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[CALL TO ORDER]
I'M GONNA, UH, CALL A MEETING TO ORDER OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE OF THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL.IT'S TWO O'CLOCK, AS I SAID, MONDAY, JUNE 12TH, 2023.
WE ARE MEETING IN THE CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS AT 3 0 1 WEST SECOND STREET IN AUSTIN, TEXAS.
WE HAVE A QUORUM OF THE COMMITTEE HERE, AND WE ARE ALSO JOINED BY COUNCIL MEMBERS, RYAN AL ALTER AND ALLISON AL ALTER.
AND WE APPRECIATE Y'ALL BEING WITH US.
UM, MEMBERS, THE FIRST ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS THE
[1. Approve the minutes of the special called Public Safety Committee meeting held on May 22, 2023.]
APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL CALL PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING THAT WAS HELD ON MAY 22ND, 2023.IS THERE ANY OBJECTION TO THE ADOPTION OF THE MINUTES HEARING? NO OBJECTION.
THE MINUTES ARE ADOPTED WITHOUT OBJECTION.
THE, THE ITEM ON OUR AGENDA FOR DISCUSSION IS A BRIEFING AND DISCUSSION ON THERO ASSOCIATES INC.
AUDIT OF THE HUNDRED 48TH CADET CLASS AND LONG-TERM PROCESS ASSESSMENT.
[Public Communication: General]
SOME PEOPLE THAT HAVE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK AS PART OF PUBLIC COMMUNICATION, AND I WILL CALL ON, UM, OUR STAFF TO HELP US, UH, CALL ON THOSE SPEAKERS FIRST.SPEAKING IN PERSON FOR GENERAL COMMUNICATIONS.
HI, UM, MY NAME IS REGAN APARICIO.
UH, THANK YOU ALL FOR ALLOWING ME TO SPEAK TODAY.
UM, AND TO BE HERE, UM, I'M ACTUALLY HERE TO JUST SPEAK AND MAKE A GENERAL COMMENT ABOUT, UM, THE SAFETY CONCERNS THAT I HAVE HERE IN THE CITY AND BEING IN AUSTIN NIGHT ALL MY LIFE.
UM, MY SON'S FATHER WAS FOUND, UM, DECEASED IN LADY BIRD LAKE IN APRIL, UM, OF THIS YEAR.
AND I JUST FEEL LIKE THE NEGLIGENCE, UM, OF THE SAFETY OF MYSELF AND ALL FELLOW AUSTINITES NEED TO BE REEVALUATED.
UM, I JUST REALLY FEEL LIKE AS BEING HERE AND BEING FROM THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND THE, I FEEL LIKE THE LAW ENFORCEMENT AND THE CITY OFFICIALS NEED TO DO A BETTER JOB AT KEEPING US SAFE HERE.
THERE'S OBVIOUSLY THINGS GOING ON JUST NOT AT THE LAKE AROUND THE CITY, AND I FEEL LIKE IT'S BEING NEGLECTED AND I'M HURTING.
MY SON IS HURTING, AND ALL THE OTHER FAMILIES THAT HAVE ENDURED THIS PAIN IS HURTING.
SO, UM, THAT'S ALL I HAVE FOR NOW.
ANYWAY, THE REASON WHY I'M HERE, BECAUSE THE LAST TIME I WAS HERE FOR THAT PUBLIC SAFETY MEETING, AND I'M, FORTUNATELY, I FEEL, UH, I REALLY WANTED TO CONFRONT CHIEF CHAON.
UM, THE DAY AFTER THAT, I FOUND MY CAMERA RIPPED APART.
I'VE HAD MY WINDSHIELD SMASHED IN MY CAR BY THE POLICE BY THIS PARTICULAR UNIT OF THE POLICE.
AND SOME OTHER WEIRD THINGS HAVE HAPPENED TO MY VEHICLE WITH WHAT IT WAS TAMPERED WITH, WHICH COULD HAVE BEEN MAJOR.
I HAVE COMPLAINED ABOUT IT TO MY, UH, DAVID SIMMONS, WHO MY STATE FARM AGENT, WHICH I INFORMED, AND I'VE BEEN HARASSED BY THE POLICE OVER A DECADE.
HE ENDED UP TELLING ME ABOUT ANOTHER PERSON HEARD THAT BEEN HARASSED BY THE POLICE OVER A DECADE.
AND I HAVE TO APOLOGIZE FOR THAT DAY.
I WAS HERE FOR THE SPECIAL SESSIONS, BUT WHEN I SAW THAT DPS OFFICER, I KNEW THAT MY MOUTH WAS GONNA SAY SOMETHING I'M GONNA REGRET.
CAUSE UNFORTUNATELY, I HAD A FRIEND OF MINE WHOSE FAMILY MEMBER THAT ONE OF THOSE LITTLE GIRLS WAS THE ONE WHO, WHO DIED THERE.
THAT'S, AND I VISITED YOU ABOUT THE MAY 1ST TO SEND THEM PICTURES.
ANYWAY, I'M JUST HERE BECAUSE I'M TIRED OF IT.
AND BE HONEST WITH YOU, I JUST CAME FROM THE HOSPITAL SATURDAY AND I'M SICK, IN WHICH I HAD TO CALL CHIEF CHUCK ON SECRETARY JANET DM TO TELL CHIEF CHUCK ON TO TELL YOU CROOKED POLICE OFFICER QUIT HARASSING ME.
I JUST CAME FROM THE HOSPITAL.
I SAID, I WASN'T GONNA BE HERE TODAY IF IT WASN'T FOR THAT HARASSMENT THAT SHOWED ME THAT I NEED TO BE HERE AND SOMEBODY NEED TO DO SOMETHING BECAUSE SOMETHING, SOMETHING SINISTER.
THIS HAPPENED WITH THIS PARTICULAR UNIT OF A P D AND I'M FORTUNATE, I HAVE TO SAY, JUST LIKE I'M THE PERSON THAT FILED TWO COMPLAINTS.
AGAIN, POLICE CHIEF JOSEPH CHAON, AND NEITHER ONE OF 'EM WENT TO INTERNAL AFFAIRS.
AND IT WAS FILED THROUGH MY THIRD
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COMPLAINT SPECIALIST, ME DEMISE.AND I'M A FOURTH AND FIFTH AND SIXTH UNTIL HE GETS CONTROL OF HIS OFFICERS.
SO YOU TRYING CROOKED UNDERCOVER POLICE OFFICERS.
UNFORTUNATELY, SIR, THAT CONCLUDES ALL GENERAL COMMUNICATION.
DO YOU WANNA MOVE ON TO OUR ITEMS SPEAKER? SURE.
WE HAVE ONE VIRTUAL ITEMS, UH, SPEAKER FOR ITEM TWO.
EMILY, CAN YOU UNMUTE ON YOUR END? I THINK I'M UNMUTED.
CAN YOU? YEAH, WE CAN HEAR YOU HEAR, YOU CAN PROCEED.
UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS TIME TO SPEAK AGAIN.
I APOLOGIZE I CAN'T BE THERE IN PERSON THIS TIME.
UM, I JUST WANTED TO BRING UP, UM, BUT I WANTED TO THANK THE, UH, THE CITY COUNCIL FOR APPROVING THE MASSIVE LIGHT RAIL PROJECT AS THIS IS A MOMENTOUS STEP TOWARDS GETTING PEOPLE TO THEIR DESTINATIONS SAFELY VIA CAR ALTERNATIVES.
UM, BUT WE ALL KNOW THIS PROJECT IS AT LEAST ONE LAWSUIT AND SEVERAL YEARS AWAY FROM BEING IMPLEMENTED.
WE NEED A SAFE, AFFORDABLE CAR ALTERNATIVE TO TRAVEL EAST DURING PEAK ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT HOURS ON RAINY STREET.
NOW, UM, THIS IS WHERE THE PRINCIPAL OF HARM REDUCTION COMES INTO PLAY.
AND I KNOW THAT COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY IS VERY FAMILIAR WITH THIS.
UM, AS SHE'S AN ADVOCATE FOR HARM REDUCTION, UM, WE KNOW THAT PEOPLE ARE NOT GOING TO MAKE THE BEST DECISIONS WHEN LEAVING THE RAINY STREET DISTRICT.
THEY'RE GOING TO DRINK ON RAINY STREET AND ATTEMPT TO WALK HOME, UM, TO EAST RIVERSIDE IN THE DARK.
THEY'RE GOING TO LEAVE THEIR BARTENDING OR WAITER JOBS WITH A LARGE AMOUNT OF CASH, YOU KNOW, AT 2:45 AM IN THE MORNING AND ATTEMPT TO SCOOTER OR BIKE HOME IN THE DARK, AUSTIN CAN DECREASE THE CHANCES OF HARM OCCURRING BETWEEN RAINY AND EAST RIVERSIDE BY IMPLEMENTING A NIGHT OWL SHUTTLE THIS NIGHT.
OWL SHUTTLE WOULD NOT BE JUST ANOTHER CAPITAL METRO PROJECT TO APPROVE, BUT A GIFT OF COMPASSION TO INCREASE THE CHANCES OF PEOPLE GETTING HOME SAFELY AND REDUCE FIRST RESPONDER BURNOUT FROM HAVING TO RESPOND TO PREVENTABLE INJURIES AND DEATHS, ESPECIALLY THOSE AROUND LADY BIRD LAKE.
MY HOPE IS FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN TO MAKE THE NECESSARY SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS IN IMPLEMENT A NIGHT OUT SHUTTLE.
SO ANOTHER FAMILY WILL NOT HAVE TO ENDURE THE AGONY OF LOSING A LOVED ONE.
I HUMBLY ASK FOR, I HUMBLY MAKE THIS REQUEST, UM, FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE TO PRACTICE HARM REDUCTION, UH, TO INCREASE THE CHANCES OF PEOPLE GETTING HOME SAFELY FROM THE RAINY STREET DISTRICT.
UM, THIS IS IN MEMORY OF JOSHUA ALVIN CROWE, JASON JOHN MARTIN GUTIERREZ, CHRIS CLARK, JOHN HONEY, CLIFF AXEL, JAKE WALTRIP, RANDY LAL, LUIS RAMIREZ, FERNANDO ORTIZ, SANTIAGO BESTER, AND JULIO SANTOS III.
THANK, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME IN ALLOWING ME TO SPEAK.
THAT CONCLUDES OUR SPEAKER, SIR.
UM, MEMBERS, UH, IN PUBLIC, I'LL POINT OUT THAT WE ALSO HAVE AN A COUNCIL MEMBER THAT HAS JOINED US VIRTUALLY, AND THAT'S COUNCIL MEMBER CADRE.
SO THAT'LL TAKE US TO THE BRIEFING
[2. Briefing and discussion on the Kroll Associates, Inc. audit of the 148th cadet class and long-term process assessment]
AND DISCUSSION ON THE KROLL ASSOCIATE'S AUDIT OF THE HUNDRED 48TH CADET CLASS AND LONG-TERM PROCESS ASSESSMENT.UM, I'M LOOKING AT A WHOLE GROUP OF FOLKS.
Y'ALL PICK WHO'S GOING TALK, I'M GONNA US GO FOR IT.
AND WE'VE GOT PEOPLE THAT ARE ON THE, UM, ARE ALSO VIRTUAL.
MR. MARK S CAN, MR. S, CAN YOU HEAR? YES.
AND I APPRECIATE, UH, THE OPPORTUNITY, UH, TO BE HERE.
UM, SO I ACTUALLY HAVE, UH, TWO OF MY TEAM MEMBERS, UH, HERE.
AND WE WANNA, UH, LOOKING FORWARD TO GIVING YOU A, A KIND OF AN UPDATE ON THE, THE CURRENT SCOPE OF WORK WITH THE POLICE TRAINING ACADEMY, AND ALSO UPDATING YOU ON AN OVERVIEW OF ALL THE WORK WE'VE DONE TO DATE, UH, SINCE, UH, NOVEMBER OF 2020.
UM, BEFORE WE BEGIN THOUGH, LET ME JUST INTRODUCE, UH, MYSELF AND, AND MY TEAM MEMBERS.
I'M, I'M A MANAGING DIRECTOR FOR PATROL IN, UH, BASED IN PHILADELPHIA.
AND I'M THE ENGAGEMENT LEADER ON OUR WORK WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN IN EVALUATING THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT IN, UH, SEVERAL DIFFERENT AREAS AS WE'LL.
AS WE'LL DISCUSS TODAY, UM, WITH ME ARE OUR TWO, UM, NATIONAL RENOWNED POLICE EXPERTS IN POLICING BEST PRACTICES.
I'LL LET THEM INTRODUCE THEMSELVES, UH, IN A SECOND.
DAN LINSKY IS A MANAGING DIRECTOR FOR KROLL IN BOSTON, AND HE'S THE FORMER CHIEF OF THE BOSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT.
AND RICK BROWN, UH, IS A SENIOR, UH, CONSULTANT FOR KROLL AND, UM, LONGSTANDING, UH, HEAD, HEAD A VERY DISTINGUISHED CAREER WITH THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE POLICE IN MANY HIGH LEVEL POSITIONS.
AND HE'S BEEN WORKING AS AN INDEPENDENT MONITOR FOR THE PAST DOZEN YEARS OR SO, UH, WITH A NUMBER OF POLICE DEPARTMENTS AROUND THE
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COUNTRY.BUT LET ME JUST, UH, BRIEFLY TURN IT OVER TO DAN AND RICK.
