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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCITIZEN REVIEW BOARD - MINUTES - 09/11/2024CITIZEN REVIEW BOARD (CiRB) REGULAR MEETING Wednesday, September 11, 2024, at 5:30 PM 222 Laporte Ave, Colorado River Room 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: Mike O’Malley called to order at 5:35 PM 2. ROLL CALL: a. Board Members Present: Amy Hoeven, Veronica Olivas, Mike O’Malley, Michael Ruttenberg b. Board Members Present Virtually: Melissa Rosas, Elizabeth Grant c. Board Members Absent: Shamera Loose d. Staff Members Present: Lieutenant Jeremy Yonce, Assistant City Attorney Sara Arfmann, Jessica Jones 3. AGENDA REVIEW 4. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION a. Public Input - None 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: a. August 14, 2024: Corrected to state that Melissa Rosas attended the August 14, 2024 meeting virtually. Amy Hoeven moved to approve the corrected minutes, which was seconded by Veronica. Motion approved. 6. NEW BUSINESS a. Voicemail: None b. E-mail: 2 CITIZEN REVIEW BOARD (CiRB) REGULAR MEETING • Thomas Hutchinson forwarded concerns that he recently submitted to Sgt Ferraro. Mr. Hutchinson is in ongoing contact with Sgt. Ferraro, to whom any complaint regarding an SRO would be referred, so it is currently in the proper hands. • Mark Foley emailed to follow up on concerns that have been sent to Chief Swoboda. Shamera Loose contacted him via email to provide resources for submitting a complaint and outline the board’s duties. c. Training: SWAT Training – Lt. Mark Martinez: Lieutenant Mark Martinez has been with FCPS for 29 years and been on the SWAT Team for 23 years. The SWAT Team is a specially trained unit of officers with alternative weapon capabilities to resolve high risk incidents while attempting to minimize the potential for injury or death to those involved. It is a collateral team, so all SWAT operators have additional, primary assignments in addition to their part time work with SWAT. SWAT officers train for 10 hours, twice a month. There are different levels, called tiers, and each tier has different required trainings. FCPS SWAT is currently composed of approximately 26 SWAT operators. The SWAT Team is made up of entry personnel, snipers, explosive breachers, and is responsible for conducting department wide specialized training. Since 2020, the team has an average of 70-80 calls each year, which is a high number, compared to the national average. The SWAT Team mission is to save lives, whether they are a victim or a suspect. The team was established in the late 1980s, and primary cases have been hostage rescue cases. Board Member Question: Sometimes, in the news, there are complaints from citizens because SWAT Team was called and they rammed the house and some parts of it collapsed. Does FCPS SWAT do that? No, but it would depend on the situation. In some instances, the team is having someone in the structure shoot at them, and they’ve tried everything to get that person out. In that case, they will start to systematically remove walls; however, FCPS SWAT team has not done that, but they have used armored rescue vehicles to remove a door, because the risk was high enough. The SWAT gear weighs about 65 pounds, which must be taken into consideration on hot, humid days. Board Member Question: Have you ever encountered booby traps that have been set up by a suspect? No. It’s a possibility, but we haven’t experienced it yet. The SWAT team is used for high-risk search and arrest warrants, barricaded suspects, CITIZEN REVIEW BOARD (CiRB) REGULAR MEETING immediate response to violent criminal activity, armed suicide subjects, hostage rescue, dignitary protection, civil disturbances, public venue security, and operations requiring training or equipment. In a recent situation, the individual was armed with an AR-15 in the middle of City Park, in the summertime with about 300 citizens in the park, which made it a dangerous situation. Board Member Question: Was the last call out by the SWAT Team in the Dry Creek neighborhood? No, it was a smaller team, for a warrant; but the barricade was at Mulberry and Shields. Board Member Question: What situations do you have the entire SWAT Team show up? That would be high-risk search and arrest warrants, barricaded suspects, and hostage rescues. Many search warrants are for drugs, and almost always, guns are found in the house. The higher the threat, or the more complex a warrant is, the more likely that the entire team would be needed, minus any officers that are out or on vacation. Board Member Question: Recently, DPD is getting a lot of flak for how they handle situations and how they use less lethal? Do you guys not use water, or not use less lethal? FCPS never uses water; in fact, that isn’t a tactic that is used in the United States, though in Europe, that will often be the