posing a threat to self or others.
Action Item 8: The Common Council hereby issues a lawful order to the Chief of Police to personally provide quarterly written and verbal updates to Common Council. The updates will be a regular agenda item at the Common Council and will include the following information: 1) any changes to the Code of Conduct or SOPs, 2) any changes in training, 3) any new initiatives, 4) MPD arrest data by reason for arrest and race/ethnicity, and 4) use of force incidents.
The chief of course uses this as an opportunity to talk about shot’s fired, heroin overdoses, robberies, burglaries in the first two pages of his 14 page report (6 pages are just a copy of the Use of Force Policies). Let’s see what he tells us about the items he’s supposed to be reporting on:
1) any changes to the Code of Conduct or SOPs,
On pages 5 & 6 we are told:
The following MPD SOP’s were updated during the second quarter:
1. CFS Dispatch Guidelines:
http://www.cityofmadison.com/police/documents/sop/CFSDispatchGuidelines.pdf2. General Duties and Expectations of Employees:
http://www.cityofmadison.com/police/documents/sop/GenDutiesExp.pdf3. Guidelines for Case Assignment and Management:
http://www.cityofmadison.com/police/documents/sop/GuidelinesCaseAssignMgmt.pdf4. Identification Procedures:
http://www.cityofmadison.com/police/documents/sop/identificationPro.pdf5. Officer Involved Deaths and Other Critical Incidents:
http://www.cityofmadison.com/police/documents/sop/OICI.pdf6. System Audits:
http://www.cityofmadison.com/police/documents/sop/SystemAudits.pdf7. Traffic/Parking Enforcement and Crash Investigation:
http://www.cityofmadison.com/police/documents/sop/TrafficParkingCrash.pdf8. Tuition Reimbursement and Educational Incentive:
http://www.cityofmadison.com/police/documents/sop/TuitReimbEducIncentive.pdf9. Notification of Commanding Officers:
http://www.cityofmadison.com/police/documents/sop/NotificationCO.pdfThe Use of Deadly Force and Use of Non-Deadly Force SOP’s were updated in a manner consistent with the President’s Work Group on Police and Community Relations final report. The full SOP’s are attached to this memo. Work on the other SOP’s referenced in the final report are in progress, and I anticipate that they will be finished/implemented during the third quarter.
Two noteworthy SOP updates include the Officer Involved Deaths and Other Critical Incident SOP and the Identification Procedures SOP. The former addresses MPD response to an officer-involved shooting or other critical incident. It impacts how we interact with an outside investigating agency (typically DCI) in cases of an MPD officer involved death, and also outlines how MPD would investigate another agency’s officer involved death (if requested). The SOP was updated to reflect current practices. The Identification Procedures SOP was also updated to maintain consistency with research and national best practices in identification procedures (lineups, photo arrays, etc.).
2) any changes in training,
On page 4 & 5 he says.
Training updates from the second quarter:
– All MPD sworn personnel attended spring inservice, which included:
o Firearms training
o First-aid training
o An overview on MPD’s MARI grant (Madison Addiction Recovery Initiative)
o Panel discussion/Q&A on opioid abuse
– All sworn MPD personnel went through a firearm/rifle qualification.
– Members of the recruit academy hired in 2016 completed field training and moved on to solo patrol.The training staff has also been exploring options for providing resiliency training/programming for MPD officers. As a result of this research the planned approach will adopt two methods, Resilience Advantage by HeartMath (an evidence-based training system to improve officers’ emotional well-being, stress coping and interpersonal skills), and Mindfulness Based Resiliency Training with the Center for Healthy Minds. These programs are complementary and provide options for police employees.
The Resilience Advantage Program will begin with the 2017 Academy with content delivered by an MPD officer who is a certified trainer. Full implementation will require additional resources so MPD has applied for a grant through the COPS office (for just under $40,000) to provide this training and content to additional officers. We expect to hear back on the grant in September; if grant funding is not approved additional City funding may be needed to move forward with expanding this initiative.
