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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04202022 Board of Public Safety Meeting23 I.EXECUTIVE SESSION The Board of Public Safety met in Executive Session on Wednesday, April 20, 2022, at 8:35 a.m. with Board President Daniel Jones, and Board Members Darryl Heller, Melissa Colpitts, Lee Ross (absent), Al Kirsits, Attorney Danielle Weiss. The meeting was held in the 13th Floor Boardroom, County-City Building, 227 W. Jefferson Blvd., South Bend, Indiana for the purposes specified in I.C. 5-14-1.5-6.1(b)(2)(B) to discuss strategy with respect to litigation pending or threatened specifically in writing and I.C. 5-14-1.5-6.1(b)(6) to receive information concerning an individual’salleged misconduct and to discuss, before a determination, the individual’s status as an employee.The meeting ended at 9:13 a.m. BOARD OF PUBLIC SAFETY Daniel Jones, President Melissa Colpitts, Member _________________________________ Darryl Heller, Member ______________________________ Lee Ross, Member ______________________________ Alfred Kirsits, Member ATTEST: ___________________________ Theresa Heffner, Clerk II. REGULAR MEETING April 20, 2022 The Board of Public Safety met in the Regular Meeting at 9:17 a.m. on Wednesday, April 20, 2022, with Board members Dan Jones, Melissa Colpitts, Darryl Heller, Al Kirsits was present. Also present were Police Chief Scott Ruszkowski, Fire Chief Carl Buchanon, and Attorneys Danielle Weiss, Christina Shakour, and Kylie Connell. Board Clerk Theresa Heffner was also present. The meeting was held on the 4th Floor Council Chambers Room, 227 W. Jefferson Blvd., South Bend, Indiana and virtually via Microsoft Teams at the following link: https://tinyurl/BPS04202022 Attorney Weiss asked that everyone mute their microphone when not speaking and reminded attendees that comments from the public should be saved for the Privilege of the Floor portion of the meeting. Attorney Weiss then read through the agenda to note any additions or corrections. Fire Chief Buchanon requested an addition to the agenda for the Board to approve the lateral hiring of seven (7) firefighters. Police Chief Ruszkowski asked to add Officer Wayne Boocher ahead of Officer Greg Early for a Declaration of Retirement and to add a Commendation to the end of the Police department portion of the agenda. Attorney Weis approved the additions and with no other additions noted, referred to President Dan Jones who called roll and confirmed the presence of the Board Members. A. APPROVE MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGAfter a roll call, the Board approved the Minutes of the March 16, 2022 regular meeting. B.POLICE DEPARTMENT 1.APPROVE APPLICATION AND DECLARATION OF RETIREMENTOfficer Wayne BoocherOfficer Greg Early REGULAR MEETING APRIL 20, 2022 24 Chief Ruszkowski submitted a letter to the Board requesting the approval of the Application and Declaration of Retirements of the above officers. Chief Ruszkowski informed the Board that Officer Boocher was sworn into the SBPD on December 16, 1991. Upon a motion by Mr. Kirsits and Seconded by Mr. Heller, the Application and Declaration of Retirement for Officer Boocher was approved. Chief Ruszkowski informed the Board that Officer Early was sworn into the SBPD on April 19, 1999 and may be hired back into the SBPD part-time as part of a cold-case unit; however he noted that that was dependent on security protocols set by the FBI for retired and part-time officers. Upon a motion by Mr. Heller and Seconded by Mr. Kirsits, the Application and Declaration of Retirement for Officer Boocher was approved. On behalf of the Board, President Jones thanked the officers for their years of service with the SBPD. 2.ACCEPT LETTERS OF RESIGNATIONEvan Dinterman Michael NorbyChief Ruszkowski submitted a letter to the Board requesting the Board accept the aboveofficers Letters of Resignation from the SBPD. Chief stated that Officer Dinterman wassworn in December 15, 2021and his resignation would be effective April 20th, 2022.Chief stated that Officer Norby was sworn into the SBPD August 3, 2005 with an effective resignation date of March 27, 2022. President Jones accepted both Letters of Resignation on behalf of the Board. 