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Home My WebLink AboutCOPCAB 2021-09-09 Agenda PacketPOLICE I�'C„E DQE P°A RT M E NST Allan Ekberg, Mayor COPCAB Agenda September 9, 2021 6:30pm — 8:00pm Virtual Meeting Via Microsoft Teams 253-292-9750 Conference ID: 526157821# 1. Approval of 8/12/21 minutes 2. Chief's updates 3. Good of the order Eric Drever, Chief of Police 15005 Tukwila International Blvd. Tukwila, WA 98188 • Phone (206) 433-1808 • Records Fax (206) 244-6181 Invest. Fax (206) 431-3688 Tu K it LA POLICE I�'C„E DQE P°A RT M E NST Allan Ekberg, Mayor Eric Drever, Chief of Police COPCAB Minutes August 12, 2021 6:30pm — 8:00pm Virtual Meeting Via Microsoft Teams 253-292-9750 Conference ID: 526157821# Members present: Roger Arnold, Katrina Dohn, John Lindsey, Tosh Sharp, Jan Bolerjack, Jay Stark Staff present: Chief Eric Drever, Deputy Chief Eric Lund Guest: None • Approval of minutes: July meeting minutes approved • Deputy Chief Update: o Last week Chief Drever visited Jerry Thornton who is in home hospice care. He was in good spirits and sends greetings to everyone. o National Night Out Against Crime — Nine neighborhoods hosted gatherings. It was a great success with great turnouts. Duwamish served Drever Hotdogs and Witwer Wursts! o Community Engagement— Police have held meetings at four multi -unit residences — Airmark, Marvelle, and SHAG (twice). o SHAG Update — Chief Drever heard from a SHAG resident about how concerned they are about lack of safety. Since hearing that, the department has held two briefings, has had emphasis patrols, and has worked with management to get security on site. Security is now on site, but there is still concern about the effectiveness of them — still a work in progress. Police now have access to the buildings and garage. There is still work to do, but the residents are happy with the response by the police, fire and City officials. Problems include homeless individuals, drugs being used in hallways and restrooms, vehicle break-ins, etc. Much is due to people being able to gain access through secured doors, so residents are being trained to watch and secure doors, and to ensure that extra people do not enter when they go in. Conflicts between residents are also issues. Chief Drever is continuing to engage with residents daily. o Cascade View Park emphasis —There has been increased presence and engagement by police at Cascade View Park. That has gone well. Despite that, there was a shooting there this week. No one was present when police arrived, and no one there would share what they saw. One wounded person later showed up at Valley Medical Center, but would not engage with the police when they spoke with him. o Mental Health Professional, Jackie Harris, who's contracted with Sound Mental Health, has gone out on calls with officers, helped to connect a vet to housing and treatment. o Use of Force Review Board — This was held on Tuesday night, August 10, 2021. All use of force incidents were deemed to be reasonable. Explanation of the group: Deputy Chief Lund facilitates and four community members sit on the board. In 2020, there were 54 use of force incidents. The group went over each one. Moving forward, this meeting will happen quarterly so that incidents are reviewed in a more timely manner, and to decrease the overall load in one meeting. 15005 Tukwila International Blvd. Tukwila, WA 98188 • Phone (206) 433-1808 • Records Fax (206) 244-6181 Invest. Fax (206) 431-3688 o Legislative Reform —There are many different sides to this story. Chief Drever worked with the legislature trying to impact these bills. He tried to work on a regional response but different agencies have handled things differently. Tukwila is following the laws as written, with the exception of HB1054, which restricts the use of military equipment and any weapons over 50 caliber. This conflicts with HB1310, which says officers can use beanbags as less lethal options. Beanbags are more than 50 caliber, so there is a contradiction. Tukwila PD agreed to continue to use less lethal rounds. There is work to change the language in those areas. o Cascade Behavioral Health — Media was present during protest this week, but got the information incorrect. Workers are in contract negotiations and are using the situation. They are working in an unsafe situation, as there is no staff for violent situations. They wanted police to hold people down in order to medicate them. That is illegal and police wouldn't have done it, even before the new legislation. They are working with management on appropriate security, but it is up to management to implement it. o Community Engagement Plan — On Monday, August 9, 2021, Chief Drever shared the Community Engagement Plan at the City Council meeting. They talked about ways to gain trust, be transparent and accountable. There are goals for each quarter. Trust is necessary in order for engagement to be meaningful. There was a complaint about officers telling residents that they (the officers) couldn't help them (the residents). Chief said that this is an unacceptable response. He sent a "Phrase of the Day' email, reminding people that there is always something they can do, even if there are restrictions. They can refer, etc. even if the direct action is limited. o New legislation impact — Officers are demoralized by the new laws that prevent them from helping the community. Officers are afraid of decertification or having charges filed against them. The hands-off approach brings fear of liability. Morale issues are impacting hiring and retention. Officers are looking to retire early, move out of state, transfer to the Port of Seattle force or become fire fighters. • Community Survey: o It is up and running! PIO posted it on social media this afternoon. 