first tool that is used. From the less lethal standpoint, we are the primary operators, and it is only used against a violent suspect that is committing a crime, and the officer has a clear background in which to get to the suspect without injuring others. It is similar with using chemical agents in a crowd control situation. When it comes to these chemicals, it is not indiscriminate use, but based on what the crowd is doing: for example, buildings getting trashed, things getting burned, etc. It is usually after several warnings. There are no documented cases of death in the use of the chemical agents that FCPS uses, though other factors can aggravate its impact. Having a large presence at special events is a deterrent for incidents occurring. Board Member Question: Do you have drones that are used for special events? FCPS has drones for the big events, in addition to having snipers on top of roofs. This allows the team to see the entire venue. Pre-Planned cases are often arrest warrants, and the team has more background going in and can decide if it needs to be a full team response, or a smaller team. Staged Deployment is used in a barricade, or hostage situation. The team is paged out to a staged location to get set up. A rapid deployment means an immediate loss of life, CITIZEN REVIEW BOARD (CiRB) REGULAR MEETING which includes the last officer involved shooting that we responded to. Officers respond from where they are, without uniforms, etc. Each operator has a take-home car, to ensure that they don’t have to respond to the police station first, because all equipment is kept in those cars. To get on the SWAT team, operators must do physical fitness tests, interviews, and pass certifications. What FCPS is looking for is how well an operator can think through critical incidents, not who can shoot the fastest or run the furthest. The testing process takes a year, and operators help with equipment and are assigned to senior officers who do field trainings. Board Member Question: Do you have any females on the team? Not right now. The team had one who decided not to do it. Prior to that, they had another female officer who was on the team for years, and she was a phenomenal SWAT operator. Board Member Question: In the pre-planning, going back to the public venues and specifically the football games, do you work with the security team that runs all of the metal detectors? Yes. Currently, the SWAT team has a primary officer who works with whoever is running the football game at CSU. This is easier, because CSU is the primary at these events, and FCPS assists. On the other hand, at Taste of Fort Collins, a City event, FCPS handles all security. In both scenarios, there is a tactical command officer that makes decisions. The Team Leaders make the plan and present it to the commander. Crisis Negotiations Team is part of the SWAT Team, with 12 trained officers. All of the negotiators go through a basic SWAT school. They have their own lieutenant, but he reports to the commander. Ninety percent of hostage situations are resolved through negotiations, so they are an important piece of the team. Board Member Question: With the connection to the mental health crisis, does the SWAT team utilize the Mental Health Response Team? They are used, depending on the situation. The SWAT team doesn’t have a psychologist with them every time that they are called to a scene, as some teams do. Equipment and uniforms are expensive, but worth the cost to save lives. Board Member Question: Does the SWAT team ever use military surplus? No, not for the SWAT team’s department. Everything purchased for that team is law- enforcement based. CITIZEN REVIEW BOARD (CiRB) REGULAR MEETING For high-risk scenarios, the SWAT team’s primary weapon system is the rifle. Board Member Question: What is a rifle plate? A plate that can stop rifle rounds. A normal ballistic vest will only stop handguns, so some officers, when they are on patrol, will also wear rifle plates on the front and back of their bodies. Equipment that the SWAT Team uses includes mechanical rams, Halligan tools, window porting tools, breaching shotguns, and hand-deployed chemical agents. They use a lot of technology as well, including pole cameras, recon robots, avatar robots, and drones. Board Member Question: What do you see coming in the future that the SWAT team would be able to use, as far as robotics? There will probably be more advancement with drones, and more advancement in the robots that the team already uses to open doors, etc. Board Member Question: Right now, are all robots and drones just used for visual enhancement or do they have any weaponry? No, they don’t have any weaponry. There is a bomb robot, that has the ability to launch items to destroy a device, and has the ability to blow up an explosive device, but the team doesn’t have that capability or a need for something like that. A game changer