2022 08 23 BPAC Minutes MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE BAYTOWN POLICE ADVISORY
COMMITTEE OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN
August 23, 2022
The Baytown Police Advisory Committee(BPAC)met in a Meeting on Tuesday,August 23,2022,
at 6:02 P.M. in the Council Chamber of the Baytown City Hall, located at 2401 Market Street,
Baytown, Texas with the following in attendance:
Lt. Rodney Evans Committee Member
Michael Springer Committee Member
Dr. Marissa Moreno Vice Chairperson
Dr. June Stansky Committee Member
Richard Hunsinger Committee Member
Cpl. Steve Ocanas Committee Member
Eric Bolenbaucher Chairperson
Raquel Martinez Deputy Assistant Secretary
John Stringer Police Chief
Jerris Mapes Legal Counsel
Chairperson Eric Bolenbaucher convened the August 23, 2022, Baytown Police Advisory
Committee (BPAC) Meeting with a quorum present at 6:02 P.M., all members were present with
the exception of the absence of Committee Member Athena Greene.
1. MINUTES
a. Consider approving the minutes of the Baytown Police Advisory Committee Meeting
held on July 26,2022.
Before the approval of the minutes, Chairperson Bolenbaucher welcomed Committee Member
Greene who was absent and would be representing District 6 on their Committee.
A motion was made by Committee Member Richard Hunsinger and seconded by Committee
Member Dr. June Stansky to approve the meeting minutes of the Baytown Police Advisory
Committee Meeting held on July 26, 2022, as submitted. The vote was as follows:
Ayes: Chairperson Eric Bolenbaucher, Committee Member Lt. Rodney Evans,
Committee Member Michael Springer, Vice Chairperson Dr. Marissa
Moreno, Committee Member Dr. June Stansky, Committee Member
Richard Hunsinger, and Committee Member Cpl. Steve Ocanas
Nays: None
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August 23,2022
Page 2 of 8
Other: Committee Member Athena Greene (Absent)
Approved
2. CITIZEN INPUT
a. Receive citizen input concerning police outreach, community policing, officer
training, as well as policies and procedures.
Chairperson Bolenbaucher announced Ms. Crispina Powell had signed up to speak on the item.
Ms. Powell shared her concern over Motel 19, or the"Rebel Motel."Due to the motel, numerous
people walked through her neighborhood late at night. In one instance, she had a person come to
her door at 12:30 A.M. where the police had been dispatched to address the situation.As there was
a lot of crime in that area with people from the motel, she wished to know what could be done to
curtail some of that crime and dissuade those people from walking in to their neighborhood.
Chairperson Bolenbaucher questioned if she had any type of video to pass on to the Baytown
Police Department (BPD). Ms. Powell did, so Chairperson Bolenbaucher further inquired if any
previous incidents had been recorded. She answered there had been several police reports made.
Police Chief John Stringer then responded to Ms. Powell by stating BPD had been made aware of
the activity. The department had increased patrols and have had investigative operations in that
area. When Ms. Powell had inquired over the situation earlier, Chief Stringer explained BPD was
not in the position to be able to reveal that information. However,he informed her they have made
one arrest that would appear to continue to be an ongoing investigation. He assured Ms. Powell
that BPD was over at that area, even if she did not see them. Ms. Powell wondered if there was an
opportunity to do a neighborhood watch with BPD as several residents had asked about that.
Committee Member Cpl. Steve Ocanas requested she contact him to make arrangements to start
one up.
3. COMMUNITY INPUT
a. Receive and discuss community input obtained by the Baytown Police Advisory
Committee Members.
Committee Member Hunsinger relayed a number of people have commented on San Jacinto
Boulevard regarding speeding. He was aware there were some patrols, but requested they be
increase or to have that looked at. In looking at the map, Chairperson Bolenbaucher noted some of
that area was not in the City of Baytown. Police Chief John Stringer believed the roadway, itself,
was all inside the City. Committee Member Hunsinger further commented he had noticed officers
parked towards I-10,but on the curve past the apartments was were people biked and exercised.
