Citizen Petition Leads to Police Oversight Commission Hearing on Use of Force and Deescalation
The East Lansing Independent Police Oversight Commission hosted a special meeting Wednesday, March 29, in partnership with the Michigan State University College of Law.
The meeting on the MSU campus came at the behest of 33 East Lansing residents who submitted a petition to the commission requesting the meeting. Under East Lansing’s law, the commission was required to hold a public hearing in response.
The petition, presented to the oversight commission in September of 2022, requested the meeting specifically to “obtain testimony from experts and members of the public about national best practices for policies and procedures as well as recommended training regarding Use of Force, especially as it pertains to the police [sic] of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.”
Concerns about use of force have been a long-running theme in the work of the commission.
About 80 people attended in person and on Zoom, including City Councilmember Dana Watson, East Lansing Police Chief Kim Johnson, Captain Chad Pride and members of the oversight commission.
Commission Chair Erick Williams and Vice Chair Chris Root introduced four panelists who spoke about policing practices surrounding use of force policies. Each speaker spoke for about 10 minutes before answering questions from the public.
Angie Weis Gammell, the current policy director of the Wilson Center for Science and Justice at Duke University, spoke on the American Law Institute’s (ALI’s) principles regarding policing.
According to Weis Gammell, these principles are a product of seven years of work by the Wilson Center and based on collaboration between community members, judges, attorneys, and current and retired law enforcement officers.
Among the goals highlighted by Weis Gammell, which included de-escalation tactics and harm reduction, was for police to do a better job interacting with vulnerable populations and those facing mental health challenges.
Weis Gammell said that, in preparation for this meeting, she had reviewed about one year of ELPD’s Use of Force Reports. She found that people experiencing behavioral health or mental health crises made up a “significant portion” of the use of force incidents, which Weis Gammell said means there is “room for improvement.”
Weis Gammell also saw some issues in ELPD’s use of “proportionality,” which as a principle means police should utilize a proportionate level of response in any interaction to avoid escalating the situation. The goal is to avoid having officers overreact and end up with harm that could have been avoided.
Dr. Chuck Wexler, executive director of Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), provided a pre-recorded interview with Root. In the interview, he reiterated the importance of proportional police responses and why it’s better for police to stop and think about a situation before reacting.
Wexler said “conventional” police thinking is that, if a person uses force, then the police should respond with more force. He added he and other researchers have studied models that show this type of thinking is common in police training but should be reformed.
Pastor Sean Holland, who was in attendance representing One Love Global and Black Lives Matter of Lansing and Michigan, spoke on how traditional police tactics and training severely impact Black and brown community members. Holland talked about the need for police accountability.
“Who are you protecting and who are you serving?” Holland asked, speaking of the current and historical over-policing of people of color.
Dr. Trevor Bechtel, Student Engagement & Strategic Projects Manager of the University of Michigan’s Poverty Solutions, discussed his research on how to reduce police use of force incidents.
Bechtel emphasized the importance of collecting good data on policing and how this starts with how the police themselves keep records. He explained there is no universal, standardized system for how police track data and said many departments do not make collected information available to the public.
Bechtel pointed to three specific reforms his research shows lower the likelihood of use of force incidents: body worn cameras, diversity in police departments and gun control.
Several community members posed questions for the speakers.
During the Q&A, each speaker elaborated on their individual expertise in terms of policing reform in response to questions about how to hold the police accountable. They all pointed out gaps in current police training and culture and articulated the ways they thought that could be fixed. Community policing and changes to police culture were the main talking points.
“I think you have to start somewhere,” Weis Gammel said when speaking about the different “vibes” of police officers who get to know people in neighborhoods on their beats and when policing isn’t “enforcement driven.”
“This is not about hating cops, but loving community,” Holland said of police reform that focuses on community-driven initiatives that lessen the need to call the police for many issues.