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2022 04 26 BPAC Minutes MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE BAYTOWN POLICE ADVISORY COMMITTEE OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN April 26, 2022 The Baytown Police Advisory Committee (BPAC) met in a Meeting on Tuesday, April 26, 2022, at 6:00 P.M. in the Council Chamber of the Baytown City Hall, located at 2401 Market Street, Baytown, Texas with the following in attendance: Yulanda Braxton Committee Member Lt. Rodney Evans Committee Member Dr. Marissa Moreno Committee Member Dr. June Stansky Committee Member Richard Hunsinger Committee Member Cpl. Steve Ocanas Committee Member Eric Bolenbaucher Vice Chairperson Angela Jackson Assistant Secretary John Stringer Police Chief Jerris Mapes Legal Counsel Vice Chairperson Eric Bolenbaucher convened the April 26, 2022, Baytown Police Advisory Committee(BPAC) Meeting with a quorum present at 6:00 P.M., all members were present. 1. ELECTION OF OFFICERS a. Consider the election of the Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson. Before proceeding with the election of officers and on behalf of the committee, Vice Chairperson Bolenbaucher expressed his appreciation for Pastor Raphael Montgomery for chairing the Committee for the past year and for his commitment; however, he expressed that at this time, Pastor Montgomery was unable to continue to serve on the Committee. Vice Chairperson Bolenbaucher noted that the committee had two vacancies: the Mayor's representation as well as Council District 6's. Furthermore, there were two individuals on the Committee that were ineligible to serve as chair or vice-chair: Committee Member Cpl. Ocanas, the City Manager's representation, and Committee Member Lt. Evans, the Police Chief s representation. Assistant Secretary Angela Jackson relayed the instructions of how the voting would commence. Committee Member Dr. Stansky inquired if they could make nominations. Ms. Jackson answered the committee could proceed with one of two ways: 1) the Committee Members could make a nomination and vote accordingly, or 2) the Committee Members could vote via paper. A motion was made by Committee Member Dr. June Stansky and seconded by Committee Baytown Police Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes April 26,2022 Page 2 of 16 Member Yulanda Braxton to nominate Committee Member Dr. Marissa Moreno as Chairperson. However, the vote was taken through the nominations written on paper. Ms. Jackson inquired for any other nominations. Vice Chairperson Bolenbaucher sought clarification on the vote not having to be a voice nomination, but could be a written nomination. Committee Member Dr. Moreno offered they could do both. Therefore, the committee members wrote down their nominations for Chairperson and Vice Chairperson. For Chairperson, Ms. Jackson relayed the votes were as follows: • Dr. Marisa Moreno, 3 votes • Eric Bolenbaucher, 4 votes A motion was made by Committee Member Richard Hunsinger and seconded by Committee Member Lt. Rodney Evans to accept the vote of Pastor Eric Bolenbaucher as the Chairperson to the Baytown Police Advisory Committee, as read by Assistant Secretary Angela Jackson. The vote was as follows: Ayes: Vice Chairperson Eric Bolenbaucher, Committee Member Yulanda Braxton, Committee Member Lt. Rodney Evans, Committee Member Dr. Marissa Moreno, Committee Member Dr. June Stansky, Committee Member Richard Hunsinger, and Committee Member Cpl. Steve Ocanas Nays: None Approved For Vice Chairperson, Ms. Jackson relayed the majority vote was for Dr. Marisa Moreno. A motion was made by Committee Member Dr. June Stansky and seconded by Committee Member Lt. Rodney Evans to accept the vote of Dr. Marisa Moreno as the Vice Chairperson to the Baytown Police Advisory Committee, as read by Assistant Secretary Angela Jackson.The vote was as follows: Ayes: Chairperson Eric Bolenbaucher, Committee Member Yulanda Braxton, Committee Member Lt. Rodney Evans, Committee Member Dr. Marissa Moreno, Committee Member Dr. June Stansky, Committee Member Richard Hunsinger, and Committee Member Cpl. Steve Ocanas Nays: None Approved Chairperson Bolenbaucher and Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno congratulated each other and preceded over the meeting assuming their titles. Baytown Police Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes April 26,2022 Page 3 of 16 2. MINUTES a. Consider approving the minutes of the Baytown Police Advisory Committee Meeting held on March 22, 2022. A motion was made by Committee Member Richard Hunsinger and seconded by Vice Chairperson Dr. Marissa Moreno to approve the meeting minutes of the Baytown Police Advisory Committee Meeting held on March 22, 2022, as submitted. However, there was discussion prior to the vote. Committee Member Dr. Stansky wished to have a discussion over the minutes to thank the new transcriber for an excellent job on the minutes. Assistant Secretary Angela Jackson thanked Committee Member Dr. Stansky and noted she was Records Technician D'Ozlynn Valdovinos. The vote for the motion on the table was as follows: Ayes: Chairperson Eric Bolenbaucher, Committee Member Yulanda Braxton, Committee Member Lt. Rodney Evans, Vice Chairperson Dr. Marissa Moreno, Committee Member Dr. June Stansky, Committee Member Richard Hunsinger, and Committee Member Cpl. Steve Ocanas Nays: None Approved 3. CITIZEN INPUT a. Receive citizen input concerning police outreach, community policing, officer training, as well as policies and procedures. Chairperson Bolenbaucher announced that Mr. Don Aikey had signed to speak on the item, and so he gave an overview of the process and procedures of how Mr. Aikey would proceed. Mr. Aikey wished to discuss a problem that occurred in March 2015. He had called 911 about an incident at his house regarding his divorce and the custody of a dog. Mr. Aikey refused to turn the dog over to a third party who then proceeded to beat at the front of his house. Subsequently, Mr. Aikey called 911 to remove that party from his house.The officer came out and stated in his report, "Contacted when ex-husband Don failed to turn over their dog according to custodial paperwork." Mr. Aikey noted that was a civil matter and had nothing to do with criminals. He called the police about a crime and the police officer never put the third party's name on the report. In his divorce, the judge had believed the report stated the police were contact by his ex-wife;however,Mr. Aikey stressed that he had been the one to call 911. Moreover, Mr. Aikey came to City Hall and spoke to Deanie King and