City of Joliet Public Safety Committee met Sept. 1.
Here is the minutes provided by the committee:
ROLL CALL
PRESENT: Jan Hallums Quillman, Don "Duck" Dickinson, Larry E. Hug.
ABSENT: None.
ALSO PRESENT: Chief Alan Roechner, Deputy Chief Marc Reid, Deputy Chief Joseph Rosado, Deputy Chief Darrell Gavin, CIO Dave Braner, Inspector General Chris Regis, Finance Director Jim Ghedotte, Interim Purchasing/Contracts Administrator Dawn Kochan, Will County Director Substance Use Kathleen Burke and Bob Okon, The Herald-News.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
TMP-0377 Public Safety Committee Minutes - March 17, 2020
Legislation Text
Safety Committee Minutes 031720 Draft
Motion to Approve TMP-0377 Public Safety Committee Minutes from March 17, 2020 was made by Larry E. Hug.
Motion seconded by Don "Duck" Dickinson.
Motion carried by the following vote:
AYES: Jan Hallums Quillman, Don "Duck" Dickinson, Larry E. Hug.
NAYS: None.
CITIZENS TO BE HEARD ON AGENDA ITEMS
This section is for anyone wanting to speak regarding items listed on the agenda, except for items listed under Public Hearing. Anyone speaking on an agenda item is entitled to speak for a maximum of 4 minutes. It is not a question and answer period and staff and the Public Safety Committee do not generally respond to public comments. Please note speakers who engage in conduct injurious to the harmony of the Public Safety Committee shall be called to order by the Presiding Officer and may forfeit the opportunity to speak
PRESENTATION - NARCAN by Ms. Boatman
Dr. Kathleen Burke, Director, Substance Use Initiatives, Will County Executive Office, introduced herself. She gave a presentation on two programs: first presentation was on NARCAN and second presentation was on the Recovery Coach Training Program. She said that more Recovery Coaches are needed and provided her contact number, 708-205-5782, for anyone interested in becoming a Recovery Coach.
Councilman Hug asked how NARCAN is distributed.
Dr. Kathleen Burke explained NARCAN's distribution process.
There was a brief discussion on opioid overdose and treatment and on how NARCAN is administered and how it works.
POLICE REQUEST AUTHORIZATION FOR PURCHASE OF VEHICLES TMP-0379 Police Request Approval for Purchase of Vehicles
Dawn A. Kochan discussed the purchase of 10 Ford Police Interceptors for $368,782.40 and the purchase of accessories and wraps from Ray O'Herron, Lund Industries and Element Graphics for a not to exceed price of $69,077.50.
Motion to Recommend for approval Request for Authorization to Purchase 10 2021 Ford Police Interceptor Utility All Wheel Drive vehicles from Ron Tirapelli Ford in Shorewood, IL for $368,782.40 and the purchase of accessories and wraps from Ray O'Herron, Lund Industries and Element Graphics for a not to exceed price of $69,077.50 to Full Council was made by Don "Duck" Dickinson.
Motion seconded by Jan Hallums Quillman.
Motion carried by the following vote:
AYES: Jan Hallums Quillman, Don "Duck" Dickinson.
NAYS: Larry E. Hug.
CONTINUED DISCUSSION ON POLICE REFORM
Dave Braner spoke about body camera data, software, cost and replacement. He said there is also a need for more tasers, a lot of the tasers are old and need to be replaced. We are talking about spending money on body cameras when we don't even have the best taser technology.
A brief discussion was held on body camera cost, replacement and maintenance.
Councilwoman Quillman asked Dave Braner to make the presentation to full Council at tonight's Council meeting at 6:30 p.m. because it will be televised.
Councilman Hug asked about the taser triggering the body camera when it comes out of its holster. What if the taser is not pulled out, is the camera not on?
David Braner briefly explained how system works and said that all these technologies are more software based.
Councilwoman Quillman said Interim City Manager, Jim Hock, will be sending a letter to Congressman Bill Foster, requesting federal grant money for body cameras. Congressman Foster was unaware that Joliet, the third city in the state of Illinois does not have body cameras.
Councilman Hug asked Chief Roechner if in the current budget there is $500,000 or $800,000 just laying around.
Chief Roechner said no.