The Training Team is currently in discussions with the Center for Healthy Minds to expand our current partnership. The goal is a program that would allow all officers who wish to participate in mindfulness practice a chance to receive training through MPD (with Center for Healthy Minds trainers). This would be a multi-year program that would also incorporate MPD teacher mentorship to build sustainability. This is in the preliminary stages, with a plan expected in September of 2017.
3) any new initiatives,
Page 6 & 7 have this:
Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) – MPD’s new UAS devices became operational during the 2nd quarter. UAS’s are in widespread use by public safety agencies across the country, and can be deployed to assist with a variety of situations (search and rescue, crime scene photography, etc.). A small group of MPD officers were selected to be part of the UAS team; all have received training in UAS operation and are now certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as commercial UAS operators. A comprehensive SOP on UAS use by MPD has been created and implemented. The SOP is in line with applicable state/federal law, is consistent with best practices on public safety UAS usage (including guidance from the International Association of Chiefs of Police) and places appropriate protections on community privacy. MPD collaborated with the City Attorney’s Office and Risk Manager on SOP development and program implementation. MPD deployed a UAS on four occasions during the second quarter (for crime scene video and to assist with search efforts).
MARI Grant – MPD is continuing to work towards implementation of the Madison Addiction Recovery Initiative (MARI) grant/initiative. MARI is an effort to reduce overdoses, substance abuse and recidivism by diverting low-level offenders from the criminal justice system to treatment. The grant will provide funding for a counselor and recovery coaches, who will facilitate treatment options for offenders/addicts. MPD will divert offenders who have overdosed or committed certain low-level crimes into the MARI program without an arrest, and no charges will be filed as long as the individual is meeting program requirements as of six months after the incident. The grant also has a research component to evaluate effectiveness (overseen by UW).
SIU Notification – MPD’s Special Investigations Unit coordinated another notification of repeat offenders in mid-June. The offenders are selected by a committee comprised of law enforcement, prosecutors, community members and corrections representatives. The ten offenders selected for notification are responsible for 191 total charged criminal offenses; 29 misdemeanor convictions and 50 felony convictions (including recklessly endangering safety, armed robbery, armed burglary and sexual assault). All ten have convictions and substantial involvement in shootings and gun crimes, and their convictions impacted sixty-three (63) victims. The notification process provides the offenders with access to services (jobs, housing, etc.) and an opportunity to change their behavior.
4) MPD arrest data by reason for arrest and race/ethnicity, and
See one chart on page 3 & 4
The arrest data shows disproportionate arrests – 874 arrests of African Americans and 1146 for white people. No surprises there. I’d love to see the break down in that for just the “Disorderly Conduct” arrests – which are 1/6 of the citations (534 of 3054 – note there are more than on citation for the arrests). I hope there is more detail in future reports. Also 966, nearly 1/3 of the data listed is for “all other offenses”.
4)[sic] use of force incidents.
On page 4 he says:
From April 1st through June 30th of 2017, Madison Police Officers responded to 36,206 calls for service. In that time, there were 64 citizen contacts in which officers used some kind of force during their encounter. This means that in the 2nd quarter, MPD officers used force 0.18% of the time when engaging with our citizens. Each of these force incidents documented by officers was reviewed for compliance with MPD standard operating procedures.
and he provides a chart that breaks down the 149 uses of force in the first half the year. 84 or 56% are decentralization/takedowns. 37 are “active counter measures”. 14 uses of hobble restraints, 3 uses of pepperspray, 1 baton strike. There were 64 uses of force in the 2nd quarter, 42 in the first quarter. This too is not broken down by race, I think that would be very interesting to see.
And . . .. 48 “firearm discharged to put down a sick or suffering animal”? Shit, they do animal control now too?
This chart makes no sense to me, up top they have 106 citizen contacts where force was used. Then below is lists 149 total uses of forces (I guess they use more than one per incident?) but then they have the 48 firearm discharged items which weren’t included – so I guess its really 197 uses of force, but 48 were on an animal?
