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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08172022 Board of Public Safety Meeting56 I.EXECUTIVE SESSION The Board of Public Safety met in Executive Session on Wednesday August 17, 2022, at 8:30a.m. with Board President Daniel Jones, and Board Members Darryl Heller, Lee Ross, Al Kirsits, and 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)(A) for discussion of strategy with respect to collective bargaining. The meeting ended at 9:11 a.m. BOARD OF PUBLIC SAFETY Daniel Jones, President Darryl Heller, Member ______________________________ Lee Ross, Member ______________________________ Alfred Kirsits, Member ATTEST: ___________________________ Theresa Heffner, Clerk II. REGULAR MEETING August 17, 2022 The Board of Public Safety met in the Regular Meeting at 9:16 a.m. on Wednesday, August 17, 2022, with Board President Daniel Jones, and Board Members Darryl Heller, Lee Ross, Al Kirsits 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.com/BPS08172022 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. Attorney Connell requested to add an item for the request of a special meeting to swear in eight (8) individuals to the police department. Attorney Weiss accepted the additional agenda item request, welcomed the public, called roll, and confirmed the presence of all Board Members. A.APPROVE MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGSUpon a motion by Darryl Heller, seconded by Lee Ross and carried by roll call, the Boardapproved the Minutes of the July 20, 2022 regular meeting. B.FIRE DEPARTMENT 1.APPROVE HIRING OF LATERAL FIREFIGHTERSTrevon EppengerRobert HenryHunter Giannetti Devan GarciaNicholas PuccettiChief Buchanon submitted a letter requesting the approval of the above lateral firefighters asFirefighters 2nd class. Chief stated that these individuals currently hold the minimumcertifications required for appointment to the South Bend Fire Department and have at least two years of experience as career firefighters from other municipalities. He stated the REGULAR MEETING AUGUST 17, 2022 57 firefighters will serve a one-year probationary period. Upon a motion by Al Kirsits, seconded by Darryl Heller and followed by a roll call, the Board approved the hiring of the above Lateral Firefighters. 2. APPROVE PROMOTION TO CAPTAIN – ADRIAN KASER Chief Buchanon submitted a letter of recommendation for promotion of Captain no longer in Special Assignment for Adrian Kaser. Chief Buchanon stated this special assignment required four (4) evaluations in order to determine Firefighter Kaser’s abilities in a leadership position. He has completed all requirements prescribed for that position and has operated in an outstanding fashion. Upon a motion by Lee Ross, seconded by Daryl Heller and followed by a roll call, the promotion to Captain no longer in special assignment has been approved effective August 17, 2022. 3. APPROVE APPLICATIONS AND DECLARATIONS OF RETIREMENTS Chief Ruszkowski submitted a Letter of Application and Declaration for Retirement for Captain Brandon May. Chief Buchanon stated Captain Brandon May has retired in good standing from the SBFD, effective August 10, 2022. He will have been with the Department since March 16, 1994. Chief Buchanon wished him many years of good health and happiness in his retirement. Upon a motion by Al Kirsits, seconded by Darryl Heller and followed by a roll call the Application and Declaration of Retirement was approved. Due to his years of service, a challenge coin will be provided on behalf of the Board. 4. ACCEPT LETTERS OF RESIGNATION Collin Gordon Haneef Bonds Chief Carl Buchanon submitted a letter of resignation for the above listed Firefighters. President Jones asked why their tenure was so short. Chief Buchanon explained that when an individual’s home department isn’t hiring at the time that they want to pursue becoming a firefighter, they seek out other departments in order to get certifications and experience. Once an opening becomes available in their hometown’s department, the individuals tend to want to go back home. Chief Buchanon explained that this is why the Department makes an extensive effort to encourage South Bend residents to stay home and join the SBFD. Chief Buchanon also noted that one of the firefighters resigning was not joining another department but rather changing careers and going to flight school. President Jones accepted the Letters of Resignation on behalf of the Board. 5. RECEIVE MONTHLY STATISTICAL ANALYSIS REPORT JULY 2022 Chief Buchanon submitted the July monthly report to the Board. Chief Buchanon explained that the monthly totals for all apparatuses was 5,195 for the month of July and that there were over 2000 different incident types that were responded to in July. REGULAR MEETING AUGUST 17, 2022 58 C. POLICE DEPARTMENT 1. APPROVE PROMOTIONS TO PATROLMAN 1ST CLASS Ryan Bennington Bradley Fasnacht Bradley Sadilek Chief Ruszkowski submitted a letter that the above individuals be promoted from the rank of Patrolman 2nd Class to Patrolman 1st Class effective August 18, 2022. Chief stated the officers have successfully met the requirements outlined in the working agreement to become Patrolman 1st Class within the SBPD. Upon a motion by Darryl Heller seconded by Lee Ross, and followed by a roll call, the above officers were promoted to Patrolman 1st Class. 2. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COMMENDATIONS Brandon Schmidt Correy Lueth Jeff Diggins Chief Ruszkowski submitted a letter of commendation for the above officers from Sergeant Mark Walsh, a retired SBPD officer now working at IUSB. Chief Ruszkowski gave a brief summary of the commendations and bravery of each officer while attending to a horrific five (5) car, one (1) semi-truck crash on the toll road. He noted that they see many commendations and vet them all to determine as a team which ones should be presented to the Board and they felt this one was to be presented to the Board. President Jones accepted the commendations on behalf of the Board and stated each officer will be given a challenge coin for their heroic efforts. 3. FILE 2ND QUARTER REPORT FOR SPECIALIZED SCHOOLS Chief Ruszkowski submitted the 2nd Quarter report for specialized schools. REGULAR MEETING AUGUST 17, 2022 59 Chief Ruszkowski noted that most of the training was done offsite, but they do also attend some training onsite as noted in the report. 