3.ACCEPT CHIEF’S LETTER RECOMMENDING TERMINATION - OFFICER MARK CHABOTPolice Chief Ruszkowski submitted a letter recommending the termination of Officer MarkChabot to the Board. Chief Ruszkowski noted that Officer Chabot has requested a hearing.President Jones accepted the letter recommending the termination of Officer Mark Chabot onbehalf of the Board. 4.APPROVE REQUEST FOR HEARING - OFFICER MARK CHABOTAttorney Weiss noted that because a hearing has been requested by Officer Mark Chabot, the Board would be formally acknowledging the request for a hearing. Attorney Weiss noted the hearing date was scheduled for Thursday, May 12, 2022 at 9am in the large council meeting room located on the 4th floor of the County-City Building, 227 W. Jefferson Blvd. SouthBend, IN.On Behalf of the Board, President Jones acknowledged Officer Mark Chabot’s request for ahearing. 5.FILE 1ST QUARTER REPORTS FOR SPECIALIZED SCHOOLSChief Ruszkowski submitted a letter to the Board regarding the 1st quarter report forspecialized schools and training during the period of January through March 2022. Hereminded the Board these are off-site trainings.On behalf of the Board, President Jones filed the 1st quarter report for specialized schools. REGULAR MEETING APRIL 20, 2022 25 6. FILE MONTHLY STATISTICAL ANALYSIS REPORT – MARCH 2022 Chief Ruszkowski submitted the monthly statistical analysis report for March 2022 to theBoard. He noted the grand total for overall Part-One Crimes was reduced by nineteen percent(19%) when comparing March 2021 and March 2022. Chief Ruszkowski stated that theSBPD’s reanalysis of vetting victims in reports has made a significant difference in the numbers. He noted that to get an outside perspective, they had members from the IT department look over the SBPD’s reports and determine if they felt the FBI’s definition andclassification of an aggravated assault matched the SBPD’s reports. He continued to add thatthe vetting of reports by non-officers, was applauded by their auditor, and he stated that hehopes the Department will be able to maintain the accuracy for reports which will allow the SBPD to give the community accurate statistics regarding local crime. On behalf of the Board, President Jones filed the Police Department’s Monthly StatisticalAnalysis for March of 2022. REGULAR MEETING APRIL 20, 2022 26 7.ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COMMENDATIONChief Ruszkowski submitted a Letter of Commendation to the Board regarding lifesaving action taken by Officer Jose Aguilar on March 14, 2022. Chief Ruszkowski recapped the event where a resident was shot in her home and Officer Aguilar swiftly tended to thevictim’s wound and applied a tourniquet to the leg to minimize the bleeding. He continuedto note that the medical staff at Memorial Hospital confirmed that Officer Aguilar’s action ofapplying a tourniquet to the leg with the severed artery was crucial to the survival of the gunshot victim. Chief Ruszkowski confirmed that this officer was recently hired into the police force at the February 16, 2022 Board of Public Safety Meeting. Chief Ruszkowski also noted that after a couple years off due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the SBPD just recently had their awards ceremony where Sergent Miranda Baker was awarded Officer of the Year. He continued to note that the department gives out their own awards to Officers who have gone above and beyond in the field, but he was submitting thecommendation to the Board of Saftey for Officer Aguilar so that if they see fit, they couldaward him with a Board of Public Saftey commendation coin on top of the ribbon,certificate, and letter already received from the Department. On behalf of the Board, President Jones acknowledged the commendation of Officer JoseAguilar. C.FIRE DEPARTMENT 1.APPROVE HIRING OF LATERAL FIREFIGHTERSKate JasinkiKurt GrandinMatthew Partridge Robert Cooper Donald WorkmanEduardo SalinasNicholas Kieta Chief Buchanon requested the Board approve the lateral hirings of the above firefighters. He noted they were coming from other Indiana departments and were already in the PublicEmployee Retirement Fund (PERF) and will serve a one (1) year probationary period withthe SBFD upon the Board’s approval. Mr. Heller asked how these recruits would affect the staffing of the SBFD to which Chief Buchanon replied that the department was about twenty (20) firefighters short due to recentresignations and retirements. He noted these lateral