Sacramento Community Police Review Commission Meeting – September 9, 2019
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Sacramento Community Police Review Commission Meeting – September 9, 2019
The Sacramento Community Police Review Commission met on Monday, September 9, 2019, at 6:00 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chamber. The commission received an update on the Department of Justice review of the Sacramento Police Department, discussed ad hoc committee recommendations on body-worn cameras and use of force, and heard staff updates, including the resignation of the Office of Public Safety Accountability director.
Attendance
- Present: Kiran Savage-Sangwan (Chair), Mariana Sabeniano (Vice Chair), Graciella Castillo-Krings, Basim Elkarra, Jay King, Mario Guerrero, Richard Falcon, Renee Carter
- Absent: Eddie Escobar, Erandi Zamora
- Note: The draft minutes list Jay King as both present and absent; the roll call transcript indicates he was present. This discrepancy is noted.
- Staff: Wendy Klock-Johnson (Assistant City Clerk), Francine Tournour (Director, Office of Public Safety and Accountability), Audreyell Anderson-White (Assistant City Attorney)
- Meeting called to order at 6:08 p.m.; adjourned at 7:26 p.m.
Discussion Items
1. Update on Department of Justice Use of Force Review of Sacramento Police Department
- Captain Joy presented on behalf of the Sacramento Police Department (SPD). The review was requested on March 27, 2018, by SPD and Chief Daniel Hahn from the California Attorney General and DOJ.
- Phase one reviewed use of force policies, training, and practices; it produced 66 recommendations across six categories. Phase two is underway, focusing on recruitment, hiring, and prevention of bias.
- Status highlights:
- Use of force policies: A pending revision will address 17 recommendations; foot pursuit policy (General Order 580.13) became effective July 2018 and is complete.
- Use of force reporting/investigation: Pending revision will address recommendations 1, 2, 3, 4, and 7; recommendation 4.1 implemented (reportable uses of force require documentation and statements from involved and witnessing officers).
- Use of force training: Research, development, and training division created in September 2018; recommendations 1–4 in this category implemented.
- Officer-involved shootings: Recommendations 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 implemented, including internal affairs oversight, homicide unit primary investigation, standardized case summaries, a two-step review process, and tracking software.
- Personnel complaint procedures: Recommendations 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 implemented via the Internal Affairs Manual; recommendation 5 (early intervention program) is underway.
- Community outreach and transparency: Both recommendations in progress; area captains developing outreach plans.
- Phase two challenges: DOJ review of non-electronic records (binders), privacy concerns under the Police Officer Bill of Rights, and access to body-worn camera footage.
- Captain Joy stated the revised use of force policy will integrate AB 392 language, is under review by the police union and professional standards unit, and is expected to be finalized soon.
- Regarding the “guardian mindset” training, Captain Joy noted the department has emphasized it but acknowledged a specific video criticized by DOJ has been removed.
- Commissioners asked for written bullet-point updates, more community outreach details, explanation of why some recommendations are not adopted, and clarification on completed versus considered recommendations. Captain Joy committed to updating the department's transparency webpage and considering public explanations.
2. Discussion on Sacramento Community Police Review Commission Ad Hoc Committee Recommendations
- Body-Worn Camera Ad Hoc (presented by Member Elkarra, with Member Sabeniano): Draft recommendations include:
- Clarify that all officers shall be issued and use body-worn cameras.
- Require documentation and reporting when an officer goes in-service without a camera due to equipment shortage or malfunction.
- Change “private citizens” to “members of the public” throughout the general order.
- Frame camera use as a cultural shift for transparency and trust.
- Add that information sharing with immigration officers only occurs under a court order.
- Clarify the public’s ability to view footage and the request procedure.
- Publicize translator availability.
- Further define when cameras must be on, including consent issues involving minors and domestic violence situations.
- Use of Force Ad Hoc (presented by Member Guerrero and Member Zamora): Draft recommendations include:
- Incorporate AB 392’s “necessary” standard.
- Make duty to render aid a standalone policy with tighter “as soon as possible” language.
- Strengthen the de-escalation definition with concrete examples (time, distance, communications, tactical repositioning).
