HomeMy WebLinkAboutCCMIN_04-12-17CITY OF FALCON HEIGHTS
Regular Meeting of the City Council
City Hall
2077 West Larpenteur Avenue
MINUTES
April 12, 2017 at 7:00 P.M.
A. CALL TO ORDER: 7:00 pm
B. ROLL CALL: LINDSTROM _X_ HARRIS BROWN THUNDER _X_
FISCHER _X_ GUSTAFSON_X_
STAFF PRESENT: THONGVANFIX
C. PRESENTATIONS:
1. Annual Police Report
Chief Mangseth presented the annual police report. Safety through service is a theme
that has been a part of their service for years. Since 1930, the FBI has administered the
uniform crime reporting system. It compiles stats on part 1 and 2 crimes. Part 1 crimes
are the most serious crimes. Theft continues to be the most prevalent part one crime.
Part 2 crimes are less serious, and initiated by officer initiated activity. SAPD has looked
for an implemented ways for better data collection and reporting. This will include all
stops made. In addition, they have started to collect data on race. A primary goal is to
identify and enhance ways to collect, analyze and report data in order to enhance police
transparency. In 2016 there were 2,989 calls for service. Calls for service include not just
radio calls, but calls initiated by officers upon coming across an issue or problem in the
community. There have been 1,344 citations issued for moving violations, 303 citations
for non-moving violations, 539 arrests, 3 retirements, and 3 new hires. There were 192
criminal cases and 101 of those cases were cleared. The department completed 1523
training hours. There are added educational requirements: such as recognizing and
valuing diversity, cultural differences, conflict management and mediation, and mental
health. They have designated an officer to be certified in Crisis Intervention Training,
and they are planning to utilize a train the trainer model for the entire department. This
officer is also a trained crisis, hostage negotiator with the multiagency SWAT team.
Since 2011, SAPD has hired nonwhite candidates at a rate of 50%. They also have Police
Reserves who have put in a total of 2,220 hours in 2016. Some of the Community
Engagement efforts that SAPD has participated in are MN Night to Unite, Cops vs. Kids
basketball, Summer Survival School, Coffee with a Cop, Safe Routes to School, Touch a
Truck, and attend many school and community events.
Council Member Brown Thunder:
Were the last three hires nonwhite? Does that hiring priority also apply to upper
management?
Chief Mangseth:
One of those three hires is multiracial. Yes, but they ultimately need to be able to retain
officers in a long-term capacity to have those opportunities for advancement.
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Council Member Gustafson:
Chief Ohl talked about a mentoring program in previous years. Have you been
continuing that?
Chief Mangseth:
Yes, they all recognize the importance of the mentoring program. They engage folks at
Century College and Metropolitan State. Although, they are often recruited as Reserve
Officers, they sometimes leave when a full-time, paid opportunity comes up.
Council Member Fischer:
In May some of the officers went to de-escalation training. How many hours is the
training, and how many officers attend?
Chief Mangseth:
De-escalation training comes in many forms: annual use of force training, scenario -based
training, and the de-escalation trainings. It is in their plan to keep expanding on that
training and building on that training.
Council Member Fischer:
Four officers participate in a SWAT team. What is the need for that in Falcon Heights?
Chief Mangseth:
When a crisis arises, it is useful in hostage situations and when needing negation skills.
Mayor Lindstrom:
Is there any specific training on procedural justice?
Chief Mangseth:
This happens on an administrative and supervisory level in terms of ethics and integrity
training. Officers also attend different trainings where police accountability and ethics
are discussed. SAPD will be incorporating the Fair and Impartial Policing training for all
officers in the fall.
Council Member Fischer:
Can the collection of race data be included in the weekly reports to Council?
Chief Mangseth:
They are capable of reporting data and storing it in their records management system,
but the problem they are encountering is that they have not been able to extract that data
in a readable form. They are working with their vendor on that.
Mayor Lindstrom:
He has recently been made aware of the 'lights on' initiative that Roseville is doing.
Officers carry coupons for repairs on broken taillights. He hopes that we keep close tabs
on how that program goes, because it seems like it would help.
Chief Mangseth:
He has been in conversations with a person that is a part of this organization. The
specific issue the policy makers in St. Anthony wanted to stay clear of is having a
partnership with a for-profit organization. Some of the questions that came up were how
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many coupons the police department would receive, would they need to collect data on
who they handed the coupons out to, and if there is only a limited number of coupons
how do you decide who receives them.
Chief Mangseth:
In his experience, when someone is pulled over for a headlight or taillight being out,
they are issued a warning.
Mayor Lindstrom:
St. Anthony is participating in the Government Alliance for Race and Equity. Are you or
any member of the police department a part of that team?
Chief Mangseth:
No, there are staff throughout the city that are part of that. One of the officers is part of a
committee that discusses trainings to be hosted by the St. Anthony for its employees.
Mayor Lindstrom:
Is it anticipated that the recommendations from COPS program will come out around
August/ September?
