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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCITIZEN REVIEW BOARD - MINUTES - 06/12/2024CITIZEN REVIEW BOARD (CiRB) REGULAR MEETING Wednesday, June 12, 2024, at 5:30 PM 281 N. College, Conference Room A Regular Meeting This information is available in Spanish or other languages at no cost to a person who would like this information translated or communicated in Spanish, or another language. Please call (970)416-4254 or titlesix@fcgov.com to make a request for information in other languages. Esta información está disponible en español u otro idioma, sin costo para la persona que le gustaria esta información traducida o comunicada en español u otro idioma. Favor llame al (970)416-4254 o a titlesix@fcgov.com para solicitor información en otros idiomas. Auxiliary aids and services are available for persons with disabilities. TTY: please use 711 to call (970)221-6753. 1. CALL TO ORDER: Called to order by Shamera Loose at 5:33 PM 2. ROLL CALL: a. Board Members Present: Shamera Loose, Mike O’Malley, Veronica Olivas, Michael Ruttenberg, Elizabeth Grant, Amy Hoeven, Melissa Rosas b. Staff Present: Jeremy Yonce, Jessica Jones 3. AGENDA REVIEW 4. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION a. Public Input – None 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES a. May 8, 2024: Mike O’Malley motioned to approve May 8, 2024 minutes, which was seconded by Amy Hoeven 6. NEW BUSINESS a. Voicemail: None b. E-mail: • 1 email from Nick Simms, expressing concern in regard to a video over excessive force by an FCPS officer. Shamera responded to outline the scope of the board and directed Mr. Simms to resources to allow him to view existing findings by previous CiRB subcommittees. • Email from Cheryl Trine, requesting contact information for Jeremy Yonce. Jeremy has since been in touch with Ms. Trine, and she now has CITIZEN REVIEW BOARD (CiRB) REGULAR MEETING his contact information if she has additional questions. c. Update on PSU2024-011: Sergent Cochran is wrapping up her review and expects to have it ready for chain of command review by next week. CRB should expect to have the case by July 1st, so board members will need to decide if the subcommittee meeting will be held after the July regular meeting, or if another date should be established. • Discussion: The board would like to wait to determine, as it will likely be too soon to review the case directly after the July regular meeting. Once they receive the case, subcommittee chair Elizabeth Grant will reach out to see what is preferred, and if necessary, establish another date on which the subcommittee could meet. • Jeremy Yonce explains that Sergent Cochran is submitting a request for a second extension for this case, in order to ensure that the case has time to make it through chain of command review prior to the board receiving the case. d. Training: Less Lethal Training with Lieutenant Mark Martinez: • Lieutenant Mark Martinez has 29 years of experience with the force. He is the coordinator for FCPS’s Less Lethal Program, which bridges the gap between conventional use of force and deadly force. There are many scenarios which could have been deadly if a gun had been used, but because less lethal systems were utilized, lives were saved. • Shamera asked how officers are selected for this training. • This is determined by supervisors for patrol officers. They are looking for officers who are experienced and skilled at making good decisions in crisis situations. • Primary less lethal system used in a 40 mm. The other two systems are pepperballs and tasers. • Melissa asked if there is only one officer per shift who has access to these systems. • There are multiple officers per shift, but there are a limited number of systems that are available to be checked out. • Veronica asked what the most recent case law is in regards to less lethal use. • Allen v. Muskogee, Oklahoma, 119 F.3d 837. This case, and others like it, mostly address officers creating their own jeopardy in a scenario called “suicide by cop”, in which a person wants to take their own life but isn’t ready to take that step and they try to goad an officer into doing it for them. If a person is threatening to harm only themselves and isn’t a danger to others, our policy is to leave them alone. • Veronica asked if officers do decon on people after they have been hit with pepperballs. • Yes. The first step after a person has been hit with a pepperball is to get them some fresh air, and remove any loose clothing CITIZEN REVIEW BOARD (CiRB) REGULAR MEETING they may be wearing, like jackets, that can potentially still have some of the powder on it. Then they will be checked by a paramedic. • Shamera asked if it was 40 mm systems that officers were carrying at the Taste of Fort Collins. • They were carrying rifles. • Veronica asked how an officer can buy time with a less lethal system, if they are confronting someone who has a gun instead of a knife. • There are several scenarios that have occurred in which a person is threatening their own life in a public place like a park. Officers were able to get him to lower the gun by talking to him, and then the less lethal officer was able to hit him with a pepperball, causing him to drop the gun. • Amy asked if officers warn people before using less lethal systems against them. • It depends. They try to, but not while sacrificing other people’s safety, or the opportunity to use the less lethal system. Each person on a team has a role to play, so if there is time, the team lead will give a warning. • Melissa asked if 40 mm systems can crack ribs. • Yes, they have the potential to cause serious damage, which is why after someone is hit, we have them taken the ER to get