DAN LINSKY, UM, DAN WITH KROLL FOR EIGHT YEARS NOW.
CONSULTED WITH NUMEROUS POLICE DEPARTMENTS ON VARIOUS ENTITIES AND HAVE, UH, ENJOYED WORKING WITH AUSTIN.
LOOK FORWARD TO OUR SEEING ANY QUESTIONS AND, UH, GIMME ANY INFORMATION ON WHAT WE'VE DONE SO FAR AND WHERE WE'RE GOING IN THE NEXT COUPLE MONTHS.
UH, PLEASURE TO, TO SEE EVERYONE.
UH, I'VE ALSO BEEN WORKING, UH, AS A CONSULTANT FOR THE PAST 13 YEARS, AND ABOUT JUST TO 10 YEARS I'VE BEEN WORKING WITH PRO OFTEN AND ON ON DIFFERENT PROJECTS.
AND MY FOCUS IS USE OF FORCE, UH, AND THE REVIEWS OF USE OF FORCE.
CAN WE TEST YOUR MIC AGAIN, PLEASE, SIR? WOULD YOU, UM, SEE IF YOU CAN MOVE YOUR SCREEN CLOSER TO YOU OR YOUR MIC, HOWEVER YOU'RE OPERATING, AND JUST, UH, TEST THAT MIC CUZ YOU DROPPED OFF PRETTY SIGNIFICANTLY.
CAN YOU, CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? CLEARLY? YES.
SO IF, UM, IF IT'S POSSIBLE TO PUT THE, UH, SLIDES BACK ON, WE'VE GOT A FEW SLIDES TO JUST SORT OF HELP WITH THIS OVERVIEW AND PRESENTATION.
UM, AND, UH, IF WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO WHAT WE, WE'VE, WE THOUGHT BEFORE DISCUSSING OUR CURRENT COPO SCOPE OF WORK, WE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO, UH, FIRST PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW OF THE WORK WE'VE DONE TO DATE.
AS I'VE INDICATED, UH, WE WERE SELECTED, UM, PURSUANT TO AN R F P PROCESS BACK IN THE SUMMER OF 2020 TO DO A COMPREHENSIVE EVALUATION OF THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT.
AND WE'VE BEEN ASKED TO LOOK AT A NUMBER OF, OF AREAS AND THE CONTRACT KIND OF PUT IT IN GROUP A, GROUP B, GROUP C.
UM, WE'VE BEEN REFERRING TO IT AS AS PHASES A, B, AND C, BUT PHASE A, WHICH ALL OF THE REPORTS AND WORK WE'VE DONE TODAY IN PHASE A ARE ALL RELATED TO THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT, UH, TRAINING ACADEMY.
AND, UM, THE, THE, THE REPORTS THAT WE'VE ISSUED TO DATE ARE, ARE LISTED HERE.
UM, THE INITIAL PHASE OF OUR REVIEW, UH, INVOLVED ASSESSING THE A P D TRAINING ACADEMY, UH, ON ITS ABILITY AND READINESS TO PREPARE CADETS FOR POLICING IN A MULTI-ETHNIC URBAN ENVIRONMENT, CONSISTENT WITH BEST PRACTICES.
AND, UH, WE DID A FOUR OR FIVE MONTH ASSESSMENT.
WE LOOKED AT, UH, TRAINING CURRICULA AND LESSON PLANS.
WE, UH, INTERVIEWED DID, UH, OVER A HUNDRED INTERVIEWS AND MEETINGS, UH, WITH A, WITH A P D STAFF AND ACADEMY STAFF AND COMMUNITY LEADERS, UH, AND SO FORTH AND, AND REALLY DID A BROAD ASSESSMENT OF THE TRAINING ACADEMY.
UM, AND IN THE REPORT DATED APRIL 23RD OR 2021, WE, WE RECOMMENDED CONSISTENT WITH NATIONAL BEST PRACTICES, UH, THAT IT WAS ESSENTIAL THAT THE ACADEMY, UM, ADOPT A, A MORE GUARDIAN CENTRIC APPROACH TO, UH, TRAINING THAT EMPHASIZES SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY, WHILE AT THE SAME TIME CONTINUING TO PREPARE CADETS AND, AND OFFICERS TO EFFECTIVELY REACT, UH, AND RESPOND TO CRISIS AND EMERGENCY SITUATIONS WHEN THEY OCCUR.
AND WE ENCOURAGED, UH, THE DEPARTMENT TO INCORPORATE MORE ROBUST ADULT LEARNING TEACHING METHODS.
AND WE MADE A NUMBER OF SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM RECOMMENDATIONS THAT, UM, THE CITY MANAGER APPROVED AND THAT, UH, A P D LEADERSHIP AGREED TO IMPLEMENT.
AND ALL OF THAT WAS SET FORTH, AGAIN IN THAT APRIL, UM, 2021 REPORT.
AND THEN BASED, BASED PARTLY ON CROW'S ASSESSMENT, UH, CITY COUNCIL AT THAT POINT AUTHORIZED, UM, THE DEPARTMENT TO BEGIN THE NEXT CADET CLASS.
THAT WAS THEN THE HUNDRED 44TH CADET CLASS, WHICH STARTED IN THE FIRST WEEK OF JUNE OF 2021.
AND THAT WAS THE FIRST CADET CLASS TO, UM, TO BE IMPLEMENTED, UH, IN THE CITY FOR I THINK THE PREVIOUSLY HAD HAD BEEN ONE OR TWO YEARS BEFORE, UH, A CADET CLASS HAD BEEN APPROVED.
UM, AND, AND AT THE SAME TIME OF APPROVING THAT, UM, THE CITY ASKED PAROLE TO ACT AS INDEPENDENT EVALUATOR OF THAT CADET CLASS TO ENSURE THAT THE DEPARTMENT WAS EFFECTIVELY IMPLEMENTING PAROLE'S RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, THAT A P D LEADERSHIP HAD AGREED TO.
SO IN THIS ROLE, WE EXAMINED HOW EFFECTIVELY A DEPARTMENT, UM, WAS ADDRESSING ISSUES OF RACIAL AND GENDER EQUITY, UH, EMPHASIZING DEESCALATION, INCORPORATING DIVERSE PERSPECTIVES THROUGH COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS, UH, AND DEVELOPING INTO A DYNAMIC LEARNING ACADEMY, UH, THROUGH EFFECTIVE AND INCLUSIVE ADULT LEARNING INSTRUCTION.
AND THE FINAL, UH, EVALUATOR REPORT WAS ON FEBRUARY 16TH, 2022.
UM, AND I'LL JUST ASK MR. LINSKY IF HE JUST WANTS TO GIVE A A FEW BRIEF HIGHLIGHTS, UM, FROM BOTH THAT ASSESSMENT AND AND EVALUATION REPORT.
UM, WE INITIALLY SAW A CHANGE IN, UH, WHAT THE ACADEMY WAS DOING.
THEY MOVED AWAY FROM SOME OF THE MORE MILITARIZED, UH, TRAINING PROGRAMS WITH PEOPLE CARRYING
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SANDBAGS AND CLIMBING UP AND DOWN THE MOUNTAIN, UH, OUT AND BACK, THE LARGE HILL THAT THEY USED TO DO, UH, CALISTHENICS ON CHIEF DEONE SAID AN APPROPRIATE TONE FROM THE BEGINNING.HE EMPHASIZED THE, UH, IMPORTANCE OF TRAINING FUTURE OFFICESS TO SERVE THE COMMUNITY AND TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE TREATING EVERYONE WITH TARY AND RESPECT, UM, THE IMPORTANCE OF CRITICAL THINKING, ADULT LEARNING, AND PROCEDURAL JUSTICE.
UH, APD ESTABLISHED THE PILOT COMMUNITY CONNECT PROGRAM THAT LASTED TWO WEEKS AND PROVIDED CONNECTS WITH A VALUABLE PERSPECTIVE OF COMMUNITY MEMBERS PRIOR TO THEM MENTORING AT THE ACADEMY.
UH, AND THEY CONTINUED TO EMPHASIZE, EMPHASIZE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE PROGRAM.
THEY INCLUDED THE GROUNDWATER ANALYSIS TRAINING, UH, ALONG WITH THE COURSE, THE HISTORY OF RACE AND POLICE IN AUSTIN, WHICH WAS, UH, WELL RECEIVED.
UH, AND THERE WAS A GREATER EMPHASIS ON CULTURAL COMPETENCY TRAINING THROUGHOUT THE ACADEMY CURRICULUM.
IN ADDITION, THERE WAS AN INCREASE IN PHYSICAL TRAINING AND, UH, MORE FOCUS ON DEESCALATION AND THE ISSUES OF MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS.
UH, APD ALSO CREATED THE ROLE OF THE DIVISION MANAGER, WHICH WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A CIVILIAN CO-LEAD OF THE ACADEMY.
UM, WE WILL SAY, UH, THAT FRICTION BETWEEN SWORN AND CIVILIAN DIVIDE WAS, UH, APPARENT AND IT HAS NOT YET FULLY BEEN, UH, ESTABLISHED.
UH, ACADEMY TRAINING INCLUDED INCREASED COMMUNITY INPUT THROUGH THE CURRICULUM VIEW COMMITTEE AND THE VIDEO REVIEW COMMUNITY.
HOWEVER, BOTH OF THOSE, UH, HAD SOME OBSTACLES AND SOME SHORTCOMINGS THAT WERE NOTED IN OUR REPORT.
UM, AND THERE WAS A LITTLE BIT OF A LACK OF BUY-IN FROM SOME MEMBERS OF THE ACADEMY STAFF, UH, FOR CHANGES IN REFORM.
UM, AND INITIALLY THERE WAS A LACK OF PLANNING COORDINATION, UH, FOR THE ACADEMY TRAINING PERSONNEL WITH CLASSES, YOU KNOW, BASIC FIRST AID NOT BEING PRESENTED, UH, UNTIL AFTER ADVANCED, UH, FIRST AID TYPES OF ISSUES LIKE THAT, THAT WE IDENTIFIED AS A NEED TO FOLKS GOING FORWARD.
WE PUT OUR RECOMMENDATIONS IN A REPORT AND, UM, UH, LOOKED TO SEE THAT, UH, MANY OF THE AREAS WERE, UH, IMPROVEMENTS, SEEMED TO BE, UH, MADE AND, UH, GAVE THEM TO THE, UH, THE CHIEF AND THE ACADEMY TEAM, UM, AFTER OUR INITIAL ASSESSMENT, MARK.
AND THEN SHORTLY AFTER THE, UH, INDEPENDENT EVALUATOR REPORT, UM, ABOUT A MONTH LATER IN MARCH OF 2022, UH, WE DESIGNED WHAT WE CALLED AUDIT PROTOCOL GUIDELINES.
UM, AND THESE WERE SIMPLY, UH, A LIST OF AREAS AND TOPICS AND SORT OF, UH, CHECKPOINTS FOR, TO ASSIST A P D REALLY IN AN INTERNAL REVIEW PROCESS, OR TO HAVE AN INTERNAL REVIEW MECHANISM, UM, THAT THEY COULD FOLLOW WITH THE ANTENNA, PROMOTING THE SUSTAINABILITY OF THE REFORM MEASURES THAT THEY HAD AGREED TO.
UM, THESE PROTOCOLS, UH, INCLUDE OR WERE MEANT TO INCLUDE A REQUIREMENT FOR, UH, A P D TO REPORT TO COUNCIL, UH, WITHIN 30 DAYS OF EACH CADET CLASS TO, YOU KNOW, REPORT ON THE PROGRESS AND STATUS OF, OF THEIR ONGOING, HOPEFULLY ONGOING IMPLEMENTATION OF THESE REFORM MEASURES.
NOW THESE GUIDELINES ARE ALSO THE FOCUS OF, OF PART OF OUR CURRENT, UH, SCOPE OF WORK, WHICH WE'LL DISCUSS IN, IN, IN A FEW MINUTES.
AND THEN FINALLY ON, ON DECEMBER 1ST, UH, OR EXCUSE ME, UM, YES.
ON DECEMBER 1ST OF, OF 2022, UH, THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE CAME BACK TO US ON ANOTHER ACADEMY RELATED ASSIGNMENT.
UH, AND THEY RETAINED PAROLE TO, UM, REVIEW THE PROGRESS AND EFFECTIVENESS OF AP D'S COLLABORATION WITH THE ACADEMY CURRICULUM REVIEW COMMITTEE, UM, DURING THE HUNDRED 45TH CADET CLASS, WHICH WAS MOSTLY TOOK PLACE IN 2022.
UM, AND THE, AS YOU MANY OF YOU I'M SURE RECALL, THE ACADEMY CLICK CURRICULUM REVIEW COMMITTEE WAS A, UH, A MECHANISM FOR COMMUNITY INPUT INTO POLICE TRAINING.
AND IT WAS A, THE IDEA WAS TO HAVE A GROUP OF COMMUNITY LEADERS WORKING WITH, UH, ACADEMY STAFF TO REVIEW CURRICULUM, REVIEW LESSON PLANS, MAKE, UH, SUGGESTIONS ON HOW TO IMPROVE, UH, ASPECTS OF, OF THOSE, UH, LESSON PLANS.