Karen Horner from the Legal Department. They had advised Mr. Aikey to take the matter to internal affairs. Internal Affairs had then sent the officer back to his house. When the officer arrived, he stayed at the end of the drive way and crudely informed Mr. Aikey that he would not change the report. As of that Baytown Police Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes April 26,2022 Page 4 of 16 day, the report was wrong—even though Legal had told him he was screwed in the deal—and the police officer still worked at the Baytown Police Department("BPD"). Mr.Aikey commented that if he had jury duty and a city officer gave testimony, he would not believe what they say. Chairperson Bolenbaucher thanked Mr. Aikey and requested, if he had time after the meeting, to converse with Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno, himself, and Police Chief John Stringer to see if maybe there were some details that may be able to be looked at. Mr. Aikey was okay with that and gave a few more comments. He clarified he was not saying bad things about any policeman in Baytown, except one. If good cops did not have the nerve to sit there and police their own people, they had to realize the whole police force would be stained. Again, Chairperson Bolenbaucher expressed appreciation for Mr. Aikey and his words. Chairperson Bolenbaucher noted their Advisory Committee was put together to try to resolve any ongoing situations. Mr. Aikey thanked the committee and noted he had spoken with his local advisory representative Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno, who requested he attend the meeting and tell his story. 4. BUSINESS ITEMS a. Discuss and consider priorities and recommendations for the Baytown Police Advisory Committee's buckets of concern to include, but not limited to Mental Illness, Transparency and Accountability, Training and Development, and Positive Engagement. Chairperson Bolenbaucher recalled at their last meeting the BPAC Members had wanted to look at their buckets of concern. He believed the BPAC had done an excellent job of looking at those concerns—specifically in mental illness with the Clinician and Officer Remote Evaluation (CORE)Program and their mental awareness stickers. However, several Committee Members had brought up some items the BPAC needed to consider. So, Chairperson Bolenbaucher would like the committee members to have a discussion on the dais about some of the things they felt needed to be addressed and maybe have some work items they could look at in the coming meetings. Chairperson Bolenbaucher noted Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno had a significant concern to discuss. Training and Development Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno wanted to discuss training and development. She had spoken, specifically, about cultural diversity training at their last meeting. Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno wished to go back to that as she still reserved concerns about the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) and the current cultural diversity training that was being done. She acknowledged that Police Chief John Stringer had mentioned the possibility of finding online trainings, yet she felt like the Baytown Police Department should consider having something more face-to-face. Whereas with online, there was not really an interaction when it came to cultural diversity. Baytown Police Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes April 26,2022 Page 5 of 16 Additionally, while Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno respected the things being done with the Hispanic population, she made note of Baytown's African American, Caribbean American, and all the other areas that needed to be considered when considering the word"cultural."Chairperson Bolenbaucher asked Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno on what she envisioned would be different than what was currently available through TCOLE. Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno clarified that her first question about TCOLE was if it was only offered at the beginning of the officers' training, or was that something officers had to do every two years? Chief Stringer explained that was their academy which was essentially a college. On a side note, one of the things he wanted to delineate was the idea of militarization. Chief Stringer sought to eliminate from their vocabulary the word"civilian"because they were all civilians, sworn or non- sworn. Regarding Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno's question, Chief Stringer replied officers continued to get that training on a regular basis in the TCOLE cycle. Yes, the Police department did have a lot of online trainings; however, Chief Stringer stressed there were very detailed questions. He assured if an officer did not pay attention, they would not pass the course. Did officers need more face-to-face? Chief Stringer responded absolutely—that included the ability to ask questions and have an instructor be able to put the officers in a situation where they would have to consider themselves from another culture's perspective. Chief Stringer would also argue that while they were reaching out to Baytown's Hispanic culture, BPD made all of their personnel aware of different cultures and ethnic groups. Yes, at the moment BPD's primary focus was the majority of Baytown's population—the Hispanic community— because they had recognized the need to be able to build trust in those communities. Chief Stringer gave the statement that a well-educated department was a more open-minded department. Therefore, if they were thinking about being culturally sensitive and aware of peoples' diverse background, it would translate in general. That was what Chief Stringer hoped for. Then, Chief Stringer listed some of the online classes officers took on a regular basis, such as: • Implicit Bias Training • Anti-Bias for Law Enforcement • Intermediate Cultural Diversity(An 8-hour course) • Intermediate Suicide Prevention o Discussed De-Escalation as well as the "Suicide by Cop" Phenomena • Addressing the Homeless Population With the homeless population, Chief Stringer added the homeless were another group BPD contacted on a regular basis that he believed officers needed to have a different perspective on. Chief Stringer relayed that the homeless tended to group together and develop their own street- level culture that officers needed to be aware of too. He clarified that did not necessarily make them criminal, but that it tied in to mental illness. The last course Chief