12/18/2013 Board of Public Safety Meeting Minutes

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PUBLIC AGENDA SESSION DECEMBER 18, 2013 92 The Board of Public Safety met in the Public Agenda Session at 8:08 a.m. on Wednesday, December 18, 2013 in the 13th Floor Board Conference Room, County-City Building, 227 West Jefferson Blvd., South Bend, Indiana, with Board President Laura Vasquez, and Board Members Eddie Miller, John Collins, and Luther Taylor present. Also present was Fire Chief Stephen Cox, Assistant Chief Scott Ruszkowski, and Attorney Cory Hamel. ADDITION TO THE AGENDA President Laura Vasquez announced the addition to the agenda of a medical leave extension for the Police Department. Board members discussed the following agenda items: - Approve Hiring and Swearing -In of Probationary Firefighter Fire Chief Steve Cox stated Jessica Ringer completed recruit school, had an injury, and couldn't complete her State testing. Once she received her medical clearance, she completed that final phase. Chief Cox noted she will be the sixth woman on the Fire Department. - Approve Promotion to Captain — Fire Department Fire Chief Steve Cox stated Michael Lagodney was second on the promotion list and is replacing a Captain with a disability. He stated they are very excited about this promotion; Firefighter Lagodney is a fantastic individual with a lot of initiative who is involved in a Iot of programs including serving on the Firefighter Union Board. - Monthly Statistical Analysis — Fire Department Fire Chief Steve Cox noted that property damage shows a significant decrease due to a fire at the Plumrose Company in 2012 that resulted in a large loss. - Promotion to Patrolman V Class —Police Department Assistant Chief Scott Ruszkowski stated Patrolman Brandon Martin has his three (3) years of service plus an extra one (1) year. He noted the officer does an excellent job. - Approve 2014 Special Police Commissions Attorney Cory Hamel stated the recommendation from the Police Chief in his letter to the Board is to allow Park Police to continue to carry firearms. Mr. Hamel noted that after meeting with the Superintendent of the Park Department and the Mayor's Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff, the decision was made to no longer give the authority for carrying a weapon to the Park Police. Mr. Hamel stated he will make note of this at the meeting and will propose an amendment to authorize the Park Police to carry firearms through June 30, 2014 at midnight. Mr. Collins questioned the reasoning for this decision, noting the Park Police come in contact with unsavory characters and situations in their work and they are now being asked to do the same job without a firearm. He asked if it is a liability to the City or a lack of training that caused the decision. Mr. Hamel stated it is both reasons. He stated the other groups authorized to carry a weapon have been through training with Indiana Law Enforcement authorities. Part of the issue, he added is when they are unsure how to respond, they should be backing off and notifying the Police. Mr. Collins asked if they were exploring training options such as Tier 2 Training to continue to keep the Park Police armed. He explained this training is an eight week program that covers the City on liability. Mr. Hamel stated he was not aware of any discussions about training but part of the problem is the Park Police are not authorized to make arrests or detain anyone. He explained that there are so few times when a firearm is necessary without the additional powers, it was determined there was no need for them to carry a firearm. - Monthly Statistical Analysis — Police Department Assistant Chief Scot Ruszkowski stated larceny is up due to the holidays. He explained that people are leaving gifts in cars and they are getting stolen. He noted that word gets out amongst thieves of easy theft areas. Chief Ruszkowski stated auto theft is up due to people running their cars to warm them up and leaving them unlocked. He noted a large percentage of thefts are by kids, and the recovery rate has been high. Chief Ruszkowski informed the Board that the rise in aggravated assault is partially due to adding pistol whipping statistics to this category. - Medical Leave Extension Assistant Chief Scott Ruszkowski stated that Sergeant Joseph Walker was granted an extension of medical leave by the Board at their previous meeting. He has now gone into the hospital and needs an additional extension. He added that Sergeant Walker will be using vacation and sick time accrued for 2014, and he is not someone who has ever abused sick time. Mr. Collins noted that this is a person he broke in on the Fire Department and he knows Sergeant Walker is not one to abuse sick time. ADJOURNMENT