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2022 10 18 BPAC Minutes MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE BAYTOWN POLICE ADVISORY COMMITTEE OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN October 18, 2022 The Baytown Police Advisory Committee (BPAC) met in a Meeting on Tuesday, October 18, 2022, at 6:12 P.M. in the Baytown Conference Room of the Baytown City Hall, located at 2401 Market Street, Baytown, Texas with the following in attendance: Michael Springer Committee Member Dr. June Stansky Committee Member Richard Hunsinger Committee Member Natalie Robinson Committee Member Doris Thomas Committee Member Dr. Marissa Moreno Vice Chairperson Angela Jackson Assistant Secretary Mike Holden Assistant Police Chief Jerris Mapes Legal Counsel Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno convened the October 18, 2022, Baytown Police Advisory Committee (BPAC) Meeting with a quorum present at 6:12 P.M. All members were present with the exception of the absence of Committee Member Lt. Rodney Evans and Committee Member Athena Greene. Prior to their first item of business, Vice Chairperson Dr. Moreno had the new and existing Committee Members introduce themselves. 1. ELECTION OF OFFICERS a. Consider the election of the Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson and the appointment of the Secretary. The BPAC Members were provided paper ballots to write down their nominations for Chairperson. Assistant Secretary Angela Jackson announced the votes were unanimous for Dr. Marissa Moreno. A motion was made by Committee Member Richard Hunsinger and seconded by Committee Member Dr. June Stansky to approve the appointment of Dr. Marissa Moreno as Chairperson of the Baytown Police Advisory Committee. The vote was as follows: Ayes: Vice Chairperson Dr. Marissa Moreno, Committee Member Michael Springer, Committee Member Dr. June Stansky, Committee Member Richard Hunsinger, Committee Member Natalie Robinson, and Committee Member Doris Thomas Baytown Police Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes October 18,2022 Page2of7 Nays: None Other: Committee Member Lt. Rodney Evans (Absent) and Committee Member Athena Greene (Absent) Approved The BPAC Members then wrote down their nominations for Vice Chairperson. Ms. Jackson announced there were four votes for Mr. Michael Springer and two for Mr. Richard Hunsinger. A motion was made by Committee Member Richard Hunsinger and seconded by Committee Member Dr. June Stansky to approve the appointment of Mr. Michael Springer as Vice Chairperson of the Baytown Police Advisory Committee. The vote was as follows: Ayes: Chairperson Dr. Marissa Moreno, Committee Member Dr. June Stansky, Committee Member Richard Hunsinger, Committee Member Natalie Robinson, and Committee Member Doris Thomas Nays: None Other: Committee Member Michael Springer(Abstained), Committee Member Lt. Rodney Evans (Absent), and Committee Member Athena Greene(Absent) Approved Lastly, Chairperson Dr. Moreno entertained a motion to appoint their BPAC Secretary. A motion was made by Committee Member Dr. June Stansky and seconded by Committee Member Michael Springer to approve the appointment of Ms. Angela Jackson as Secretary of the Baytown Police Advisory Committee. The vote was as follows: Ayes: Chairperson Dr. Marissa Moreno, Vice Chairperson Michael Springer, Committee Member Dr. June Stansky, Committee Member Richard Hunsinger, Committee Member Natalie Robinson, and Committee Member Doris Thomas Nays: None Other: Committee Member Lt. Rodney Evans (Absent) and Committee Member Athena Greene(Absent) Approved 2. MINUTES Baytown Police Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes October 18,2022 Page 3 of 7 a. Consider approving the minutes of the Baytown Police Advisory Committee Meeting held on September 20, 2022. A motion was made by Committee Member Richard Hunsinger and seconded by Committee Member Dr. June Stansky to approve the minutes of the Baytown Police Advisory Committee Meeting held on September 20, 2022, as submitted. The vote was as follows: Ayes: Chairperson Dr. Marissa Moreno, Vice Chairperson Michael Springer, Committee Member Dr. June Stansky, Committee Member Richard Hunsinger, Committee Member Natalie Robinson, and Committee Member Doris Thomas Nays: None Other: Committee Member Lt. Rodney Evans (Absent) and Committee Member Athena Greene (Absent) Approved 3. CITIZEN INPUT a. Receive citizen input concerning police outreach, community policing, officer training, as well as policies and procedures. Dr. June Stansky had registered to speak, not as a Committee Member,but as a concerned citizen. First, Dr. Stansky shared her history in joining the Mayor's Community Engagement Advisory Committee (CEAC) in 2019. After the killing of Pamela Turner, there was unrest in the City as it made national TV of an officer killing a civilian.The Mayor had a twenty-five member committee, but their city government system did not allow him to act on their suggestions. Thus, Council started the BPAC and Dr. Stansky believed they had done good things with mental illness as Ms. Turner had such problems. Last week, the trial was held against Officer Juan Delacruz who had been on the City's payroll the whole time due to civil service laws. The judge opted not to accept Ms.Turner's mental illness as evidence and the officer was found not guilty. Dr. Stansky wondered if the City was preparing for unrest as she was in unrest. She further questioned if the officer