Sacramento Community Police Review Commission Meeting - October 11, 2021
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Sacramento Community Police Review Commission Meeting - October 11, 2021
The Sacramento Community Police Review Commission met via teleconference on Monday, October 11, 2021, at 6:00 p.m., with Chair Mario Guerrero presiding. Eight commissioners were present; two were absent. The meeting lasted approximately 51 minutes, adjourning at 6:52 p.m. Key topics included updates on ad hoc committee recommendations, approval of minutes and quarterly complaint reports, and public comment on crowd control and LGBTQ+ policies.
Consent Calendar
- Approved Minutes (September 13, 2021): Motion passed unanimously (8–0) to approve the meeting minutes from September 13, 2021.
- 2021 Quarter 1 and Quarter 2 Police Complaint Activity Reports: Received and filed unanimously.
Public Comments & Testimony
- PJ (public speaker) commented on the Crowd and Riot Control Ad Hoc recommendations, commending the prioritization of measurable goals and evidence-based standards, and criticizing the SPD manual for prioritizing property over human life. On the LGBTQ+ policy, he appreciated the specificity for interactions with transgender individuals and recommended that the SPD complaints page automatically CC the Sacramento LGBT Center to ensure accountability. He also inquired about scheduling for the alternative 911 outreach forum.
Discussion Items
- Ad Hoc Committee Recommendations (Item 3): Chair Guerrero presented the commission’s recommendations to be taken up by City Council on October 19, 2021, including: independent legal counsel for the commission, additional OPSA staffing, direct liaison between SPD and commission leadership, quorum adjustments, an inspector general with subpoena power, commission review of inspector general findings before council, and a requirement for council to vote on commission recommendations within three months. Each active ad hoc committee provided updates:
- Budget Ad Hoc (Commissioner Bliss): Continuing to meet; plans to request 911 call and dispatch data from January 2018 onward and to discuss a joint letter with the Measure U Committee, requesting agendization for the November meeting.
- Community Engagement and Media Ad Hoc (Commissioner Castillo-Krings): Met twice with SPD, resolved many issues; still seeking public input from local media outlets, which has been challenging. Feedback from Mickey Umstender noted.
- Crowd and Riot Control and De-escalation Ad Hoc (Vice Chair Carter): Document fluid, updated to reflect new state legislation restricting rubber bullets and chemical agents. Discussions ongoing on balancing First Amendment rights with officer safety, with emphasis on targeted use of force rather than blanket crowd suppression.
- LGBTQ+ Ad Hoc (Chair Guerrero): Draft policy built from earlier work with ACLU, LGBT Center, and SPD; enhanced by the ad hoc. Plans for two to three community forums, especially to reach the transgender community.
- Mental Health/Alternative Response Ad Hoc (Commissioner Falcon): Progress slower due to cross-departmental complexity (Office of Community Response, County of Sacramento). Scheduled meetings with OCR, SPD Captain Wendy Brown, Supervisor Patrick Kennedy, and community members. Recognized that recommendations may extend beyond SPD to other city and county entities. Commissioner Falcon requested adding a recommendation to expand the commission’s purview to cover the new alternative response department.
- Commission Follow-Up Log (Item 4): Received and filed. Commissioners were reminded to submit follow-up data requests via email to staff.
Key Outcomes
- Consent calendar passed unanimously.
- Ad hoc committees are working toward finalizing recommendations for a commission vote in November (submission deadline October 21) or December (deadline November 18).
- Data request from Budget Ad Hoc to SPD for 911 call data will be submitted in writing.
- Joint letter with Measure U Committee to be agendized for November meeting.
- Commissioner Carter asked about possible connection between complaints in Q4 2020 report and George Floyd protests; staff indicated individual review would be needed.
- Commissioner Falcon offered his personal email to community members interested in the alternative 911 response discussions.
- Ad hoc lifespans (one year ending in December) noted; committees may be reconstituted next year.
Meeting Transcript
All right, I think that's my cue to start. Um, good evening. The Sacramento Community Police Review Commission will please come to order. Will the clerk please call the role to establish quorum? Thank you, Commissioner Marion. Here Commissioner Castillo Kings. Present. Commissioner Bliss. Here. Commissioner Elkara. Present. Commissioner Escobar. Commissioner Falcone. Here. Commissioner Zamores let us know that they will be absent. And Commissioner Jefferson is absent. Vice Chair Carter. Here. And Chair Gueto. Present. You have a quorum. Thank you. Madam Clerk. First, to start off with our disclosure, public meetings are currently teleconference meetings only to align with local and federal guidelines and social distancing recommendations for the containment of the coronavirus for staff, commissioners, and those logged into the meeting. Please remember to keep your microphones muted when you are not speaking. We will be monitoring the raise hand feature in Zoom for Commissioner Comments. For members of the public that are tuning in, you are encouraged to submit public comment by using e-comment on the online agenda page. Members of the public participating via Zoom. If you would like to speak on an agenda item, raise your hand when the item begins. The raise hand feature will be disabled once the presentation has been completed. For items without a presentation, presentation completion will be considered when the chair finishes introducing the item. If you wish to speak on a subsequent item, you will need to raise your hand when that item begins. You will have two minutes per item to address the legislative body and may speak on up to four items. If you go over your allotted time, you will be asked to make your final comment and then we'll be muted. Okay, so let's get started with the agenda. First up is the chair's update. And I wanted to see if I could share my screen so that I can share those. Give me one second. So that I can share those recommendations. I mean those items that will be um will be brought up before the city council. So these should not look new. Again, these were originally going to be taken up by city council in August. And I did call a meeting of the chairs. Um I believe that included um uh uh uh Commissioner Castillo Kring, uh Commissioner Um Bliss and a uh Commissioner Carter and a couple of others. Um were not able to attend, but they did give me written feedback. And so here are the less than a dozen recommendations that the city council will be taking up. Um, that the commission have access to legal counsel independent of the city attorney's office. Number two, the commission needs additional staff support at minimum. OPSA should be authorized to hire another person to help fully staff the commission. Number three, Sacramento Police Department liaison should meet with the chair, vice chair, OPSA staff to address requests and respond uh directly to instead of having to use OPSA as an intermediary.
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