11a Presentation Port Policing Assessment Progress Briefing
Commission Task Force on Policing and Civil Rights Progress Update November 17, 2020 1 OVERVIEW OF MOTION 2020-15 2 Commission Motion 2020-15 Adopted on July 14, 2020 It did three main things: 1. Endorsed immediate steps taken by Executive Director to reform Port police policies and practices such as an immediate ban on chokeholds and ensuring officers receive regular de-escalation training, bystander intervention and anti-discrimination training 2. Directed a comprehensive assessment of the Port of Seattle Police Department to ensure alignment with the highest national standards and best practices related to policing 3. Established a Commission Task Force on Port Policing and Civil Rights to lead the assessment and develop recommendations for action 3 Areas for Assessment 1. Diversity in Recruitment and Hiring 2. Training and Development 3. Equity 4. Use of Force 5. Oversight and Accountability 6. Police Union Participation 7. Budget, Roles, and Equipment 8. Mutual Aid 9. Advocacy 4 Key Dates By October 31, 2020 First Task Force Progress Report and recommendations for immediate actions o Ongoing As recommendations are developed, the Task Force Co-Chairs shall submit a report to the Commission and Executive Director 90 days review period Within 6 months response to recommendations By July 31, 2021 Deliver Final Recommendations to Commission The Task Force shall collect and review existing research, data, and best practices from similar assessments and reports completed throughout the country, as well as remain coordinated with current local and state efforts in order to maximize efficiency and alignment. The Task Force shall establish key metrics for evaluation of success for this process, and metrics for measurement of progress toward any resulting recommendations. 5 Task Force Leadership Task Force Co-Chairs Bookda Gheisar, Senior Director of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Delmas Whittaker, Senior Manager of Fishing Vessel Services; President of the Port's chapter of Blacks in Government (BIG) Task Force Commissioners: Commissioner Peter Steinbrueck Commissioner Ryan Calkins 6 Task Force Members 1. Marin Burnett Port of Seattle, Strategic Initiatives, Strategic Planning Manager 2. Milton Ellis Port of Seattle, Labor Relations, Labor Relations Manager 3. Sean Gillebo Port of Seattle Police Department, Commander 4. Monisha Harrell Equal Rights Washington, Chair 5. John Hayes Seattle Police Department, Captain 6. Jesse Johnson Washington State Representative 7. Deborah Jacobs King County Office of Law Enforcement Oversight, Director 8. Anne Levinson Retired Judge, Deputy Mayor, and police accountability Oversight Auditor 9. Sofia Mayo Port of Seattle, Central Procurement Office, Senior Manager Service Agreements 10. Sam Pailca Microsoft, Associate General Counsel, Office of Legal Compliance; Board Member of ACLU Washington 11. Eric Schinfeld Port of Seattle, External Affairs, Senior Manager, Federal and International Government Relations 12. Ericka Singh Port of Seattle Human Resources, Talent Acquisition Manager 13. Jessica Sullivan REI, Corporate Security and Emergency Manager; retired Captain, King County Sheriff's Office 14. Veronica Valdez Port of Seattle, Commission Office, Commission Specialist 15. Michelle Woodrow Teamsters, Local 117, President and Executive Director 16. Shaunie Wheeler Teamsters, Local 117, Political & Legislative Director Joint Council of Teamsters No. 28 7 Task Force Structure Task Force Leadership Co-Chairs and Commissioners Steinbrueck/Calkins Task Force Staff Marin Burnett Task Force Eric Schinfeld Veronica Valdez Subcommittee Chairs: Subcommittee Chairs: Subcommittee Chairs: Subcommittee Chairs: Subcommittee Chair: Oversight, Subcommittee Chairs: Subcommittee Chair: Diversity in Recruitment Training & Use-of-Force Budget, Roles and Accountability, Racial Mutual Aid Advocacy and Hiring Development Equipment Equity and Civil Rights Subcom mittee Subcommittee D: Subcommittee E: Subcommittee A: Subcommittee B: Subcommittee C: Oversight, Subcommittee: F Subcommittee G: Budget, Roles an Diversity in Recruiting Training & Development Use-of-Force Accountability, Racial Mutual Aid Advocacy Equipment Equity and Civil Rights Each member of the Task Force (excluding Commissioners, Co-Chairs and staffers) will lead a subcommittee 8 Consultant 21CP Solutions Selected through a rigorous RFP process, 21CP was formed by members of President Obama's Task Force on 21st Century Policing 21CP Solutions "helps cities and communities effectively tackle the challenges of delivering safe, effective, just, and constitutional public safety services in the 21st Century." Role of consultant: Conduct analysis of police department policies, practices and programs Facilitate subcommittee meetings Prepare reports, minutes and recommendations 9 Policing Motion Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Subcommittee Meeting structure Task Force mtg Subcommittees C,D,F Subcommittees A,B Subcommittees E,G Jan 22 18 weeks 12 weeks 12 weeks Phase 1 Recommendations 7-9 meets 5-7 meets 4-6 meets Task Force Progress Report Feb 1 Sept-Jan Dec-Mar Feb-May (highly complex) (moderately complex) (mildly complex) Task Force mtg Task Force mtg Oct 28 Feb 19 Task Force mtg Task Force mtg Nov 25 Mar 19 Task Fo rce mtg CDF EG Phase 2 Recommendations Phase 3 Recommendations Nov 27, Sep 30 Feb 25 Mar 19 Jun 1 2020F CDF CDF AB AB Task Force mtg Task Force mtg Sep 