would go through more training on mental illness along with other officers. Would he be allowed to patrol? Those were Dr. Stansky's basic concerns as she did not feel the right decision was made. 4. COMMUNITY INPUT a. Receive community input obtained by the Baytown Police Advisory Committee Members. Vice Chairperson Springer shared a firefighter in his neighborhood suggested to have patrol on Bayway Drive during peak traffic times when refineries change shifts. Some people use Greenbriar Baytown Police Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes October 18,2022 Page 4 of 7 Drive in their neighborhood to circumvent Bayway at high rates of speed.He estimated those times to be around 5:00 P.M. to 5:30 P.M. 5. TRAINING a. Receive training on the Texas Open Meetings Act and the Texas Public Information Act, and receive an overview of the City's policy regarding the conduct of city business through written communication on personal communication accounts/devices. Legal Counsel Jerris Mapes presented and facilitated the training for the BPAC Members on the Texas Open Meetings Act and the Texas Public Information Act. After, Ms. Mapes discussed the City's email policy as well as their records retention policy pertaining to emails. The BPAC Members were provided directions in their welcome packets on how to log in to their emails. If they were to have any questions, Ms. Mapes requested they contact Secretary Angela Jackson. 6. BUSINESS ITEMS a. Discuss participation of the Baytown Police Advisory Committee at the Citizen Appreciation Event to be held at Town Square on November 5, 2022. Chairperson Dr. Moreno noted several BPAC Members had gotten together to discuss the Citizen Appreciation Event: Committee Member Hunsinger, Vice Chairperson Springer, and Committee Member Dr. Stansky. Committee Member Dr. Stansky shared they talked about making a banner and putting a table together, but ran in to a roadblock with the graphic design. They also did not have funding for a banner and the Committee deliberated over that matter. Legal Counsel Jerris Mapes would reach out to former BPAC Member Cpl. Steve Ocanas and advised the BPAC to also speak with the City for possible funding. Committee Member Hunsinger questioned if students from the Lee College's Art Department would want to assist. Chairperson Dr. Moreno offered to reach out and see. Regarding their ability to attend the event, Chairperson Dr. Moreno would be unable to and Committee Member Dr. Stansky could only attend the second half. Committee Member Hunsinger and Vice Chairperson Springer communicated they could attend the full event. Chairperson Dr. Moreno inquired if they would pass things out. Committee Member Hunsinger offered to print out their material as well as provide a canopy, tables, and chairs. Committee Member Dr. Stansky had previously suggested they print a survey from the Baytown Police Department's (BPD) website, Criticisms and Complaints. The idea was approved and a QR code would be created for citizens that wished to complete it online.Assistant Police Chief Mike Holden confirmed the BPAC would have a booth and Police Chief John Stringer would fund their banner. The banner insignia would be Committee Member Dr. Stansky's design presented at their previous meeting. Ms. Mapes requested she speak with Public Affairs Director Thomas Reeves to share her ideas and see whether there would be any concerns. The Committee recapped and invited their new members to the event on November 5, 2022, from 11:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M., at Town Square. 7. REPORTS Baytown Police Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes October 18,2022 Page 5 of 7 a. Receive an update regarding the status of police outreach, community policing, officer training and policies and procedures. As Police Chief John Stringer was out for training, Assistant Police Chief Mike Holden provided the report to the BPAC. The Baytown Police Department's (BPD) policies had all been reviewed and were ready for the On-Site for Best Practices Accreditation in November. They would begin the process of publishing their policies, absent those that were safety and investigative sensitive, by the first of the year on their website. On training,the Law Enforcement Executive Development Association (LEEDA) had trained all of their supervisors and would now be available to their officers to develop future leaders. In addition, BPD had new tasers coming in and officers would go through recertification for those tasers. They also completed their Fire Arms Training Systems (FATS) training for all departments and had a Field Training Instructor(FTI) course for their new instructors. Chief Holden added BPD had recruitment training to recruit and retain new officers. With regard to community outreach, Chief Holden announced Grito Fest had been a success. BPD also participated in National Night Out last month at fourteen locations and Coffee with a Cop last weekend at the Chick-Fil-A on I-10.Their Hispanic Outreach event would be on October 25,2022, at the Emmanuel Church on 500 East James Street. BPD would additionally participate in Trick or Treat on the Trail on October 29th to provide security and for community engagement. As previously mentioned,Citizen Appreciation Day would be on November 5, 2022, at Town Square. Chief Holden then invited the BPAC to assist with wrapping present for Blue Santa to get to know officers in a less formal setting. He would provide them