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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016 07-20 Maplewood to review its police 'use of force' policies MAPLEWOOD REVIEW ao, 014' a lewood to review itspolice p 'use of force' policies Aundrea Kinney or modifications to the depart- mendations will be submitted to Review staff ment's current policies and the police chief, who will then practices. report back to workgroup mem- In the aftermath of the July "As you can imagine this is a bers and the Maplewood City 6 killing of Philando Castile big topic because it is not just Council on policy recommenda- by a St. Anthony police officer around use of force, but we tions that were adopted. Addi- in Falcon Heights and other have to look at the situations tionally, the resolution requires police shootings of black men where use of force is often times that the police chief provide a across the country the past two applied, and that's going to be written rationale for any recom- years, Maplewood is establish- things like mental health cri- mendations not integrated into ing a workgroup of residents to sis situations and the full range departmental policy. review its police department's of other encounters that the Schnell based his request for "use of force" policies and officers deal with," said Police the workgroup off the Fire/EMS related training protocols. Chief Paul Schnell. workgroup Maplewood created Over the next two to three An example of a policy the last February to investigate the months, the workgroup's workgroup will make a rec- service levels and sustainability eight to 14 members will learn ommendation on would be if of the Maplewood Fire and EMS about current laws and U.S. police should be able to use a Department. Supreme Court decisions that chokehold, something Schnell On May 9, Schnell presented govern police authority to use said can be immensely helpful to the city council four recom- force. They will also review the in certain situations, but added mendations based on the find- Maplewood department's poli- it can have "an extremely high ings of that group. At that time, cies regarding use of force and risk if wrongly applied." every city council member make recommendations for Upon completion of the identified additions, deletions review, the workgroup's mann- see Workgroup on page 6 Page 6 Wednesday,July 20,2016 Workgroup... continued from page 1 noted the overall success of the workgroup. The goal of the police use of force work- group is to foster effective,fair and trans- parent police services,according to a press release. "We have the opportunity to take an impor- tant step forward—initiating real action— by engaging a diverse group of Maplewood citizens to systematically review our police department's use of force training and poll- cies,"said Maplewood Mayor Nora Slawik in a statement. "We believe the convening of this work- group will foster trust and legitimacy,which is especially important to our communities of color." At the July 11 city council meeting,Slawik said that action is the best thing that city rep- resentatives can offer after a crisis. Maplewood squads helping out Maplewood also offered some of the city's police officers to help patrol St.Anthony and Falcon Heights,while the small suburbs dealt with the aftermath of the police shooting that occurred during a routine traffic stop on Lar- penteur Avenue in Falcon Heights. Castile, a 32-year-old elementary school cafeteria supervisor,was shot several times at close range by Officer Jeronimo Yanez of the St.Anthony Police Department,which con- tracts with Falcon Heights for police services. According to St. Anthony city manager Mark Casey,the St.Anthony Police Depart- ment didn't close down last week,but all the patrol officers,by choice,took paid time off in the wake of Castile's death and the Black Lives Matter protests that ensued. At the July 11 city council meeting,Sch- nell mentioned that while patrolling in St. Anthony and Falcon Heights there were many nasty comments directed at Maplewood offi- cers both in person and on internes platforms, but there were also some very supportive comments and letters from community mem- bers. (cott([t) Schnell said that prior to the recent police cs shooting events, the Maplewood Police Department has been actively involved in issues of racial equity and in implement- ing President Obama's task force recom- mendations on 21st century policing that was released last year. He later added that �+ although he believes the Maplewood Police Department's use of force training is excep- tional,there is always r uni for improvement. "I don't think [supporting] police officers and the Black Lives Matter [movement) are in contention with each other,"said council member Bryan Smith. Smith will be the council liaison to the new workgroup and council member Kathleen Juenemann will he the alternate. "I really want this to get underway as soon as possible,"Slawik said. Workgroup membership is open to all Maplewood residents, regardless of age. It is also open to those who work fulltime in Maplewood or own/operate a business in Maplewood.To apply,complete a brief online letter of interest at www.maplewoodmn.gov/ UseofForce. The online application process must be completed by Friday,Aug.5.Appointments to the workgroup will be made by the city coun- cil on or before Aug.22. Questions about the workgroup,its mission or process can be directed to Maplewood City Manager Melinda Coleman at Melinda.cole- man@maplewoodmn.gov or Schnell at paul. schnell@maplewoodmn.gov or 651-249-2602. Aundrea Kinney can be reached at 651-748- 7822 or akinney@lillienews.com.