City Council Pledge to Review Use of Force Policies

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Use as much force as you need to stop the crime. End of story.

* Thank you to the City for undertaking this work. All 47 proposals should be implemented post haste

* Transparency cultivates trust – I urge the city to create a police data dashboard that includes all policing data, not just use of force.

* We need a different model of responding to mental health related calls – and our police want this too. I would like to see a robust examination and implementation of a pilot program. Perhaps it is the Eugene model or the Denver model or the San Antonio model, or the pilot program being undertaken by Kirkland. We should get moving on this work – it will make the city, and being a police officer, safer and more humane.

Denver: https://cdhs.colorado.gov/behavioral-health/co-responder

I just received the draft yesterday so haven't reviewed it in detail.
In looking at the nearly 50 recommendations at the end, it seems like it would be helpful to group them by functional area and prioritize them in some way. This should add clarity and urgency, and be useful for action steps that will hopefully be following.

Hello, please include a review of how BPD handles records requests. When I personally made a request to BPD via in June 2020 via email (simple - what trainings are Officers required to take). It took many weeks. Someone at BPD created a records request for me, then the records request office closed it for not being a public records request. Multiple forwards later I got the answers I needed. There needs to be better internal process for how to handle emails from the community.

Additionally, in reviewing the training requirements BPD officers must go through, Justice based policing was offered in 2017, then was offered again in 2020 after George Floyd was murdered. I work in tech and have to take unconscious bias training every year. It does not seem right that this is not required every year for BPD.

Thank you.

I fully support implementation of all 47 proposals in the report as quickly as possible. Beyond the specifics of the report, which I support, I am most adamant that the police department and city provide increased transparency. It is hard to know what else to recommend and request from a use of force policy without clear data. Transparency builds trust and works towards safety for everyone.

I also think the police department and city need to do much more than just reviewing and reforming use of force policies. I'd like to see many more reviews and reforms that consider public safety in a broader, more comprehensive sense. I'd specifically like to see new programs dedicated to the safety of mentally ill people and the removal of SROs in our public schools. While I know this forum is just about the OIR Report, I hope it is just the beginning of change. Public safety is not solely up to police and diverting some of police funds to other programs would not only provide more comprehensive programs to increase public health and wellbeing, but would also allow police to focus on more immediate threats. We've given too many responsibilities to police and required too little transparency for far too long and it is in everyone's best interest to change that.

I support Bellevue Police. They have done a great job keeping community safe. We could train them to be better serving but also need to protect them from violence and support their work to protect us from crime. Most of them are hard working good police.

Well written, orderly and logical. Good process. While I recognize that the assignment was to analyze, engage, and recommend, would like to have seen some larger statement about availability of appropriate services for people in distress or crisis. In general (and especially now during the pandemic restriction) our communities have inadequate facilities and services to deal with the demands of mental illness and drug addiction, which frequently leads to police action.

The duty of our city is to provide and maintain infrastructure and systems, craft equitable and effective public policy, and to provide a safe environment in which we citizens can live. Our police are the linchpin of providing and maintaining that safe environment. Use of force is frequently directly proportional to citizen behaviors and actions. I do not want Bellevue to end up like Seattle, and I look to my elected officials and our police department to ensure that doesn't happen.

The city needs more police, more funding, more enforcement. And less of this kind of nonsense!

I don't think it is ever wrong to review policies and make changes where needed. Nobody, especially a police officer, wants force used unless it is needed to stop a dangerous crime from occurring. We have grown too focused on micro-managing the very folks that put their lives on the line to protect our community every time they are on duty. I can't imagine how our officers across the country are feeling watching everything that has happened over the last year. The mass exodus of police, businesses and residents from Seattle should give everyone a glimpse of what defunding and demeaning our police while protecting citizens who commit crimes rather than empowering and training our officers to do the job we have hired them to do will accomplish.

