08/20/2014 Board of Public Safety Minutes

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PUBLIC AGENDA SESSION AUGUST 20, 2014 51 The Board of Public Safety met in the Public Agenda Session at 8:04 a.m. on Wednesday, August 20, 2014 in the 13' Floor Board Conference Room, County -City Building, 227 West Jefferson Blvd., South Bend, Indiana, with Board Members Eddie Miller, John Collins, Luther Taylor, and Daniel Jones present. Board President Laura Vasquez was absent. Also present was Fire Chief Stephen Cox, Lieutenant Chris Voros, and Attorney Cory Hamel. Board members discussed the following agenda items: - Motions to Hold Disciplinary Hearings in Executive Session — John Hall, Jack Stilp, and David Gnoth Mr. Cory Hamel stated at the Hearing for John Hall of August 7, 2014, he made an oral motion to hold the three (3) Hearings for the officers listed above, in Executive Sessions. He stated he is now following up with the filing of written motions to be considered by the opposing counsel and the Board of Safety. Mr. Hamel noted the Legal Counsel for the hearing ruled to allow twenty (20) days to respond so there is no action required at today's Board meeting. He added there is no legal requirement to respond within any certain time; the Board could even vote on the motions the day of the Hearings. Mr. Jones questioned if the Board will hear if opposing Counsel opposes the motions. Mr. Hamel stated they will, the opposing counsel will file an opposition. He added the Board may not hear if the opposing Counsel is okay with the motions. - Letter of Resignation — Police Department Lieutenant Chris Voros stated Patrolman Brandon Schmidt was offered another job and has chosen to resign from the Police Department to take advantage of the job offer. Lieutenant Voros noted he is a fine upcoming officer who has only been on the department for about two (2) years. - Donation — Police Department Lieutenant Voros stated Officer Kelly Waite spoke at a neighborhood meeting regarding the Burglary Unit's new equipment and procedures for resolving burglaries. Mr. and Mrs. Donald Schefineyer were so impressed they requested to make a donation to be used towards the purchase of equipment for the unit. Duty Manual Order Revision — Police Department Attorney Cory Hamel stated this is the addition of a Critical Incident Policy. He noted he was surprised the City of South Bend Police Department never had a written policy. Mr. Hamel explained the policy lays out the procedures to follow after any incident deemed to be critical such as a shooting, an accident, a fire, or any other critical situation. He noted officers are under tremendous stress afterwards and it is almost never appropriate to do investigations immediately following the incident. Mr. Hamel noted many times a criminal investigation is being done by an outside unit, and this policy addresses that also. Mr. Collins stated the Police Department always followed the steps laid out in the policy, he is glad to see this put into a formal policy finally. Mr. Hamel agreed, the practice has always been in place, this just lays out the policy. Mr. Jones questioned if this has to be presented to the Union. Mr. Hamel stated no, it was worked out with the Union. - Quarterly Report for Specialized Schools — Police Department Lieutenant Chris Voros noted that Chief Ronald Teachman is pushing for more training and education to increase professionalism within the department. - Quarterly Travel and Training Report — Fire Department Fire Chief Stephen Cox stated several officers attended training in Emmitsburg, Maryland, on Youth Fire Setting Prevention. He noted they were very enthused with the training and the day after their return there was a fire set by youths. He stated they were very successful in their interaction with the parents and the youths. Chief Cox noted they have been building on that training since then. Mr. Taylor stated he commends Chief Cox for encouraging training and noted Emmitsburg, Maryland has a fantastic training center and program. He noted he is glad to see the Fire Department taking advantage of this opportunity. Chief Cox agreed and noted the training is mostly free, they just have to pay their own travel and food expenses. - Monthly Statistical Analysis — Fire Department Chief Cox stated fires are up this month compared to last year. He noted there is a double fatality still under investigation. - Addition of Discipline to Agenda — Fire Department Chief Cox stated he would like to reserve his comments until the Executive Session regarding the addition of this discipline for Firefighter Stephen Harmon. Board President Laura Vasquez joined the meeting in progress at 9:24 a.m. - Addition of Retirement to Agenda— Fire Department