Use of force policies changed, Celina Record

Changes made to Celina Police Department's use-of-force policy Lisa Ferguson, lferguson@starlocalmedia.com Apr 22, 2016 The Celina Police Department recently made changes to its Use of Force policy. Assistant Chief Tony Griggs said the changes are in line with those being implemented by police departments in cities throughout the nation. “This is a subject that’s been under review by police executives around the country for some time now,” he said, as it has been determined “that the use of force can be re-engineered and things can be done better in certain situations and it will actually increase the safety of officers” as well as members of the public. Griggs points to national organizations such as the Police Executive Research Forum as well as the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing report that have recommended changes in law-enforcement agencies’ use-of-force training and policies. Meanwhile, all 16 of Celina Police Department’s sworn-position employees this year will complete a 40-hour mental health officer certification class focused on crisis intervention that is offered at Collin College’s Law Enforcement Academy in McKinney. “We see there’s ways to do this better and that’s where the re-engineering on the use of force comes in,” Griggs said, “that officers need to be trained differently in these situations and policies need to support and reflect what that training is.” He called Celina Police Department’s policy changes as well as the related training “a proactive move.” As the city and department grow, he said, “We want to make sure that the proper policies on use of force are in place and that officers are properly trained and it will actually become the culture of the department.” Griggs updated members of the Celina City Council about the policy changes during the council’s regularly scheduled meeting last week. “One thing about our police force, they try to stay ahead of the changes, of what’s going on in government today,” said Mayor Sean Terry. “This is just another step to make sure that all of our officers have the best tools and are qualified when they’re in those heated situations,” he said. “It gives them a real roadmap on when [use of force is] necessary and when it’s not.” The biggest change to the Celina Police Department’s policy focuses on de-escalation practices that Griggs said its officers can employ as a “primary option” during situations that may occur on the job. “We may not need to use force of any kind if we can de-escalate the situation in some manner, and that’s really the key,” he said. That is especially true when officers encounter members of the public who may be mentally ill or are in crisis, he explained. “We believe there’s a lot of potential to de-escalate those (situations) and not turn those into use-of-force situations.” Richard Rossman agrees. A retired longtime Dallas Police Department officer, he is now an employee of LifePath Systems which is set to take charge of Collin County’s public mental health system in 2017. Rossman is also an adjunct professor at Collin College and teaches the mental health officer certification class to members of law enforcement agencies from throughout the county. “Whatever the problem is … the officers are getting involved in this and if we approach every single incident like we’re (previously) trained to do, which is like a criminal incident, we’re going to be shooting people more than we need to,” he said. Learning techniques to better handle situations involving mentally ill subjects is key, Rossman said. “When we go out and detain people because they’ve been threatening to hurt themselves or whatever, it is not an arrest. … It’s basically an apprehension, and officers don’t always tell people that,” he said. In the class, “We’re teaching officers to say (to subjects), `Hey, we’re gonna have to do this because it’s our policy … but when we get to the hospital I’m gonna take the handcuffs off, you’re going to be under the care of a doctor, and if you convince that doctor nothing’s wrong with you, you’ll have no police criminal record.’” When interacting with mentally ill individuals, Griggs said it is important for officers to remember that “this is somebody’s son. This is somebody’s brother. “You were called there, but are you the best person … to assist them? Have they committed a crime? What actions have they taken and how can you make the situation better versus worse? It is a very complicated subject.”