Stringer mentioned, was the Intermediate Human Trafficking course. Chief Stringer shared that course made officers very aware of diverse cultures as well—especially with migrant workers from various backgrounds. Chief Stringer noted in taking that course, bringing Baytown Police Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes April 26,2022 Page 6 of 16 his own biases to the training, he had never thought about males being victims of human trafficking. Those were some of the things that had opened Chief Stringer's eyes. Furthermore, Chief Stringer believed BPD needed to continue looking for people to give good in- class trainings. Chief Stringer had reviewed a document from the Cop's Office for the Department of Justice("DOJ")on how to serve diverse communities. He relayed the document had some good ideas and resources. Typically, one could go through their Bureau of Justice Assistance ("BJA") Office, or local office, and arrange a training, a lot of which were actually free. Now that there had been some restructuring in the department and with Assistant Chief Mike Holden over the bureau with the training academy, Chief Stringer wished to discuss how they could begin to bring people in to have those one-on-ones. So, officers not only had discussions, but documented trainings as well. While Chief Stringer believed they needed to continue to have those discussions, he further believed officers needed to continue to get out in to the neighborhoods. Also,when that came from the governance of the department, it would become a serious part of the culture for officers to hold each other to those standards. In regards to the diversity training, Chairperson Bolenbaucher noted there had been a recognition for BPD. So, was BPD meeting or exceeding state standard, or were they meeting or exceeding the norm for that recognition. Chief Stringer believed they were exceeding, but to what degree? That was why Chief Stringer believed it was important to work with some of Baytown's local educators from diverse backgrounds. Chief Stringer would like to, over the next year, reach out to those individuals—that were maybe at Lee College—to help BPD with a curriculum. He suggested maybe they go out and spend time with the police officers so that it would not be one-sided. Thus, people would understand what police officers were doing,what their role was,what BPD's mission was, and what BPD was genuinely trying to accomplish. Chief Stringer hoped they could integrate that in to a class that would help officers incorporate that knowledge in to what they do. Of the classes Chief Stringer previously listed, Committee Member Dr. Stansky had a question over how many of those online classes did each officer had to pay for each year. Chief Stringer answered he would have to take a look at that to be sure, but that they received it on every two- year cycle. Committee Member Dr. Stansky additionally asked if officers had to do all of those trainings every two years. Committee Member Lt. Evans answered not all of those, but cultural diversity was required. Committee Member Cpl. Ocanas commented he had been with BPD for twenty-five years and that the training programs have improved. Back when he started, officers got forty hours every two years and it was up to them to do it. Committee Member Cpl. Ocanas noted a lot of officers did not do it, and that was what had improved. Now, officers were required to go to block training for a whole week. Committee Member Dr. Stansky asked if that was a live training. Committee Member Cpl. Ocanas answered with a yes. He added they also improved the online classes. Officers received online classes throughout the year and could not proceed until they had read and answered the questions. In addition, Chief Stringer regularly signed approvals and reviewed requests for classes from across the department for officers to take classes offsite that were being offered by other agencies and institutions. As long as they had the money, the trainings were pertinent, the trainings would Baytown Police Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes April 26,2022 Page 7 of 16 help BPD with their mission to serve and protect, and would help build those relationships in the community—Chief Stringer stated they would give those trainings to the officers. Committee Member Cpl. Ocanas noted some of those classes required officers to get a certificate. Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno wondered if that was tied to money or stipend. Committee Member Cpl. Ocanas answered officers did get a little raise. Chief Stringer took a moment to share an example of what he learned about the Hispanic culture in their Spanish class. He concluded that, even though he may butcher the language, making that effort could start making connections. Chairperson Bolenbaucher asked Chief Stringer what could the committee assist in communicating with the Baytown City Council and Mayor to be able to help them move towards a better diversity understanding for the BPD? Chief Stringer replied with continuing to make contact with Baytown's citizens and educators to help BPD develop their own curriculum. Chief Stringer further suggested one of their TCOLE certified instructor work on that to present it to TCOLE and ask for that class to be included for TCOLE credit. Chairperson Bolenbaucher noted that would help if they were moving towards establishing their own Baytown Police Department Full Basic Academy. Moreover, Chairperson Bolenbaucher queried if they could partner with Harris County or the Houston Police Department. Chief Stringer loved partnerships and spoke over wanting to begin a regional—for Western Chambers County and Eastern Harris County—intelligence-sharing group. The point being, BPD was developing those relationships outside the police department to maybe get together on those trainings and combine their resources;therefore,Chief Stringer believed they could. Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno relayed the reason why she had been impressing on the matter was because it was important for them to be transparent. She believed the BPAC Members asking these questions, in terms of training and development and to change the perspective of police officers, was super important. That was part of the committee's charge, to show the collaboration. Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno stated she was going to continue to ask these questions to make sure they were recorded for people to hear Chief Stringer and have access to understand that he was moving in a different direction. If Chief Stringer so wanted to,there was a Chief Equity Officer now at Lee College. If that was something he was interested in learning, Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno shared the college was in a movement where they were doing a lot more work in diversity, equity, and inclusion. That was not only cultural diversity, but also all different types of people that came through their campus. Chief Stringer wished to take it a step further with that as he did not believe anybody should be marginalized regardless of who they were, which included the LGBTQ community. Those were the things BPD needed to consider in the 21 s` century and that their officers needed to be exposed to, for officers to be sat down and have a class to expand the officers' experience as well as enlighten them on a different perspective as everyone was a stakeholder in their community. Not only did they have to be heard, as that was part of procedural justice, but that officers took an oath to protect and serve all people. As they start looking at training schedules, Chief Stringer relayed they may have to do an even-odd year system. If they continued to do that, Chief Stringer hoped it would constantly be there. It would be loaded mentally so officers would always be thinking Baytown Police Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes April 26,2022 Page 8 of 16 about it which was important in search and seizures, inclusivity, cultural diversity,or whatever the case may be. In moving forward, Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno asked Chief Stringer if at some point he would let Lee College know how they can start moving in that direction—if that was in fact the way he wanted to go. Chief Stringer stated he would reach out to the training academy and see what they needed. Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno suggest in the next month Chief Stringer could tell the college where those holes were and if there was anything they could do to fill in those holes. He did not know if it would be exact, but that they would have an idea. Continuing on the topic of training and development, Chief Stringer wanted to share his Doctrinal Publication for the Baytown Police Department just like military organizations had a doctrine that established how they operate, what they do, and what their basis was. The learning culture stated the Baytown police officer was a professional practitioner of police services. There was a professional expectation that the Baytown police officer, at all levels, engaged in continuous learning. Supervisors had the responsibility to be teachers and mentors in the appropriate direction according to the values and the mission of BPD. He believed that a police department that had a culture of learning, officers became more open-minded and considered things differently from a different perspective. In agencies that had mandated higher education standards where they may also be in areas with high violent crime, their use of force tended to be lower. Chief Stringer had anecdotal conversations with supervisors from those areas. In conclusion, the Doctrinal Publication was something he would like to do in the future with BPD and get everybody involved in it to be able to push the doctrine out once a year or every two years. The doctrine would be the tenants for BPD and their pillars, so to speak. Committee Member Dr. Stansky inquired if whether it would be helpful if the BPAC were to review the doctrine to give their opinions on it and make it possibly something that the Committee could recommend, and Chief Stringer stated he would be open to that. That was part of procedural justice,not only would citizens get input,but the officers would too,and while that may not change the outcome of the discipline, they would be given an opportunity to be heard. Given that all of the previous discussion regarded diversity training and the learning culture as a whole fell under the training and development bucket of concern, Chairperson Bolenbaucher inquired if there was anything more to add to their buckets of concern that could be their focus, or did the BPAC Members want to expand on diversity training to be its own bucket. Chairperson Bolenbaucher requested a sense of direction from the BPAC so that it would be a more actionable item. Committee Member Dr. Stansky opined it definitely needed to stay in a bucket and she suggested the BPAC possibly receive a report of what percentage of officers were taking their 40 hours compared to 60 hours and so on. It would be interesting to know what percentage of officers were getting the bare minimum compared to those taking extra training and seeing how that would advance their career with the department. Committee Member Dr. Stansky explained she was trying to find a way to measure the matter. Committee Member Cpl. Ocanas countered that could be lopsided because some officers were assigned to special units that go to a two-week course. Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno presumed such officers may not be able to do those trainings. Committee Member Cpl. Ocanas confirmed so Baytown Police Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes April 26,2022 Page 9 of 16 and gave the example that he, as a DARE Officer, got 40-hour trainings ever year whereas a patrol guy would not get nearly the hours he received. Committee Member Dr. Stansky commented they would love to have them encouraged to get more hours. Chief Stringer interjected to inform that they were. BPD expected and required those officers assigned to special duties to have training and education that was above and beyond. Chief Stringer further explained their need to be better at differentiating training and education. Education would give them the ability to make decisions in real time based on the training when variables were thrown at them because they would have a depth of knowledge. Officers would not be robots acting according to trainings. For that reason, Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno believed training needed to be its own separate bucket. She liked Chief Stringer's approach which could change systemic issues that had happened in the past. In looking at the training and development bucket, questions had come up and the doctrine that Chief Stringer was creating could answer many of those questions. Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno also liked Committee Member Dr. Stansky's idea of looking over the doctrine in terms of making sure the BPAC Members were there with Chief Stringer to support it. Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno's only other question was if the training was tied to annual evaluations and Chief Stringer answered, at that time, it was not, which baffled Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno because she did not understand how officers were being evaluated. Chairperson Bolenbaucher recalled that the former Interim Police Chief Mike Holden specified that there was almost a daily evaluation of response. Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno questioned if that was documented. Chairperson Bolenbaucher replied it was. Chief Stringer relayed there was ongoing conversations and correction with a chronology report they kept on their officers. He further detailed the other areas they look to discuss with officers for career development.Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno recapitulated that was then something Chief Stringer was looking to do in the future. Chief Stringer confirmed so, and Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno noted that would be part of development. Chairperson Bolenbaucher sought clarification in that Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno wished to put diversity as its own bucket, or, for it to be within training and development and just expand that out. Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno noted Chief Stringer mentioned all the different types of trainings—which Chairperson Bolenbaucher believed that expanded on training and development. Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno agreed, however, Chief Stringer was creating a doctrine. She asked whether that doctrine would encompass all of that. Chief Stringer answered absolutely and discussed how training had to be holistic. Aside from the courses he mentioned, fundamental training was important as well. It reduced liability. For example, Chief Stringer would love to have a larger training campus with a driving tack considering officers drove every single day. In regards to Chairperson Bolenbaucher's question, Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno did think it should be its own separate bucket. At the same time, she had asked how Chief Stringer would improve the cultural diversity training from 2009, which Chief Stringer said he would reach out to other people to see what they had. Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno mentioned it would be great to see what they were offering and how Chief Stringer would insert it. Chief Stringer added he would also love help from Lee College. Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno agreed absolutely. Regarding reaching out,there were a lot of good stuff the Department of Justice("DOJ")offered and anything coming from the DOJ would be vetted. Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno believed it was great for Baytown Police Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes April 26,2022 Page 10 of 16 BPD to cerate their own curriculum because who would know the community more than the people who live in the community. Chairperson Bolenbaucher inquired for any other comments on the diversity subject. Committee Member Dr. Stansky stated just that it be continued every year. Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno recapped that next month Chief Stringer would provide the information for them to then determine how the committee members could help him. Committee Member Dr. Stansky noted their city person could possibly distribute Chief Stringer's draft. Chief Stringer replied he was not ready for that yet. Separate from diversity, Chairperson Bolenbaucher inquired if there was any other subject matter or item the BPAC Members needed to look at on the buckets of concern in order for them to start having actionable items moving forward. Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno believed it was important to go back to what Chief Stringer said about development and how they could grow from a leadership perspective. She asked whether that would be a part of the doctrine as well in terms of training. Chief Stringer replied that would be something different. Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno would, therefore, be interested in looking at that. Whether that should be a separate bucket, she did not know. Chief Stringer opined where they had it was in an appropriate place. With that, Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno noted she would definitely want to see the development and evaluation process. Positive Engagement On to a different bucket of concern, positive engagement, Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno requested an update; however, Chairperson Bolenbaucher informed that would be done on Item 3.b. Moving forward, Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno recalled they had discussed data at some point. Committee Member Dr. Stansky believed they had asked for a breakdown of the people that were arrested and if certain police officers arrested a higher percentage of a certain ethnic group. Chief Stringer recalled his response to that was certain officers were assigned to different zones. Certain zones were primarily of a certain ethnicity: therefore, the numbers would be skewed. It would be a statistical syllogism, so Chief Stringer did not believe that it would be a fair representation of those officers. Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno thought Chief Stringer's point made sense. Regarding data once more, Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno shared that Lee College looked at the percentage of faculty in comparison to their student population. She asked what percentage by demographic, or by certain ethnicities, was the percentage of police officers and Chief Stringer explained the demographic representation of the department to the community was something he would have to look at to tell the BPAC Members. Chairperson Bolenbaucher agreed with Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno in that the data would be something of interest when considering the importance of recruitment. While they wanted to hire the best qualified individuals, Chairperson Bolenbaucher wanted—as Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno and Committee Member Dr. Stansky previously noted—to make sure the ratio was not so skewed that it may infringe on liberties or anything of the sort. Chief Stringer agreed they did not want adverse impact in hiring. Baytown Police Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes April 26,2022 Page 11 of 16 In regards to recruitment, Chief Stringer relayed BPD was continuing to develop a professional recruitment team. Chief Stringer had asked for more money in the budget that year for recruitment. BPD planned to expand their recruitment efforts beyond their immediate area,including those who were getting out of the military. Also, Chief Stringer had asked their recruitment team to look at non-traditional police recruiting venues. For example, BPD may do a better job of recruiting females by going to female collegiate athletic programs and recruiting there. Chief Stringer acknowledged it would not change overnight,but BPD would have a vision/goal and would move in that direction. Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno summed up for the positive engagement bucket that Chief Stringer would get the BPAC the demographics of the police. Chief Stringer confirmed so. b. Receive a report and discuss the status of police outreach,community policing,officer training and policies and procedures. Police Chief John Stringer introduced Lieutenant Rene Hinojosa who recently received a promotion to lieutenant. Regarding promotions, Chief Stringer noted promoted officers now received a charging document from Chief Stringer of what their expectations were with leadership and setting the example. Lt. Hinojosa proceeded to report they were trying to work towards bridging the gap between the Hispanic community and the Baytown Police Department("BPD"). BPD had reached out to other police departments to see what they were doing. They had found that Plano Police Department, along with others, had a program called "Unidos"—or, united. BPD met with them and received their permission for BPD to borrow their program. Lt. Hinojosa then proceeded to recite the reference guide that stated the following: "The Unidos mission statement was to provide an opportunity for police agencies to partner with their Spanish-speaking residents and serve as a resource for creating an improved quality of life for the entire community... Unidos was a community program geared toward improving the quality of life for Spanish-speaking residents. That was accomplished by providing assistance in areas of relevance to the Hispanic community and focusing on being a resource center to meet the needs of residents whose first language was Spanish." What Lt. Hinojosa had found in his 25 years of working for BPD, was that the Spanish-speaking community rarely called the police because they did not trust them. Lt. Hinojosa relayed the police did not like to get involved where there was no trust. If there was any way to bridge that gap and earn that trust, Lt. Hinojosa was all for it. BPD had their first community outreach even that past Sunday. Patrol officers had gotten off that morning to later set up a booth at the Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church at their annual church bazaar. Lt. Hinojosa noted Hispanic kids were told growing up they better act right or else their parents would call the police, so many youngsters were reluctant to come up to their booth. However, after a while, their booth had a major line of kids and their parent. Also, Lt. Hinojosa had been recruiting and had a great time, Baytown Police Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes April 26,2022 Page 12 of 16 Lt. Hinojosa mentioned a few things he was working on to identify his group. As of that moment, he had eight bilingual officers. For the future, Lt. Hinojosa invited Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno to help with their town hall meetings once a quarter to come up with different ideas and issues in their community to discuss. Lt. Hinojosa noted BPD would be inviting guest speakers. Moreover, officers would sit in the crown with residents to visit, get to know each other, and be able to give those residents resources. In summary, those were the things to come. Lt. Hinojosa hoped BPD would have a community outreach event towards the end of the year. The following year, BPD would have one every three months every quarter—along with any type of community engagement event that might come up. Chairperson Bolenbaucher inquired for any questions from the BPAC Members for Lt. Hinojosa. Committee Member Hunsinger would like to see the BPAC move from behind the dais to one of those community meetings.Thus,the BPAC would hold their meetings in the community and give them an opportunity to see, talk to, and work with the BPAC Members. Committee Member Hunsinger suggested they discuss the matter and try to put that on the agenda to figure out when that would be appropriate. Chairperson Bolenbaucher noted that was one of the items he missed on their previous business items. He ensured they would go back to that in a moment. In regards to marketing, Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno wondered Lt. Hinojosa would put banners where? Lt. Hinojosa stated BPD would hand out flyers and would go to social media. When they have their event, they would have their banners for the Hispanic community to see. Lt. Hinojosa assured those banners would be bilingual, Spanish and English. Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno requested those flyers be brought to Lee College and to the school district so people were made aware—especially elementary schools and their PTO meetings. On another note, Chairperson Bolenbaucher shared that the census for Baytown stated the Latino population was somewhere in the neighborhood of 40%, and roughly half of the population of Baytown was Spanish-speaking as a first language. Chairperson Bolenbaucher wondered if the city had updated information for 2020. Chief Stringer believed the last estimate was closer to 51% now. Chairperson Bolenbaucher further questioned how much of that 51% was Spanish as their first language. Chief Stringer did not remember, but the current estimate coming up on the next census was 51% Hispanic-Latino. Chairperson Bolenbaucher noted the BPAC would need to be aware of how the demographics were shifting. Chief Stringer shared that was one of the reasons why BPD was working so hard with the Hispanic Community and cultural diversity because that would make the biggest impact in their community on crime and the quality of life. To Lt. Hinojosa, Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno inquired how the BPAC could be involved in his committee. Lt. Hinojosa repeated he had a committee of eight officers and that they were just starting. He welcomed any ideas from the BPAC. Lt. Hinojosa offered he could come back to show the BPAC their banners, the reference guide, and everything else for them to see and figure out. Chairperson