SO IN THIS REPORT, WHICH CAME OUT ON MARCH 1ST, 2023, UH, WE ASSESSED HOW WELL ACADEMY STAFF AND THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS WORKED, UH, TOGETHER IN REVIEWING COURSE CURRICULUM, UH, IN SHARING PERSPECTIVES ON, UH, HOW CURRICULUM CAN BE MORE INCLUSIVE OF COMMUNITY CONCERNS, UH, AND DOCUMENTING RECOMMENDED CHANGES, UH, TO CURRICULUM.
NOW, WE FOUND A NUMBER OF SHORTCOMINGS WITH THAT PROCESS.
THERE WAS A LACK OF TRUST THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS.
THERE WERE A NUMBER OF OBSTACLES THAT TOOK PLACE, AND FRANKLY, THERE WAS A FAILURE TO PROGRESS THROUGH A LOT OF CURRICULUM.
THERE REALLY WASN'T, UH, AS MUCH PROGRESS MADE, AND EVERYBODY, I THINK, WAS A LITTLE FRUSTRATED WITH THAT.
SO, BASED ON THAT, WE REPORTED THAT OUT.
BUT, UM, WE RECOMMENDED REPLACING THE EXISTING, UH, CURRICULUM REVIEW COMMITTEE WITH A NEW COMMUNITY INPUT, UH, AND CURRICULUM REVIEW STRUCTURE BY CREATING ESSENTIALLY TWO SEPARATE ADVISORY BODIES.
ONE BEING A COMMUNITY ADVISORY COUNCIL, UH, WHICH WOULD BE A, A QUARTERLY MEETINGS OF COMMUNITY MEMBERS WITH A P D LEADERSHIP TO DISCUSS BROADER, UH, ISSUES OF POLICING
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AND POLICE TRAINING THAT MAY HAVE SOME IMPACT ON TRAINING, UH, THAT WOULD THEN BE BROUGHT BACK TO, UH, STAFF TO, TO WORK ON, UH, AND A PROFESSIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE, WHICH WOULD BE SMALL WORKING GROUPS OF SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS, WHETHER ACADEMIC OR OTHERWISE, COMMUNITY EXPERTS AND SO FORTH, WORKING WITH, UH, A COLLABORATIVE GROUP OF STAFF AT A P D ON AREAS WITHIN THEIR EXPERTISE TO DO THE REAL HARD WORK OF, YOU KNOW, CURRICULUM REVIEW, CURRICULUM REFORM, CURRICULUM ADJUSTMENTS.UM, AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE STATUS OF THAT IS.
I KNOW A P D IS WORKING ON TRYING TO DEVELOP THIS, UH, THIS MODEL.
BUT, UM, THAT, THAT, AGAIN, THAT REPORT CAME OUT MARCH 1ST, 2023.
AND IF WE COULD GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO THIS SLIDE, UM, LISTS THE CROW REPORTS THAT RELATED TO BOTH PHASES, B AND C OF OUR WORK WITH THE CITY.
UM, AND THESE WERE PART OF THE OVERALL COMPREHENSIVE EVALUATION OF THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT, NOT SPECIFICALLY RELATED TO, UH, THE TRAINING ACADEMY.
UM, AND I'LL TURN IT OVER TO MR. BROWN TO FIRST DISCUSS OUR WORK IN PHASE B.
UM, THE FIRST, UH, PHASE B REPORT EXAMINED A QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT'S USE OF FORCE INCIDENTS FROM JANUARY 1ST, 2017 TO DECEMBER 31ST, 2020 OF 48 MONTH PERIOD, INCLUDING THE ROLE THAT RACE, ETHNICITY, AND GENDER CHARACTERISTICS POTENTIALLY IMPACTED AP D'S APPLICATION OF FORCE.
THE SECOND AREA WAS A QUALITATIVE REVIEW AND ANALYSIS OF APPROXIMATELY 1,321 DEPARTMENT USE OF FORCE INCIDENTS THAT INVOLVED 2,960 USES OF FORCE.
AND THAT, THAT TIME PERIOD WAS FROM JUNE THROUGH NOVEMBER OF 2019.
AND OUR TEAM ACTUALLY REVIEWED THE, THE POLICE REPORTS AND BODY-WORN CAMERAS, THE FOOTAGE THAT WAS AVAILABLE.
THE THIRD AREA WAS THE DEPARTMENT'S PUBLIC INTERACTIONS WITH CIVILIANS, WHICH IS TRAFFIC STOPS ARREST, CITATIONS, AND SEARCHES FROM JANUARY TO DECEMBER, 2020, A 12 MONTH PERIOD, AND POTENTIAL DISPARITIES INVOLVING RACE, ETHNICITY, AND GENDER.
AND NUMBER FOUR, THE NEXT AREA WAS THE DEPARTMENT'S RECRUITMENT SELECTION AND PROMOTION POLICIES AND PRACTICES, AND THE POTENTIAL IMPACT ON HISTORICALLY UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS SUCH AS WOMEN AND PEOPLE OF COLOR.
THE PHASE B REPORT WAS COMPLETED AND FINALIZED ON JANUARY, UH, 21ST, 2022.
UM, THERE WAS A SEVERAL KEY FINDINGS.
JUST WANTED TO POINT OUT, UH, THE DEPARTMENT AT THE, WHEN WE DID THE REVIEW, DID NOT HAVE, DOESN'T HAVE A COMPREHENSIVE MOTOR VEHICLE STOP DATABASE.
SO, SO THE TRAFFIC STOP DATA COLLECTED PRIOR TO JANUARY 1ST, 2020 HAS KNOWN ERRORS, UH, AND COULD NOT BE RELIABLY USED TO MEET BASIC SCIENTIFIC STANDARDS.
UM, WHAT WE WERE ABLE TO DO IS EXAMINE ONE YEAR, UH, OF, OF STOP DATA.
THAT WOULD BE FROM JANUARY 1ST, 2020 THROUGH DECEMBER OF 2020, UH, THANKS TO THE EFFORTS OF THE A P D STAFF IN CLEANING THAT DATA SO THAT OUR TEAM OF EXPERTS, UH, IN THE DATA FIELD COULD, COULD LOOK AT THAT.
THE RESULTS OF THE STUDY WERE MIXED, GIVEN THE COMPLEXITY OF HOW EVIDENCE OF BIAS BASED POLICING IS MEASURED AND THE MANY IDENTIFIED WEAKNESSES IN APDS DATA COLLECTION METHODS.
UH, KRO UH, MADE A NUMBER OF RECOMMENDATIONS TO IMPROVE AP D'S STOP DATA COLLECTION MOVING FORWARD.
IN OUR QUALITATIVE REVIEW OF 1,321 USE OF FORCE INCIDENTS OVER A SIX MONTH PERIOD, WE FOUND ISSUES OF CONCERN IN 112 CASES, OR APPROXIMATELY 8.5% OF ALL CASES REVIEWED IN THOSE CASES, A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF THOSE, THE USE OF FORCE WAS EITHER INAPPROPRIATE OR CAUSED BY AN UNNECESSARY ESCALATION OF THE ENCOUNTER BY A P D OFFICERS.
WE ALSO NOTED CONCERNS AND GAPS IN THE QUALITY OF SUPERVISORY REVIEW IN MANY OF THE USE OF FORCE INCIDENTS.
WE ALSO RECOMMENDED WAYS FOR A P D TO IMPROVE HIS, BESIDES THE DATA COLLECTION METHODS.
WE ALSO RECOMMENDED ADJUSTMENTS TO POLICY TRAINING AND SUPERVISION TOWARD THE END OF THE PHASE B, UH, REPORT.
WE HAD A SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT WE ISSUED IN MAY 4TH, 2022, PRO REVIEWED AND EVALUATED, UH, THE DEPARTMENT'S ADMINISTRATIVE INVESTIGATIONS OF CITIZENS COMPLAINTS MADE AGAINST OFFICERS THAT ALLEGE SOME FORM OF BIAS OR DISCRIMINATION OVER A1 YEAR PERIOD FROM 2012 TO 2021.
SO THAT SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT IS A PART OF THIS PHASE B PROCESS.
IN THIS REPORT, PRO FOUND THAT WHILE MOST A P D INVESTIGATIONS COMPORTED WITH DEPARTMENT POLICY AND RESULTED IN APPROPRIATE FINDINGS, WE HIGHLIGHTED SEVERAL CASES THAT WERE NOT ADEQUATELY INVESTIGATED OR INVOLVED SUPERVISORY DEFICIENCIES.
AND THIS IS ONE OF OUR MOST EXTENSIVE REPORTS.
IT'S 167 PAGES OF, OF REVIEW AND ANALYSIS.
AND WITH THAT, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO MARK FOR
[00:25:01]
PHASE C.AND THEN, UM, AS RICK SAID, PHASE C, UM, AS THE SLIDE INDICATES, INVOLVE TWO REPORTS.
THESE ARE ACTUALLY OUR MOST RECENT REPORTS, UM, THAT WE, WE ISSUED THE FIRST IN, IN THE END OF MARCH OF THIS YEAR, AND THE SECOND IN APRIL, UH, IN APRIL.
UM, BUT AS PART OF THIS, UH, PHASE C EVALUATION, UM, WE FIRST EXAMINED PAROLE, I MEAN APDS COMPLIANCE WITH, UH, LEGAL AND POLICY REQUIREMENTS CONCERNING, UH, RACE AND SEX DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT.
UM, AND WE REVIEWED THEIR EXISTING, UH, THE DEPARTMENT'S EXISTING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.
WE ASSESSED APDS, UM, HANDLING A RESPONSE TO INTERNAL INVESTIGATIONS OF, OF THE INTERNAL HARASSMENT AND DISCRIMINATION ALLEGATIONS WORKPLACE RELATED, UH, OVER 10 YEARS.
AND WE CONDUCTED AN ANONYMOUS SURVEY OF ALL A P D EMPLOYEES, UH, REGARDING, UH, THEIR OPINIONS AND EXPERIENCES, UH, RELATED TO A VARIETY OF WORKPLACE CLIMATE ISSUES.
UH, IN THAT REPORT, WE FOUND THAT, UM, THE DEPARTMENT'S POLICIES AND PROCEDURES RELATING TO RACE AND SEX DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT APPEARED TO BE COMPLIANT WITH FEDERAL AND STATE LAW.
HOWEVER, WE DID HIGHLIGHT A NUMBER OF INDIVIDUAL CASES THAT SUGGESTED THERE WERE GAPS IN TRAINING AND SUPERVISION.
UH, AND THERE WAS A FAILURE TO ADDRESS, IN SOME CASES, UH, TROUBLING WORKPLACE BEHAVIOR AND WORKPLACE CULTURE ISSUES, UH, THAT SOME OF THESE CASES RAISED.
AND THEN IN OUR FINAL, UM, PHASE C REPORT, WHICH WE CAME OUT IN APRIL OF, OF THIS YEAR, UH, WE EXAMINED COURT FILINGS OF 112 POLICE MISCONDUCT LAWSUITS AGAINST THE CITY, UH, AND OR A P D OFFICERS FROM 2013 TO 2022.
UM, THESE WERE MOSTLY CASES OF EXCESSIVE ALLEGATIONS OF EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE, BUT THERE WERE A FEW OTHER FEW, FEW OTHER ADDITIONAL, UH, ALLEGED MISCONDUCT CASES.
UM, THE REPORT HIGHLIGHTED, UH, SOME OF THE MOST EGREGIOUS EXAMPLES OF THE ALLEGEDLY EXCESSIVE AND UNJUSTIFIED USE OF FORCE DURING POLICE CITIZEN ENCOUNTERS, INCLUDING CASES THAT RESULTED IN LARGE VERDICTS AND SETTLEMENTS.
UM, WE DID, UH, WE LOOKED AT THE FISCAL IMPACT OF THIS TYPE OF LITIGATION.
WE ESTIMATED, UH, I WOULD SAY QUITE CONSERVATIVELY THAT DURING THE PERIOD EXAMINED AND, AND UNDERSTANDING THAT NOT, IT REALLY WAS NOT FULLY COMPREHENSIVE BECAUSE THERE WERE SOME OLDER CASES THAT HAD BEEN PURGED AND WE WERE NOT ABLE TO INCLUDE.
AND THERE WERE A NUMBER OF PENDING CASES THAT HAD NOT HAD BEEN COMPLETED.
BUT NEVERTHELESS, WE ESTIMATED CONSERVATIVELY THAT DURING THE PERIOD EXAM, AND THE CITY EXPENDED MORE THAN MORE THAN 73 MILLION IN DEFENDING AGAINST POLICE MISCONDUCT LAWSUITS.
THAT WAS IN TERMS OF, UM, VERDICT SETTLEMENTS, UH, EXTERNAL LEGAL COSTS AND EXPERT COSTS, AS WELL AS INTERNAL RESOURCES, UM, UTILIZED.
WE ALSO EXAMINED THE IMPACT, UM, OF LOSS POLICE COMMUNITY TRUST, RESULTING FROM EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE ALLEGATIONS.
AND IN TERMS OF, UH, DISPARATE IMPACTS, WHILE THE SAMPLE SIZE WAS ADMITTEDLY SMALL, UM, WE DID FIND THAT THE VICTIMS OF POLICE USE OF FORCE CASES, PARTICULARLY THOSE RESULTING IN FATALITIES, WERE DISPROPORTIONATELY REPRESENTED BY PEOPLE OF COLOR.