the date when it was set, and the location was usually at the old National Guard Building that was now owned by Frank's Collision Repair. On mental health, Chief Holden reported BPD responded to the following: • August—34 mental health calls with 22 resulting in Emergency Detention Orders (EDO); • September—38 mental health calls with 24 resulting in EDOs; and • October—(to date) 21 mental health calls with 21 resulting in EDOs. The Clinician and Officer Remote Evaluation(CORE) deployments were reported as follows: • August—7 deployments with 1 resulting in an EDO; • September—4 deployments with 2 resulting in EDOs; and • October—Harris County was unable to produce those numbers at that time. Chief Holden lastly wished to make the BPAC aware that he was researching grants for a Citizen Mental Health Advocate. They would work and follow up with mental health consumers as BPD did with crime victims.The position would be a civilian that Chief Holden stated would be trained in the mental health field. He then discussed over their Crime Victims Unit. The Unit had two civilians and had been in place for twenty-plus years to provide services to crime victims. They also helped in other matters, such as reaching out to the community on Domestic Violence Month. As that concluded his report, Chairperson Dr. Moreno inquired over EDOs. Chief Holden explained Emergency Detention Orders (EDO) were when a person was involuntarily committed. Officers would contact and take an individual to a hospital where a doctor would perform an Baytown Police Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes October 18,2022 Page 6 of 7 evaluation. If the individual needed treatment,they could decide to commit themselves voluntarily or involuntarily. For involuntary individuals, BPD would contact the District Attorney's Office to get an EDO.The EDO would go through the court in order for them to hold the person for treatment after the evaluation. The facility individuals would go to depended on the severity of their case. On another note, Committee Member Hunsinger shared he worked with Homeland Security though Microsoft doing cybersecurity. When the counties and municipalities he worked with saw he was from Baytown,they comment over BPD hiring and noted their package looked really good. Committee Member Hunsinger commended them and relayed people usually find that out on social media. In response, Chief Holden discussed their recruitment efforts with Human Resources (HR) regarding certified tests. Committee Member Hunsinger did note the only negative thing he heard over BPD was on the no family rule. He dealt with a lot of married couples that would not be able to work together in Baytown, and wondered whether the City would ever reconsider that rule. Committee Member Dr. Stansky inquired over BPD's open positions. Chief Holden replied they were currently staffed at 159,but they had a few retirements at the end of the month. As they were allotted 175 positions, 16 were still vacant. Chief Holden shared two officers had left to the private sector, but requested to come back. One was still waiting while the other was back at work. Thus, the benefit packages the City put out there were very attractive. Agencies and officers were contacting BPD, and their recruitment efforts were extending throughout the state and nationally. 8. NEXT MEETING a. Consider setting date, time and location for the next Baytown Police Advisory Committee meeting, along with any related tasks and processes to include, but not limited to: • Discuss conducting a teambuilding exercise with the members of the Baytown Police Advisory Committee to review the committee's purpose and buckets of concern. For their new BPAC Members, Chairperson Dr. Moreno recapped two years ago the BPAC met at the library with facilitators to determine their buckets of concern.They discussed those concerns as a Committee and worked on them with the Baytown Police Department (BPD). The BPAC wished to look back on those buckets and perhaps look at additional buckets. In discussing the absent BPAC Members, Committee Member Hunsinger suggested they consider a different day and time for those having difficulties at their next meeting. For their meeting in November, the BPAC Members present agreed to scheduling it November 15, 2022, at 6:00 P.M. For their teambuilding, the BPAC Members proposed December 14th or the 16th at 6:00 P.M., and would wait to see if the facilitators would be available. Chairperson Dr. Moreno requested an item at their next meeting to review their buckets of concern. She wished their new members be brought up to speed and aware of the movement of the BPAC for the past two years for their teambuilding exercise in December. 9. ADJOURN Baytown Police Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes October 18,2022 Page 7 of 7 With there being no further business to discuss, a motion was made by Vice Chairperson Michael Springer and seconded by Committee Member Dr. June Stansky to adjourn the October 18, 2022, Baytown Police Advisory Committee Meeting at 7:25 P.M. The vote was as follows: Ayes: Chairperson Dr. Marissa Moreno, Vice Chairperson Michael Springer, Committee Member Dr. June Stansky, Committee Member Richard Hunsinger,Committee Member Natalie Robinson, and Committee Member Doris Thomas Nays: None Other: Committee Member Lt. Rodney Evans (Absent) and Committee Member Athena Greene (Absent) Approved ma tL s/i iy Angela J son, Seer ty! I\.__ t • i City of Baytown • '