There has been a lot of dialogue — and questions raised — about how local law enforcement agencies fit into the fabric of society. We’ve been having similar conversations in our agency as we continue to examine the ways our deputies interact with our community.
The main thing I want you to know is that I – and every one of the 750+ employees who work at the Ada County Sheriff’s Office — value human life and dignity for all, above all else. If anyone in our agency doesn’t share that value, they have no place here.
For us, it’s not a matter of what we must change. We are always changing and evolving. It’s a matter of continuing to improve and looking for better ways to keep Ada County a safe place to live, work, and play.
To that end, we are going to hold a virtual Town Hall meeting this Wednesday (July 1) at 6 p.m. where you can ask me about our agency, how we work, and where we fit in.
We can’t invite you into a big room to talk in-person because of COVID-19. So we are doing it online with Webex. Be sure to click the “Register” button to get started. Once you do that, you will be able to join the meeting on July 1 and type in questions. I’ll do my best to answer them for you.
We are also going to stream it live on YouTube.
I thought it might be helpful to share some information with you ahead of our discussion Wednesday.
We know there has been a lot of discussion about the “8Can’tWait” movement — a series of policy recommendations designed to reduce use-of-force by law enforcement. I can tell you our agency has practiced all of these philosophies as long as I have been here. We continue to refine them to fit our community.
Let’s go over them.
Ban strangleholds and chokeholds
Our deputies are trained not to restrict the airway of anyone that they have to use active force to subdue. If they have to do a neck restraint for any reason, it is never used on someone in handcuffs who is not actively resisting. Our deputies have never used chokeholds or strangleholds.
There are times where a deputy might have to restrain somebody around the neck area. They are extensively trained to avoid the airway. And they train on each other, so they understand the stakes of what they are doing when they have to use that kind of force.
Require de-escalation
Every one of our 750+ employees has gone through de-escalation – and we were already scheduled to have staff go through refresher courses later this year. The VDI (Verbal Defense and Influence) training is a certified and well-tested course that teaches all of us to reduce conflict. We are fully aware that interactions with law enforcement can be stressful for people.
Part of our de-escalation process requires each of our deputies to use a universal greeting when they interact with the public. It’s designed to relieve pressure by telling people what we are doing. It’s quite simple. Here’s an example:
“Good morning. This is Sheriff Steve Bartlett. The reason I am approaching you today is because you just drove through a red light.”
We are happy to provide more details on the de-escalation techniques, which emphasize dignity and respect, empathy and problem-solving, to anyone who asks. Send an email to [email protected] and we can provide you with more info.
Require warning before shooting/exhaust all alternatives before shooting/duty to intervene
I’m going to combine these three because they are all part of the training our deputies receive from the minute they join our agency. All of these three are essential priorities. You can read our Use of Force policy online.
All of our deputies – and employees – are required to intervene if they detect any another employee is violating our policy or procedures.
Ban shooting at moving vehicles
Our procedures clearly state that all deputies are prohibited from shooting at moving vehicles unless there are no other “reasonable means available to avert the threat of the vehicle.”
Require use of force continuum
This one is more of a philosophical debate about what the appropriate use of force is in any given situation. When is it ok for a deputy to use their firearm, or less-lethal technology like a Taser? When is it required? Force is never required or mandated. If a deputy can peacefully resolve a situation without using force, that is optimal. Our deputies are never required to use force. It is important for everyone to know our deputies have the responsibility to protect the public and themselves in violent and dangerous situations.
Require comprehensive reporting
Every time one of our patrol or jail deputies has to use force of any kind, they must write a separate report detailing exactly what happened. Every one of those reports is reviewed by command staff to make sure policy was followed correctly. That is not new. We require the reporting and review of all uses of force because it is good practice.
While that covers the “8CantWait” movement, our agency is always working to identify better ways to serve our community.
For instance, all our patrol deputies and their supervisors wear on-body cameras and tape all interactions with the public. Our agency adopted that program in 2015. Those videos are routinely examined to make sure we are all following policy and doing a good job, treating people respectfully, and being problem-solvers as we interact with our community.
We also partnered with the MacArthur Foundation’s Safety and Justice Challenge over the last five years to identify smarter, more just ways to manage every step of our criminal justice system and develop new, better ways to interact with the diverse populations in our community.
As part of the grant, we were able to assemble a large community advisory group to help us identify problems in our jail; participate in community meetings with different advocacy groups; and develop our implicit bias training program, which has been taught to most of our employees — and dozens of Ada County employees in other agencies.
There are so many different ways to ask how we are doing as an agency. Some want to know how long it takes our deputies to respond to a 911 call. Others may want to know what our clearance rate is. How many times have our deputies had to use force? How big is our budget?
If you have such questions, please check out our Sheriff’s Reports page.
Our “Measures that Matter” page provides up-to-date information about topics like response times, number of 911 calls, crime and clearance rates, and jail population. Our “Use of Force” page details all uses of force by our patrol and jail deputies since 2018. Our community profile does demographic breakdowns or all our service areas – and our agency. Our budget page lets you know how much it costs to run our five bureaus.
I hope our virtual Town Hall will be one of many respectful, open, and meaningful conversations that allow us all to listen and learn. I look forward to speaking with you and continuing our dialogue Wednesday.
— Sheriff Steve Bartlett