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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017/07/12 - ADMIN - Minutes - Police Advisory Commission - RegularCity of St. Louis Park Police Advisory Commission Minutes- July 12th, 2016 Aquila Room- City Hall I. Call to Order: Meeting called to order at 7:00 pm. Commissioners Present: Jay Arneson, Michael Howes, Vladimir Sivriver, Kevin Curry, Ellen Sackrison, Charles Kelly, Alicia Hamilton, Tom Kukuk, Matt Kinney. Lieutenant Jon Parker. At the start of the meeting Commissioner Jay Arneson called for a vote to appoint a Secretary and Vice Chair. Ellen Sackrison was nominated and appointed as Secretary. Michael Howes was nominated and appointed Vice Chair. II. Approval of May Minutes The minutes from the May 3rd meeting were reviewed and approved. III. Body Warn Cameras Memo Chief Harcey submitted the memo to the City Manager. There is currently no update from the City Manager. The Human Rights Commission of SLP advised against police body worn cameras. We are waiting on the Multicultural Advocacy Commission’s opinion. Commissioner Tom Kukuk mentioned a segment on body worn cameras on Public Radio, he will send out link to segment to commission members. Commissioner Michael Howes will send Chief Harcey’s memo to the new commission members to read. The conversation about body worn cameras began in November of 2016 with the City Council. The positives and negatives were discussed at the City Council meeting. The City Council is not looking to fast track the implementation. The council would like a thorough investigation into the benefits and drawbacks before talking about implementation. The Law Enforcement Employee Advisory Committee should have input in the conversation and decision. Union leaders and SLPPD have tested out body cameras. The discussion amongst police officers is that if police have body cameras then there needs to be dash camera videos too. Lt. Parker shared that SLPPD does not get a lot of complaints. The City Council would like to know the benefits of body cameras if the city’s department does not receive a lot of complaints. IV. Officer Ride Along At the new member orientation on June 28th, 2017 the interest of ride alongs was expressed. Lt. Parker shared with the commission and new members how to go about setting up a ride along. Lt. Parker shared that ride along is a good way for the commission members to see firsthand how the SLP police officers respond to calls and interact with the residents of SLP. The Citizens Academy was also discussed at this time. This year’s academy will be held this fall throughout the course of 10 weeks. The academy meets once a week. The curriculum includes both lectures and interactive police training. The academy is free. More information about the academy will be released soon. Lt. Parker will bring information to the next Commission meeting. V. PSA a. Texting and Driving The texting and driving PSA is complete and available online. Chief Harcey contacted Jackie to put all the PSA’s on the Departments website. Commissioner Michael Howes suggested to also include past PSA’s. b. Traffic Stop Commissioner Jay Arneson has been working on the Traffic Stop PSA. *Other ideas of PSA’s that were discussed were laws about dog leashes, how police handle loitering. VI. Old Business a. Background Waiver All new commission members have turned in their background waivers to Lt. Parker. b. Golf Tournament This year’s golf tournament is scheduled to take place Friday, September 15th. This event is a fundraiser for the SLP Police Crime Fund and a big event where the commissioners are involved. Former Chair of the PAC Steve Hanson was in charge of contacting local businesses for prizes. Members of the police department organized the event. Chief Harcey sent out a list of contacts in SLP to ask for donations. Commissioner Alicia Hamilton suggested involving kids who are not yet attending school. It was decided that since the event is only a few months away that we think about that for next year. Lt. Parker will meet with Alex Drager and send out an email to the commission about where the most help is needed with this fundraiser. Funds from the golf tournament are divided amongst different police department community events. VII. New Business a. 2017 Initiatives  Use of Force Policy o In light of recent events taking place in Minnesota Commissioner Michael Howes recommended that the commission study and review the SLP police departments Use of Force Policy. Lt. Parker will send out the policy to the commission members. Lt. Parker shared that the policy follows state and federal laws. This is primarily viewed as an educational opportunity for commission members. Commissioner Matt Kinney would like to know more about the relationship between law enforcement and diverse communities. Commissioner Michael Howes attended a community meeting on June 29th regarding the Philando Castille case. Attendees of the meeting wanted to know why there was no SLP law enforcement presence at the meeting. Community members shared their concerns about the verdict in the case. Community members also talked about the role of race and SLP’s Use of Force policy. Citizens wanted to know who they should contact concerning bad interactions with law enforcement. Commissioner Michael Howes shared since now there are 11 PAC members we should have a greater presence at the community meetings, and to be a voice for those with different perspectives. The commission is the bridge to the police department. b. New Commissioners appointment timeline All new commissioners are present except for two: Eric Brown and David Pacheco. c. Police Department staffing update Nothing to report at this time. VIII. Next Meeting: September 6th, 2017. IX. Adjourn Commissioner Charles Kelly motioned to adjourn the meeting, Commissioner Alicia Hamilton 2nd the motion. The meeting adjourned at 8:35pm.