UM, AND WE RECOMMENDED WAYS TO, FOR THE DEPARTMENT TO HELP MINIMIZE FUTURE ADVERSE LITIGATION FROM POLICE MISCONDUCT CASES AND RESTORE AND BUILD POLICE COMMUNITY TRUST IN AUSTIN.
AND I WOULD JUST NOTE MANY OF THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE CONSISTENT WITH SOME OF THE OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS WE'VE MADE IN, IN OUR OTHER REPORTS AS WELL.
AND IF WE COULD GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
THIS, THIS, UM, AND THE NEXT ONE PROVIDE A BRIEF OVERVIEW AND OUTLINE OF THE CURRENT SCOPE OF WORK, UM, THAT WE'VE BEEN ASKED TO DO.
SO ESSENTIALLY, ALL OF OUR OTHER WORK THAT WE JUST OUTLINED HAS BEEN COMPLETED.
UM, AND THIS IS SORT OF A, A NEW AND ADDITIONAL SCOPE OF WORK THAT WE WERE ASKED TO DO AND THAT COUNCIL HAD APPROVED, I BELIEVED, BY AN AMENDMENT TO OUR CONTRACT IN, UH, MARCH OF, OF THIS YEAR.
UH, AND THIS SCOPE OF WORK CONSISTS OF TWO COMPONENTS.
SO FIRST, WE'RE IN THE PROCESS, UH, NOW OF REVIEWING AND ASSESSING THE DEPARTMENT'S COMPLIANCE WITH OUR AUDIT PROTOCOL OR THESE, THE, UH, THE, UH, PRIORITY AUDIT DOMAINS.
I WOULD JUST SAY DURING THE HUNDRED 48TH CADET CLASS.
UM, THIS CADET CLASS IS SCHEDULED TO GRADUATE IN THE FIRST WEEK OF SEPTEMBER OF 23.
AND SOME OF THE KEY AREAS OF FOCUS WE ARE EXAMINING ARE LISTED ON THIS SLIDE.
SO WE'RE LOOKING AT HOW EFFECTIVELY A P D IS USING EXTERNAL SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS TO HELP TEACH CERTAIN COURSES THAT DON'T NECESSARILY REQUIRE, YOU KNOW, POLICE TRAINING PER SE.
UM, BUT WE'RE, WE'VE BEEN ADVOCATING AND THEY'VE BEEN ATTEMPTING TO DO MORE CO-TEACHING WITH, YOU KNOW, AN A P D INSTRUCTOR ALONG WITH A, A SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT.
UM, WE'RE LOOKING INTO HOW EFFECTIVELY THEY'RE CONTINUING WITH COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND THE COMMUNITY CONNECT PROGRAM, UH, HOW WELL THEY ARE ATTEMPTING TO INCORPORATE ADULT LEARNING AND ACTIVE LEARNING CONCEPTS INTO THEIR CURRICULUM TO MAKE
[00:30:01]
TEACHING MORE EFFECTIVE AND LEARNING MORE EFFECTIVE AT THE ACADEMY.UM, WE'RE LOOKING AT THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE DIVISION MANAGER AND TRAINING SUPERVISOR, AS I'M, AS MANY OF YOU, I'M SURE ALL OF YOU ARE AWARE BY NOW, DR.
UM, WE'LL BE LEAVING THE ACADEMY IN THE NEXT, UH, COUPLE OF WEEKS.
AND, UM, IT'S A LITTLE UNCLEAR WHAT THE NEW ROLE OF THE DIVISION MANAGER WILL BE OR WHEN THAT PERSON WILL BE REPLACED AND WHAT, UH, THOSE RESPONSIBILITIES ARE.
WE'RE LOOKING AT THEIR DEESCALATION TRAINING, UH, DIVERSITY AND CULTURE ISSUES, UH, MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS TRAINING, AND THE CRISIS INTERVENTION TRAINING, WHICH THEY'VE TRADITIONALLY DONE WELL.
UM, WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT INJURIES, SEPARATIONS AND EXCERPTS, AND SEEING IF THERE'S ANY PATTERNS OR TRENDS.
AND WE'LL COMPARE IT TO PATH CEC CLASSES.
UM, WE'LL CONTINUE TO LOOK AT HOW EFFECTIVELY THEY'RE COORDINATING THEIR SCHEDULES AND OTHER FACILITY AND STAFFING NEEDS AS, AS WELL AS A NUMBER OF OTHER AREAS.
WE EXPECT THAT REPORT TO BE COMPLETED, UM, ON SEPTEMBER 22ND.
HOPEFULLY THAT'S ABOUT TWO WEEKS AFTER THE, THIS CURRENT CADET CLASS GRADUATES.
SO WE HOPE TO HAVE A FINAL REPORT BY THEN.
UM, IN AS FAR AS A BRIEF STATUS UPDATE ON THE, ON THE ADDED, UH, ON THIS AUDIT, UM, UH, WE WERE ON SITE IN EARLY MAY AND MET WITH ACADEMY STAFF AND CADETS INSTRUCTORS.
UH, WE MET WITH THE CHIEF, WE, UH, AND, AND, AND CHIEF OF STAFF TO THE, UH, A P D.
WE'VE MET WITH THE JOYCE JAMES GROUP, UM, AND WE'VE OBSERVED SEVERAL ACADEMY, UH, TRAINING AND, AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SESSIONS.
WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO DO SO THROUGHOUT THE SUMMER.
UM, WE'LL BE BACK FOR FURTHER ONSITE VISITS, UM, THIS YEAR.
THEY'RE PLANNED AND, AND GETTING SCHEDULED AS WE SPEAK.
AND, UM, I'LL ASK MR. LINSKY TO JUST PROVIDE A BRIEF, UH, BRIEF FURTHER OVERVIEW OF, OF THINGS WE'VE FOUND TO DATE.
UNDERSTANDING THIS IS ALL PRELIMINARY.
MARK, UH, YOU SAID IT'S STILL PRELIMINARY, BUT WE'RE SEEING THAT A P D HAS FAITHFULLY IMPLEMENTED AND IS DOING WELL ON A NUMBER OF THE AREAS, UH, SUCH AS THE ICAT TRAINING, THE C I T TRAINING AND MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS TRAINING.
THEY'VE ELIMINATED SOME OF THOSE PAST, UH, PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENT DRILLS.
UH, BASICALLY IT'S KIND OF MARINE BOOTCAMP TYPE OF ACTIVITIES.
UH, THEY'VE BROUGHT THEM DOWN INTO AN APPROPRIATE TIMEFRAME, AND IT'S NO LONGER IMPACTING CLASS TIME, UH, AND TRYING TO DO THEM IN A WAY IN WHICH, YOU KNOW, MAKES THE, UH, INJURIES, UH, UNLIKELY.
UH, THEY'VE INCREASED COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WITH THE COMMUNITY CONNECT PROGRAM.
GROUNDWATER ANALYSIS, RACIAL EQUITY TRAINING HAS BECOME PART OF THE CURRICULUM.
THE HISTORY OF POLICE AND RACE IN AUSTIN IS FULLY INTEGRATED INTO THE ACADEMY, TAUGHT BY A VERY DYNAMIC PROFESSOR FROM THE AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES AT UT AUSTIN, AND THEY DID A GREAT JOB IN COORDINATING THE SCHEDULES, UH, WITH THE LATEST CLASSES.
UM, THERE'S STILL SOME CONCERNS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
UH, THE USE OF EXTERNAL SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS CONTINUES TO HAVE A LOT OF, UH, FRICTION AND PUSHBACK, UH, FROM SOME STAFF MEMBERS.
UH, THERE IS CURRENTLY VERY LITTLE SUPERVISORY INVOLVEMENT IN CURRICULUM REVIEW.
UH, AND THE DIVISION MANAGER, AS MARK MENTIONED, UH, IS LEAVING.
AND WE'RE NOT QUITE SURE EXACTLY WHAT THE, UH, FIX IS FOR REPLACING, UH, HER.
AND, UM, THERE'S STILL SOME TENSIONS IN, IN THAT ROLE, HAS NOT YET BEEN FORMALLY ACCEPTED.
UM, CADET SEPARATIONS ARE HIGH.
14 OF 34 CADETS HAVE LEFT MANY FOR PERSONAL REASONS.
WE'RE EVALUATING EXACTLY WHY TO SEE IF THERE'S ANY ONE PARTICULAR CAUSE OR CONCERN.
UH, THERE HAS BEEN NOT A LOT OF PROGRESS DEVELOPED ON THE VIDEO LIBRARY OR IMPLEMENTING AN EFFECTIVE INTERNAL VIEW PROCESS FOR EVALUATING VIDEO CONTENT.
UH, AND THERE'S A NUMBER OF FACILITY AND STAFFING CHALLENGES THAT, UH, ARE STILL OUT THERE INCLUDING, UM, YOU KNOW, LOTS OF WORK TO DO.
AND AT THE SAME TIME, TRYING TO KEEP THE CITY SAFE WHERE OFFICERS ARE GOING ON THE STREET TO DO BACKFILL AS WELL.
UM, WELL, THEY, THEY HAVE MODIFIED AND ALTERED THE PARAMILITARY TRAINING.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, STILL COULD PROBABLY USE SOME, UH, EVALUATION ON EXACTLY WHEN IT'S APPROPRIATE AND WHEN IT'S APPROPRIATE.
UH, THE LEARN SKILLS, UH, PROGRAM WERE INITIALLY OUR INITIAL ASSESSMENT HAD ISSUES AND CONCERNS WITH SAFETY FOR CADETS.
AND THE TRAINING, UH, WE FOUND, UH, HAS BEEN EXTREMELY WELL DONE, AND, UM, TAKES STRIDES TO KEEP CADETS SAFE DURING, UH, YOU KNOW, DIFFICULT PROCESSES AND HAVE, UH, HAVE DONE A GREAT JOB IN, IN MAKING SURE THAT PROGRAM CONTINUES FORWARD, UH, IN ENCOMPASSES THE COMMUNITY AND THE, UH, ALL OF THE ASPECTS OF COMMUNITY POLICING, EVEN IN THE LEARN SKILLS, UH, ASPECTS OF TRAINING.
UH, WITH THAT, I'LL TURN IT BACK TO YOU, MARK.
AND WITH THAT, I THINK WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO THIS SLIDE, UM, IS, IS ESSENTIALLY OUR OTHER PHASE OF WORK, UM, CURRENT PHASE OF WORK.
SO AGAIN, I SAID THERE WERE TWO COMPONENTS.
THE FIRST WAS THE AUDIT, THE SECOND IS THE LONG-TERM PROCESS ASSESSMENT.
[00:35:01]
US WORKING A LITTLE MORE COLLABORATIVELY AND, AND IN A CON CONSULTATIVE BASIS WITH A P D TO HELP DEVELOP INTERNAL PROCESSES AND POLICIES THAT WILL HELP SUSTAIN THE REFORM MEASURES, UM, IN THE LONG TERM.SO THESE WOULD INCLUDE BOTH MEASURES THAT HAVE BEEN IMPLEMENTED SO THAT THEY CONTINUE TO, TO BE SO, AS WELL AS OTHER MEASURES THAT STILL REMAIN A WORK IN PROGRESS.
UM, AND ALL OF THESE MEASURES ARE, UH, AND OBJECTIVES ARE CONSISTENT WITH, UM, CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION 37.
THIS WAS FROM 2021, UH, RESOLUTION 37, AND THE REIMAGINED, UH, POLICE ACADEMY BLUEPRINT.
SO ALL OF THE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES, ALL OF THESE AREAS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT ARE, ARE, ARE CONSISTENT.
WE HAVE, UM, IN, IN LOOKING AT THIS, UH, WE'VE SCHEDULED MEETINGS EVERY OTHER WEEK WITH ACADEMY LEADERSHIP TO ADDRESS THE ITEMS RELATED TO THE, UH, PRIORITY AUDIT DOMAINS AND, AND OTHER ISSUES OF IMPORTANCE, WHICH ARE LISTED HERE.
UM, INCLUDE, SO IN ADDITION TO THE AUDIT PROTOCOL GUIDELINES AND DOMAIN TOPICS, MANY OF WHICH I JUST TALKED ABOUT IN THE, IN THE AUDIT, IT, UH, REVIEW, WE'LL BE LOOKING AT THEM FROM A LONG-TERM PROCESS ASSESSMENT STAGE, AS WELL AS LOOKING AT WHERE THEY ARE ON DEVELOPING THE ACTIVE BYSTANDER FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT TRAINING COURSE, WHICH IS PEER INTERVENTION COURSE.
UM, HOW EFFECTIVELY THEY'RE IMPLEMENTING CONCEPTS OF PROCEDURAL JUSTICE, UM, THROUGHOUT THE TRAINING, UH, HOW EFFECTIVE THEY'RE IMPLEMENTING, UH, OR LOOKING AT COGNITIVE DECISION MAKING AND EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE SKILLS AMONG CADETS, UH, TRAUMA-INFORMED TRAINING.
WE'LL CONTINUE TO LOOK AT PHYSICAL FITNESS AND HEALTH AND WELLNESS TRAINING.