Bolenbaucher noted on July the 4th at Bicentennial park there would be a bilingual church activity, and that Liliana Gallegos from "Sabor of Mexico" was looking for booth spaces. With that, Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno requested to have Lt. Hinojosa on the agenda to come back and give another update. • Baytown Police Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes April 26,2022 Page 13 of 16 Next, Chief Stringer took a moment to touch on transparency. On BPD's website, Chief Stringer was looking at a couple of programs that could be beneficial to put their policies and procedures online for anybody to see. Of course, certain things would be inappropriate to publish for officer safety and noted that would be procedures versus policies. Continuing on the note of publishing policies and procedures, there was a Policy Document Management System with a forward-facing side that the public could access a read-only version online. Chief Stringer supposed that might be something BPD could do in the future as they worked with Information Technology and Services (ITS)and other technology.The positive thing about using a program like that was that BPD would not overlook anything they replace or revise because as soon as they would publish a new document, it would archive the old one. In the case of a lawsuit that popped up under a certain version of a policy an officer worked under, it would have been recorded and could be pulled easily. Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno wondered if that was something Chief Stringer could show the BPAC Members. Chief Stringer answered he should be able to get them some agencies that used the program next time. Committee Member Dr. Stansky discussed that she had talked to her patients who would love to see more interactions with the police—not necessarily with the officers sitting in their cars. Whether it was an apartment complex or low-income neighborhoods, Committee Member Dr. Stansky suggested officers could go out in pairs and talk to people. Planned events were great,but it would be great for officers to get out in to the community and talk to people. Chief Stringer assured there were officers that did that. Every once in a while, somebody would send a picture and BPD would post it online. For example, BPD's Street Crime Unit had bought basketball goals, set them up, and played with the kids. Chief Stringer noted part of that was tied to recruitment to fill in empty spots. A lot of the times, officers were pulled over on the side of the road writing reports on their mobile data terminals as they were running to their next call. Chief Stringer relayed a few scenarios,he stated not as an excuse,but to note those were the things BPD was pushing for. Committee Member Dr. Stansky suggested a way to possibly monitor officer interactions was to track how much gasoline a car burned. In burning almost no gasoline, that would mean an officer was probably out of their car and interacting with the public. Chief Stringer did not know if that would be the best measure for them as their cars tend to keep running because officers had so much in them. Chief Stringer mentioned equipment that would keep the engine idling. Lt. Hinojosa expanded on Chief Stringer's point from the prospective of a shift commander on the evenings. He relayed from 6:00 P.M., Wednesday through Saturday, officers received call after call until 3:00 A.M. or 4:00 A.M. However, Lt. Hinojosa noted they still got out and talked to kids. With culture diversity, officers that asked for somebody to translate would be handled by himself or other Spanish-speaking officers on shift. Lt. Hinojosa assured officers engaged the community a lot more than what was visible. If an officer was idling in a patrol car, they were usually doing the synopsis or the cover page of their report. Lt. Hinojosa relayed officers had an average of four to eight reports a night depending on the shift. Chairperson Bolenbaucher remarked reports could be anywhere from 250 to a thousand-words. Lt. Hinojosa ended on the note that they were very busy, but that their roll calls were built around training, dignity, and respect. c. Discuss and consider the presentation of the Baytown Police Advisory Committee's quarterly report to the City Council in May 2022. Baytown Police Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes April 26,2022 Page 14 of 16 The date, as relayed by Assistant Secretary Angela Jackson, in which the BPAC would give their quarterly report to the City Council was May 26`h. The next BPAC Meeting would be May 24`h Mrs. Jackson proceeded to hand out copies of previous reports to the BPAC Members as Chairperson Bolenbaucher introduced those reports. Chairperson Bolenbaucher's recommendation, following the election that night, was that he and Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno build a template. Given their BPAC Meeting was on May 24th, he and Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno would have time to put together a review of their past quarter. Thus, their preliminary presentation would be presented to the BPAC on May 24`h in preparation for the May 26th meeting. Chairperson Bolenbaucher asked the BPAC Members if there were any items of the utmost importance they would need to bring up for their next meeting in preparation for their presentation. Committee Member Dr. Stansky recommended the new trainings of the Baytown Police Department (BPD) as well as their Hispanic outreach. Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno requested if the BPAC Members thought of anything else after the meeting, to email them. Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno wondered if the BPAC ever showed Council the decals. Chairperson Bolenbaucher relayed when he did the presentation, he did not have it on the PowerPoint. Although, the decals had been emailed to all of the Council Members. Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno sought clarification on if they were then done with mental illness at that point.Chairperson Bolenbaucher believed mental illness did not necessarily needed to go away, but that they needed to indicate that the BPAC had covered it very well and would move forward. Mrs. Jackson interjected to note that any emails the BPAC Members sent to please send those to the City Clerk's Office. Chairperson Bolenbaucher expanded on Mrs. Jackson's point to remind the BPAC Members they had to abide by the State of Texas' Open Meeting Rules. 