City-Community Resource: Community-Police Advisory Board Meeting Notes from June 10, 2020
Along with other West Los Angeles neighborhoods, the Bel-Air Association has representation on the Community-Police Advisory Board (C-PAB).
There was a C-PAB ZOOM meeting on Wednesday, June 10, 2020, where 53 members of the West Los Angeles community participated. Captain Jonathan Tom, Commanding Officer of the West Los Angeles Division, spoke and answered many questions the community had submitted.
The next meeting will be Wednesday, June 17, 2020, at 2:00 PM. If you wish to participate in the next meeting, please contact Robert Ringler at ringler@mac.com.
Below are notes from that meeting:
Captain Jonathan Tom discussed the following questions that were submitted by the community:
• The Department has instituted a moratorium on the use of Carotid Restraint Control Holds (CRCH). Captain explained that the Department already reserves the use of CRCHs For deadly force situations. They are used very infrequently, for instance, (1) in 2019, (1) in 2018, (2) in 2017.
• Requirement for de-escalation. Captain explained that the Department already has a requirement for de-escalation in tactical situations. The Department teaches the PATROL (Planning, Assessment, Time, Redeployment, Other Resources, and Lines of Communication) acronym for officers to use as a tool to de-escalate situations. If officers fail to de-escalate where it was reasonable to expect them to do so, they receive administrative findings of Administrative Disapproval for their Tactics. In extreme cases, an officers lack of de-escalation and poor tactics can be utilized to make the use of force itself “Out of Policy.” Additionally, the analysis of de-escalation is part of the review and adjudication of every use of force.
• Requirement to provide a warning prior to shooting. Captain Tom explained that this would likely be problematic to implement as Officer Involved Shootings (OIS) by their nature are exigent circumstances that very often would preclude the officers from providing a warning.
• Requirement to exhaust all alternatives before shooting. Captain Tom explained that this is in line with our De-Escalation policy. By its nature, if LAPD officers did everything they could reasonably do to de-escalate than they would have exhausted all alternatives prior to shooting. One thing to consider is that officers may be faced with circumstances that preclude them from providing warnings or de-escalating.
• Ban on shooting at moving vehicles. Captain Tom explained that the Department already prohibits shooting at or from moving vehicles. Built into every policy is the caveat that under exigent circumstances the officers may be able to articulate violating specific policies.
• Requirement for comprehensive reporting. Captain explained that the Department reports more in depth use of force information than any large department in the country. We are encouraged to review the 2019 and 2018 LAPD Use of Force Year End Review which is available at LAPDONLINE.org. Links are provided below for the 2017, 2018 and 2019 Use of Force Reviews — recall the de-escalation techniques were implemented in 2018 and one will notice a significant declline in use of force while reviewing these reports.
• Additionally, LAPD has several entities within the Department that work in conjunction with civilian social workers:
Domestic Abuse Response Team (DART) where an officer and a civilian social worker respond to calls where there are victims of domestic violence.
Mental Evaluation Unit (MEU) and Case Assessment Management Program (CAMP) are programs where officers and civilian mental health clinicians respond to calls for service involving the mentally ill or persons experiencing a mental health crisis.
Homeless Outreach Partnership Endeavor (HOPE) detail officers work in conjunction with the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), People Assisting The Homeless (PATH), Sanitation Department, LA County Mental Health Department And the Mayor’s Unified Homelessness Resource Center (UHRC)
BAA’s City-Community Resource
BAA’s C-PAB rep searched for resources that may be of interest regarding LAPD’s transparency, Use of Force, bodycam videos of actual OIS incidents, among other news.
Los Angeles Police Department Use of Force Year-End Review 2019
Los Angeles Police Department Use of Force Year-End Review 2018
Los Angeles Police Department Use of Force Year-End Reivew 2017
VIDEOS: Officer Involved Shootings (OIS) actual video: LAPD has a youtube channel that shows actual OIS confrontations. You can connect to that channel by clicking here. For transparency, the LAPD has a policy in place to make public all videos of OIS investigations after 45 days.
Community Police Academy: A ten-week academy designed to give community members an overview of the LAPD’s policies and procedures. The ten-week courses are held at various locations within the West Bureau area. Details on off-site training locations will be presented during first class. There is no fee to attend the Community Police Academy.
KCAL CBS (April 18, 2017) “LAPD Approves De-Escalation Techniques Designed To Curb Shootings” (April 18, 2017)
LA TIMES (May 12, 2020) “LAPD shootings hit 30 year low in 2019; less-lethal force has increased”
LAPD Community Safety Partnership Program (non-traditional police program) UCLA Newsroom (May 21, 2020): “UCLA study finds strong support for LAPD’s community policing program: Researchers say crime declines and trust increases when officers work alongside residents to build relationships”