hires would allow the Department to getthem into the field faster than the average twenty-two (22) weeks for training completely REGULAR MEETING APRIL 20, 2022 27 new hires. Mr. Kirsits asked if they had to do the Candidate Physical Ability Test (CPAT) or physical evaluations. Chief Buchanon said they have already done that prior to recruitment with the Department to make sure they were fit for duty. President Jones asked how the department recruited the lateral hires. Chief Buchanon said that they used HR and their databases to assist in the application upload on the City website as well as a recruitment team and the Training Assistant Chief to help advertise the openings at the SBFD for lateral transfers. Chief Buchanon said they are anticipating putting together another lateral hiring this fall. Upon a motion by Ms. Colpitts and seconded by Mr. Kirsits, the Board approved the lateral hiring of the above listed firefighters. 2.APPROVE THE REHIRING OF FIREFIGHTER BRANDON HUBNER Chief Buchanon submitted a letter to the Board requesting the Board approve the rehiring offirefighter Brandon Hubner effective May 1, 2022. Chief Buchanon stated FirefighterHubner was hired June 2, 2017 and due to family reasons, resigned July 5, 2021. He brieflyworked for another fire department (Avon) and is still in PERF and established within thestate and all certifications are up to date. Mr. Kirsits asked about Firefighter Hubner’s seniority status. Chief Buchanon said he willstill have the three (3) years of seniority, but he would be at the bottom of his class’seniority. Upon a motion by Mr. Heller and seconded by Ms. Colpitts, the Board approved the lateralhiring of the above listed firefighters. 3. APPROVE APPLICATION AND DECLARATION OF RETIREMENT - FIREFIGHTERBRENT BENNETT Chief Buchanon submitted a letter for the Declaration of Retirement for Pump EngineerBrent Bennett. Chief Buchanon stated Firefighter Bennet was appointed to the SBFD July24, 1996 and served with loyalty and diligence for more than twenty-five (25) years and hiseffective date of retirement was April 4, 2022.President Jones asked if a firefighter or an officer retire early, are they only eligible for a prorated amount of their pension. Chief Buchanon replied that would depend on the standardset by the state, where if you retire with less than twenty (20) years of service and aminimum age of fifty-two (52), the individual would received only a portion of their pension.He noted that Firefighter Bennett was eligible for full benefits. Upon a motion by Mr. Kirsits and seconded by Ms. Colpitts, the Board approved theApplication and Declaration of Retirement for Firefighter Brent Bennet. 4.ACCEPT LETTER OF RESIGNATION – FIREFIGHTER BRIAN PIPERChief Buchanon submitted a Letter of Resignation for Firefighter Brian Piper. Chief Buchanon noted that Firefighter Piper was appointed to the SBFD August 21, 2013 and hasvoluntarily resigned with an effective date of March 24, 2022. Mr. Heller asked if a reason was given for Firefighter Piper’s resignation and the Chief statedhe had no reason given in the resignation, just that the resignation notice was effective immediately. On behalf of the Board, President Jones accepted the Letter of Resignation. 5. CONSIDER REQUEST FOR REVIEW OF DICIPLINARY ACTION – THOMAS MCGRATHChief Buchanon submitted a letter to the Board to notify them that in accordance with theSouth Bend Fire Discipline Matrix, he was recommending the suspension of FirefighterThomas McGrath for Three (3) eight-hour (8) shifts without pay due to Firefighter McGrathneglecting to renew his Indiana State EMS Certification and letting it expire. Although it was a level II infraction, first violation, Assistant Chief of EMS Andrew Meyer said that the work REGULAR MEETING APRIL 20, 2022 28 needed to address the certification issue at the administration level would advance the infraction to a level III infraction. Attorney Weiss informed the Board that they could uphold or reverse the Chief’s decision for disciplinary action or decide if the Board needed to hold a hearing to hear more on the incident. Mr. Kirsits asked if the disciplinary action could be modified, and Attorney Weiss informed the Board that the statute only allowed the Board to uphold or reverse the action requested by Chief Buchanon and the statute takes precedence over any internal policy