4. BUSINESS ITEMS
a. Consider the adoption of an election policy for the Baytown Police Advisory
Committee.
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August 23,2022
Page 3 of 8
As the criteria had not being settled on when there was a tie on their elections, Legal Counsel Jerris
Mapes presented to the BPAC two options. If the BPAC came up with a third option, that could
be entertained as well.The first option was a coin toss,and the second was to use a hat or container.
Committee Member Dr. Stansky proposed the Chairperson's vote not count unless there was a tie.
A motion was made by Committee Member Dr. June Stansky and seconded by Vice Chairperson
Dr. Marissa Moreno to amend Option 2.g., related to Item 4.a., where instead of having a name
drawn, the Chairperson of the Baytown Police Advisory Committee would not vote except in the
case of a tie. However, there was discussion prior to the vote.
As it would not be known in advance that there would be a tie,Ms. Mapes wondered if Committee
Member Dr. Stansky would want the Chairperson to not have a vote in any election. Committee
Member Dr. Stansky confirmed so as a Chairperson would have more background on the votes
than a coin or drawing from a hat. Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno wondered if the BPAC Members
would vote at the same time or separately. Committee Member Dr. Stansky suggested the top
position be the first vote and then they go down the ballot. Thus, each Committee Member would
vote separately. However, Committee Member Hunsinger was not in favor of the option. As each
member represented a separate district, that would be taking one district's voice out. Committee
Member Dr. Stansky countered that one district would have a bigger vote. For Committee Member
Hunsinger,it was not about the size,but of representation.Also,he did not want somebody to have
more sway than another and would rather have that winner be determined by a fifty-fifty chance.
The vote for the motion on the table was as follows:
Ayes: Committee Member Dr. June Stansky
Nays: Chairperson Eric Bolenbaucher, Committee Member Lt. Rodney Evans,
Vice Chairperson Dr. Marissa Moreno, Committee Member Michael
Springer, Committee Member Richard Hunsinger, and Committee Member
Cpl. Steve Ocanas
Other: Committee Member Athena Greene(Absent)
Failed to Pass
Upon further discussion, Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno suggested Option 1, the coin toss.
A motion was made by Vice Chairperson Dr. Marissa Moreno and seconded by Committee
Member Richard Hunsinger to approve of Option 1,related to Item 4.a. The vote was as follows:
Ayes: Chairperson Eric Bolenbaucher, 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: Committee Member Michael Springer
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August 23,2022
Page 4 of 8
Other: Committee Member Athena Greene(Absent)
Approved
Chairperson Bolenbaucher announced Option 1 had been carried out and would be utilized in the
next election process for the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson of the BPAC in the event of a tie.
Ms. Mapes added that would become Item 2.8 on the City's Rules of Procedures for the BPAC of
which an updated copy would be sent to each BPAC Member.
b. Receive a presentation and discuss the CIT/CORE Mental Health Update.
Lieutenant Steve Dorris presented the item to the BPAC. Lt. Don-is relayed the Crisis Intervention
Team (CIT) came into fruition in April 2021. Since then, the Baytown Police Department (BPD)
responded to 472 mental health related calls which averaged to 31 calls per month or one a day.
Of the 472, 113 had been repeat calls making that a recidivism rate of about 23.9% to 24%. Lt.
Dorris expressed that was not too bad,but he hoped that would go down as time went on and they
collected more data. Moreover, 180 of the 472 had previously been arrested by BPD in the past
ten years. However, prior to April 2021, BPD did not track mental health related calls making it
hard to determine if those arrests had been mental health issues. In November 2021,BPD received
the mental health decals and have handed out about 43 so far. Some had been distributed to people
that called to request them,but most were provided by officers responding to mental health calls.
In December 9, 2021, the Clinician and Officer Remote Evaluation (CORE) Program went live
and BPD trained twenty officers on the CORE iPads.Within twenty minutes of that initial training,
there had been a successful resolution to a military veteran suffering a mental health crisis. In the
first six months, CORE had been deployed about 71 times. Half resulted in emergency detentions
(EDOs)while the other half had been resolved on-scene. Lt. Dorris shared BPD did look for those
calls to be resolved on-scene to keep people out of hospitals and jails. With the CORE iPads
deployed, people received resources through the Mobile Crisis Outreach Teams (MCOT).