UH, WE'RE LOOKING AT THE FIELD TRAINING OFFICER PROGRAM TO ENSURE, UH, AND MAKE SURE THE PROCESSES AND SOPS ARE IN PLACE TO ENSURE CONSISTENCY AMONG WHAT CADETS LEARN AT THE ACADEMY AND WHAT THEY THEN LEARNED, UM, UH, AS PROBATIONARY OFFICERS WHEN THEY'RE OUT ON THE STREET WORKING WITH AN F T O.
UM, AND THEN WE'RE CONTINUING TO LOOK AT CONTINUING EDUCATION FOR ACTIVE PERSONNEL AND, UH, AND, AND, UH, AND FOCUS ON THE, THE ACADEMY VIDEO LIBRARY AND SEEING WHERE, WHAT THE ROADBLOCKS AND OBSTACLES ARE TO DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE VIDEO LIBRARY AND, AND INTERNAL REVIEW PROCESS.
UM, SO WE'LL BE E EXPECT TO REPORT OUT ON, ON THIS, UH, AT THE END OF, BASICALLY THE END OF THE YEAR.
UM, MIDDLE OF DECEMBER IS I THINK, OUR GOAL FOR TRYING TO GET THAT REPORT OUT.
UM, AND WITH THAT, UM, UH, WE CAN, WE'RE WILLING TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS, ANYBODY ON THE COMMITTEE HAVE QUESTIONS AT THIS POINT.
AND THEN I'M GONNA GO TO COUNCIL MEMBERS THAT AREN'T ON THE COMMITTEE.
DO YOU WANT, LET ME, I WAS GONNA CHECK FIRST WITH THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
I WAS JUST WONDERING IF THERE WAS ANOTHER PART OF THE PRESENTATION.
WELL, I, YOU WANT TO ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS PART OR NOT? I, I'VE GOT A COUPLE QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS PART, BUT I'LL, I'LL BE HAPPY TO DEFER IF SOMEBODY, IF WE WANNA WAIT, DO YOU HAVE MORE TO THE PRESENTATION OR ARE WE ARGUING ABOUT SOMETHING THAT DOESN'T MATTER.
NO, THEY ACTUALLY, THIS IS THE END OF THE PRESENTATION.
UH, THE NEXT SLIDE WOULD'VE JUST BEEN A QUESTION SLIDE, SO.
UM, SO, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER, DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS? I'M NOT ON THE COMMITTEE, SO I'LL GO AFTER THIS.
WELL, THE COMMITTEE AHEAD AND RAISE THEIR HANDS.
SO I'M TRYING TO GIVE YOU A CHANCE TO ASK SOME QUESTIONS.
UM, SO I APPRECIATE ALL THE WORK THAT YOU HAVE DONE, UM, MR. S AND MR. LINSKY AND MR. BROWN, UM, WE'VE HAD THESE CONVERSATIONS ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS, AND I, AND I DO WANNA SAY THAT I, I VERY MUCH APPRECIATE THE PROFESSIONALISM AND THE CARE AND THE THOROUGHNESS OF THE WAY THAT YOU APPROACH YOUR WORK.
AND I THINK YOU HAVE PROVIDED US WITH VERY CLEAR ROADMAPS OVER THE YEARS.
UM, SO I HAVE A QUESTION FOR YOU, AND THEN, UM, I DO HAVE QUESTIONS FOR OUR STAFF, BUT I'M NOT SURE IF THAT'S, THIS IS THE APPROPRIATE TIME, WHICH IS WHY I WAS ASKING BEFORE.
UM, SO FOR, FOR KRO, FIRST YOU CREATED THE INTERNAL AUDIT PROTOCOL.
UM, AND ACCORDING TO THAT PROCESS, WHEN SHOULD WE HAVE BEGUN RECEIVING THOSE REPORTS? YOU DELIVERED THAT IN MARCH OF 22? YEAH, I, I THINK OUR INTENT WAS AT THE TIME THAT, UH, THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT A P D WOULD ADOPT AND WORK ON, AND, AND THEY WOULD REPORT OUT TO COUNSEL EVERY, EVERY, WITHIN 30 DAYS OF EACH CADET CLASS.
SO THOSE GUIDELINES, OF COURSE, WERE DEVELOPED AT THE END OF THE HUNDRED 44TH.
UM, SO THEORETICALLY, UM, A P D SHOULD HAVE REPORTED OUT ON, ON IT AFTER THE HUNDRED 45TH AND, UH, AND ANY FUTURE CADET CLASSES.
UM, HOPEFULLY AT LEAST THE PROCESS IN SOME RESPECTS, THE AUDIT WE'RE CURRENTLY AUDIT AND ASSESSMENT WE'RE DOING NOW,
[00:40:01]
UM, TO SOME EXTENT, OUR REPORT OUT IN, IN SEPTEMBER, UH, I PRESUME WILL BE KIND OF AN EQUIVALENT TO WHATEVER, AND MAYBE EVEN MORE EXTENSIVE THAN WHAT YOU WOULD GET FROM, FROM A P D ON THAT.BUT I'M NOT SURE I, I, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW FOR A FACT THAT THEY'VE ACTUALLY REPORTED OUT TO YOU ON IT.
I THINK IT'S OUR UNDERSTANDING THEY HAVE NOT TO DATE.
UM, AND THE HOPE WOULD BE THAT AT LEAST STARTING WITH THE HUNDRED 49TH CADET CLASS, UH, THAT THEY WILL CONTINUE, THEY WILL DO SO.
SO, UM, ASSISTANT CHIEF STAN, AND I DON'T KNOW HOW TO PRONOUNCE THE FULL NAME, SO I'M GONNA GO WITH STAN, IF THAT'S OKAY.
UM, I WAS JUST WONDERING, I, I DON'T RECALL SEEING THESE REPORTS.
HAVE WE RECEIVED ANY OF THESE REPORTS? AND IF NOT, WHY NOT? I, I DON'T BELIEVE WE'VE MADE THE, UH, REPORT OUT YET.
I KNOW THERE WAS, UH, ORIGINALLY, UH, KROLL WAS PLANNED TO COME BACK FOR THE ONE 45TH, AND THEN WHERE WE'RE GONNA INCORPORATE THE REPORT OUT TO WITH THE, WITH THEIR, UH, AUDIT OF THE ONE 45TH.
AND DO YOU REMEMBER WHERE WE WENT WITH THE 1 46 AND ONE 40, AND CURRENTLY ON THE ONE 48TH? SO ONE OF THE CLASSES THAT WE'VE HAD IS TOPS CLASS IN THE MEANTIME.
SO, UM, UM, I WAS JUST GONNA QUICKLY SAY THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE WORKING WITH KROLL FOR, UM, THEIR NEXT SCOPE OF WORK, WHERE THE INTERNAL AUDIT PROTOCOL IS ONE THAT WE'RE GONNA WORK ON DEVELOPING.
UM, AS YOU KNOW, WE LIKE TO REPORT OUT TO COUNCIL, AND SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE DO OUR DUE DILIGENCE IN THE FUTURE.
UM, BUT CURRENTLY WE HAVEN'T REPORTED BACK.
WE HAVEN'T REPORTED OUT FOR PREVIOUS CLASSES.
UM, YOU KNOW, I, I WILL SPEAK FOR MYSELF, BUT I VALUE THESE REPORTS.
THIS IS WHAT HELPS US TO UNDERSTAND IF WE'RE ON TRACK.
AND THESE REPORTS ARE REALLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE I CARE ABOUT THE PRODUCT THAT YOU ALL ARE WORKING ON.
AND I KNOW WE HAVE SOME FOLKS FROM THE ACADEMY WHO ARE HERE.
AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, AS WE, UM, WE CALIBRATE AND WE MOVE FORWARD WITH, UM, YOU KNOW, RESETTING THE TONE AND, AND, AND THINKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF POLICING IN AUSTIN? HOW WE TRAIN, HOW WE TREAT OUR CADETS LIKE ADULTS IN THIS, UM, ACADEMY.
SO THEY'RE DOING ADULT LEARNING, WHETHER WE HAVE THE DEESCALATION, WHETHER WE HAVE THE COMMUNITY ASPECTS.
WE HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE HOST OF THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN, YOU KNOW, VERY CLEARLY LAID OUT THAT WE'RE TRYING TO SEE IN THIS, IN ORDER FOR US TO KNOW AND FOR ORDER FOR THE COMMUNITY TO KNOW AND TO TRUST THAT WE'RE, WE'RE MOVING FORWARD.
A LOT OF EFFORT WAS PUT INTO THAT PROTOCOL.
UM, WE HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, VERY STRONG PROFESSIONALS WHO'VE BEEN LAYING OUT THESE ROADMAPS.
AND IT IS OUR EXPECTATION THAT WE ARE GOING TO BE FOLLOWING THOSE ROADMAPS AND IMPLEMENTING.
AND IF THERE'S A PROBLEM FOR IMPLEMENTATION AND YOU NEED RESOURCES, CUZ YOU CAN'T HIRE THE EXPERTS WHO ARE OUTSIDE OR THERE'S A STAFFING CHALLENGE BECAUSE THE CHIEF KEEPS SENDING YOUR PEOPLE OUT INTO THE FIELD, WE KNOW WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO SURFACE THOSE AND RESOLVE THOSE ISSUES SO THAT YOU AND THE ACADEMY CAN FOCUS ON THE TASK THAT WE'VE GIVEN YOU.
WHICH I, FOR ONE, THINK IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS WE CAN DO FOR OUR POLICE ACADEMY MOVING FORWARD, IS THE IMPORTANCE OF THAT TRAINING.
SO IT SOUNDS LIKE WE'RE GONNA GET A PAROLE REPORT ON THE ONE 48TH, BUT, YOU KNOW, AFTER THE, WE, WE CAN'T, WE CAN'T KEEP HAVING KRO THERE FOREVER.
UM, WE NEED TO HAVE CONFIDENCE THAT IT, THAT IT'S COMING, COMING BACK.
UM, SO FOR KROLL, WHAT DO YOU SEE ARE THE BIGGEST OBSTACLES TO US ACHIEVING OUR GOALS? UM, FOR THE ACADEMY IN GENERAL? I WOULD SAY SOME OF THAT IS, UM, STILL WORKING ON THE CULTURE ISSUES WHERE CHANGE COME SLOWLY.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE HAD ACCEPTANCE FROM LEADERSHIP, UH, ON WHAT THE GOALS THAT ARE AND RESPONSIBILITIES ARE, AND IT'S BEEN SOME TENSION ON JUST HOW TO GET THAT IMPLEMENTED WITH STAFF.
UM, THERE'S DEFINITELY WAS TENSION, AND I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S STATUTORILY, UH, THAT THAT PULLS INTO IT AS WELL BETWEEN THE CIVILIAN AND SWORN ASPECT OF, UH, THE, UH, DIVISION COMMANDER, UM, CIVILIAN DIVISION COMMANDER, UH, TRYING TO GET, UH, THE PROCESS MOVING FORWARD FOR GETTING THE CURRICULUM CHANGED, GETTING PEOPLE TO BUY IN.
AND THERE'S SOME, YOU KNOW, OUTSIDE PUSHBACK ON BRINGING IN OUTSIDE VOICES.
UH, ALTHOUGH THERE'S BEEN SOME RECOMMENDATIONS MADE AND SOME GOOD, GOOD, ABSOLUTELY GREAT, UM, PEOPLE COMING INTO THE ACADEMY AND SPEAKING, WE CERTAINLY THINK THEY COULD BE MORE OF THAT AND THAT THAT SHOULD BE IMPLEMENTED FURTHER, UH, AS, AS, AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE.
[00:45:01]
AND I WOULD JUST ADD TO WHAT DAN SAID.UM, I I THINK THAT'S ACTUALLY A GOOD PART OF THE LONG-TERM ASSESSMENT AND THE REASON FOR THIS CURRENT SCOPE OF WORK, WHICH IS TO HELP, UH, A P D ACTUALLY HAVE THE PROCESSES IN PLACE IN WRITING, WHETHER IN THE FORM OF, YOU KNOW, SOPS OR JUST OTHER WRITTEN PROCESSES THAT REQUIRE THEM FOR EVERY DEBT CLASS TO CONSIDER, UH, THE IMPORTANT CRITERIA AND FACTORS THAT WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO FOCUS ON THESE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS.
UM, SO IF THEY DO IN FACT CAN IMPLEMENT AND START REPORTING OUT ON A, A SET OF AUDIT DOMAINS AND GUIDELINES THAT THEY CAN INTERNALLY REVIEW AND EVALUATE EVERY DECK CLASS, AND THEY HAVE PROCESSES IN PLACE TO ASSURE THAT AT THE START OF EACH CADET CLASS, THEY'RE, THEY'RE, THEY'RE, UH, ACTUALLY, UM, LOOKING AT AND FOCUSING ON, UH, THESE ISSUES THAT ARE SET FORTH IN THOSE PROCESSES, I THINK THAT WILL GO A LONG WAY TO, UH, ENSURE THE SUSTAINABILITY OF THESE MEASURES GOING FORWARD.
AND I THINK, UM, SO I THINK THE CURRENT SCOPE OF WORK IS REALLY DESIGNED TO ADDRESS THAT.
