MINUTES SPECIAL LEGISLATURE MEETING CAYUGA COUNTY LEGISLATURE Thursday, March 18, 2021 5:30PM Live Link: https://youtu.be/iEs0GdQQFAo CALL TO ORDER: Hon. Aileen McNabb-Coleman, Chair called the meeting to order at 5:31PM ROLL CALL: Sheila Smith, Clerk of the Legislature, all legislators present except Andy Dennison, Tucker Whitman, Paul Pinckney, Heidi Nightengale, and Michael Didio PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: MOMENT OF PRAYER: PRESENTATION: Executive Order 203 Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative Plan – Attached McNabb-Coleman highlights the attached document. Kerr asks about the mobile mental health crisis team and what volume of calls that we experience right now that could benefit from having this service attached to the Sheriff response after midnight. Schenck responds that they utilize it quite frequently, but it is more often used in the City of Auburn. He knows that the City of Auburn plan is going to incorporate the same need to expand upon those services and make them more readily available after midnight. Schenck adds that when they deal with someone in crisis during normal business hours they do have immediate access to Cayuga County Mental Health. He says they will send social workers and people who specialize in that area right to a scene if they need them. He says after 5:00pm when they are not available they utilize Liberty Resources through their mobile crisis team. He does not have exact number, but there has been an uptick in calls for service with people in crisis form 2018 to present. He says there has been a concerning number in 2020 and continuing into 2021 a number of people attempting and have committed suicide. He says the mobile crisis team has been great for their people out in the field. They are tasked with going and addressing these crisis incidents and the reality is their deputies do not have the specialized training in many cases to deal with someone having a crisis situation. He says if they can expand upon it to have them more readily available after midnight and ultimately the long term goal would to have someone available to respond to a scene when they do. He says there are times when they are called to assist with a person in crisis and when a person in uniform arrives it can sometimes make the situation worse. He says in a perfect world if they had the resources and people with mental health backgrounds that are trained to deal with those situations it would be a positive thing. He says the implementation framework the agency has been tasked to work with mental health to work on strategy to determine how to do a better job responding to the crisis situations. Batman points out that Tompkins County and specifically he thinks the City of Ithaca developed a program many years ago that combined coordinated mental health staff with law enforcement staff. He says if we have not looked at that it is something to work with and look at. Motion by Petrus to adjourn at 6:44PM, 2nd by Foley, all in favor. Cayuga County Sheriff’s Office | Police Reform & Reinvention Collaborative Plan 2021 NEW YORK STATE POLICE REFORM & REINVENTION COLLABORATIVE POLICE REFORM & REINVENTION PLAN RESPONSE TO NYS GOVERNOR CUOMO EXECUTIVE ORDER #203 CAYUGA COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE Cayuga County Legislature | Chair of the Legislature DRAFT FOR CIRCULATION TO CAYUGA COUNTY LEGISLATURE FOR MARCH 18, 2021 SPECIAL LEGISLATURE MEETING MARCH 10, 2021 [i] TABLE OF CONTENTS POLICE REFORM & REINVENTION PLAN RESPONSE TO NYS GOVERNOR CUOMO EXECUTIVE ORDER #203 ..... i INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................................... 1 CONNECTING BRIDGES – MISSION STATEMENT ................................................................................................. 1 CAYUGA COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE VISION STATEMENT .................................................................................. 1 I. PARTNERSHIPS AND THE PUBLIC OUTREACH PLAN .................................................................................... 2 II. STAKEHOLDER WORKING GROUPS .............................................................................................................. 2 WORKING GROUP ORGANIZATION ................................................................................................................... 2 STAKEHOLDER COMPOSITION .......................................................................................................................... 3 WORKING GROUP FOCUS AREAS ...................................................................................................................... 4 WORKING GROUP I ....................................................................................................................................... 4 WORKING GROUP II ...................................................................................................................................... 5 WORKING GROUP III ..................................................................................................................................... 6 PUBLIC SURVEY AND PUBLIC INPUT .................................................................................................................... 7 WORKING GROUP MEETINGS ........................................................................................................................... 8 WORKING GROUP I, Meeting #1 | November 24, 2020 ............................................................................. 12 WORKING GROUP I, Meeting #2 | December 8, 2020................................................................................ 14 WORKING GROUP II, Meeting #1 | November 24, 2020 ............................................................................ 15 WORKING GROUP II, Meeting #2 | December 8, 2020............................................................................... 17 WORKING GROUP III, Meeting #1 | November 24, 2020 ........................................................................... 19 WORKING GROUP III, Meeting #2 | December 8, 2020.............................................................................. 22 PUBLIC INPUT – PUBLIC FORUMS ...................................................................................................................... 24 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................... 24 PUBLIC FORUM 1: December 15, 2020 ....................................................................................................... 24 PUBLIC FORUM 2: January 6, 2021 ............................................................................................................. 29 FOCUS AREAS & POLICY PROPOSALS ................................................................................................................ 32 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................... 32 POLICE STRUCTURE ......................................................................................................................................... 33 USE OF BODY WORN CAMERAS .................................................................................................................. 33 USE OF FORCE / DE-ESCALATION TECHNIQUES .......................................................................................... 33 NO – KNOCK WARRANTS ............................................................................................................................ 33 POLICE TRAINING & IMPLICIT BIAS ................................................................................................................. 33 MENTAL HEALTH INTERVENTION AND RESPONSE ..................................................................................... 34 OFFICER MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLNESS ................................................................................................ 34 POLICE AND COMMUNITY RELATIONS ........................................................................................................... 35 ESTABLISHING A FRAMEWORK FOR CONTINUED COMMUNITY OUTREACH & PARTNERSHIP. ................. 35 SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICERS – SRO PROGRAM ........................................................................................ 35 COMMUNITY BASED POLICING PROGRAMS ............................................................................................... 35 TRANSPARENCY AND THE COMPLAINT PROCESS ....................................................................................... 35 TRANSPARENCY AND POSTING OF LAW ENFORCEMENT POLICIES ............................................................ 36 POLICE RESPONSE AND PROCEDURAL JUSTICE .............................................................................................. 36 IMPLICIT BIAS & UNDOCUMENTED RESIDENTS. ......................................................................................... 36 TRANSLATION SERVICES FOR NON-ENGLISH SPEAKING INDIVIDUALS ....................................................... 36 DIVERSITY AND OUTREACH IN RECRUITMENT AND HIRING ....................................................................... 36 DIVERSIONARY PROGRAMS AND COURTS-ALTERNATIVES TO INCARCERATION........................................ 37 IMPLEMENTATION FRAMEWORK & TIMETABLE .............................................................................................