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2023 07 25 BPAC Minutes MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE BAYTOWN POLICE ADVISORY COMMITTEE OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN July 25, 2023 The Baytown Police Advisory Committee (BPAC) met in a Meeting on Tuesday, July 25, 2023, at 6:00 P.M. in the Rundell Hall Conference Center of Lee College, located at 200 Lee Drive, Baytown, Texas, with the following in attendance: Michael Springer Vice Chairperson Sgt. Steve Jones Committee Member Dr. June Stansky Committee Member Richard Hunsinger Committee Member Natalie Robinson Committee Member Kirk Russell Committee Member Dr. Marissa Moreno Chairperson Angela Jackson Secretary John Stringer Police Chief Chairperson Dr. Moreno convened the July 25, 2023, Baytown Police Advisory Committee (BPAC)Meeting with a quorum present at 6:00 P.M., and with all members present. 1. MINUTES a. Consider approving the minutes of the Baytown Police Advisory Committee Meeting held on May 23,2023. A motion was made by Vice Chairperson Michael Springer and seconded by Committee Member Dr.June Stansky to approve the minutes of the Baytown Police Advisory Committee Meeting held on May 23, 2023, as submitted. The vote was as follows: Ayes: Chairperson Dr. Marissa Moreno, Vice Chairperson Michael Springer, Committee Member Sgt. Steve Jones, Committee Member Dr. June Stansky, Committee Member Richard Hunsinger, Committee Member Natalie Robinson, and Committee Member Kirk Russell Nays: None Approved 2. CITIZEN INPUT a. Receive citizen input concerning police outreach, community policing, officer training, as well as policies and procedures. Chairperson Dr. Moreno announced Ms. Tammy Guidry signed up to speak on the item. Baytown Police Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes July 25,2023 Page 2 of 4 Ms. Guidry was present to discuss officer accountability and her concerns over Officer Nathaniel Brown. She shared that she attended a community meeting with the Baytown Police Department (BPD) concerning Officer Brown. At that time, residents spoke about his mistreatment towards minorities as well as lower-income Caucasian citizens. Ms. Guidry understood that the officer had been fired,but that legalities ultimately allowed him to be rehired. She relayed the community was on the path to rebuild their trust in the police department when he left. When he came back, that trust was again broken. Ms. Guidry requested that there be accountability for those officers that do wrong so the community would be able trust their police department. 3. COMMUNITY INPUT a. Receive community input obtained by the Baytown Police Advisory Committee Members. As no community input had been obtained by the Committee. 4. BUSINESS ITEMS a. Discuss and consider a Properties and Neighborhood List for citizen engagement opportunities. Chairperson Dr. Moreno opened the item regarding the Properties and Neighborhood List that Police Chief John Stringer had emailed her prior to the meeting. On that list, Chairperson Dr. Moreno noted several apartments were identified as potential areas for future BPAC meetings. Their next steps would be to have a conversation about whether or not they wanted to move for- ward with that and who would get contact the apartments. The Committee proceeded to discuss potential avenues to move forward with as well as potential partnerships, such as the Baytown Housing Authority(BHA) and the Crime Control and Prevention District(CCPD). Committee Member Dr. Stansky voiced that she preferred the Northwood Apartments as they had a large population. Committee Member Hunsinger shared that he had hoped to go to areas that were underserved. He believed that was where they would get more relevant feedback on issues. Chief Stringer additionally suggested that the BPAC Members reach out to the apartments and explain what their purpose was. Agreeing, Chairperson Dr. Moreno asked for the apartment com- plexes' contact information which Chief Stringer communicated that they could provide that. 5. REPORTS a. Receive an update regarding the status of police outreach, community policing, officer training and policies and procedures. Police Chief John Stringer presented the following report to the BPAC Members which concerned matters of the Baytown Police Department(BPD). Recruitment and Retention Baytown Police Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes July 25,2023 Page 3 of 4 • 171 Total Officers (Bringing Staff Levels up to 97%) • 3 Impending Retirements: 1 in November, December, and June of 2024 • Working with Human Resources (HR)to further Recruitment Efforts Collaboration Chief Stringer reported that BPD participated in the Safe and Secure Schools meeting with Goose Creek Consolidated Independent School District(GCCISD) and their Emergency Operations Co- ordinator. Chief Stringer conveyed they discussed matters of school physical security, student safety, and welfare. The minutes of that meeting should be available through GCCISD. Training • BPD Senior Command Staff attended the Bureau of Justice Assistance's (BJA) VALOR Executive Leadership Training which was on building a culture of wellness and safety. • A small-scale active shooter exercise was scheduled for Saturday, July 29, 2023, at 7:00 A.M. at Horace Mann Jr. The area would be shut off for the exercise and BPD, GCCISD, and the City of Baytown's Fire Department would test their: - Response and Threat Mitigation - Unified Command - Rescue Task Force • BPD's Texas Commission on Law Enforcement(TCOLE) Statistics: CLASSES STUDENTS HOURS Defensive Tactics 13 312 Taser 6 96 FBI-LEEDA Supervisory 42 1,176 TOTAL 1,584 • BPD provided training to 27 agencies across Texas at the Baytown Police Academy. • 22 Baytown Peace Officers received a total of 625 hours of training. • The following officers were recognized for receiving their Peace Officer Certifications: - Officer Bret Rasch received his Advanced Peace Officer Certification; and - Officer Mitchell Kloewer received his Intermediate Peace Officer Certification. Outreach Chief Stringer reported that BPD was preparing for National Night Out in October. He noted there would only be 1 central location at Town Square. Committee Member Jones also provided further details on the event to the BPAC Members before the Chief continued with his report. Policies and Procedures To end his report, Chief Stringer imparted that BPD was currently writing a policy for their new performance management software. The software would help them document employee perfor- mance, training requirements, as well as other performance indicators while maintaining Baytown Police Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes July 25,2023 Page 4 of 4 transparency with their employees.Chief Stringer relayed they would continue to work on a format for policies to be published online and hoped to begin posting them within the next month. Upon further questioning, the software was noted to be named "Guardian Tracking" which could also export data. Chairperson Dr. Moreno commented that was helpful to know because, to the citizen's point from Item 2.a., it could potentially be a huge tool. This prompted a discussion on how the system would help BPD with transparency, both with citizens and their own employees. On a separate note, Committee Member Dr. Stansky inquired over matters concerning the mental health ribbons and decals. She wondered if BPD needed assistance going out to professionals' offices to distribute them. Chief Stringer replied that they might, but he would have to ask the Crisis Intervention Tem(CIT). He did note,however,that they were discovering people were still worried about the stigma with those stickers. Not necessarily from police officers, but from other people in the community. Nevertheless,he assured the BPAC that the decals did benefit them. 6. NEXT MEETING a. The next Baytown Police Advisory Committee Regular Meeting is scheduled for August 22, 2023, at 6:00 P.M., in the Council Chamber at Baytown City Hall, 2401 Market Street,Baytown, Texas 77520. Chairperson Dr. Moreno recited their next BPAC meeting was scheduled for August 22, 2023, at 6:00 P.M. She suggested that they meet in the Council Chamber next and then shoot for an apart- ment complex in September. The BPAC Members unanimously agreed with the suggestion. 7. ADJOURN With there being no further business to discuss, Chairperson Dr. Moreno adjourned the July 25, 2023, Baytown Police Advisory Committee(BPAC) Meeting at 6:48 P.M. P��*$�R94aA�ffOgi Angela Ja son, SecreAWg m* City of Baytown ;�,1,�„ r ��4• +1