AND HOPEFULLY, UM, BY THE END OF THIS YEAR WHEN WE, WHEN WE HAVE OUR, THE, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO HAVE THESE DISCUSSIONS AND LOOK AT EVERY, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THE DOMAIN TOPICS AND DEVELOP PROCESSES, WORK WITH STAFF TO DEVELOP PROCESSES THAT THAT'S ACCEPTABLE TO THEM AND, AND WORKABLE, I THINK, I THINK IT'LL GO A LONG WAY.
AND I HAVE A, A FEW STEPS THAT WE'LL BE TAKING, UM, THROUGHOUT THE REST OF THE YEAR TO ACCOMPLISH A LOT OF THESE YEAH.
BUT I DIDN'T WANT TO INTERRUPT YOU, MAYOR, IF YOU, WELL, APPARENTLY I, WHAT I'M TRYING TO DO IS GET THE FULL REPORT FROM CROW OUT AND THEN I WAS GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO Y'ALL TO, TO GIVE A REPORT TOO.
SO IF YOU DON'T MIND, HANG ON, LET'S MAKE SURE EVERYBODY'S GOT THEIR QUESTIONS ASKED OF KROLL, AND THEN WE'LL, WE'LL TURN IT OVER TO YOU.
DOES ANYBODY ELSE HAVE A QUE COUNCIL MEMBER? ALTAR? ARE YOU FINISHED? UM, MY, MY QUESTIONS FROM NOW ARE PROBABLY FOR STAFF, SO THANK YOU.
ANYBODY ELSE GOT QUESTIONS? I WANNA MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND YOU'VE NOW TWICE, AT LEAST ACCORDING TO MY MEMORY AND THE WAY I'VE TAKEN NOTES, AND I'VE HEARD THIS SAID BEFORE, BUT WHEN YOU ANSWERED, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER'S QUESTION ABOUT HOW, WHAT, WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN, YOU MENTIONED CULTURE AND YOU MENTIONED TENSION WITH STAFF.
YOU ALSO HAVE MENTIONED EXTERNAL TEACHING.
UH, I GUESS WHAT I WANT TO MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND IS WHO IS IT THAT YOU'RE REFERRING TO? I DON'T NEED NAMES, BUT, UM, WHO IS IT YOU'RE REFERRING TO WHEN YOU SAY THAT THERE'S TENSION WITH THE STAFF, INCLUDING TENSION AS IT RELATES TO EXTERNAL TEACHING? I WOULD SAY FRONTLINE INSTRUCTORS IN THE ACADEMY, SIR.
UM, HAS THERE, WHAT HAS BEEN OFFERED, IF ANYTHING, TO TRY TO CHANGE THAT OTHER THAN JUST LETTING IT CONTINUE YOU? UM, WE, WE'VE HOSTED CONVERSATIONS AND DISCUSSIONS AND, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE PUSHBACK WAS, YOU KNOW, THESE CADETS CURRENTLY AREN'T GETTING TRAINED THE WAY THAT THE OLD CADETS WERE, AND THEY'RE NOT AS EFFECTIVELY PREPARED FOR THE STREET.
AND THEN WE SAY, OKAY, WELL, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS IT THAT THEY HAVEN'T GOT? AND THEY SAY, WELL, YOU KNOW, THEY DIDN'T GET THE TRAINING, THE REGULAR TRAINING.
AND IN FACT, WHEN WE SHOW THEM AND SIT DOWN WITH THEM, THEY, THEY GOT ALL OF THE REGULAR TRAINING, UH, AND IN FACT ADDITIONAL TRAINING, ADDITIONAL DEESCALATION TRAINING, THEY GOT ADDITIONAL PHYSICAL FITNESS, ADDITIONAL, UM, PT, ADDITIONAL USE OF FORCE TRAINING, UH, AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST NOT ACCURATE THAT THAT'S THE CASE, BUT YET THAT, UH, PERCEPTION SEEMS TO PROCEED.
UH, SOME OF, AND I'M NOT MAKING SURE I'M CLEAR, NOT ALL INSTRUCTORS, SOME OF THE INSTRUCTORS STILL FEEL LIKE THAT, YOU KNOW, CHANGING THE CURRICULUM THE WAY THEY HAVE, UH, HAS IMPACTED THIS, YOU KNOW, THE WAY IN WHICH CADETS ARE ABLE TO SERVE ON THE CITY STREETS, AND WE DON'T THINK THAT'S THE CASE.
WE PUSHED BACK AND SAID, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE, YOU'RE, IF, IF YOU, YOU HAVEN'T PREPARED THEM FOR THE STREET, THEN THAT'S, YOU KNOW, FAILURE ON YOUR PART, RIGHT? BUT THE CURRICULUM IS THE SAME CURRICULUM THAT'S BEEN TAUGHT AND, AND IT'S ENHANCED.
THEY'RE ACTUALLY GETTING MORE TRAINING.
SO WE, WE DISAGREE WITH THAT ASSESSMENT, BUT YET THAT THOUGHT HAS CONTINUED TO, UM, EARN A LITTLE BIT.
UM, AND WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WORKING WITH LEADERSHIP AT THE ACADEMY HOW TO, HOW TO WE CHANGE THAT, HOW DO WE, YOU KNOW, GIVE THEM INFORMATION TRAINING, UM, SUPPORT SO THAT THEY CAN, YOU KNOW, SEE THAT THERE IS A POSSIBILITY TO DO THINGS A DIFFERENT WAY AND IT'S, IT'S STILL GOOD.
FROM POLICE ORGANIZATIONS, THE CHANGE IS HARD.
POLICE OFFICERS DO NOT LIKE CHANGE, AND THEY ALSO DO NOT LIKE THINGS THE WAY THEY ARE.
SO, UM, SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE WILL FIND HOPEFULLY SOME GUIDANCE TO HELP 'EM GET,
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GET WHERE THEY WANNA GO.YOU HAD ALSO MENTIONED THAT, UH, REPLACING DR.
KRING AND YOU DON'T, YOU'RE NOT SURE WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN THERE AND WE'LL, WE'LL, WE'LL FIND OUT ABOUT THAT.
BUT THE, THE OTHER THING YOU SAID IS THAT THERE'S NOT FULL ACCEPTANCE OF THAT POSITION.
CAN YOU EXPAND ON THAT? YEAH, THAT, THAT'S CORRECT.
UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN IT WAS DESIGNED, IT, IT WAS THOUGHT TO BE THAT THERE WOULD BE KIND OF CO-LEADERSHIP OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, UH, BECAUSE OF WHAT WE UNDERSTAND SOME TEXTED STATUTES AND, AND SOME, UM, THINGS THAT STAND IN THE WAY OF THAT.
K CRINGE WOULD BE ASKING FOR INFORMATION AND, UH, TRYING TO GET SOME CURRICULUM PROCESSES DONE AND, YOU KNOW, RECEIVE PUSHBACK FROM SUPERVISORS SAYING THAT THEY DON'T REPORT TO DR.
AND, YOU KNOW, THEY, UM, SHE NEEDED TO GO TO THE ACADEMY COMMANDER TO ASK THOSE TYPES OF QUESTIONS AND TO, UH, TO GET THAT INFORMATION AND THEN, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER REASON THAT EXISTS, THAT'S JUST NOT A GOOD WAY TO FUNCTION.
AND, AND I THINK IT'S BEEN IMPACTFUL IN TRYING TO CHANGE SOME OF THE THINGS, UM, THAT WE'RE TRYING TO CHANGE THERE.
UH, AND I THINK THOSE TENSIONS HAVE EXISTED, UM, THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS.
THEY HAVE BEEN ADAPTATIONS TO IT AND TRYING TO CHANGE THE ROLE AND, UH, CODIFY EXACTLY WHAT IT IS.
BUT, UH, IT SEEMS, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A RESISTANCE TO HAVE SWORN POLICE OFFICERS LISTEN TO CIVILIANS WHO, UM, THEY FEEL DON'T HAVE THE SAME EXPERIENCE.
THEY HAVE THIS SWORN, UH, EVEN THOUGH DR.
CRINGE HAS BOTH SWORN LAW ENFORCEMENT EXPERIENCE AND HER ACADEMIC CENTERS AS WELL.
IF I, IF I COULD JUST ADD ONE THING TO WHAT DAN SAID.
UM, WE DID ADDRESS THIS ISSUE BACK IN OUR INDEPENDENT EVALUATION REPORT.
IT WAS ACTUALLY A SIGNIFICANT ISSUE, UH, AND WE REPORTED ON IT IN FEBRUARY OF 2022.
UM, IN RESPONSE TO OUR CONCERNS THAT WERE RAISED DURING THAT EVALUATION, UM, ACADEMY ACTUALLY, AND, AND CHIEF CHACON SIGNED, UH, ULTIMATELY SIGNED RIGHT BEFORE OUR REPORT WAS ISSUED, UH, A REVISED SET OF STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES ON THE DIVISION MANAGER AND TRAINING SUPERVISOR POSITIONS TO MAKE SURE, TO MAKE CLEAR THAT ESSENTIALLY, UM, THE AUTHORITY OF THE DIVISION MANAGER WHAT ON ISSUES OF CURRICULUM REVIEW AND, UM, YOU KNOW, ADULT LEARNING CONCEPTS AND, AND ALL OF THE THINGS THAT TAKE PLACE ACADEMICALLY AT THE, AT THE TRAINING ACADEMY.
UM, THAT, THAT POSITION, UH, HAD THE AUTHORITY, THE EQUIVALENT OF COMMANDER AUTHORITY, AND THAT BASICALLY ANY VIOLATION OF A REQUEST, UH, FROM THAT POSITION WOULD BE A VIOLATION OF THE S O P AND ESSENTIALLY A VIOLATION OF THE CHIEF'S ORDER.
SO, BUT WHAT WE FOUND OUT AND WHAT WE'VE BEEN FINDING OUT NOW IS THAT EFFECTIVELY WAS NEVER ENFORCED.
THAT S O P REALLY HAS NEVER BEEN ENFORCED, AND IT DOESN'T APPEAR THAT THERE'S REALLY BEEN ANY PROGRESS MADE ON THAT.
AND THIS CONTINUED FRICTION THAT DAN TALKED ABOUT BETWEEN CIVILIAN AND SWORN, UM, WE FOUND THAT THAT WAS CLEARLY STILL IN PLACE WHEN WE WERE DOWN THERE IN MAY AND TALKED TO A LOT OF, UH, FOLKS AT THE ACADEMY ABOUT IT.
ANYBODY HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS BEFORE WE GO TO, UM, YES.
UM, AND THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE.
I'M WONDERING IF YOU HAD ANY OTHER SUGGESTIONS ON HOW THAT MIGHT BE ABLE TO BE ENFORCED SO THAT WE CAN CORRECT THAT PROBLEM OVER AT THE ACADEMY? WELL, I DON'T KNOW THE PARTICULAR LEGAL ISSUES AND CONTRACTUAL ISSUES THAT THE DEPARTMENT IS STRUGGLING WITH.
UM, YOU KNOW, I, I HAD A SIMILAR SITUATION AT BOSTON POLICE, AND WHEN I HAD TENSION FROM A COMMANDER WHO DIDN'T WANT TO WORK AT THE DIRECTION OF A CIVILIAN LEADER, I MOVE THEM.
BUT I, I DON'T KNOW THE CONTRACTUAL ISSUES AND LEGAL ISSUES THAT A P D IS STRUGGLING WITH.
AND I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT THEY NEED TO LOOK AT, AT WHAT THEY'RE DOING INSIDE TO SEE IF THERE IS SOME CHALLENGES.
I'M TOLD THERE MAY BE SOME STATE STATUTE THAT IS, UH, DIFFERENT IN YOUR STATE THAN IN MASSACHUSETTS THAT COMPLICATES THE PROCESS.
LET'S GO TO, UH, UH, OUR, OUR STAFF AND, AND ASK YOU TO FEEL FREE TO MAKE A PRESENTATION.
UH, I'M ASSISTANT CHIEF JASON STANSKI.
I'M OVER TRAINING, RECRUITING, AND SPECIAL EVENTS.
UH, FIRST I WANT TO START BY THANKING KROLL AND THEIR TEAM FOR THE WORK THEY'VE DONE REGARDING THE REVIEW OF THE DEPARTMENT'S TRAINING AND RE AND REVIEW AND REFORM.
UH, I KNOW THAT WE'VE COME A LONG WAY, UH, TOWARD IMPLEMENTING THE RECOMMENDATIONS, BUT I ALSO RECOGNIZE AND KNOWLEDGE THAT THERE'S STILL MUCH MORE WORK TO BE DONE.
I ALSO WANT TO THANK THE DEDICATED MEMBERS OF THE TRAINING STAFF, INCLUDING THOSE THAT ARE ATTENDANCE TODAY.
THE CHIEF AND I RECOGNIZE THAT THEY'RE TRULY PASSIONATE AND COMMITTED TO MAKING THIS THE BEST POLICE DEPARTMENT IN THE COUNTRY TO, TO ENSURE DEVELOPMENT AND BETTER GUIDANCE ON AREAS WHERE WE CAN, WHEN WE HIT A ROADBLOCK.
A P D HAS REQUESTED REGULAR MEETINGS WITH KRO
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TO ASSIST US AS WE DEVELOP LONG-TERM INTERNAL PROCESSES RELATED TO THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS.STARTING NEXT WEEK, ON JUNE 20TH AND CONTINUING THROUGH THE END OF THE YEAR, TRAINING STAFF AND LEADERSHIP WILL BE MEETING WITH MEMBERS OF THE CRAWL TEAM TO DISCUSS THE PROCESS AND THE PRIORITY AUDIT DOMAINS, AS WELL AS THE AREAS THAT ARE MORE CHALLENGING FOR A P D, SUCH AS THE AREAS THAT WE'VE BEEN DISCUSSING TODAY IN THE AREAS THAT WE IDENTIFY AS CHALLENGING.
WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO WORKING WITH KRO, UM, AND APPLYING THEIR CONTINUED GUIDANCE ON HOW A P D CAN CONTINUE TO SEXUALLY MOVE FORWARD.
THE MEETINGS THAT I'VE JUST REFERENCED WILL BE BIWEEKLY.
THEY'LL TOTAL OF 13 MEETINGS, AND THEY'RE GONNA COVER 22 AREAS OF THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS.
THE FIRST FOUR MEETINGS WILL BE COVERED WILL BE REGARDING CO-FACILITATION OF INSTRUCTORS BETWEEN A P D FACILITY AND COMMUNITY SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS.
SO THIS WAS ONE OF THE, UH, ONGOING ISSUES THAT KRO WAS REFERENCING.
UM, WE HAVE INCREASED OUR, OUR BUDGET FOR EXTERNAL INSTRUCTORS.
UM, WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH SEVERAL, UM, IN THE PAST, AND WE CONTINUE TO, UH, WORK WITH MORE AS WE ARE DEVELOPING A PROCESS AND SELECTION FOR OUTSIDE, UH, SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS.
UH, WE'RE ALSO, THE NEXT MEETING AFTER THAT WILL BE IN REFERENCE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND COMMUNITY CONNECT.
AND DURING THAT MEETING, WE'RE GONNA ALSO TALK ABOUT THE ACADEMY, UM, INSTRUCTOR EVALUATIONS.
SO WE'RE GONNA MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE A PROCESS SET IN PLACE TO ACTUALLY REVIEW THE INSTRUCTORS, UM, TO SEE HOW THEY'RE PRESENTING THEIR COURSE CONTENT AND IF IT ALIGNS WITH THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND WHAT WE WANT THE INSTRUCTORS TO BE TEACHING.
OUR THIRD MEETING'S GONNA BE INCORPORATING, UH, THE INCORPORATION OF ADULT LEARNING AND ACTIVE LEARNING INTO THE ACADEMY AND THE COURSES, UM, AND THE PROGRESS ON THE PROFESSIONAL, UH, ADVISORY COMMITTEE, WHICH IS PART OF THE PACK AND THE CAC THAT WE ARE DEVELOPING TO REVIEW OUR CURRICULUM WITH THE OUTSIDE, UH, ENTITIES AND THE CIVILIANS.
UM, AND THEN OUR FOURTH MEETING BEFORE WE, WE RETURN HERE WILL BE ABOUT THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE TRAINING MANAGER, THE TRAINING SUPERVISOR AND THE TRAINING SPECIALIST.
UM, THOSE ARE ALL GOING TO BE, I'M GONNA BE IN EACH ONE OF THOSE MEETINGS ALONG WITH COMMANDER LYONS AND THE APPROPRIATE, UH, TRAINING STAFF, CIVILIAN ANN SWORN, WILL BE ATTENDING THESE MEETINGS.
UM, DURING THIS TIME, I WILL ALSO CONTINUE TO MEET WITH KRO ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, ARE IN LINE WITH, UH, OUR CURRENT PROCESS AND TO SEE IF KROLL HAS ANY INDIVIDUAL RECOMMENDATIONS THEY NEED TO MAKE TO EXECUTIVE STAFF ABOUT THE DIRECTION THAT THEY THINK MAY NOT BE OCCURRING OR MAY NOT BE OCCURRING FAST ENOUGH.
UM, EXECUTIVE AND COMMAND LEADERSHIP HAVE BEEN AND WILL CONTINUE TO BE HOLDING MANDATORY MEETINGS WITH ACADEMY'S SUPERVISION AND LEADERSHIP.
UM, WE RECENTLY HAD ONE OF THESE MEETINGS, AND THIS IS, WE WENT STRICTLY OVER THE PAROLE RECOMMENDATIONS, THE IMPORTANCE OF FOLLOWING THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS, WHY WE'RE DOING THESE RECOMMENDATIONS AND, AND THE CLEAR EXPECTATIONS OF GOING FORTH WITH WHAT THE SUPERVISORS AND LEADERSHIP AT THE ACADEMY SHOULD BE DOING.
UM, COMMANDER LYONS AND I ALSO MEET BIWEEKLY, UH, TO GO OVER PROGRESS AND MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE HITTING OUR MILESTONES.
UM, LIKE I SAID, I KNOW WE HAVE QUITE A BIT OF WORK LEFT TO DO, UH, AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO DEFINE THE PROCESS FOR CURRICULUM AND VIDEO REVIEW IMPLEMENTATION.
UM, AS FAR AS THE CURRICULUM REVIEW, UH, ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND THE, UH, RECENT, UH, AUDIT THAT THEY, THEY PERFORMED ON THE RACIAL PROFILING CLASS, UH, WE RECEIVED THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, ABOUT TWO WEEKS AGO.
UM, WE ARE WORKING ON PROVIDING A REPLY TO THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF, UH, THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS INTO THE NEXT RACIAL PROFILING CLASS, WHICH WILL BE IN JULY.
UM, AND ALSO BY THE END, WE WILL CONTINUE TO, UH, WORK ON THE PROCESS FOR THE PACK AND THE CAC, WHICH IS THE PROFESSIONAL, UH, ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COUNCIL THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT.
UM, I DO WANNA TALK ABOUT STAFFING.
I KNOW WE, WE'VE KIND OF MENTIONED THAT RECENTLY, UH, THE, WITHIN THE LAST YEAR, UM, WE HAVE ADDED AN ADDITIONAL LIEUTENANT OUT IN THE TRAINING ACADEMY AND TO CORPORAL AND DETECTIVE POSITIONS.
ONE OF THOSE DETECTIVE AND CORPORAL'S POSITIONS FOCUSES ON CADET TRAINING AND THE OTHER ONE IS ON CONTINUING EDUCATION.
SO WE HAVE ADDED, UH, THREE SWORN INDIVIDUALS.
UH, WE HAVE HIRED, UH, TWO FULL-TIME CIVILIANS, AN ORGANIZATIONAL MANAGER, UM, TO FOCUS ON IMPROVING PERFORMANCE AND PROCESSES AND
[01:00:01]
A TRAINING SPECIALIST.UH, WE ARE POSTING FOR A COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SPECIALIST AT THIS TIME, AND WE SHOULD HOPE TO HAVE THAT FILLED, UM, IN THE NEAR FUTURE.
I, I DO WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE HOW VALUABLE SHE'S BEEN THIS YEAR.
UM, SHE'S, UH, ADVANCED OUR ACADEMY GREATLY, UH, AND EVEN THOUGH SHE'S LEAVING AS A A FULL-TIME POSITION, SHE WILL BE WITH US FOR THE NEXT YEAR.
UM, ON A CONTRACTUAL BASIS, HER FOCUS WILL BE ON THE SCHEDULING OF THE CADET CLASSES THAT KRO HAS TALKED ABOUT.
UM, THE TESTING, CUZ WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THE TESTS WE ARE GIVING THE CADETS ARE VALID AND THE QUESTIONS ACTUALLY PERTAIN TO THE TRAINING.
AND THEY'RE A, A TRUE GAUGE OF IF THE CADETS ARE LEARNING.
UM, SHE'S ALSO GOING TO BE ASSISTING WITH PROCESSES FOR THE PACKING C UM, SHE'S GOING TO, UH, WORK ON THE EXTERNAL SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS THAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT, WHICH IS IDENTIFYING A PROCESS AND SELECTION.
AND SHE WILL CONTINUE TO WORK WITH, UH, COMMANDER LYONS ON THAT.
UH, IMPORTANTLY SHE'S GONNA BE WORKING WITH KROLL.
SO EVEN THOUGH SHE'S LEAVING OUR FULL-TIME POSITION, SHE'S GOING TO WORK ON THE PROCESSES IN COMMUNICATING WITH KROLL AND IDENTIFYING ALL THE AREAS THAT WE NEED TO MOVE FORWARD WITH.
UM, AND LASTLY, SHE'S GONNA ALSO ASSIST WITH THE ICA BRA, WHICH IS THE DEESCALATION PART.
UM, WE'RE, WE'RE GETTING A, UH, SIMULATOR AND WITH, WITH, UH, PRACTICALS AND SO MUCH AND SO FORTH.
SO SHE'LL STILL BE HERE, UM, WITH THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT.
AND LIKE I SAID, SHE WAS A VERY VALUED MEMBER OF THIS, UH, THIS TEAM.
AND, UH, WE ARE THANKFUL THAT SHE'S WILLING TO CONTINUE, UH, WITH THE AREAS THAT SHE'S HAD THE MOST IMPACT WITH US.
UM, MOVING FORWARD, WE TALKED ABOUT THE POSITION, UM, WE WILL BE POSTING, UH, AND WITH HAVING THE ADDITIONAL POSITION, THEY'RE GOING TO REALLY BE ABLE TO FOCUS ON THE DEVELOPING, ENHANCING AND IMPLEMENTING AND MANAGE OF THE FULL SCALE COMPLEX LEARNING MODELS TO ADDRESS A P D AND CIVILIAN NEEDS.
UM, THEY WILL BE ABLE TO ASSESS THE TRAINING AND PERFORMANCE ACROSS THE DEPARTMENT, UM, REVIEW AND REVISE EXISTING CURRICULUM, MONITOR AND EVALUATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TRAINING PROGRAMS AND STRATEGIES, AND THEN WORK COLLABORATIVELY WITH DE CAVITY PERSONNEL, UH, TO IDENTIFY AND IMPLEMENT PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS.
UM, LASTLY THAT THIS INDIVIDUAL WILL ENSURE THAT ALL COURSE CONTENT ALIGNS WITH CITY DIVERSITY AND BELONGING GOALS.
UH, WE HAVE, UH, THERE, THERE WAS MENTION OF, UH, SOME FRICTION BETWEEN SWORN AND NON-SWORN.
UH, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE ARE WORKING ON THAT IS, UH, PART OF THE CULTURE IN THE PAST.
UM, MY, UH, DIRECTION FROM DAY ONE, AS LONG AS WE'RE THE CHIEF IS THAT WE TREAT EVERYBODY WITH DIGNITY AND RESPECT.
UM, ANYTIME, UH, THAT DOES NOT HAPPEN, MY EXPECTATION IS THAT, THAT I'LL BE NOTIFIED.
UM, SO WE SHOULD, UH, HOPEFULLY BE ABLE TO REPORT OUT ON THE NEXT REPORTING, UM, ABOUT THE, ANY INSTANCES THAT OCCURRED AND, UH, CORRECTIVE ACTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN TAKEN.
ANYBODY HAVE QUESTIONS? COUNCILMAN MCC CADRE.
COUNCIL MEMBER ALLISON AL ALTER.
UM, HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN OVER THE ACADEMY NOW? UH, A LITTLE BIT.
UM, I, I APPRECIATE YOUR REMARKS AND, AND YOUR, YOUR LEANING INTO THESE NEXT STEPS AND, AND SHOWING UP FOR THESE MEETINGS AND BEING THERE.
I THINK YOUR PRESENCE REALLY MATTERS AND, AND HAVING THAT BUY-IN, UM, AT THAT ASSISTANT CHIEF LEVEL, IN ADDITION TO, UM, CHIEF CHACON WHO'S MADE IT CLEAR THAT THE ACADEMY IS A, A PRIORITY IN, IN MY CONVERSATIONS WITH HIM ANYWAY.
UM, SO YOU'VE BEEN THERE ABOUT A YEAR.
WHAT ARE THE TWO THINGS THAT HAVE GONE REALLY WELL IN THE ACADEMY IN THAT TIME PERIOD? UM, I WOULD SAY THE DEDICATION THAT OUR STAFF AND, AND OFFICERS AND DETECTIVES AND SUPERVISORS HAVE TOWARD, UH, MOVING THE DEPARTMENT FORWARD AND HELPING THE CADETS GET TO WHERE THEY'RE ACTUALLY AT.
AND WHAT HAVE BEEN SOME OF THE CHALLENGES, OBVIOUSLY SOME OF THE CHALLENGES, UM, THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT TODAY? UH, STAFFING CHALLENGES IS, IS A BIG PART.
UM, WITH TRYING TO, UH, HAVE MORE CLASSES, UH, WE'VE HAD TO, UH, INCREASE THE FREQUENCY OF OUR CLASSES.
UM, SO WHEN, WHEN I SAY INCREASE
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THE CLASS, IF WE HAVE A CLASS EVERY FOUR MONTHS, WHETHER THERE'S 30 PEOPLE IN THAT CLASS OR A HUNDRED PEOPLE IN THAT CLASS, THE INSTRUCTORS ARE, ARE PRESENT.SO THE MORE ACTUAL CADET CLASSES WE HAVE INCREASES THE NECESSITY OF THE TRAINING.
SO STAFFING, ALONG WITH THE STAFFING OF THE DEPARTMENT IS A, UH, MAJOR HURDLE THAT WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO GET OVER.