4. FILE MONTHLY STATISTICAL ANALYSIS REPORT FOR JULY 2022 Chief Scott Ruszkowski submitted the monthly statistical analysis report for July 2022. Chief Ruszkowski noted that there is a fifteen percent (15%) decrease in Part 1 Offenses. Chief Ruszkowski compared the decline to putting a bandaid on arterial bleeding, but it is still a decrease nonetheless. Chief Ruszkowski stated that there have been eighty-eight (88) criminal assault shootings where seventy-one (71) were nonfatal and seventeen (17) were fatal. 5. SCHEDULE A SPECIAL HEARING TO SWEAR IN EIGHT POLICE OFFICER Chief Scott Ruszkowski stated that they would like to swear in the officers in the next week or the week after. He stated that having the swearing in at the police department will make it easier for all the family members that would like to attend. The Board members determined that Thursday, August 25th at 9:00 a.m. would work best. D. 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. Board member Darryl Heller stated that he went through the SBPD Duty Manual and requested to ask about a few policies. He noted that in full transparency this is in response to the Dante Kittrell incident and noted that he is not asking any questions about that case because he understands the investigation is still ongoing and details will eventually be made public. Mr. Heller went on to ask about Policy 404 - SWAT Response, Policy 405 - The Negotiation Team Response and Policy 410 - Crisis Intervention Incidents. Mr. Heller noted REGULAR MEETING AUGUST 17, 2022 60 that Policy 404 - SWAT Response, under the operational guidelines for the deployment of SWAT includes incidents for an individual that is threatening suicide or has refused to surrender. Mr. Heller asked under what circumstances SWAT would be needed for a case of a suicidal person that is not involved in a hostage situation or barricaded. In other words, why would SWAT be needed in the case for someone who is suicidal, contained, and only threatening to hurt themselves. Chief Ruszkowski responded that he wants to be careful because there is an ongoing investigation. He said in those situations that they are armed situations and there are two components; the person hurting themselves and/or the potential to harm other people as well. Chief Ruszkowski stated every situation is handled on a case-by-case basis; contained in a specific unit for example, maybe does not require a full response SWAT. Each situation is based on its own merit. He added that within that SWAT component are people that are critical incident trained and crisis negotiators are also called out in almost every single case. Time, distance, all the other factors that do play into those decisions in a very short time are all considered before a SWAT deployment is made. Mr. Heller said he had read in Policy - 405 that when SWAT and the hostage negotiation team are both deployed, the negotiation team takes the lead in collaboration with the officer in charge of SWAT. Chief Ruszkowski responded that Mr. Heller was correct. Mr. Heller note in Policy 410 - Crisis Intervention Incidents part of that policy states that the department will collaborate where feasible with mental health professionals to develop an overall intervention strategy to guide member’s interaction with those experiencing a mental health crisis. Mr. Heller asked if there is an overall strategy that is available to the public in any way. Chief Ruszkowski replied stating that there are varying layers to the situation. He noted that he must be careful because there is a time element involved, meaning “x” amount of time occurred at the location Mr. Heller has been alluding to, but that’s still a rapidly evolving situation. He continued to say that there are many mechanisms that will be explained to the Board and to the community why things were done the way they were. Chief Ruzskowski recalled two incidents in the past week where the Department has used crisis intervention teams outside of the Police Department that did not work out the way that one would find ideal. Chief Ruszkowski stated that in his thirty-five (35) years with the Police Department he doesn’t know how or why the police Department has received the tasks of dealing with crisis/mental health situations. He gave the example that if there were 1,000 suicidal incidents, crisis incidents, or mental health incidents that the department contended with in the last year and a half and every case went flawlessly, nobody in the public or media would care. He continued to note that part of the frustration with these situations is that the Department must make critical decisions in a moment’s notice and there is pressure to get it right every single time. He clarified that he was not alluding to whether something was right or wrong in the most recent instance or any other incidents, but emphasized he was trying to give perspective. I do know that the Board, the Department, and other entities have intimately been involved for several years now in trying to come up with a theoretical formula of how and when an intervention team will be involved. He stated that this has been too slow of a process that has left everyone frustrated. Chief Ruszkowski clarified that he was not finger pointing at anyone and we need to expedite this process so that we have something that we can count on as police and fire to provide a framework which can be operated off of. Mr. Heller agreed with Chief Ruszkowski stating that he doesn’t think its fully a Police response but rather a community response that is needed. Each incident may require different kinds of responses, but it has to be a collective and coherent response not just Police being expected to deal whatever gets throw in front of them. Chief Ruszkowski noted that they regularly get called to incidents that are not criminal offenses (barking dogs, property line disputes etc.), but it’s the right thing to do from a human being standpoint for the police to still go out there and intervene. He noted the non- criminal calls that come in, in some instances, the situation could escalate and become worse. He continued to note police officers have to be good at de-escalation for all types of calls. E. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Board, upon a motion by Lee Ross REGULAR MEETING AUGUST 17, 2022 61 seconded by Al Kirsits and carried by roll call, the meeting was adjourned at 9:49 a.m. BOARD OF PUBLIC SAFETY Daniel Jones, President ______________________________ Darryl Heller, Member ______________________________ Lee Ross, Member ______________________________ Alfred Kirsits, Member ATTEST: ______________________ Theresa Heffner, Clerk