ELPD Social Worker Gives Long Awaited Presentation to Police Oversight Commission

East Lansing Police Department (ELPD) Social Worker Taylor Knickerbocker explained her role and the challenges she faces to the East Lansing Independent Police Oversight Commission (ELIPOC) at the commission’s Aug. 2 meeting.

Additionally, commissioners learned officers are looking in parked cars for guns and that ELPD issued an apology for an alleged incident of child abuse enabled by the department more than 20 years ago.

ELPD social worker describes to ELIPOC the varied tasks of her job and said more social workers are needed.

In the wake of the police murder of George Floyd in 2020, ELPD announced it would be adding a police social worker. Knickerbocker has now spent about a year in her role. She fielded questions from ELIPOC regarding her day-to-day activities, her role within the department, and the shifting landscape of policing as officers are expected more and more to respond to people experiencing mental health crises.

To begin her discussion with the commission, Knickerbocker shared her background. She holds a master’s degree in social work and previously worked with Community Mental Health. Knickerbocker grew passionate about police social work when she worked part time for the Battle Creek Police Department. However, a full-time role in that department was not available. This led her to apply for the job in East Lansing.

Knickerbocker explained that much of her job involves helping officers respond to people who are having a mental health crisis, responding to domestic incidents and assisting with officer wellness. She also takes referrals from community members who may email her about neighbors or loved ones they believe may be in mental distress.

As a social worker, Knickerbocker does not carry a weapon. She said an unarmed person being present can help resolve a situation without the need for officers to use force.

“Being in plainclothes really does help de-escalate a situation,” she said. “Not carrying a weapon on my side, my words are my best friend when de-escalating people.”

Additionally, Knickerbocker said an important part of her job is helping officers with their wellness. Most days, she often joins officers in their patrol cars for at least part of the day and will debrief with officers involved in potentially traumatic incidents.

“We have good relationships with each other,” she said.

Knickerbocker said she typically works day shifts during the week. But she makes herself available for calls throughout the day, nights and weekends, and may start coming in for an occasional weekend shift if data shows that is necessary.

One challenge Knickerbocker faces, which has been discussed at past ELIPOC meetings, is the shortage of police social workers. ELPD has long been trying to add a second social worker without success.

ELPD Captain Chad Pride explained to commissioners it is difficult to find social workers who want to work within a police department. Finding someone to come for the night-shift, when Knickerbocker is off the clock, is even more challenging, he said.

Pride said, ideally the department would have four to seven social workers. Commissioner Amanda Morgan, who works as a social worker, agreed at least four social workers would be needed for around-the-clock coverage.

When responding to questions from commissioners, Knickerbocker said she has told officers they can reach out to her any time if they need assistance. But, she said, they rarely call her when she’s off the clock because they respect her time.

Still, Knickerbocker is routinely working more than she is scheduled to because of the volume of people with mental health concerns ELPD officers must address.

“I work more than my 40 hours every single week and I have a family at home that I need to take care of as well,” Knickerbocker said. “It’s just not realistic for me to work more than the 50-plus hours that I work every week. Nor does my salary compensate me for the time that I donate out of the goodness of my heart.”

Last year, ELPD had 458 mental health referrals. As of the Aug. 2 meeting, the department was already approaching 400.

“In theory, if you actually came in for all the calls they need you for, you would be overwhelmed and you wouldn’t have a life,” Morgan added. “It’s OK to say that.”

Knickerbocker said people don’t know where to go other than the police when someone is experiencing a mental health crisis.

Pride contextualized the shift in responsibility police departments are enduring when it comes to addressing people in crisis.

“I started in 2000,” Pride said. “We went on, usually, one person-in-crisis call every three months. Now our officers are going at least three times a day.”

To help deal with these calls when Knickerbocker is not in the office, she mentioned the partnership ELPD is working to form with Community Mental Health (CMH) where ELPD officers can hold a short video chat with a CMH social worker to get direction when addressing a person in crisis. Meridian Township Police have a similar partnership with CMH, which Knickerbocker said has been “super successful.”

Pride said the department is looking into adding social work interns to help out, though interns would not have the same capabilities as a licensed social worker.

Two incidents in use of force report show police are looking through car windows for guns. One commissioner said there needs to be parameters for this “proactive policing.”

After two use of force complaints showed the incidents stemmed from ELPD discovering a gun inside empty cars, Commissioner Ernest Conerly led a discussion about how ELPD should address these situations.

In the first incident, officers saw in plain view a gun with an extended magazine inside a car parked on the 300 block of Albert Avenue. Someone who had seen the occupants of the vehicle exit approached officers and told them they had seen one of the occupants exit with a bulge that looked like a gun in their waistband. One officer waited near the car and eventually saw the owners and he radioed for other officers to assist him. Officers handcuffed two men, one of whom had an AR-15 pistol in his pants. The other did not have a weapon and was released.