He also tosses this in at the end . . . their reports are a joke, it pages and pages and pages and pages of commendations . . . and little to no information on the discipline. And, as someone noted, this quarter, only civilians have been disciplined, no officers.
Promotions:
Police Officer Kurt Wege was promoted to Sergeant
Discipline/compliments (link to quarterly PS&IA summary):
http://www.cityofmadison.com/police/PSIA/
So, roughly 5 pages of the 14 page report are what the council asked for. The Use of Force policies that are included are useless as they don’t show what has changed. This is typically indicated by underlining new language and striking out language that was removed. As is, you need an old copy of the policies to compare it to, but those versions have disappeared and so far I haven’t found anyone who could find their copy and my open records request is . . . coming . . .
GRADING THE CHIEF
So, how’d the chief do on his first report? I’d give him a D or a “needs improvement” in most areas. Mostly for failure to show his work on these two items.
Action Item 3: The Common Council hereby issues a lawful order to the Chief of Police to issue updated MPD Use of Force and the Use of Deadly Force SOPs that explicitly incorporate the duty to intercede and de-escalate which are already included in MPD’s Code of Conduct and Core Values and the de-escalation SOP.
Action Item 4: The Common Council hereby issues a lawful order to the Chief of Police to incorporate language to emphasize an officer’s duty to preserve life, including the lives of those being placed into police custody into the MPD Use of Force and the Use of Deadly Force SOPs.
And the complete failure to mention de-escalation or preserving life in this section is striking:
DEADLY FORCE AUTHORIZED
The use of deadly force is only authorized when, under any of the following circumstances, an officer reasonably believes a lesser degree of force would be insufficient:
1. In the defense of another person who the officer has reasonable cause to believe is in imminent danger of death or great bodily harm.
2. In defense of oneself, when there is reasonable cause to believe one is in imminent danger of death or great bodily harm.
3. To effect the arrest or prevent the escape of a suspect who the officer has reasonable cause to believe has committed, or attempted to commit, a felony involving the use or threatened use of deadly force, when a high probability exists that the suspect, if not immediately apprehended, may cause death or great bodily harm.
4. To protect one’s self or another from an animal which an officer reasonably believes may cause great bodily harm if not immediately controlled, or to end the suffering of an animal gravely injured or diseased after considering public view, safety, and other reasonable dispositions.
And if you look, he doesn’t even mention these directives:
Action Item 1: The Common Council hereby issues a lawful order to the Chief of Police to issue a SOP that explicitly details the goals, tactics, policies, and procedures to deal with an EDP (including those who are intoxicated). In order to do so MPD should refer to the International Association of Chief of Police’s model policy Responding to Persons Affected by Mental Illness or in Crisis (see Appendix) and the NYPD Patrol Guide related to Mentally Ill or Emotionally Disturbed Persons (see Appendix).
Action Item 7: The Common Council hereby issues a lawful order to the Chief of Police to develop a comprehensive backup policy that addresses the need to protect public safety and officer safety. The backup policy should incorporate the principles of de-escalation and judicious use of force, as described in the relevant SOPs. The backup policy should clearly define procedures to ensure officers request and wait for backup in specific relevant scenarios such as:
• When an officer anticipates a need to use force, but has an opportunity to retreat or is not facing immediate threat;
• When an officer is dealing with an EDP or a resistant intoxicated person;
• When backup is expected to arrive within a certain amount of time;
• When an incident involves violence or violence is anticipated;
• An occurrence involving the use, display or threatened use of a weapon;
• Domestic disputes;
• Areas where communications are known to be deficient; or
• Any occurrence involving a subject posing a threat to self or others.
I’m also surprised by so many policy changes that have taken place 2nd quarter because they do annual updates in February. I had hoped that as the policies changed the council would be notified.
And the way he uses this report to get the press to write about what he wants in the first two pages is just more of the same craptastic strategies he employs. I hope none of my reporter friends fall for it and they keep their eyes on what the report was supposed to be about . . .