Police need our support which should included retraining and reviewing policies on a regular basis. These officers, however, should be praised rather than denigrated by our leaders and citizens. Racism on any level cannot be tolerated in our community, but neither can crime and police need to be empowered to ignore race or color when they are preventing criminal acts that may require the use of force. Limiting their ability to do so puts their lives and others at risk in dangerous situations.

I am born and raised in King County and have lived here my entire life of 50 years. I've raised my family and owned a business in Bellevue for the past 20+ years. My parents were also small business owners. I have deep roots and investments in the Eastside. I love this community and am grateful for everything it has given my family. Bellevue needs to get behind their police and support those that deserve praise for their bravery and devotion to our community. As painful as it would be to pull up deep roots here, I will in a heartbeat should the City Council go the same direction as Seattle and other major cities have across the country. I will not live in or continue to support a community that cannot support its Officers.

I fully support implementing all of these changes -- it is a good start to improving policing in Bellevue. There is so much more to be done, and I hope Bellevue recognizes how far we have to go. There needs to be a review of all BPD policies, with data available and easily accessible. Moreover, we should not be afraid to be bold and implement evidence based methods to improve police efficacy and bolster our community's trust in law enforcement. This review suggests there is so much more we don't know about BPD policies and practices, and so much to be gained by engaging community members in conversation and action.

While I'm not certain more documentation and paperwork will change anything, I do believe that better training and psychological testing should be required for all officers. I would like to express my support in particular for the following recommendations:
6 BPD should devise protocols that encourage supervisors to identify and
commend officers who use successful de-escalation strategies to avoid
uses of force.
8 BPD should expressly include in its policy language advising its
officers of a duty to intervene when they observe an officer use
unreasonable force.
38
9 BPD should expressly include in its policy language advising its
officers of a duty to promptly report when they observe another officer
use unreasonable force or have intervened in order to prevent an officer
from using unreasonable force.
10 BPD should consider revising or eliminating its duty of loyalty policy.
12 BPD should modify its deadly force policy to prohibit the use of deadly
force against an individual who only poses a danger to self.
15 BPD should remove the neck hold as an authorized force option from
its policy manual.
37 The City should consider outfitting its officers with body-worn cameras
while also developing a policy governing their use that provides
personnel clear direction and guidance on camera activation,
supervisory responsibilities, and the use of footage for investigative,
audit and training purposes, as well as clear standards for the public
release of video footage.
38 BPD should delete its policy that indicates use of force report copies
shall not be retained after the review process is completed.

Furthermore, I would like to see a different approach for responding to mental health calls. I sat on a King Co. jury that dealt with the double-tasing of a man who suffered from schitzophrenia in which the officers' handling of the situation escalated a problem that could likely have been better handled by m mental health professional.

Thank you for taking on this review --I appreciate the proactive action. Let's avoid the tragedies seen in other towns.

I am so encouraged by all the civic engagement on this issue, obviously there is a big concern for just and humane policing here in Bellevue!

I support implementing all of the 47 proposals, all good ones, as soon as possible and with a sense of urgency.

We also know mental health issues and crises are on the rise with Covid pandemic, economic and other struggles. Our police really need much better plans/training/resources for responding to these difficult calls. We need a complete review and implementation of best practices . Too many tragedies in our country show us the urgent need for this.

How are Police to do their jobs? Say that is a "No NO"! Unbelievable! Your basically saying that is all the Police can do is scold! It is no wonder there is so much crime in the area!!! DO NOT DEFUND THE POLICE

Do NOT defund the Bellevue Police. That would be the worst idea in the history of the city. We have had a serious escalation of crime in our neighborhoods since we moved here 17 years ago. The mail theft, burglary, shoplifting, and automobile break-ins are out of control. The current punishment for these crimes is insufficient to stop the crime. Criminals are financially rewarded for their crimes. This needs to change. We need MORE and TOUGHER criminal justice to protect the innocent!