Committee Member Dr. Stansky inquired over EDOs. Lt. Dorris explained EDOs were the legal
mechanism by which officers took possession of somebody and forced them to go to hospitals. Of
the 71 cases, consumers and or their family were provided resources to facilitate extended care.
Lt. Dorris then addressed suicides. Since their inception, BPD had responded to 12 suicides and 6
attempted suicides. Of the 6 attempted, CIT officers provided direct intervention to 5 of those that
resulted in the consumer getting on the path to the help they needed. Most situations had been CIT
officers arriving to the person only talking about it, so officers spent time with the individuals and
pointed them in the right direction for help. One attempt had been a direct save by a detention
officer. An individual had attempted while in jail, the officer intervened, and they were put in the
system to receive help. In addition to the 6 attempted,none had made a second attempt to date. Of
the 12 suicides, one had made a previous attempt in 2020 prior to the program's implementation.
From 2020 to 2021, there were 14 suicides and 12 attempted. Thus, that number had decreased.
The most common mechanism for suicides was by gunshot while fewer were by hangings.
As that completed his presentation,Lt. Dorris opened the floor to questions. In regards to suicides,
Chairperson Bolenbaucher wondered what resources and how quickly did BPD have to give that
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August 23,2022
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to the families. Lt. Dorris replied their responses to attempted suicides resulted in an immediate
EDO. Individuals were sent to hospitals for a psychiatric evaluation and that was non-negotiable.
The second thing CIT and CORE officers did was distribute their cards to the families that had
primary numbers, hotline numbers, and a QR code that sent them to the Bay Area Council on
Drugs and Alcohol (BACODA) mental health website. The intention of those cards were for
everyone to receive the same information.Also,one side of the card was in English while the other
was in Spanish.Chairperson Bolenbaucher commended BPD for their partnership with BACODA.
On the recidivism mentioned,Committee Member Hunsinger was concerned over that number and
questioned if that included CORE or had that been counted separately. Lt. Dorris answered the
number, 113, were of all repeated mental health calls put together. Committee Member Hunsinger
wondered, once there was a full year under the CORE's belt, could they break off information for
CORE specifically to see if both were having the same issue or if that was correlated with the CIT.
Lt. Dorris believed he should be able to do that and reiterated his hopes on that number decreasing.
c. Discuss and consider setting up a booth for the Baytown Police Advisory Committee
at the upcoming National Night Out Event scheduled for Tuesday, October 4,2022.
Committee Member Cpl. Ocanas informed the BPAC there had been a change to National Night
Out as the Baytown Police Department(BPD)would move back in to neighborhoods for that year.
Therefore, the event would not be held at Town Square, so BPD would instead allow
neighborhoods to go their website and build their own block party. He assured BPD would still
provide SWAT,K9s,city officials,and the Police Chief.The neighborhoods would have the option
to choose who they would want to see. Nevertheless, BPD would host an event on November 5,
2022, on Saturday from 11:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M. where the BPAC could set up a booth at Town
Square. Committee Member Cpl. Ocanas believed that would be called Citizen's Appreciation
Day. As with National Night Out, BPD would have hotdogs, entertainment, DJs, and vendors.
Legal Counsel Jerris Mapes recalled their discussions about National Night Out and their banner.
She suggested they could use that banner on the November 5th event, although the BPAC would
have to make a decision on how they would want that to look. Ms. Mapes further inquired if the
BPAC wished for their own logo. On that note, Committee Member Hunsinger cautioned against
the BPAC appearing as an arm of BPD. If they chose to do a logo,he would rather they appear as
though they worked for the City itself. Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno then shared her concern on
the logo as there would be Committee Members who would not be on the BPAC after September.