Councilman Hug asked that if no outside funding could be found for body cameras, not just for the first year, but yearly, would an increase in funding on the police department's budget be needed to cover body cameras.
Chief Roechner said yes.
Councilwoman Quillman said that defunding the police department would not help because it would not help with body cameras.
Councilman Hug said he will not be supporting any defunding of the police department.
Councilwoman Quillman agreed and said she will not be support defunding the police department because the money is needed for other things.
Councilwoman Quillman read police proposal number six: End the policing of "Broken Windows" offenses by deprioritizing or decriminalizing offenses such as loitering and disturbing the peace.
Councilman Hug said currently there are no laws that make someone criminal for being homeless.
Inspector General Regis said that was correct.
Councilman Hug said that can be removed from the list and now we are down to disturbing the peace and loitering.
Inspector General Regis said no one is getting arrested for loitering.
Councilman Hug said there is a law that could be enforced and sometimes needs to be enforced. If someone is loitering in a dangerous way, you need to break it up.
Councilwoman Quillman said that brings us back to NOPT (Neighborhood Oriented Policing Team), which the Chief is going to discuss.
Chief Roechner discussed NOPT (Neighborhood-Oriented Policing Team). Currently, the team consists of a total of 20 officers. At one-point NOPT consisted of 32 officers. He said patrol officers are assigned to a sector for a year, so they can get to know the businesses and the people in the neighborhoods. He spoke about the importance of building up relationships in the neighborhoods, it helps if something happens, people are not afraid to call and say who's responsible.
Councilman Hug spoke about NOPT being a very successful program and said that budget allowing it would be great to expand it back to its original level. He asked Chief Roechner for a summary on how NOPT officers are deployed.
Chief Roechner gave a brief summary of the neighborhoods NOPT officers are assigned to. Fifteen officers are assigned to fifteen neighborhoods and five officers to the downtown area.
Councilman Hug said NOPT is a very successful program and officers are doing a great job. If we could only extend the program back to its original level if the budget allowed it.
Councilman Dickinson asked if there is anything that can be done about panhandling.
Chief Roechner said it's not illegal, but if they're blocking traffic or on the streets, the police department can do something about it.
Councilman Dickinson said he constantly gets complaints about blocking Jefferson Street.
Inspector General Regis said the issue with panhandling is that it is protected speech. He said you can control where people go, but you cannot control what they say. You cannot make a law that says you cannot ask somebody for money. That's the issue with enforcing panhandling.
Councilman Hug asked Inspector General Regis to explain loitering being eliminated.
Inspector General Regis said that anti-loitering laws have been blown out by the higher courts. He discussed other ways to address those problems, but specifically loitering is not one of them.
Councilman Hug discussed "Broken Windows" policy.
Councilwoman Quillman asked Chief Roechner to briefly discuss police reform proposal number five regarding mental health professionals.
Chief Roechner spoke about the Peer Assistance Team headed by Social Worker Mardi Wunderlich. The Peer Assistance Team provides officers with mental health assistance. Anytime there is a major incident, City of Joliet officers will use the County's Peer Assistance Team, that way officers are not afraid of speaking in front of people they know. County officers use Joliet Police Department Peer Assistance Team anytime they have a major incident also to make it easier for them to speak in front of people they don't know. There is also a Veteran's Program in place, the Battle Buddy Program, veteran officers reach out to veterans and give them the help they need, not through arrests, but through programs, and this has worked out very well.
Councilwoman Quillman mentioned the Joliet Fire Department also has a Peer Support Program. She spoke about the importance of support groups not only for Police and Fire, but also for first responders everywhere, anyone with a stressful job also needs to have that mental health support.
Councilman Hug spoke about the Battle Buddy Program and how it helped someone who served in the military, is on full disability and has PTSD (Post traumatic stress disorder). He asked how an average citizen is helped? What happens when someone is suicidal and not responding to an officer and how is that person talked off the ledge?
Chief Roechner briefly discussed how the situation is handled. Even if the person committed a crime, but they are suicidal, they will be taken to the hospital to get the help they need. There are officers that are part of the Crisis Negotiators Team and are trained to help with suicidal situations. He clarified they are called crisis negotiators, not hostage negotiators.
Councilwoman Quillman said that random drug testing is already being done and asked Chief Roechner to discuss the process.
Chief Roechner briefly explained random drug testing process, which per contract is done four times yearly.
