Are we okay with ‘so far, so good?’
— by Lin McNulty, Orcas Issues Editor —
Vesting police officers with the authority to use reasonable force and to protect the public welfare requires monitoring, evaluation, and a careful balancing of all interests. Does this hold true, even in small communities? Who makes the decision, for instance, to institute a civilian review board that oversees police actions? Large cities have such oversight protocols in place. Do we need the same thing here in our little archipelago?
My first inclination is to say, heck no — after all, we don’t have that problem like they do in america. We’re on an island, for crying out loud. We know each other; we know our deputies; we have no police violence concerns because our law enforcement officers live in our community; they are our neighbors, and, even friends. We all shop at the Market.
Right?
As the country — indeed, the planet — reels from the ongoing killing of Black men, and women, at the hands of police officers meant to uphold our laws (whether it be by knee, another body part, or by an intentional weapon), it is time not only for the police to wake the hell up but for all citizens to yawn, to stretch, and open our eyes to accept some responsibility and prevent this atrocity from recurring.
Orcas Issues obtained a copy of the Use of Force policy currently in effect at San Juan County Sheriff’s Office, just to gain awareness. The first shocker was that the Sheriff’s Office outsources its policy manual to a private company, Lexipol. “Lexipol,” they say of themselves, “is the only company serving all public safety and local governments with solutions that combine the impact of information with the power of technology, providing more than 2 million first responders and local government officials with policies, training, grant assistance, and news and analysis.” I don’t know that this is a bad thing or a good thing; it was just shocking to learn that our police policy and procedures come from some internet company.
I invite you to view this Use of Force policy, outlining, for instance, when shooting a weapon is appropriate in effecting an arrest. Also review the guidelines to be followed when there is a question about use of force, including a death. Are we supportive that review of such an instance would be conducted by the Undersheriff and a Sergeant? Is that where we want the final decisions to land?
I want to be clear that I am not criticizing our Sheriff’s Office, nor its personnel. But just because we can say “so far, so good,” doesn’t mean that we should shrug our responsibility as citizens to oversee the guardianship of our island’s citizens and visitors.
Any agency whose responsibility potentially includes violence and requires a “use of force policy” should have a civilian review board. Period.
Lack of oversight and the total absence of any meaningful consequences when these powers are misused can only lead to one outcome, and it’s not a good one.
Thank you for opening this discussion. I have worked in coordination with law enforcement for the past 25 years. One of the biggest risks to a community is if the community loses faith in their law enforcement officers. To prevent this we, the citizens, need to understand who they are and what they do. Complacency is dangerous on both sides, as you say “so far so good” is not good enough. As parents need to be involved in their child’s education, while supporting the teacher, the public needs to be involved in public safety. How that happens, I’m not sure. There are models from around the country we can look at and draw from. Our situation is unique so our solution to the problem, that does not really exist yet, will also be unique.
It’s my understanding that many (3400 police, fire and correctional agencies in 35 states, according to the company) have “outsourced” their drafting of procedural guidelines to Lexipol. Legal experts have criticized Lexipol’s use of vague, flexible language as sheltering police from accountability and hindering reform. They’re allegedly designed for maximum protection from civil liability for the counties, towns and cities who hire Lexipol to draft their procedures. I recently learned about Lexipol from an NPR discussion. An attorney with California’s ACLU, where Lexicon has 90% of law enforcement agencies as clients, has called their procedures antiquated and counter-productive. Anyone interested in the appropriateness of Lexipol’s approach for San Juan County can read a review of Lexipol’s approach on The Appeal’s website, an organization which writes articles about criminal justice reform.
The use of Lexipol is apparently common among smaller jurisdictions. Their philosophical approach to policing seems to me incompatible with the spirit of the San Juan Islands.
I agree with Luther Bliss and Michael Elder. There should be a police review board that reviews and oversees the use of force in our county, perhaps headed by a retired officer who understands the pressures of law enforcement. Norm Stamper?
The first thing they could and should do is review and revise the Use of Force policy, perhaps in cooperation with Sheriff Krebs, to make sure it is consistent with the unique characteristics of our island communities. One size does not fit all.
Oh by all means let’s have a commission to oversee the police, and then of course let’s vote for a new tax to support the commission. Then, let’s have a commission to oversee the county legal system, then the county council, then every other public service. Then it logically follows we should have commissions to oversee all businesses and have more tax districts to support them. And while we’re at it how about commissions to investigate churches or how you raise your children or what you say in private conversations in your own home? Can I say “brown shirts?”
Careful, Bob. Any newly formed Oversight Commission will probably have a Thought Police Division.
Personally, I have no beef with how I have been treated by Orcas cops. They have been conciliatory and obviously attuned to community they are charged with policing. I have also witnessed this approach taken in other situations where a friendly word goes a long ways in defusing any situation where the potential for further engagement or violence might ocur.
That said, I must agree with Luther on this one as he nails it down with the phrase, ‘use of deadly force.” While neither I nor anyone I know has been threatened with police violence, if they have a gun and you don’t, well….As one SanJuan County Deputy once mentioned to me, “Things have changed since 9/11.”
After long rhought on this matter I deided what he was referring to was both the change in accountability by police and the circumstance of fear that can, in an instant, set off the chain of violent response.
We know that police departments across the nation, including our own, have r received so called, ‘surplus’ military equipment to beef up their response capability, what we don’t know, or is not commonly known, is the post 9/11 interface of locals with the Feds, discussions on the possibility of martial law imposition, and, of course, the FAA veiled and unveiled threats to the county budget.
Thanks Paula Teener for pointing out the , ‘outsourcing” that reveals yet another layer of insulation between the community and the cops.
And as far as Robert Launch’s comment – Do we really need the heavy sarcasm around this issue?
And thanks Lin for bringing this to the fore.
Lexipol’s Leadership can be seen in the link below. I’ll let you all draw your own conclusions about how this group is informed about the critical issues underlying the upheaval we’re witnessing and experiencing across the nation — diversity, inclusion, and equity.
https://www.lexipol.com/leadership/
I’m shocked. Shocked.
I find myself in complete agreement with Michael Riordan.
You’re absolutely right, Michael: One size does not fit all.
Thanks, Steve.
I know we don’t always agree but I respect your opinions and try to learn from them about the other side of the aisle.