AND SO WHAT ARE YOUR HIGHEST PRIORITIES MOVING FORWARD? OUR HIGHEST PRIORITIES IS, UH, I, I BELIEVE RIGHT NOW IS THE CURRICULUM REFORM AND SETTING UP A PROCESS THAT WILL ALLOW US TO, UM, REVIEW CURRICULUM AND MAKE SURE IT'S THE BEST PRACTICE.
AND, UM, SETTING UP A PROCESS WHERE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ALWAYS GONNA BE LOOKING AT OUR CURRICULUM AND HOW WE DO THINGS AND NEVER LOSE SIGHT THAT WE CAN ALWAYS DO SOMETHING BETTER.
SO WE'VE TALKED A LOT ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THERO REPORTS.
WE HAVE VERY CLEAR BLUEPRINTS, YOU KNOW, TO FOLLOW.
UH, WE WERE SUPPOSED TO HAVE AN AUDIT PROTOCOL THAT WE WERE SUPPOSED TO GET REPORTS OUT.
HOW WILL I, AS A COUNCIL MEMBER, OTHER THAN THE REPORT COMING OUT FROM KROLL ON DECEMBER, HOW WILL I KNOW THAT YOU MOVING FORWARD AND IMPLEMENTING THESE CHANGES? WELL, WE'LL BE REPORTING OUT, UH, FOR SURE ON THE AUDITS.
AND IF YOU CERTAINLY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
UM, I KNOW WE'VE MET IN THE PAST, AND DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS IN THE FUTURE? I'M CERTAINLY AVAILABLE, UH, TO BE FACE TO FACE OR EMAIL AND, UH, WE'LL, I'LL BE ABLE TO ADDRESS ANY OF YOUR CONCERNS.
AND THEN, YOU KNOW, WE'RE COMING UP ON BUDGET.
UM, WHAT RESOURCES DO YOU NEED TO BE SUCCESSFUL, UM, IN MOVING FORWARD IN THE, IN THE DIRECTION THAT'S BEEN OUTLINED TODAY, WHETHER IT'S FINANCIAL OR OTHERWISE? UM, MORE IF WE, IF WE CAN FUND THE CIVILIAN POSITIONS THAT WE HAVE.
I THINK WE HAVE IT ONE IN TEMPORARY RIGHT NOW.
UM, BUT LUCKILY WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO GET A LOT OF THE ITEMS THAT WE'VE BEEN LOOKING AT.
UM, A BIG ONE, OF COURSE IS A FACILITIES THAT KOHL'S TALKING ABOUT SINCE WE SHARE IT WITH EMS AND AFD.
UH, WE, I MEAN, JUST AN EXAMPLE, WE HAVE ONE GYM AMONG ALL THREE ENTITIES, AND WHEN WE'RE TRYING TO RUN SO MANY CADET CLASSES THROUGH SOMETIMES THE SCHEDULING CONFLICT FOR THE GYM, SO I KNOW WE'RE HAVE BEEN LOOKING AT, UH, ADDING A FACILITY OUT THERE.
UM, AN EMPHASIS ON GROWING PUBLIC SAFETY FACILITY OUT THERE IS, IS A, IS A BIG ONE.
SO ON THAT ITEM, I THINK I'VE MENTIONED THIS TO YOU BEFORE, YOU KNOW, PUTTING A FACILITY IS GONNA TAKE TIME.
UM, WITH SPACE, IF YOU CAN HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS AND GET WITH THE RIGHT, THE RIGHT FOLKS TO DO THAT, UM, WITHOUT EVEN BUILDING POTENTIALLY THE FACILITY.
UM, SO I HOPE THAT YOU'LL HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS, UM, BECAUSE THERE'S PLENTY OF SPACE IN THESE OTHER ORGANIZATIONS, UM, TO DO THE WORK.
WE HAVE BEEN EXPLORING THAT FOR THE MEANTIME, ESPECIALLY WITH THE CONTINUING EDUCATION CLASSES AND THE CADET CLASSES AND THE TOPS CLASSES.
SO WE, AND I APPRECIATE THE INFORMATION ON THAT.
AND THE, UM, SUPPORT, AND I BELIEVE WE DID COMMUNITY CONNECT AT ACC THIS THIS YEAR.
UM, SO WE WERE ABLE TO HAVE THE CURRENT CADET CLASS, UH, AT A TOTALLY SEPARATE FACILITY DURING THEIR FIRST WEEK TO CONCENTRATE ON THE COMMUNITY CONNECT PORTION.
I'M GLAD THAT THAT WORKED OUT.
UM, FOR ICAD, I UNDERSTAND THAT AT ONE POINT WE WEREN'T DOING THE FULL ICAD IMPLEMENTATION AND THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE THE SIMULATION PORTION.
ARE WE NOW DOING THE SIMULATION PORTION OF THAT ICAD, WHICH IS THE DEESCALATION TRAINING? I, I CAN LET, UH, DR.
YEAH, WE ARE, UM, DOING THE SCENARIOS.
UM, WE HAVE A NEW LIEUTENANT, UM, OVER ADVANCED EDUCATION AND SHE'S BEEN REALLY SPEARHEADING THAT EFFORT AS WELL, UM, WITH COMMANDER LYONS.
UM, AND SO I BELIEVE THAT IT'S GONNA ACTUALLY TURN INTO A 16 HOUR TRAINING, UM, WHERE BEFORE FOR CADETS, UM, IT WAS 12 HOURS, BUT FOR IN-SERVICE IT WAS EIGHT.
SO, UM, THEY WILL BE RUNNING THOSE SCENARIOS, WHICH ARE CURRENTLY, UM, UH, IN WITH INDIVIDUALS.
UM, AND THEN WE ARE GOING TO GET THE, UM, SIMULATOR FOR THE GRANT AND WE'RE GONNA BE WORKING THROUGH, UM, UTILIZING THE SIMULATOR FOR DEESCALATION SCENARIOS.
AND CHIEF STAN, YOU MAY RECALL THAT WHEN WE HAVE, WE'RE HAVING THE CONVERSATION OVER THE CONTRACT IN FEBRUARY, SO I, I RAISED THE ISSUE THAT I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERY OFFICER WAS TRAINED IN ICAD AND ABLE, AND, AND I HOPE THAT WE'RE STILL WORKING ABSOLUTELY TOWARDS THAT.
WE, WE ARE MOVING FORWARD WITH ABEL AND ICAP FOR THE ENTIRE DEPARTMENT.
FROM THE CHIEF ALL THE WAY DOWN TO, UH, UH, CADETS.
AND YOU MENTIONED EARLIER, I THINK CARL MENTIONED THAT THERE WAS ABOUT WHAT, A 40% ATTRITION RATE OF THE CURRENT CLASS.
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HAVE A SENSE OF WHAT'S CAUSING THAT? UM, YEAH.UH, UNFORTUNATELY THAT IS CORRECT ON, ON THIS CLASS.
SOMETIMES IT, IT, IT COMES IN WAVES.
BUT FOR MOST OF THE EXIT INTERVIEWS THAT WE, WE, UH, PERFORM ON THE CADETS, UH, IT, MOST OF 'EM LIST AS PERSONAL UH, REASONS.
AND THEY REALIZED THAT DURING THE, UM, CADET TRAINING THAT THIS MIGHT NOT BE FOR THEM IN THEIR LINE OF LINE OF WORK.
UM, AND, AND THAT'S KIND OF WHERE WE'RE AT ON THAT.
THE ATTRITION RATE IS, UH, ON THIS PARTICULAR CLASS IS, IS, UH, CONCERN FOR US.
WELL, I HOPE THROUGH THE PROCESS WITH KROLL THAT WE'LL, WE'LL HEAR MORE ABOUT THAT AND GET SOME MORE IDEAS OF HOW TO AVOID THAT.
AND THEN, UM, FINALLY, WANNA THANK DR.
CRING CRINGE FOR, UM, ALL OF HER, HER INCREDIBLE WORK AND LEADERSHIP AND GUIDANCE, UM, THROUGH HER TIME AS DIRECTOR OF THE ACADEMY.
I KNOW IT HAS NOT BEEN AN EASY CHALLENGE THAT WE'VE PUT FORWARD TO YOU OR TO THE REST OF THE ACADEMY STAFF, AND WE REALLY DO APPRECIATE YOUR WORK.
KRAMDEN IS ONE OF MY CONSTITUENTS.
SO I ALSO WANNA BE, UM, ESPECIALLY THANKFUL FOR HER FOR, FOR HER WORK AND, AND RECOGNIZE THAT.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, FOR THE FOLKS WHO ARE HERE FROM THE ACADEMY, THIS WORK IS REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT.
IT IS, YOU KNOW, GOING TO DETERMINE THE FUTURE OF OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH OUR COMMUNITY, UM, AND THE WORK AND THE TIME THAT YOU PUT INTO THOSE LESSONS AND, AND, UM, RETHINKING HOW WE ARE PRESENTING THOSE SO THAT FOLKS CAN LEARN THEM IN A MORE EFFECTIVE WAY AND IN A WAY THAT ALLOWS A BIAS TOWARDS DEESCALATION AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE COMMUNITY AND IS TRAUMA INFORMED IS REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT TO THE COMMUNITY.
AND IT IS ACROSS THE SPECTRUM, NO MATTER WHAT ONE'S VIEWS ARE OF LAW ENFORCEMENT.
YOU KNOW, WHEN I HAVE CONVERSATIONS OUT IN MY COMMUNITY ABOUT THE FUTURE OF OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT, PEOPLE CARE ABOUT THE ACADEMY AND THEY SAY WE WANNA HAVE THE BEST TRAINED POLICE OFFICERS AND IT MATTERS, UM, TO US AS A COMMUNITY.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, AS YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT YOUR WORK AND THE CHALLENGES AND THE, THE DIFFICULTIES OF IMPLEMENTING THE COAL, UM, AND, AND, AND THE CHANGE THAT YOU'RE DEALING WITH, YOU ARE ON THE FOREFRONT OF THE FUTURE OF OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY AND THE ACADEMY AND THOSE ACADEMY FORUMS IS HOW WE MOVE FORWARD, UM, AS A COMMUNITY, UM, SO THAT EVERYONE FEELS SAFE IN OUR COMMUNITY.
AND SO I JUST REALLY WANNA UNDERSCORE THAT CHIEF, YOU HAVE A BIG TASK AHEAD OF YOU, ESPECIALLY WITH DR.
CRANE LEAVING, AND, AND, AND I HOPE THAT WE CAN VERY SERIOUSLY IMPLEMENT, UM, THESE CROW RECOMMENDATIONS.
OTHER QUESTIONS? COUNCILMAN VELA? I THINK THAT WAS VERY WELL SAID.
UH, I WOULD JUST ECHO THE SENTIMENTS IN PARTICULAR WITH LIKE THE, THE, THE SENSE THAT FOLKS HAVE OUT IN THE COMMUNITY OF WHERE WE SHOULD BE GOING AND, YOU KNOW, WHAT DIRECTION THAT THE POLICE, UH, UH, ACADEMY AND THE POLICE DEPARTMENT IN GENERAL, UH, YOU KNOW, WANT TO MOVE IN.
I MEAN, AGAIN, I THINK THE, THE RECENT VOTE PROBABLY SHOWED THAT I THINK AS CLEARLY AS, AS ANYTHING ELSE, UH, COULD.
BUT, YOU KNOW, FOLKS REALLY WANT US TO MOVE FORWARD IN THAT KIND OF, UH, DEESCALATION THAT, THAT, AND I WOULD JUST, YOU KNOW, REITERATE, UM, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ALTERS COMMENTS.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? THANK YOU ALL.
UH, WE'LL STAY IN TOUCH AND I WANT TO, UH, DOCTOR, THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE FOR OUR, UH, CITY, AND I'M GLAD YOU'RE STILL GOING TO BE CONSULTING WITH US, BUT, UM, GOOD LUCK TO YOU MEMBERS.
UM, COUNCIL MEMBER CADRE WAS HAVING SOME, UH, WIFI DIFFICULTY AND SO HE MISSED THE INITIAL PART OF THE MEETING.
UH, HE MOVED THAT HE BE SHOWN VOTING.
AYE, ON THE MINUTES, UH, I'LL SECOND THAT MOTION.
IS THERE ANY OBJECTION TO THE MOTION WITHOUT OBJECTION? UH, IT, IT, IT PASSES.
UM, I JUST WANTED TO MENTION THAT TODAY MARKS THE SOLEMN SECOND ANNIVERSARY OF THE TRAGIC MASS SHOOTING THAT UNFOLDED ON SIXTH STREET, WHICH FOREVER ETCHED A PAINFUL CHAPTER IN OUR COLLECTIVE MEMORY.
AND I WANTED TO GIVE PAUSE TODAY AND JUST THANK ALL OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICIALS WHO ARE SOME HERE IN THE ROOM, AND THEN THOSE OUTSIDE OF THE ROOM WHO RESPONDED TO THAT, UM, AND SAVED LIVES TOGETHER.
SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT TIME, MAYOR.
[01:15:01]
ALL RIGHT.UM, IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE, ANYBODY UP THAT'S ON ONLINE OR OUT HERE IN THE AUDIENCE WANTS TO SAY BEFORE WE CALL IT QUITS? ALL RIGHT.
IN THAT CASE WITHOUT OBJECTION, THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE OF THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL IS ADJOURNED.