that allows modifications. Ms. Colpitts stated she has not seen this being an issue with license renewal for other firefighters and asked about what was entailed with license and certification renewal. Chief Buchanon replied that in this situation, the individual was in the paramedic class as an advanced EMT and while in that class, still needed to maintain his advanced EMT certifications. The individual didn’t realize he need to be state licensed while in the class if he was still nationally certified so for eighteen (18) months, he was running calls as an EMT uncertified by the state. Chief Buchanon noted that individuals are notified by the state for expiring certifications and the direct supervisors do not get a copy of the notification. President Jones asked if there is a system in place for the SBFD to keep track of the certifications without relying on the state and Chief Buchanon said that an individual’s certification date does not change year to year so he felt that individuals should be able to be responsible enough to track their own certifications. President Jones asked what the process was for recertification. Chief Buchanon stated that depending on what an individual’s particular certification is, they maintain the class and skill hours and have them signed off on by the Assistant Chief of EMS and then the paperwork gets sent downstate. President Jones then asked if Firefighter McGrath maintained the hours but didn’t send in the signatures to the state to which Chief Buchanon replied that he did maintain his hours by going to class and doing EMS calls, but he failed to obtain the signatures needed. President Jones asked if there were legal consequences to having an uncertified EMT and Attorney Shakour informed the Board that there are legal issues, but they were currently still working on getting the final numbers by going through each of his shifts to determine who else was working with him for reporting purposes. Christian Rose, President of the International Association of Fire Fighter’s Local #362, said he represented Firefighter McGrath. He stated that he agreed that the level two (2) infraction was an appropriate discipline for Firefighter McGrath. Firefighter McGrath received all his hours needed to certify, and necessary signatures and approvals. Where he fell short was when he received his national registry recertification, he was under the impression that it automatically certified him through the state as well. Mr. Rose continued to note that Firefighter McGrath didn’t have a lot of time on the job, so he received his initial basic certification and when he took his advanced certification a year later, he was moved up to another two (2) year recertification cycle, so this was his first recertification with the state. For eighteen (18) months Firefighter McGrath was under the impression that he was certified, he wasn’t aware until his next certification date was approaching, and he hadn’t received his notification. When other firefighters in his class received their next certification date, he went to the state website and determined that he was not certified. Christian Rose explained that the only notice Firefighters get from the state is an email thirty (30) days in advance with no notification about lapsing. President Jones suggested that the Firefighters receive three (3) notifications; one from the State, the Union, and the Fire Department. Mr. Rose stated that he would be willing to keep track and provide notifications to avoid this from happening again. Mr. Kirsits asked Mr. Rose why he thought Firefighter McGrath deserved a level two (2) infraction over a level three (3). Mr. Rose explained that certifications were added to the discipline matrix to bring attention to the issue of Firefighters missing their certification dates. The level two infraction spells the issue out clearly. Mr. Kirsits explained that he had an issue with his state recertification at one time. The state had him listed with two different names which caused a problem with him getting certified. REGULAR MEETING APRIL 20, 2022 29 Melissa Colpitts noted that she would like to see the process for certification streamlined so that a Firefighter doesn’t lapse on their certification. Upon a motion by Mr. Heller and seconded by Ms. Colpitts, the Board approved to uphold Chief Buchanon’s recommendation