In the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico
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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, CIVIL NO. 12-2039 (GAG) v. COMMONWEALTH OF PUERTO RICO, et al., Defendants. MOTION SUBMITTING BI-ANNUAL STATUS REPORT PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH 261 AND MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE SPANISH LANGUAGE DOCUMENTS TO THE HONORABLE COURT: COMES NOW Defendants, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and Puerto Rico Police Department (“Defendants” and/or “PRPB”), by and through the undersigned counsel, and respectfully inform the Court as follows: 1. Pursuant to Paragraph 261 of the Agreement for the Sustainable Reform of the Puerto Rico Police Department, after the Technical Compliance Advisor (“TCA”) files his first six-month report, the PRPB is to file a bi-annual status report (the “Status Report”) “no later than 15 days before the end of the period under review.” Docket No. 57, ¶261. 2. In compliance with the provisions of the Agreement, the PRPB hereby submits its first bi-annual Status Report of 2019, which is due today, as Exhibit 1 to the instant motion. 3. Moreover, the PRPB’s Status Report incorporates by reference five exhibits, all in the Spanish language. 1 4. Accordingly, the PRPB hereby requests leave to file the aforementioned exhibits in the Spanish language, and also requests that the Court provide the PRPB thirty (30) days to file translated versions of the exhibits to the Status Report. WHEREFORE, Defendants respectfully request the Court to take NOTICE of the above submission and GRANT the PRPB’s motion as requested. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED. WE HEREBY CERTIFY: That today we have electronically filed the foregoing document with the Clerk of the Court for the District of Puerto Rico, using the CM/ECF system which will send a copy and notification of filing to all counsel of record. In San Juan, Puerto Rico, this 25th day of March, 2019. By: s/ Maria A. Dominguez Maria A. Dominguez USDC-PR No. 210908 [email protected] s/ Arturo J. Garcia Sola Arturo J. Garcia Sola USDC-PR No. 201903 [email protected] s/ Javier Micheo Marcial Javier F. Micheo Marcial USDC-PR No. 305310 [email protected] McCONNELL VALDÉS LLC PO Box 364225 San Juan, PR 00936-4225 Telephone (787) 250-5641 Fax: (787) 759-8282 2 HENRY ESCALERA RIVERA Commissioner 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………...1 II. Capacity Building-Period……………………………………………………….….…1 III. Response of the Puerto Rico Police Bureau to Concerns Raised in the Previous Report of the Technical Compliance Advisor (TCA) ………………………………….……..5 IV. Public Hearing in US District Court..………………………………………….……...7 V. Status Report…………………………………………………………………………..8 VI. Reform Office……………………………………………………………………….....8 VII. Compliance Areas of the Agreement………………………………………………….11 A. Recruiting…….………………………………………….……………………13 B. Professionalization……………………………………………………………14 C. Use of Force……………………………………………………………..……14 D. Searches and Seizures…………………………………………………...…...15 E. Equal Protection and Non-Discrimination…………………………….……..15 F. Community Engagement and Public Information……………………….…..19 G. Training……………………………………………………………………….21 H. Civilian Complaints, Internal Investigations and Discipline …………..…….21 I. Information Systems and Technology………………………………………...24 VIII. Summary of the Intellectual Production of the Puerto Rico Police Bureau…………..26 IX. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………….30 2 BIANNUAL STATUS REPORT OF THE PUERTO RICO POLICE BUREAU I. Introduction. Pursuant to paragraph 261 of the Agreement for the Sustainable Reform of the Puerto Rico Police Department (hereinafter "Agreement"), the Puerto Rico Police Bureau (hereinafter "PRPB") submits to the Court a status report highlighting its most significant achievements for the period between October 8, 2018 and March 1, 2019. PRPB also responds to concerns raised in previous reports filed by the Technical Compliance Advisor (hereinafter "TCA"). II. Capacity-Building Period As part of the negotiations for the execution of the Agreement, the US Department of Justice granted the PRPB a four (4) year capacity-building period, subject to the development of Action Plans in each of the substantive areas of the Agreement. These action plans set forth in detail the steps agreed upon to execute and implement the reforms through the development of policies, training, and improvements in infrastructure, especially regarding technology. This capacity- building period ended on October 7, 2018, the date on which the Agreement’s compliance period began. It is important to note the progress made by PRPB in the capacity-building period, before reporting on the significant achievements made during the first compliance period. To comply with the