45-50 responses have already been received. There are a couple of quirks discovered, such as that when people leave name and contact info at the end, the report does not match up the name with the contact info. This will be fixed. Languages were vetted and are available. There may need to be a change in wording at the end where people have the option of leaving contact info for follow-up. Business cards with the QR code will be available for officers next week so they can hand them out to community members. • Questions o How are response times in Tukwila? Referenced the report today about Seattle having response times averaging 61 minutes. Tukwila times have remained consistent, about 5 minutes or less. However, that is impacted if there are multiple things happening at once in the city. It also depends on the priority of the situation being called in. o Graffiti on 42nd between 144th and 148th, west side of 42nd — multiple wooden fences have been tagged repeatedly. There is no evidence of property owners doing anything about it. Have property owners been contacted and told it is their responsibility? What happens if they do nothing? Chief Drever will look into this and get back with information. o What changed the most with the new legislation? ✓ Definition of use of force — legislative intent is not hands-off with mental patients. Must have "probable cause". These are folks who can't stand trial because of their condition. ✓ Imminent threat — Means "if we don't intervene NOW, serious bodily injury or death will happen ✓ Force — any touching to get someone to do something they don't want to do 15005 Tukwila International Blvd. Tukwila, WA 98188 • Phone (206) 433-1808 • Records Fax (206) 244-6181 Invest. Fax (206) 431-3688 ✓ Violent criminal offenders are free to go if there is not probable cause. Police need to change their mindset. o Can police intervene in drug possession cases? ✓ Mere possession now does not constitute intent. Police can't arrest for possession of drugs. ✓ Police must refer them two times to treatment. On the 3rd time, they can arrest with probable cause. They have to check back on previous responses, so are often not taken in on the 3rd offense. ✓ Challenge of cross -jurisdictional contacts. There is currently no way to track what each agency has done with an individual. A regional system needs to be put in place to do this. ✓ Police cannot force people to go to treatment. Often, they have to walk away and leave them there doing drugs. ✓ Possession amount— It depends on the drug. ✓ With intent — Can arrest for intent (kilo of cocaine, for example). However, prosecuting attorney's office keeps changing the filing guidelines. o Cascade View Park Shooting— more details ✓ It was two cars. One car shot at the other parked car. ✓ Zer o witnesses. The park was full but no one talked. ✓ There was evidence at the scene— shell casings, etc. ✓ Victim went to Valley Hospital, but wouldn't talk to officers from there. o 6. COPCAB Bylaws ✓ Have not yet been sent to group. ✓ Deputy Chief Lund says they need to be updated. ✓ Previous discussion about how and what minutes should be made public. Should names discussed be public? ✓ All COPCAB discussion is subject to public disclosure. ✓ There is no problem in publishing the minutes. ✓ If there is concern about naming entities, make sure discussion is simply factual. ✓ Don't want speculative discussion, as we don't want to guess or start rumors about topics. ✓ Minutes will be posted. Phi is working on this, and will catch up to current minutes. o Cascade View Neighborhood Meeting/Blockwatch ✓ Follow-up has happened, but interest seems to have dropped off. There is a need for broader leadership so the people who initiated the meeting are not shouldering the entire project. ✓ Chief Drever will continue touching base with community members. ✓ Chief is talking to the City Administration about reviving the Community Engagement Coordinator position. These activities have been given to the Community Policing Team, but a different position is needed. o State Covid requirements ✓ Seattle, King County and state employees have vaccines mandated. ✓ In the next week or so, full FDA approval of vaccines is likely. City of Tukwila may mandate vaccines then as well. o Compliment to Tukwila PIO, Vic Masters. ✓ Many community compliments on the thoroughness, timeliness, responsiveness and humor in information put out to the public. • Good Of The Order: 15005 Tukwila International Blvd. Tukwila, WA 98188 • Phone (206) 433-1808 • Records Fax (206) 244-6181 Invest. Fax (206) 431-3688 1. Glad the survey is up and running 2. Firearms training for residents — There is a desire to see this happen, but also concern about shortage of officers. John will be glad to help with this. Chief Drever will talk to administration and attorneys. 3. Jay is running for City Council and has had some questions asked while doorbelling. ✓ Does the police publish service level agreements about response times for police calls of varying types? o Chief Drever— no agreements, but there is policy and expectations. Response time might change depending on what is happening in the city, and the number of officers available at any given time. Calls are prioritized, like in triage situations. For example, serious car accident or break-in in progress might need help NOW, while a car that was stolen might be dealt with as soon as possible, depending on availability. The goal is to always respond expeditiously, depending on needs. o Chief Drever has no problems with posting the values that guide response decisions. ✓ Is there a form where people can request that the police watch out for/check on houses for people when they are gone. Where is that? o Yes, there is such a form. Chief Drever will have the PIO do a post about it. It is the same link as online reporting. The meeting was adjourned at 7:56 pm. Minutes taken by Katrina Dohn 15005 Tukwila International Blvd. Tukwila, WA 98188 • Phone (206) 433-1808 • Records Fax (206) 244-6181 Invest. Fax (206) 431-3688