- Add “gravity of suspected activity” to foot pursuit factors; require body-worn camera activation during foot pursuits.
- Make reporting policy standalone, cross-reference levels of force, clarify reporting discretion.
- Mandatory drug testing of officers within 24 hours in uses of force resulting in death or serious bodily injury.
- Change “police officer” to “peace officer” where appropriate.
- Mental Health Ad Hoc: No formal presentation; Member Falcon will present in October and requested notes from the July 23 community meeting.
- Discussion on process: Member Guerrero asked for clarity on when to share recommendations with SPD. Member Falcon noted a proposed monthly meeting between ad hoc chairs and SPD had not passed due to abstentions; the commission agreed to consider agendizing this for future discussion.
Staff Updates
- Office of Public Safety Accountability: Francine Tournour announced her resignation; her last day with the city will be September 27, 2019.
- Sacramento Police Department: No update provided.
- Chair’s Update: A mayoral appointment vacancy exists; five applications have been received.
Commissioner Comments, Ideas, and Questions
- Member Guerrero requested future presentations on: (1) SPD’s LGBTQ community agreements following Pride, including the community advisory committee and liaison position, and (2) policies related to media handling during protests, referencing the March 4th incident and concerns raised by journalist organizations.
- Member Falcon shared positive remarks about attending an SPD promotion ceremony.
Key Outcomes
- Item 1: Received and filed (unanimous).
- Item 2: Discussed and filed; ad hoc committees will continue refining recommendations and return in October for finalization and adoption.
- Requests for written DOJ recommendation status updates and future presentations on LGBTQ relations and media/protest policies were made.
- No public comments were received.
- The commission acknowledged Francine Tournour’s service; the city will fill her position.
Meeting Transcript
Could you please call the roll? Certainly. Pardon me, I do need my glasses for this. Member Kings. Here. Elkara. King. Guerrero. Present. Escobar. Zamora. Falcone. Present. Carter. Vice Chair Sabiano? And Chair Sanguine. Here. Thank you. Um, we have a quorum if you're here tonight to speak to the commission. You'll need to fill out a speaker slip and turn it in prior to the start of the item. Speaker slips are located in the back window and turned into the assistant clerk here. Also, you see the assistant clerk if you need assisted listening or speaking device. And this is the time I'd ask everyone to check their cell phones and turn them to silence. Thank you. Um, so we don't have a consent calendar tonight, so we're moving on to the discussion calendar. And item one is the update on the California Department of Justice's use of force review by the Sacramento Police Department. Um, so I'd like to invite Captain Joy to present. Thank you. Thank you. Is there a is there a presentation we should pull up or anything? No, ma'am. Good evening, members of the commission. As you will recall, on March twenty-seventh, twenty eighteen, the Sacramento Police Department and Chief Daniel Hahn asked the state of California, Attorney General General Viser, and the Department of Justice to conduct a review of the Sacramento Police Department. Phase one looked into force-related policies, training, and practices within the police department. Phase two, which is currently underway, is looking into recruitment, hiring, and prevention of bias. Upon conclusion of the phase one review, the Department of Justice provided sixty-six recommendations to the Sacramento Police Department. The recommendations were broken down into the following six areas. For the first category, use of force policies. A pending revision of the Sacramento Police Department use of force policy will address 17 of the recommendations from this category. The remaining recommendations were under review or in progress. Recommendation nine, which bless you, was regarding the implementation of foot pursuit policy, is complete. General Order 580.13 became effective July of 2018. This policy specifically addressed foot pursuits. The next category, use of force reporting and investigation. The pending use of force policy revision will address recommendations one, two, three, four, and seven in this category. Recommendation 4.1 has been implemented, and this involved any reportable use of force, now requires documentation, including statements by the involved officers as well as other officers witnessing the use of force. Moving on to category number three, use of force training. In September of 2018, the Sacramento Police Department created the research, development, and training division. This division seeks input from a variety of sources and looks for best practices from across the nation. Community members, doctors, mental health professionals, and members of the district attorney's office, participate in training and instruction with the police department.
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