training requirements of the Reform, it was necessary to lay the foundation by developing or revising policies and procedures, the result of which we break down below: 1. Enacted ninety-one (91) general orders; 2. Developed seventeen (17) procedure manuals; 3. Approve twelve (12) regulations; 4. Approved six (6) administrative orders; 5. Developed two (2) glossaries; 6. Approved three hundred sixty (360) forms (PPRs); and 7. Finalized one (1) protocol. Among the several projects developed during the four (4) year capacity-building period, was the creation of the Boards responsible for determining the criteria to be considered when selecting the 1 PRPB members that will integrate any specialized units, such as the: Tactical Operations Unit, SWAT, Drugs and Narcotics Unit, and Canine Unit, among others. If the established criteria are not met, the candidate cannot be part of the unit for which he or she is being evaluated, which allows only the most qualified candidates to join those units. The Canine Unit made some extraordinary advances, such as the continuous replacement of the canines with a total of fifty-eight (58) dogs acquired and five (5) pending to be received. All PRPB members assigned to this unit complied with one hundred (100%) percent of the required training, such as: The Unit Director was certified as a Kennel Master by the Vohne Liche Kennels Academy in Indiana; Four (4) additional instructors were certified in areas related to K-9s; and A Canine Handler Course was developed. To complete the trainings, in addition to restoring the former structure of the Ponce Shooting Range and converting it into a continuous training center for the dogs, the following equipment was acquired: Four (4) Training Boxes (set of four) – These are used daily to carry out the boxes protocol in order to reinforce the dogs’ odor discrimination. The boxes help to identify failures, and the handler is corrected regarding the proper method of rewarding the canine. Four (4) Narc Sote (four compartments) – These are narcotics administered by the Mental Health and Addiction Services Administration, with the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) approval. One (1) Bite Suit –Used for training in the apprehension of fugitives and the prevention of injuries to agents in interventions with high degrees of danger. Two (2) Heavy Duty a/r 15 Weapon Box – Allows the safe mobilization of the weapons used in the trainings to different scenes. Two (2) Type 3 Magazine Day Box – Used for the transportation of explosives and detonators. One (1) scale - To control the amount of controlled substances removed from the safebox to be used in training. 2 Four (4) signs - Used to identify the training areas and to warn of the presence of dogs in the area. One (1) Explosives Kit - Contains enough material of all odor tests for the practical maintenance of the dogs specialized in the detection of odors. Six (6) K9 First Aid Kits Tactical Gloves Safety equipment for the canines Because one of the objectives of the Agreement is to promote safety and provide the personnel with the necessary tools to achieve these objectives, the following equipment was acquired: Nine thousand seven hundred and ten (9,710) DCEs with holsters. As part of the negotiations, when this technological equipment was acquired, the PRPB was able to certify, through the vendor, seventy-eight (78) members of the PRPB as DCE Solutions and Investigations Technicians. This certification empowers them to download the DCE equipment quarterly data from the data ports because one hundred (100) cables needed for this function were acquired. This process of downloading the quarterly data allows the identification of misuse of the equipment. Twenty-one thousand nine hundred one (21,901) disposable cartridges for DCE. This amount allows each employee who has a DCE to have an additional cartridge as part of his/her uniform. Fourteen thousand six hundred (14,600) DCE batteries. Fifteen thousand six hundred sixty-nine (15,669) OC MK-3 containers with their holders. Three hundred and fifty (350) OC practice equipment. Thirteen OC recharging stations for trainings. Batons with their holsters. Thirty-two (32) baton instructor uniforms. Five hundred and sixty (560) practice batons. Ten thousand (10,000) rechargeable lanterns with their holsters. Anti-riot equipment. 3 Projectors, projection screens, desks, wireless presenters, secretarial chairs, tables, files and cabinets, air conditioners, laptops, fixed chairs, pen drives, extension cords, speakers, wireless microphones, modular stations, first aid kits, all to enable the training centers at the police areas level and to decentralize training from the Academy. Rental of four hundred twenty four (424) multifunction printers. Seven hundred (700) galvanized barricades. Two (2) virtual simulators for simulated use of force practices.