of disciplinary action against Firefighter McGrath. Mr. Kirsits voted nay. 6.ACCEPT DONATIONChief Buchanon submitted Letter to the Board to inform them of a monetary donationreceived in the amount of $100 dollars. Chief Buchanon said the donation was received inhonor of the life and memory of a South Bend Resident, Mr. John Miller. The donation was submitted by his family with intent to be used towards the continuing education of thefirefighters and medics that responded to Mr. Miller’s EMS call. Ms. Colpitts asked Chief Buchanon to send the family a thank-you to the family on behalf ofthe Board. President Jones accepted the donation from Mr. Miller’s family. 7.APPROVE LEXIPOL POLICIESPolicy 317 - Duty of Firearms and Use of ForcePolicy 1042 - Temporary Limited or Modified Duty Policy Chief Buchanon submitted the above Lexipol Policies to the Board for approval. ChiefBuchanon explained that Policy 317 states that fire investigators who are certified by theSBPD and certified by the State to carry a firearm may do so while investigating bythemselves based on the area and the situation they are involved in. This policy outlineswhat they are able to do and why they are certified to do it. Mr. Heller asked under what circumstances would fire investigators have arrest powersthat then qualifies them to use deadly force. Chief Buchanon explained that only ifsomeone is preventing the fire investigator from doing their job, other than that, they donot have arrest powers. Mr. Heller followed up to ask if their arrest powers were similar to any other citizen in the same circumstances and Attorney Shakour confirmed that wascorrect. Mr. Heller asked to what extent does the use of force overlap with SBPD. AttorneyShakour advised that Policy 317 closely matches the statute while referencing SBPD policy. Mr. Heller asked if the policy is for if the investigator feels threatened and asituation requires self-defense. Chief Buchanon explained that this is to protect the fireinvestigators so they can collect evidence and complete their investigation. Mr. Heller asked to table Policy 317 until the next Board of Safety meeting in May 2022 in order to look into the policy further. Chief Buchanon explained Policy 1042 and how it stipulates when a Firefighter getsinjured and needs to take time off for a specified amount as required by their physician,what they are allowed to do and when they are allowed to return to work. Upon a motion by Mr. Heller and seconded by Mr. Kirsits, the Board approved LexipolPolicy 1042. 8.FILE 1ST QUARTER TRAVEL AND TRAINING REPORTChief Buchanon Submitted a 1st Quarter Travel and Training Expense Report to the Board.Chief Buchanon said the report shows that the Department’s firefighters are continuing theireducation and providing the best knowledge and services they can give to the residents ofSouth Bend by attending these conferences and staying up-to-date in knowledge and skills. REGULAR MEETING APRIL 20, 2022 30 9.FILE MONTHLY STATISTICAL ANALYSIS REPORT FOR MARCH 2022Fire Chief Buchanon submitted the Monthly Statistical Analysis Report for March 2022 tothe Board. Chief Buchanon noted that the Department is doing a great job installing firealarms for citizens and assisting in other fire prevention methods such as youth education and performing inspections for businesses reopening after COVID-19. Chief Buchanon commended his staff for their work despite recent decreases in staffing due to retirementsand resignations. PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR Attorney Weiss reminded the public to use the hand-raising function of Microsoft Teams to indicate their desire to speak during Privilege of the Floor. She reminded attendees that they would be allotted three (3) minutes to speak. Attorney Weiss noted there was nobody online or in-person that wished to speak. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Board, upon a motion by Mr. Kirsits and a second by Mr. Heller and carried by roll call, the meeting was adjourned at 10:25 a.m. REGULAR MEETING APRIL 20, 2022 31 BOARD OF PUBLIC SAFETY Daniel Jones, President ______________________________ Melissa Colpitts, Member ______________________________ Darryl Heller, Member ______________________________ Lee Ross, Member ______________________________ Alfred Kirsits, Member ATTEST: ______________________ Theresa Heffner, Clerk