UPDATE: Mayor To Propose Police Changes

(KFOR NEWS  July 1, 2020)  Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird announced changes she plans to submit to the Lincoln Citizens Police Advisory Board.

They include an explicit ban on choke and strangle holds by officers, the requirement for a verbal warning before lethal force is used in an arrest situation more detailed reporting after force is used, and development of more de-escalation strategies for situations in which force would traditionally be used by Police.

Members of the Public are able to comment on the recommendations until July 15 on a link which can be found at the City website.  The recommendations will be on the agenda of the CPAB on July 22nd.  The Mayor said the City Council will make the final determination, but added she hopes they will be finalized by the end of September.

Police Chief Jeff Bliemeister said that evaluations have been going on since the George Floyd and Black Lives Matter protests May 29-June 1.  The Chief said the results will be available when the review is finished.

The Mayor also announced that revisions will be made to the application form for a Mayoral Pardon.  The form can be found on the City website.  She also plans to expand the Citizen Police Advisory Board from 7 members to 9, allow citizens to submit complaints electronically and expand the time to submit claims to the Board from 45 to 60 days.

Funding for complete implementation of body-worn cameras will also be submitted as part of the City Budget.  The policy change will include guidelines for when recording must be done, how long the footage will be kept, and will require that Police Supervisors view the footage periodcally for training purposes.

Policy:

LPD is conducting a mid-year expedited review of its policy on use of force to respond to recent concerns and to strengthen existing policies and expectations. The following proposed revisions to the policy would make current policy more explicit and codify LPD’s current best practices:

• An explicit ban on chokeholds and strangleholds
• Codifying the current training that officers provide a verbal warning before the use of lethal force when feasible and the warning would not endanger those involved
• More comprehensive reporting of the use of force
• A reaffirmation of the duty to intervene
• Specification of de-escalation strategies that are part of existing policies, practice, and the culture of LPD, and that involve evaluating the totality of an individual’s circumstances before using force

The proposed revisions can be found at police.lincoln.ne.gov at the Department Policies link. The public may comment on the proposed revisions by emailing the Citizen Police Advisory Board (CPAB) at[email protected] through July 15. The CPAB will review the proposed revisions at its meeting Wednesday, July 22 and issue a report with recommended policy changes no later than August 21, with changes finalized by September 30.

LPD is reviewing its protocols for mass demonstrations in order to update the training and protocols for facilitating peaceful protests. Police Chief Jeff Bliemeister said LPD has completed its initial debrief with the law enforcement officers involved in the events of May 29 through June 1, is creating timelines of events, and comparing investigative reports with a large amount of video. Bliemeister said the information will be presented to the Mayor and the City Council once the incident review is complete.

The Mayor announced that those who were arrested for curfew violations during the recent protests may apply for a pardon. This is consistent with law and public policy that permit anyone convicted of a violation of City Code to apply for a pardon. To make the process more transparent, accessible, and equitable, the pardon application has been revised and is available at lincoln.ne.gov (keyword: pardon). In six months, the Mayor will review pardon applications related to the curfew violations. Pardon determinations are not a foregone conclusion and will be made on an individualized, case-by-case basis, consistent with current policy. Pardons will not be granted to anyone who engaged in acts of violence, destruction, or physical aggression.

Accountability:

The Citizen Police Advisory Board is a seven-member body of residents appointed by the Mayor. It was established in 1976 to review complaints regarding police procedures and policies and make recommendations to the Mayor, City Council, and Police Chief. The following draft revisions to the ordinance governing the board will be presented to the City Council in July:

• Residents would be allowed to submit complaint forms electronically.
• The length of time a resident has to submit a complaint about a specific incident would be extended from 45 to 60 days.
• The board would be expanded from seven to nine members.

LPD will continue to participate in the Hold Cops Accountable initiative led by the Malone Center. This community-led initiative gives residents an opportunity to publicly share their comments on police-community relations.

Since 1993, LPD has used quality service audits developed in partnership with Gallup to poll individuals who were victims of non-violent crimes, involved in a traffic collision, or issued a citation. The 2019 results can be found atpolice.lincoln.ne.gov (search for QSA). LPD also participates in the city’s regular resident satisfaction surveys conducted by the UNL Public Policy Center, and future surveys will continue to evaluate the public’s trust and confidence in the police.

Transparency:

The Mayor’s proposed budget for 2020-2021 includes funding for the complete implementation of body-worn cameras for every officer. LPD policies address the circumstances in which body-worn cameras must be used and how long the video must be retained. Those are available at police.lincoln.ne.gov at the Department Policies link. The policies also require that supervisors proactively review their officers’ body-worn camera video for training and quality assurance.

On the city’s open data portal at opendata.lincoln.ne.gov, LPD provides policing data broken down by race, ethnicity, and other categories. They also share data on their own website and through the Nebraska Crime Commission. LPD plans to publish more visually accessible versions of their data on topics such as citations and arrests, traffic stops, missing persons investigations, crime trends, and trends in mental health calls.

Community Partnerships:

As part of its community policing model, LPD develops relationships with nonprofit social service providers to help officers respond to residents with a wide variety of needs, including  substance abuse and mental health issues. LPD has increased its investment for its partnerships with the Bridge Behavioral Health and the Mental Health Association of Nebraska in its proposed budget for 2020-2021.

Cultural Change:

Recognizing that disparities in policing are a symptom, not the root cause, of racial injustice, the Mayor said the city is committed to long-term efforts to create a more just and equitable community, including the following:

• A partnership with the Omaha nonprofit Inclusive Communities to provide training to city department directors and staff designed to break down stereotypes, myths, and barriers among diverse identities.
• Planning is under way for a virtual keynote address by Pastor Ben McBride, a nationally recognized leader in community-building, advancing cultures of equity and belonging, and police and gun violence prevention. The city is partnering with the Malone Center, the Bansal Charitable Fund, the Lincoln Community Foundation, Lincoln Public Schools, the Community Health Endowment, and the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce to present the address in late July or early August.
• To advance the work of the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department (LLCHD) and the Community Health Endowment to map health inequities, LLCHD will convene a group of community stakeholders to identify targeted solutions to address health disparities.
• The Mayor’s Economic Recovery Task Force, which is developing strategies to help the local economy recover from COVID-19, is charged with fostering inclusive growth and  recovery as guiding principles.
• New City Attorney nominee Yohance Christie has pledged to make prosecutorial reform a key component of his work. With City Council confirmation, Christie will begin his new job July 21.
• Residents who believe they have experienced discrimination in employment, housing, or public accommodations may contact the Lincoln Commission on Human Rights by calling 402-441-7264; by sending an email to [email protected]; or by completing an online incident report athumanrights.lincoln.ne.gov.