Defining Moments for Police Chiefs

CRITICAL ISSUES IN POLICING SERIES

Defining Moments for Police Chiefs

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CRITICAL ISSUES IN POLICING SERIES

Defining Moments for Police Chiefs

February 2015

This publication was supported by the Motorola Solutions Foundation. The points of view expressed herein are the authors' and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Motorola Solutions Foundation or all Police Executive Research Forum members.

Police Executive Research Forum, Washington, D.C. 20036 Copyright 2015 by Police Executive Research Forum

All rights reserved

Printed in the United States of America

ISBN: 978-1-934485-28-6

Cover and text page design by Dave Williams.

Photos by James McGinty.

Contents

Acknowledgments........................................................................................................................................ 1

Introduction, by Chuck Wexler........................................................................................ 3

Ferguson, Missouri: A National "Defining Moment" for Policing.................................. 5 Releasing the Name of an Officer and Other Critical Information.......................................................................9 "Militarization" of the Police.................................................................................................................................... 17 De-Escalation of Incidents....................................................................................................................................... 24

Sidebar by Toronto Chief William Blair: Shootings Are Often "Justified Under the Circumstances,"

But We Should Look at What Led to the Circumstances....................................................................................................26

Sidebar by BJA Director Denise O'Donnell: We Are Looking to Provide Training

As a Result of the Ferguson Events......................................................................................................................................30

Defining Moments for Police Chiefs................................................................................31 Engaging the Community........................................................................................................................................ 31 Internal Issues............................................................................................................................................................ 42 Working with the News Media................................................................................................................................ 54

Conclusion........................................................................................................................57

About PERF................................................................................................................................................. 61 About the Motorola Solutions Foundation............................................................................................. 63 Appendix: Participants at the PERF Summit.......................................................................................... 64

Acknowledgments

The Critical Issues in Policing Series has produced much of PERF's best work on the leading edge of new issues facing police chiefs. In just the last few years, this series has produced groundbreaking reports on the heroin epidemic and marijuana legalization, the role of local police in preventing and investigating cybercrime, changes in how aggressively police respond to active shooter situations, federal civil rights investigations of local police, de-escalation of police encounters with mentally ill persons, remedies for weaknesses in police handling of sexual assaults, the wide variety of new technologies in policing, and more effective approaches to managing large political demonstrations and other major public events.

Whew! But never has the Critical Issues Series taken on a more pressing and important issue, on very short notice, than in the report you are holding now. This "Defining Moments" report is about the various experiences of police chiefs in handling the incidents that they consider the toughest challenges they ever faced. This report is also about a national "defining moment" affecting police departments nationwide--namely, the police response to demonstrations and protests following the officerinvolved shooting of Michael Brown on August 9, 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri. As I write this, more than four months after that defining moment in Ferguson, large-scale demonstrations are continuing across the nation and around the world. The events in suburban St. Louis, along with more recent incidents in New York City, Cleveland, and other locations, have raised questions about public trust in the police, especially with regard to police use of force. Only five weeks after the shooting in Ferguson, PERF President Chuck Ramsey covened our Critical Issues Summit in Chicago, where 180 police executives discussed the implications of Ferguson as

well as their own defining moments that tested their leadership skills. (Later, in December 2014, Commissioner Ramsey was chosen by President Obama to co-chair the President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing, along with former Assistant Attorney General Laurie Robinson. The Task Force's mission is to "identify best practices and otherwise make recommendations to the President on how policing practices can promote effective crime reduction while building public trust.")

Once again, I am deeply grateful to the Motorola Solutions Foundation for supporting the Critical Issues in Policing Series, and for giving PERF the flexibility to respond immediately to this emerging issue. I'm grateful to Motorola Solutions Chairman and CEO Greg Brown; to Mark Moon, Executive Vice President and President of Sales and Product Operations; Jack Molloy, Senior Vice President for Sales, North America; Gino Bonanotte, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; Robert Hoffman, Corporate Vice President, Government Relations; Domingo Herraiz, Vice President, North American Government Affairs; Matt Blakely, Director of the Motorola Solutions Foundation; and Rick Neal, retired Vice President at Motorola Solutions and now President of the Government Strategies Advisory Group, for their continued support and advice.

Thanks also go to all of the police leaders who participated in our Summit in Chicago, telling the stories of their defining moments and sharing their wisdom about the lessons we all can take from the defining moment of Ferguson. The strength of the Critical Issues reports comes from the willingness of police chiefs and other experts to come together and discuss the issues, and to be quoted in these reports.

A number of PERF staffers also deserve recognition for this report. Chief of Staff Andrea Luna and Deputy Chief of Staff Shannon Branly

Acknowledgments -- 1

managed the Defining Moments project, with help from Research Associate Sunny Schnitzer, Research Assistants Matt Harman, Sarah Mostyn, and Chris Coghill and Membership Coordinator Balinda Cockrell. Once again, Communications Director Craig Fischer superbly organized and edited this

report, which is one of the most significant in the Critical Issues series. Communications Coordinator James McGinty took the photographs, and PERF's graphic designer, Dave Williams, brought his skill and attention to detail to designing this document.

Executive Director Police Executive Research Forum Washington, D.C.

2 -- Acknowledgments

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