checked out to ensure there is not internal damage. • Melissa asked if PepperBalls are less accurate than 40 mm systems. • They are both accurate within 20 yards of a target, but PepperBalls can be less accurate at a further distance. • Veronica asked if people try to hold officers accountable in a situation in which a person is threatening to take their own life, and ultimately does. • FCPS has not had this happen, but it has occurred on the national stage • Mike O’Malley asked if someone dies because of less lethal force, would CRB review the case. • Yes, or even if less lethal force systems caused significant damage to a person, the CRB would have an opportunity to review the case. • Melissa asked if a situation becomes a deadly force situation, would every officer on site discharge their weapon. • It depends. Some officers on the scene may not even have their guns out, but it is likely that less lethal systems would discharge at the same time as lethal systems. • Veronica asked if officers have access to plans of how schools are laid out and are able to collaborate with existing systems inside schools. • Yes, the SROs have access to the school’s internal security camera systems. • Jeremy asked if Lieutenant Martinez could discuss how and when tasers CITIZEN REVIEW BOARD (CiRB) REGULAR MEETING are used. • Every officer has a taser because it allows them to create space and figure out what is going on before getting too close to the situation. It allows a subject to be taken under control without loss of life. It has several drawbacks, in that it will not penetrate thick clothes and it is not good for close quarters confrontations. • Veronica asked if officers are required to keep their tasers in a certain spot on their body. • In order to address the phenomenon in which a person does the same motion so often that they don’t even think about it, we require officers to train to rely on that in tense situations. Tasers are deployed with an officer’s nondominant hand, so that they have to consciously think about what they are doing. • Elizabeth asked what the failure rates are for the use of tasers. • About a 60% success rate, since the probes have to penetrate the skin and be separated by at least 12 inches to be effective. They do have a new version of tasers out there that several other police departments have that are more effective. • Michael Ruttenberg asked what the difference is between those new tasers and the ones that FCPS has. • The new ones have 10 probes that aren’t polarized, so as long as any two probes penetrate the skin, the person cannot move. • Amy asked about a case in the media recently where a person was tased and fell into traffic and died and whether a case like that would be reviewed by the CRB. • If FCPS had been involved, then CRB would have reviewed the case; however, that case was handled by Larimer County. FCPS does use cases like that to analyze situations for training opportunities, and we do debriefs to make officers have a more thorough understanding of what mistakes can be made. If human lag time did not exist, this situation would not have occurred. Events unfolded so quickly, and there was a gap in time between when the officer shot the taser and when the person made it to the road. • Veronica asked if it is true that if a person is not an eminent threat, that an officer cannot pursue them. • That’s correct. If a person drives off, an officer cannot pursue them unless other conditions are met. • Veronica asked if FCPS has other methods of dealing with a fleeing vehicle, such as strips to lay on the road or a tool that sends a lasso around a vehicle’s tires. • They do have strips but the tool that disables a vehicle is very expensive and FCPS does not own one. • Veronica asked if a scenario arises where FCPS has to receive mutual aid from other agencies, if these agencies would follow FCPS policies or CITIZEN REVIEW BOARD (CiRB) REGULAR MEETING how people know what roles to play. • Each agency will have its own policies, but play different roles in a scenario like that. • Elizabeth Grant asked how the safety of other people can be guaranteed in scenarios where they are targeting a person who is in a crowded public space. • FCPS cannot guarantee safety for surrounding people, but officers are trained to make good decisions in crisis situations so that unnecessary risks are not taken. We can also make use of distraction to draw a suspect in a certain direction. 7. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a. Approval of minutes for PSU2024-004: Michael Ruttenberg moves to approve the minutes from PSU2024-004, which was seconded by Mike O’Malley. Motion approved. 8. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS a. Shamera had an opportunity to participate in a walk-around at Taste of Fort Collins with the vapor-wake K9. Many K9 units are trained to smell an item, but a vapor-wake K9 can follow the trail of the scent of an item as it is moved through a crowd. 9. OTHER BUSINESS a. Reminder that the rest of the board meetings for 2024 will take place at 222 Laporte Ave. b. Discussion regarding whether the second request from FCPS for an extension for PSU2024-011 has to be in writing, or if Lieutenant Yonce’s verbal request is sufficient. It is not specified in the Charter, so a decision can be made on by the board as to which is preferred. The current deadline is for next Wednesday, but the case will still need to make it through chain of command review. Michael Ruttenberg moves for CRB to grant a second extension for PSU2024-011, which was seconded by Amy Hoeven. Motion passed. 10. ADJOURNMENT a. Melissa Rosas moves to adjourn at 7:28 PM, which was seconded by Elizabeth Grant. Motion passed. Approved by a vote of the board on 07/12/2024