The second incident was handled differently, according to the report. This incident also stemmed from an officer seeing a gun inside a car parked on the 300 block of Albert Avenue. Officers confirmed the vehicle owner did not have a Concealed Pistol License. One officer saw the car owner downtown and watched them return to and enter their car. Officers, still in the parking lot, then turned on their overhead lights to initiate a traffic stop. Two officers unholstered their weapons and pointed them at the subject in the low ready position. Officers then made the arrest without further incident.

Conerly questioned if officers should be looking through parked cars for weapons.

“Is that what we do now?” he asked. “We just leisurely walk by cars and see stuff and go through this whole process?… Is it necessary because you see a gun in a car that you need to do everything you’re doing, run license plates, sit on cars? Is it necessary for our officers to be doing that when no crime has been committed?”

Pride responded saying some individuals involved in shootings in Lansing have been seen in East Lansing. He said the department’s Proactive Engagement And Crime Enforcement (PEACE) team has confiscated more than 30 guns over the last seven or eight months from cars. Often these guns are in plain view.

“What we’re seeing is more guns are coming into the City of East Lansing as well, and they’re coming in illegally,” Pride said.

Pride continued to say police have noticed people bringing these illegally possessed guns into the city, but do not take them with them when they exit their cars. This can still be dangerous, Pride said, referencing a past shooting in a downtown parking garage. (ELi has reported on incidents of shootings downtown and in city parking garages.)

Conerly continued to question Pride, asking if there were any procedures for looking through vehicles and what to do if a weapon is discovered. Notably, Conerly pointed out, officers allowed the subject to get back in their car where a gun was observed in one incident outlined in the use of force report, but not the other.

“I’m all for proactive policing,” Conerly said. ”But proactive policing without parameters leads to Meijer shootings.”

Conerly continued to say parameters are needed to prevent things like profiling and asked to see a job description for the PEACE team.

“The City of East Lansing is not the enchanted kingdom anymore,” Pride said.

Pride continued to say just because there is a gun in the car, it doesn’t mean the owner doesn’t have a second gun with them, so officers still need to be careful. He said officer training and discretion are often relied upon in these situations.

Conerly acknowledged that the gun being in the car does not mean officers are safe. He also pointed out that from the subject’s perspective, there could be outside factors that make them feel as though they did nothing wrong. For example, he said, the gun could belong to a passenger who has the proper licenses.

Pride said sometimes suspects have a reasonable explanation and he encourages officers to educate people about the dangers of keeping their weapon in plain view and unattended. He said windows are sometimes broken and guns are stolen because they are easily visible.

Conerly went on to say it did not make sense for officers to allow an individual to get back in their car, where officers knew there was a gun in one incident. But in the other incident, officers stopped the individuals before they got in their car. He said there needs to be a standard process for how officers treat these situations, a process that reduces the risk of violence.

Pride said the reports ELIPOC sees are just “snippets” of the incident and the whole police report may tell a different story.

Conerly said the situation seems “messy” and is an example of why there needs to be operational parameters for the officers.

“Officers should not be putting themselves in situations that lead to bad incidents,” Conerly said. “It seems like this should be a standardized thing if they’re proactively looking in people’s cars.

“Our officers have got to stop doing stuff like this,” he said.

Pride said he would prefer to stop individuals before they get in the car. He said he is unsure if there were outside factors that led officers to allow the subject to get in their car in the second incident.

Conerly motioned for ELPD to give ELIPOC the full police reports for both incidents. The motion passed unanimously.

ELPD Chief Kim Johnson apologizes for abuse that allegedly occurred more than 20 years ago.

At the June 7 ELIPOC meeting, commissioners urged ELPD to apologize to a woman who said an ELPD officer ignored abuse by her parents.

The complaint stated that in 1999, the woman was handcuffed to a chair by her father. He  then called an ELPD officer who came by to tell the woman to “listen to her parents.” This incident was just part of a much larger cycle of abuse by the woman’s parents and the officer did not intervene.

ELPD investigated but the wide gap between when the incident allegedly happened and when it was reported made it difficult to gather evidence. Additionally, it was determined no current members of the department could have been involved.

Since it would be difficult to find an officer responsible and hold them accountable, commissioners urged police to issue an apology, acknowledge the pain the incident caused and assure the woman current policies would not allow for an officer to do something similar.

At the Aug. 2 meeting, it was revealed ELPD Chief Kim Johnson had taken ELIPOC’s advice and already written an apology letter.

ELIPOC Vice Chair Chris Root praised Johnson for using ELIPOC’s feedback and called the letter “quite good.”