Several times, the review comments that a warning be issued before action is taken. But, only in one place (the discussion of using CS gas) is the "opportunity to comply" with a warning mentioned. The review should include a recommendation that whenever a warning is issued, when feasible the officer should allow the individual(s) the opportunity to comply.

I have several specific comments on the draft report, but there doesn't appear to be a place to provide them to you. In summary, the report is generally well done. However, there are some significant gaps in the manner in which you explain items - you don't differentiate between areas more appropriate for training than policy, you simply recommend a policy change without a detailed discussion of what's appropriate for each. There is a lot of danger in confusing the two or making something that should be the subject of training a policy. There are several recommendations that will cause significant difficulty in application in the field; those recommendations appear to be more pandering to a perceived political/policy outcome rather than thoughtful inputs on ways to improve policing. I think the tone of several aspects of the report could be improved; words matter and in some cases the words used in the report divide us, rather than bringing us together.

I'm not sure this will be read because it is way past the cutoff date. So why is this forum still available and is there a way for a citizen to make an input on your report?

I urge the council to adopt a ban on tear gas, sound cannons, rubber bullets and other "less than lethal" crowd control which has proven to cause deaths and serious injuries and medical expenses to people engaged in constitutionally protected protest activity across the country. A report by Physicians for Human Rights titled "Shot in the Head" published this past September concluded at least 115 people sustained injuries by being shot in the head or neck with kinetic impact projectiles used in these crowd control weapons (report: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/29cbf2e87b914dbaabdec2f3d350839e). In addition to the injuries sustained by being physically hit by canisters, a quick google search will pull up studies that have found the chemicals in tear gas have caused respiratory problems, lung damage and even permanent disability. A report from Propublica dated June this year collects expert opinion on the dangers of tear gas: https://www.propublica.org/article/tear-gas-is-way-more-dangerous-than-police-let-on-especially-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic
These weapons are not safe and cause real harm. I urge the council to categorically ban their use.

November 23, 2020. As a longtime resident of Bellevue I believe it’s unwise for City Council to continue foolish disregard of overwhelming facts and data about Police Violence. Hate crimes are spiking to new historic levels never seen before in Western WA; and across our entire State. Unless Bellevue City government owns up to stark reality, neither people of color nor Police will take appropriate steps to protect people. Public Safety is Job #1.

I’ve continued to follow young people of “March for Our Lives”, a multi-racial coalition of students who demand firearms legislation on local and a National scale. But the rest of us, especially Police and City governments like Bellevue, can set intelligent policies and procedures for Public Safety (if they choose??) to reduce suicides, shootings, murders and violent threats by disgusting fascist groups and armed militia like Proud Boys in our WA cities. Why must we leave progress to the next generation to figure out? Why lay all the responsibility on Bellevue PD to resolve Public Safety issues such as these? PD can’t be expected to do it all. Nor can groups like “Black Lives Matter” be expected to fix this mess by themselves.

Here’s an excerpt, new communications I received just today, November 23, from a Youth Congress Member and student action-leader of “March for Our Lives” (Quote):

……. “We've seen the deadly consequences of a Senate that doesn't represent the majority of the American people who are clearly demanding legislation to end our gun violence epidemic. We must mobilize and turn out young people in this runoff election to send a HUGE message to the NRA and the lawmakers in their pocket. …. We seriously couldn't do this without you.”…. (End quote)

These young leaders of tomorrow must wonder if we even care about their futures. They constantly reach out for help from people who might be adults-in-the-room.

Let’s ALL act like grownups! Why just sit around, stupidly waiting for the worst to happen? Good grief! Why doesn’t Bellevue PD speak out on behalf of residents and law-abiding citizens of every ethnicity and skin color? Why does our City Manager just stay silent? Can’t we do any better than this for Public Safety sake? Where is leadership? Transparency? Ethics? Morals? Can’t Bellevue City Council act to set some standards for managing our city better than this? Not just promises, … please! Dwight S