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2020.07.21 Work Session Packet (2nd) 4141 Douglas Drive North • Crystal, Minnesota 55422-1696 Tel: (763) 531-1000 • Fax: (763) 531-1188 • www.crystalmn.gov Posted: July 17, 2020 City Council Work Session Agenda July 21 2020 Immediately following the EDA meeting Council Chambers/Zoom Meeting Pursuant to due call and notice given in the manner prescribed by Section 3.01 of the City Charter, the work session of the Crystal City Council was held at ______ p.m. on July 21, 2020 in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 4141 Douglas Dr. N., Crystal, Minnesota. I. Attendance Council Members Staff ____ Adams ____ Norris ____ Banks ____ Revering ____ Budziszewski ____ Gilchrist ____ Deshler ____ Hubbard ____ Kiser ____ LaRoche ____ Parsons II. Agenda The purpose of the work session is to discuss the following agenda item: 1. Public safety update. III. Adjournment The work session adjourned at ______ p.m. *Denotes no supporting information included in the packet. Auxiliary aids are available upon request to individuals with disabilities by calling the City Clerk at (763) 531- 1145 at least 96 hours in advance. TTY users may call Minnesota Relay at 711 or 1-800-627-3529. CCCRRRYYYSSSTTTAAALLL PPPOOOLLLIIICCCEEE DDDEEEPPPAAARRRTTTMMMEEENNNTTT “Service with Compassion, Integrity, & Professionalism” TO: Mayor and City Council Anne Norris, City Manager FROM: Stephanie K. Revering, Chief of Police DATE: July 10, 2020 SUBJECT: Police Reform MMEEMMOORRAANNDDUUMM The horrific death of Mr. George Floyd has caused police departments around the country to take a closer look at police policies, procedures, practices, and our community policing philosophies. A campaign called 8 Can’t Wait has identified 8 practices that can lead to 72 percent fewer police killings. Below is the list of the 8 practices and how the Crystal Police Department handles each item. 1. Ban Chokeholds: Our officers will not intentionally use airway choke holds to subdue or control individuals 2. Require De-escalation: Our officers will use de-escalation techniques and other alternatives to higher levels of force consistent with his or her training whenever possible and appropriate before resorting to force and to reduce the need for force. All of our officers attend de-escalation training in each calendar year. 3. Require warning before shooting: A verbal warning should precede the use of deadly force, where feasible 4. Require exhausting all alternatives before shooting: Our officers should use advisements, warnings, verbal persuasion, and other tactics and alternatives to higher levels of force 5. Duty to Intervene: Our officers have a duty to intervene to prevent the use of excessive force. Any officer present and observing another officer using force that is clearly unreasonable under the circumstances must, when in a position to do so safely, prevent the use of excessive force 6. Ban Shooting at a Moving Vehicle: 7. Use of Force Continuum: Our use of force continuum is in our policy manual and our officers shall limit their use of force to the least amount of force reasonably necessary to accomplish their intended objective, to overcome the resistance encountered, and to protect the safety of others. 8. Require Comprehensive Reporting: Any use of force that occurs by a member of our police department is documented promptly, completely, and accurately in their report. The supervisor shall review the use of force report to ensure compliance with the policy and to address any training issues. With that said, we need to do a better job at expanding the scope of the data we are collecting and are looking at more comprehensive ways to distribute the information. For example, the City of Columbia Heights distributes an annual Use of Force Report to its residents, we are currently researching best practices and how to implement this in our department. To see our specific policies please visit our website as the entire policy manual is located at www.crystalmn.gov under the police tab (which has been on our website since 2012). Community Policing Philosophy As you are aware, we at the Crystal Police Department serve all residents with compassion, integrity, and professionalism and we adhere to a high standard of community policing. We hold ourselves to that high standard because we truly are servants to our residents and expect our officers to adhere to serving our community with dignity and respect. Below is a list of items that we are currently practicing, along with a list of items that we are researching and hopefully will implement in the near future. Current Items: -Participate in the Joint Community Police Partnership Program along with 6 other cities in Hennepin County. We have an on-site, embedded liaison from Hennepin County who works with our diverse population to bridge the gap between police and our residents of color. We also hold a Multi-Cultural-Advisory Committee (MAC) meeting monthly where people who live, work, or worship in or around Crystal attend along with officers to discuss the current needs of our residents and police department. This committee advises the police department on what they would like to see from our officers and staff. -Cadet Program We want to make sure that our department represents our diverse population. We hire cadets who are seeking a job in policing and who are people of color. The City of Crystal provides the Cadet with training, mentoring, tuition for education, and equipment. -Citizens’ Police Academy Since 2008, our police department has partnered with the cities of New Hope and Robbinsdale and hosts an academy for our residents so they can see what it is their police departments do on a regular basis. It is 6 weeks long, once per week. -We partner with the Adult Academic Education Center who serves our immigrant population. We have many classes with the students to tell them what they need to know about our police department and what policing is and how we function in the United States. -We have participated in 2 community forums to discuss police issues (in 2019). And we will continue to hold these forums every year. -Several community events (i.e. Coffee with a Cop, Cone with a Cop, MN Night to Unite, etc.) Researching Items: -We currently have many items on our website showing transparency, however, you have to click many different buttons to retrieve the data you may be looking for. We are researching and will implement this change soon. -Our policy manual is a fluid, working document. We are constantly reviewing policies and procedures and will continue to do so over the next several weeks, months, and years. Specifically, with regards to our Use of Force Policy, we will be adding additional language and providing training. -Use of Force Data Collection: We are currently reviewing how we track our use of force cases and will most likely need to broaden the information we are currently collecting. We will also need to broaden the scope of the use of force and provide that data in an annual document starting in 2021. -Traffic Stop Data Collection: We are currently researching how to collect data with regards to race on traffic stops. With that said, it would be helpful to all law enforcement agencies if the State of MN required a person’s race on the back of their driver’s license so that every agency is collecting the data in the same way throughout the entire state. -Community Meetings: As we have done for the past many years, we will continue to have meetings with any of our residents who want to discuss police practices and how their police department functions. I put this under the “researching items” category because this is also a fluid, working item that happens continuously throughout the year. Conclusion: We can’t thank you enough for your continued support of our police department. Please know that we are committed to working with our community and stakeholders to better serve them and to ensure that our officers receive the necessary training to prevent biased policing and inappropriate use of force and are held accountable when they happen. I urge you to reach out to me with any questions, concerns, or comments you may have and please tell your constituents to do the same. Thank you.