She wished those that would be on the BPAC to have that vote. Ms. Mapes ensured there would
not be a vote that day. The suggestion was for the BPAC to consider whether to place that on the
next agenda. Alternatively, the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson could meet to discuss that.
The Committee further deliberated on how they wished to proceed and other related issues. As
there was a concern over future BPAC Members, Deputy Assistant Secretary Raquel Martinez
relayed the following information:
• Not up for Reappointment: Committee Member Springer(Mayor), Committee Member
Dr. Stansky, and Committee Member Lt. Evans
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August 23,2022
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• Up for Reappointment: Chairperson Bolenbaucher (District 5), Vice Chairperson Dr.
Moreno (District 2), Committee Member Hunsinger(District 4), Committee Member Cpl.
Ocanas (City Manager), and Committee Member Greene(District 6)
As for Committee Member Greene, Ms. Martinez relayed Council Member Mike Lester would
keep her on the BPAC. Chairperson Bolenbaucher noted he would not continue to serve.
Furthermore,Ms.Martinez informed the BPAC the City Council Meeting where the consideration
of their appointments would be held was on September 22, 2022. Ms. Mapes offered the BPAC
could call a special meeting to discuss before then if needed. The BPAC further discussed matters
concerning their appointments.After,Chairperson Bolenbaucher recapped National Night Out had
been moved in to neighborhoods and on November 5th the BPAC would have a booth at Town
Square.Committee Member Lt. Evans,Committee Member Springer,and Committee Member Dr.
Stansky would form together to get that organized and would report back at their next meeting. A
few more clarifications on their needs were discussed amongst the BPAC before proceeding on.
d. Review the Baytown Police Advisory Committee's buckets of concern and discuss the
presentation of the committee's quarterly report to the City Council on September 22,2022.
Chairperson Bolenbaucher expressed the BPAC Members had done a good job of looking at their
four buckets of concern:mental health;transparency and accountability;training and development;
and positive engagement. Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno suggested they have another session at
the Sterling Municipal Library to discuss those buckets of concern, their progress, and look at
additional concerns. Committee Member Hunsinger recommended that be done with the new
BPAC Members.Chairperson Bolenbaucher agreed that the BPAC,in October,should be educated
on their previous two-year buckets of concern so they could verbalize their own concerns. Legal
Counsel Jerris Mapes would see about facilitators for that October meeting. Vice Chairperson Dr.
Moreno noted their September meeting would determine their needs for the November 5th event.
Vice Chairperson Dr.Moreno and Chairperson Bolenbaucher would do a recap of their last quarter
in preparation of their quarterly meeting. If current BPAC Members had any concerns,Chairperson
Bolenbaucher requested they jot those down so those would go to the new BPAC Members at the
October meeting.
e. Receive a report and discuss the status of police outreach,community policing,officer
training and policies and procedures.
Police Chief John Stringer opened the item noting Lieutenant Rene Hinojosa had put together a
presentation on the UNIDOS Program for the Hispanic Outreach Team. Before he turned over the
floor, Chief Stringer updated the BPAC on trainings as well as the policy and procedure reviews
that were ongoing. The Baytown Police Department (BPD) was coming up on their on-site
inspection with an accreditation group for the Texas Police Chiefs Association which BPD was on
track to receive their re-accreditation. Chief Stringer relayed there were over 180 standards their
department had to show proof of compliance with and that would be audited by an outside agency.
In addition,Chief Stringer would be training that week in their regular block training that included
40 hours of de-escalation, ethics, and critical thinking during practical application scenarios.
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August 23,2022
Page 7 of 8
Lt. Hinojosa then opened his presentation with the UNIDOS mission statement which read:
"UNIDOS is providing 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. " He explained that would be accomplished by providing assistance in areas of
relevance to the Hispanic community and by focusing on being a resource center to them. Many
of those individuals came from countries where the police were corrupt and could not be trusted.
Post September 11, 2001, the United States' emphasis on terrorism and the ongoing immigration
debate increased that level of mistrust for many Hispanic immigrants. Therefore, many crimes
went unreported and Spanish-speaking residents also refused to come forward in investigations.