5. NEXT MEETING a. Consider setting date, time and location for the next Baytown Police Advisory Committee meeting, along with any related tasks and processes. Chairperson Bolenbaucher stated the reason why the specific meeting date was not put on the agenda was due to their regularly scheduled meetings were for the last Tuesday of each month. One of the things that had been talked about that was never on the agenda was the possibility to meet outside of City Hall, in places such as: churches, civic centers, etc. While they set their next meeting for May 24th, Chairperson Bolenbaucher wished for the BPAC Members to consider if meeting on a monthly bases was not enough time to get enough information from their respective districts, should they meet bi-monthly to connect with their constituents? On the contrary, Chairperson Bolenbaucher did note meeting too often could be counter-intuitive. Thus, the item was brought up so the BPAC Members could consider looking at other options. Police Chief John Stringer noted in preparation for the BPAC Meetings, they may not be ready in one month. Chief Stringer discussed how the Baytown Police Department (BPD) did not have additional personnel for that to be their sole mission at that time. Thus, Chief Stringer requested the BPAC Member consider meeting every other month. Baytown Police Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes April 26,2022 Page 15 of 16 Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno inquired when was their term over as she felt as though the BPAC had lost three months. Committee Member Dr. Stansky opined the BPAC should definitely meet before their City Council presentation, and then maybe meet every other month at City Hall. In the months they did not meet there,the BPAC could meet with the community in a church or wherever they decide. To Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno's question, Assistant Secretary Angela Jackson noted September 30th was the end of their term. The BPAC Member further deliberated their meeting location and schedules. Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno was interested in what Committee Member Hunsinger had said about meeting in June with Lieutenant Rene Hinojosa's committee of officers at whatever location they so wish. Lt. Hinojosa was fine with that. Chairperson Bolenbaucher asked Lt. Hinojosa if that would be enough time to publicize the meeting, secure a venue, etc. Lt. Hinojosa, for a town hall meeting, did not believe that would be enough time. Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno wondered if their BPAC meeting could be to meet with Lt. Hinojosa's committee of officers and provide feedback as she felt that was a charge within their parameters. Committee Member Dr. Stansky clarified they would then not have a whole community, but just Lt. Hinojosa's committee. Chairperson Bolenbaucher asked Mrs. Jackson and Legal Counsel Jerris Mapes if they would be able to have any type of working sessions where it was still the committee, yet they could have discussions that was not necessarily in an open forum. Ms. Mapes answered they could, but it would be difficult if those topics were not known in advance. In other words, if the BPAC Members could be very specific about the topics on the agenda, that would be great. However, if somebody from the audience wished to speak on a topic that was not on the agenda, they were not able to discuss it then. Ms. Mapes suggested the members be good about breaking down the topics. For example, in a topic about how they could improve relations with the police department, they could not specifically talk about programs. Chairperson Bolenbaucher thought if Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno and himself could get some of those agenda items,then by their next meeting they were able to nail down some of those things that could be brought back to the BPAC. Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno first wanted to make sure if Lt. Hinojosa was okay with the agenda items as the BPAC would be going to his committee. Lt. Hinojosa stated in their program, they did need city leaders and the BPAC Members involved. Thus, that would not be a problem. Chief Stringer reminded the BPAC that their meetings were for advisement and not governance. He relayed BPD needed to know what the community had for them beyond the opinions in the room—which he fully respected and appreciated. That being one of the reasons Chief Stringer approached Lt. Hinojosa, to do that for BPD. For Lt. Hinojosa to get out there and find out what BPD was missing. What BPD needed from the BPAC, was who they would bring to BPD that could stand and talk about some things they would like to see. Also, identify people in their community who would love to volunteer with BPD. In closing, Chairperson Bolenbaucher proceeded to set their next meeting for May 24, 2022. He requested Lt. Hinojosa to let them know as soon as possible when he was ready for that gathering with his team. Ms. Mapes added that as long as the BPAC Member did not have a quorum, two or Baytown Police Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes April 26,2022 Page 16 of 16 three of them could go to events with Lt. Hinojosa. If the BPAC Members happen to end up with a quorum, they could not discuss city business. A motion was made by Committee Member Dr. June Stansky and seconded by Committee Member Yulanda Braxton to have the next BPAC Board Meeting on May 24, 2022, at 6:00 P.M. The vote was as follows: Ayes: Chairperson Eric Bolenbaucher, Committee Member Yulanda Braxton, Committee Member Lt. Rodney Evans, Vice Chairperson Dr. Marissa Moreno, Committee Member Dr. June Stansky, Committee Member Richard Hunsinger, and Committee Member Cpl. Steve Ocanas Nays: None Approved Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno clarified in terms of meeting every other month,the BPAC Members did not agree on that. Chairperson Bolenbaucher stated he and Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno would need to work on that with Mrs. Jackson. 6. ADJOURN With there being no further business to discuss, a motion was made by Committee Member Dr. Stansky and seconded by Committee Member Richard Hunsinger to adjourn the April 26, 2022, Baytown Police Advisory Committee Meeting at 7:35 P.M. The vote was as follows: Ayes: Chairperson Eric Bolenbaucher, Committee Member Yulanda Braxton, Committee Member Lt. Rodney Evans, Vice Chairperson Dr. Marissa Moreno, Committee Member Dr. June Stansky, Committee Member Richard Hunsinger, and Committee Member Cpl. Steve Ocanas Nays: None Approved JC-CAS p,YT°kv4, t. Angela Jac on, Assistant Sec tare 4 City of Baytown 1 ,, A * K}4Gj