Councilwoman Quillman asked what happens if someone tests positive. Chief Roechner briefly explained what is done if someone tests positive.
Councilman Hug said it is his understanding that in the private sector there is a law, the second chance concept, that you just can't fire somebody the first time unless they refuse to get help.
Councilman Dickinson asked how officers are selected to get tested. Chief Roechner explained random drug testing selection process.
Councilman Hug asked, what happens when an officer's name is drawn four times in a year.
Chief Roechner said you can't be tested more than twice a year.
Councilwoman Quillman spoke about police reform proposal number two: She said oversight committees are up to the Mayor.
Councilman Hug said we have a citizen's oversight committee called the Police and Fire Board, setup by the state of Illinois and appointed by the Mayor and voted on by the Council.
Councilwoman Quillman read police reform proposal number nine: Enact a "three-strike" policy for officers. Any offense that would warrant a suspension of 3 days or more would count as a strike. A third strike would mean termination. Any case of excessive force is subject to termination.
Inspector General Regis said it would have to be bargained for.
Councilwoman Quillman asked Chief Roechner if there are any diversity classes the Joliet Police Department takes.
Chief Roechner said they just got finished with Implicit Bias Training department wide. De-escalation training is coming up also. Training is required once every two years, per state statute it has been done every two years.
Councilman Hug asked if someone from the outside does Implicit Bias Training and how the trainer is chosen.
Chief Roechner said someone from the outside does the training and explained how trainer is selected.
Deputy Chief Gavin also explained how trainer is selected.
Councilman Hug said that as far as excessive force, the Joliet Police Department has officers on staff that are trained specifically for that and they train the individuals as part of the ongoing as well as part of the initial when they are rookies.
Deputy Chief Gavin confirmed and clarified that training is for use of force not excessive force and training is done every year.
Councilwoman Quillman asked about training when officers have to use their guns, do they have to qualify every year and are they CALEA certified.
Chief Roechner confirmed, they must qualify, and be CALEA certified. He briefly discussed CALEA (Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies) and provided website (calea.org) for anyone that wants to see what kind of accreditation process they go through and what the organization is about. He also said that the Joliet Police Department is rated on the highest standards with CALEA. He also spoke about Firearms Training which is done once a year.
Councilwoman Quillman asked about the FATS Machine.
Chief Roechner said they have a new version of the FATS (Firearms Training Simulator) Machine and briefly explained what the machine is used for. He said officers go through training on a yearly basis as well as citizens police academy members.
Councilwoman Quillman said it is very important for citizens to go through the citizens police academy, so they know on an everyday basis what police officers do and the danger they face every day.
Councilwoman Quillman said that she believes all concerns have been addressed. Today's Public Safety Committee was posted. It was mentioned at the last meeting that the next meeting would be held in a month.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
None.
NOTE: There is a new temporary procedure for public speaking. Details can be found on the Joliet.gov "Meeting Agendas, Minutes, & Videos" web page. In person public speaking is temporarily suspended.
This section is for anyone wanting to speak regarding items listed on the agenda, except for items listed under Public Hearing. Anyone speaking on an agenda item is entitled to speak for a maximum of 4 minutes. It is not a question and answer period and staff and the Public Safety Committee do not generally respond to public comments. Please note speakers who engage in conduct injurious to the harmony of the Public Safety Committee shall be called to order by the Presiding Officer and may forfeit the opportunity to speak
NEW OR OLD BUSINESS, NOT FOR FINAL ACTION OR RECOMMENDATION
Councilwoman Quillman thanked everyone for attending the meeting. She said they are doing their diligence like they said they would and explained what is already being done.
Councilman Hug made an invitation to any community groups interested in a give and take questions and explanation meeting with the Chief or Deputy Chiefs. Call the non-emergency Joliet Police Department phone number and ask for the Chief's office to set-up a meeting.
Councilwoman Quillman said it is kind of hard now with COVID and all the restrictions, but that would be the goal.
ADJOURNMENT
Motion to Approve ADJOURNMENT was made by Don "Duck" Dickinson. Motion seconded by Larry E. Hug.
Motion carried by the following vote:
AYES: Jan Hallums Quillman, Don "Duck" Dickinson, Larry E. Hug.
NAYS: None.
Meeting adjourned at: 5:35 p.m.
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