30, 2020 O ct 30, 2020 Dec 15, 2020 Feb 25 Apr 19 Jun 23 CDF CDF CDF CDF AB AB AB EG EG EG Task Force mtg Task Force mtg Sep 15, 2020 Oct 13, 202 0 Nov 10, 2020 Dec 15, 2020 Jan 5 Jan 28 Feb 9 Mar 9 Apr 6 May 4 May 21 Jul 16 Task Force mtg Aug 20 Sep Oct Nov Dec 2021 Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug SubCom C - Use -of-Force Sep 8 - Jan 11 SubCom D - Oversight, Accountability, Racial Equity & Civil Rights Sep 8 - Jan 11 SubCom F - Mu tual Aid Sep 8 - Jan 11 SubCom A - Div & Hiring Dec 7 - Mar 1 SubCom B - Training & Dev Dec 7 - Mar 1 SubCom E - Budget, Roles & Equip Feb 15 - May 10 SubCom G - Advocacy Feb 15 - May 10 Note: Due to anticipated variances in the complexity of certain issues, subcommittees have varying numbers of meetings. All timelines/dates are tentative. Subcommittees are activated at their allotted start time, but may be disbanded before or after the estimated dates depending on necessity. Policing Assessment Initial Areas of Focus 11 Use of Force The department has approximately 30 uses of force annually. Most involved weaponless force techniques, such as physical take downs, punches and knee strikes. Between 2017-2019, there were seven Taser deployments, no 40mm less lethal launcher deployments, one use of a baton, and one use of OC spray. Additionally, there was one officer-involved shooting while the officer was assigned to Valley SWAT for an Auburn, WA call-out. By far, pointing of a firearm and application of leg restraints were the most frequent force events, accounting for between 6 to 11 of the approximately 30 annual use of force events. The Vascular Neck restraint was introduced to the department in 2018, and two applications occurred in 2018 and seven applications in 2019. During these applications four subjects lost consciousness. This technique is now prohibited. Use of Force Incidents by Race of Suspect: Suspect Race 2017 2018 2019 White 51% 52% 60% Black 44% 42% 30% Other 5% 6% 10% 12 Use of Force Initial Impressions* The POSPD needs a clear policy that mandates de-escalation, in order to hold officers accountable who do not de-escalate when they should, or whose actions might affirmatively escalate a situation. Police policies should more clearly indicate a commitment to valuing and upholding the sanctity of human life, and the connection of those values with its Use of Force policy. The use of force policy should require "reasonable, necessary, and proportional force." The use of force policy should require a warning, when feasible, before using lethal force. *Some of these items are already being addressed. 13 Oversight, Accountability, Equity & Civil Rights Oversight & Accountability There were an average of 31 inquires and complaints per year, for the years 2015 - 2019. Over two thirds of those 31 concerns involved "inquiries," which are allegations that, even if true, would not involve a violation of policy. Racial Equity & Civil Rights This subcommittee will also be responsible for helping the Task Force develop a framework for racial equity in Port policing that will be applied to all anaylsis in the various subcommittees. 14 Oversight, Accountability, Equity & Civil Rights Initial Impressions The complaint classification scheme is unnecessarily technical, terms used are not consistently well defined, and the assignment system does not serve quality control goals. Timelines should be set for individual steps throughout the investigation process. The Standards of Conduct incorporated into POSPD policy are disorganized and confusing, and are not placed into context with the Port's Code of Conduct. There is no clear protocol for handling conflict of interest issues that can occur with misconduct complaint processing. 15 Mutual Aid Mutual aid generally refers to agreements under state law (the Washington Mutual Aid Peace Officers Powers Act and the Interlocal Cooperation Act) broadly, any cooperation with other law enforcement agencies. Port Police have multiple agreements in place with other South King County cities: Interlocal Cooperative Agreement Valley Special Response Team; Valley Independent Investigative Team; Valley Civil Disturbance Unit Purposes range from responding to high-risk incidents such as hostage situations and high risk felony arrests to investigating most serious incidents involving other jurisdictions' police officers. POSPD also has other, ad hoc relationships with neighboring jurisdictions 16 Mutual Aid Initial Impressions It is not clear how broadly the term "mutual aid" is used by POSPD in its policies and enforcement practices. When the POSPD engages in mutual aid involving noticed events, at the Port or in other jurisdictions, incident planning documents and after-action reports should provide perspective in assessing these events. Mutual aid agreements should clearly indicate that POSPD officers are bound by POSPD Policies. Mutual aid agreements and requests should address limitations on less-lethal tools or other use of force tactics other jurisdictions can employ when working with the Port in response to a Port request for aid. 17
Limitations of Translatable Documents
PDF files are created with text and images are placed at an exact position on a page of a fixed size.
Web pages are fluid in nature, and the exact positioning of PDF text creates presentation problems.
PDFs that are full page graphics, or scanned pages are generally unable to be made accessible, In these cases, viewing whatever plain text could be extracted is the only alternative.