Lt. Hinojosa shared to have seen that firsthand on many occasions. He believed the key to lowing
their victim rate related to them not trusting the police enough to call. The language barrier and
lack of involvement with police created many instances where Hispanics were unnecessarily
victims of crime. Police departments found many situations may be mishandled by officers due to
their similar lack of understanding of the Hispanic culture and their policing systems.
In UNIDOS townhall meetings, it would be a group effort with both citizens and their department
to build relationships. UNIDOS was founded on several principals and truly believed in two-way
communication to promote that trust between the police and the community. Their meetings will
feature speakers and topics which would not necessarily be police-related, but rather subjects of
interest relevant to the Hispanic community. UNIDOS would act as a resources center where
Hispanic residents could obtain information or assistance on any topic regardless if police-related.
Spanish-speaking officers would be available at the end of each meeting to spend time with them
and answer questions or help find solutions to individual needs. In their first meeting,there would
be a presentation and dinner where officers would eat with families to create that communication.
In order to achieve their objective, UNIDOS involved the participation of Hispanic community
leaders,bilingual city employees,and Spanish-speaking professionals from their community.With
that, UNIDOS would be able to gain their genuine trust and create a bond to help officers better
understand them.Also,a better understanding of laws and ordinances through UNIDOS could lead
to fewer violations committed by Hispanics in their City. Lt. Hinojosa further touched on other
areas that could positively be impacted through their program by providing education on the
following topics:banking,car safety,benefits to being a Baytown resident, all things related to the
Fire Department, the Baytown Housing Authority, Municipal Court, the Texas Department of
Public Safety(DPS), BPD services, social security, education,health, and the list went on.
Their first townhall meeting would be on October 25, 2022, at 7:00 P.M., and located at Iglesia
Emanuel, "Emmanuel Church," on 500 E James Street. The Hispanic Outreach Time would also
be present with the BPAC on the event that would be held on November 5th. In essence,UNIDOS
was about educating their Spanish-speaking community.Chief Stringer noted their team had began
doing some of that informally as the team had representation in many community events. Lt.
Hinojosa confirmed so and shared they passed out flyers to promote their meetings that they will
hold every quarter. BPD had a press release on that day which was handled by their Public
Information Coordinator Ana Fernandez who was a civilian. The BPAC and Chief Stringer
expressed their appreciation for Lt. Hinojosa as he passed around their UNIDOS flyers. After
further discussion on the team and UNIDOS' involvement,the BPAC continued to their next item.
Baytown Police Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes
August 23,2022
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f. Consider setting any tasks and processes for future meetings.
Chairperson Bolenbaucher noted the item was intended for their meeting on September 20, 2022.
Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno relayed she and Chairperson Bolenbaucher would work on their
presentation to Council beforehand. The BPAC would be able to review and provide additional
feedback so Chairperson Bolenbaucher could present that at the City Council Meeting on
September 22,2022.The following items were provided by the BPAC as tasks for future meetings:
• November 5t"needs discussion by Committee Member Dr. Stansky, Committee Member
Springer, and Committee Member Lt. Evans
• National Night Out
• October meeting discussion at the Sterling Municipal Library
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 announced their next meeting was on September 20,2022 at 6:00 P.M.,
and was discussed to be tentatively located at the Council Chamber of the Baytown City Hall.
6. ADJOURN
With there being no further business to discuss, a motion was made by Committee Member Dr.
June Stansky and seconded by Committee Member Michael Springer to adjourn the August 23,
2022, Baytown Police Advisory Committee Meeting at 7:17 P.M. The vote was as follows:
Ayes: Chairperson Eric Bolenbaucher, Committee Member Lt. Rodney Evans,
Committee Member Michael Springer, Vice Chairperson Dr. Marissa
Moreno, Committee Member Dr. June Stansky, Committee Member
Richard Hunsinger,Committee Member Cpl. Steve Ocanas,and Committee
Member Athena Greene
Nays: None
Approved
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Angela Ja son, Assistant Sect plr}r
City of Baytown -:
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