for the SWAT Team has been the drones. In barricades, if the team loses sight of a suspect, a drone can ensure that they do not leave the areas without the team knowing. Armored rescued vehicles are specifically built for law enforcement. The SWAT Team currently has two of these vehicles. They are used to assist other agencies as well. Board Member Question: In a video that was showed previously, when the officers were in the house, why was that not a SWAT call instead of a patrol call? It was an immediate crisis, so there wasn’t time to get SWAT there, and it was necessary in that moment to get them in. Some agencies may separate their SWAT team from the rest of the agency, which is not what FCPS does. All tactics are taught together at FCPS. Board Member Question: Since the SWAT Team has more physical training and tactical training, do they also get more psychological screening, since they see more traumatic events? It is all the same, because it is built into the department. They don’t see any more than CITIZEN REVIEW BOARD (CiRB) REGULAR MEETING the average officer on the team, in general. Board Member Question: Is there a limit to how long an operator can be on the SWAT Team? No, as long as they can qualify, they can be on the team. At one point in time, the team was only allowed to have a certain number of sergeants, and only one lieutenant, so an operator would be removed from the team if they got promoted. The Chief made a change, because he believes there is no reason to replace someone who has proven that they are skilled. Board Member Question: Has there been a time when a person has to be coached off the team, when the operator doesn’t see for themselves that they are no longer physically fit? No, that is not usually the case. Most of the time, the officer knows and comes to the commander to let them know that they are unable to be a part of the team anymore. It is a collateral assignment, in addition to their other primary duties. Board Member Question: With the state of international affairs these days, do you maintain communications with the FBI’s Domestic Terrorism Unit so that the SWAT Team is in the know about what is going on? Yes, all SWAT Team members receive information. The team has 4 operators that teach at a national level and have a significant amount of experience that they bring to the team. Many team members have connections with other agencies that are larger and very well-managed, and they share their resources and skills through additional trainings. Presentation of sample case, in which FCPS SWAT Team assisted LCSO deputies in response to a welfare check. Board Member Question: In reference to the schools, I know that in the past, the SWAT Team was attempting to obtain a panoramic camera so that they could see in real time what was going on. Is that still a goal? All of the schools have security cameras, and the officers can access those cameras. The teams train on active shooters and rotate through the schools so that the officers know what the schools look like. They have also done specific programs for the charter schools who are not under the PSD umbrella. Board Member Question: Is there a particular team member that is responsible for reading Miranda rights? They only time that the team is going to read Miranda rights is if they need to ask a CITIZEN REVIEW BOARD (CiRB) REGULAR MEETING suspect direct question about a crime. They do not have to read them just to place a suspect under arrest. The SWAT Team’s job is to get the suspect into custody, and then they turn them over to the investigators. Board Member Question: Some agencies have helicopters. Do you think FCPS will ever have one? You will start to see less and less helicopters as time goes on, because of drones, and the expense of what it costs to train a pilot. 7. UNFINISHED BUSINESS • Approval of Subcommittee Minutes for PSU2024-011: Amy Hoeven moved to approve, seconded by Elizabeth Grant. Motion passed. 8. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS a. Amy Hoeven participated in a ride-along with Sergeant Jason Curtis. She had the opportunity to sit in on the debriefing meeting, and was able to meet the entire shift, including the chaplain. 9. OTHER BUSINESS a. Melissa Rosas reminded the board that last year, in August, the board did the annual Work Plan, which is due before November 30. The board should review last year’s Work Plan and bring suggestions for anything they’d like to add to the next meeting. Jessica will send out last year’s Work Plan for review. b. Jeremy Yonce explained that the board can anticipate doing a subcommittee drawing for the most recent officer-involved shooting case. The subcommittee should have the case to review approximately 4 weeks after that. 10. ADJOURNMENT a. Amy Hoeven moved to adjourn, which was seconded by Veronica Olivas. Meeting adjourned at 7:23 PM. Approved by a vote of the board on 10/09/2024