Chief Mangseth:
The DOJ will be back on the week of May 1 for three days. Following this next visit, they
will begin the assessment process and developing recommendations. He hasp t received
any hard dates yet.
Council Member Brown Thunder:
Have they been providing you with any data recommendations?
Chief Mangseth:
They have been providing them with technical assistance and peer mentoring. They
have provided technical assistance in regards to the role out of their social media
platform and policy. They also recommended the fair and impartial policing training.
Mayor Lindstrom:
He wants to confirm that their policy is still that officers do not inquire about people's
immigration status.
Chief Mangseth:
Officers do not inquire about immigration status. Their primary focus is serving their
community and the victims of crime, speaking to witnesses, and making arrests where
they legally can make arrests.
Mayor Lindstrom:
The Task Force is narrowing in on a couple of recommendations, and he wanted to run
them by him to get some feedback or initial reactions. One recommendation might be a
survey. Roseville issues a postcard/ mailer to people that their police officers have had
interactions within a couple of weeks of being pulled over. One of the questions being,
"do you feel like you were treated fairly?"
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Chief Mangseth:
The City of St. Anthony has engaged in surveys like that before. He believes that a
survey that provides them information on how they are performing cannot hurt.
Mayor Lindstrom:
One idea is to have a certain set of officers designated as Falcon Heights officers. This
would be their primary location, but they would not be excluded from policing the other
cities.
Chief Mangseth:
Every officer that has been hired on the police department is a Falcon Heights officer.
Working in all three communities makes the officers well-rounded.
Mayor Lindstrom:
Another idea is when someone has an interaction with a police officer. The police officer
would give the individual a business card with the officers name and general
information on how to get in contact with the SAPD. General information on how to file
a complaint or compliment.
Chief Mangseth:
All of the officers that are on the police department have business cards and have their
email address on the back. They carry those cards around, and upon demand they do
provide those to individuals. They also carry blue cards in the squad cards. On there
they write down the case number, the officer's names, date, time, and on the back there
are referral phone numbers.
Mayor Lindstrom:
In reference to the amount of citations given, what was the reason for the increase?
Chief Mangseth:
That decrease of 32% in citations is due to calls for service not only encompass those
radio calls, but they also encompass traffic and parking citations. Parking citations were
fairly stable.
Mayor Lindstrom:
One of the things that gave him cause for concern was the Guardian Warrior training. It
was conveyed to him that it was a get them before they get you approach, not a
guardian mentality. Could you address that?
Chief Mangseth:
A small number of officers attended that training. The training emphasizes a shepherd, a
watch dog, mentality in the community. He admits that he has attended that training
and it was predominately geared towards describing a police officer as a guardian of the
flock.
Resident:
What would happen in the future if your funding drops to a level that you have to
reduce staff? Do you lose an officer if they are the last in? The second concern is how
does it work to have the supervision of both Councils and how to they mesh together?
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Chief Mangseth:
He takes his orders and direction from the St. Anthony Council, but he does listen to the
City Administrator here in Falcon Heights. They have conversations and he gets input
from the Council. As far as the officers that were recently hired, he will take orders from
the policy makers when decisions need to be made about reduction in force. For more
answers on the police union contract, a data request can be made with St. Anthony.
Sarah Chambers- Folwell Ave:
The citations data is not broken down into specifics. Do you have a sense of what those
citations were for? Of the 539 arrests, what kinds of citations particularly related to
traffic result in arrest? What is an example of a violation that results in a non-custodial
arrest?
Chief Mangseth:
There are different levels of crimes in relation to traffic. Misdemeanors for the most part
result in an arrest but typically not an in -custody arrest where someone is brought to jail
and booked. Criminal charge or felony level would require a custodial arrest and a
transport to jail. In regards to the breakdowns for traffic, there are citations for moving
violations, equipment violations, etc. Please provide a data request so SAPD can run
those totals. A warning is not logged as a citation since no ticket is issued. Non-custodial
arrest is due to a citation for driving after revocation/suspension/cancellation, no
insurance, and open bottle.
Sarah Chambers- Folwell Ave:
If the City Administrator is getting the break downs of the traffic stops, it would be great
to have those online with the weekly reports.
Nathanael Galick- St. Paul Resident:
How many medical calls in 2016?
Chief Mangseth:
254 medical calls
Nathanael Galick- St. Paul Resident:
What kind of qualifications do the officers have? Why didn't the officers provide first
aid to Philando Castile after he was shot? Do your officers have a legal and moral
obligation to help any citizen that is in need of medical assistance? Are you aware under
the color of the law that there are legal obligations to provide first aid? Is officer Yanez
back on duty? Also, what is the internal process of the case?
Chief Mangseth:
All officers are certified first responders. He will not be making any comments on the
case involving Philando Castile. There are state statutes and policies covering that, and
he can supply those. Yes, he is aware. Officer Yanez is not back on duty. Standard
operating procedures is that the criminal proceeding would have to run its course before
the city is able to engage in conducting an overview. There is also pending civil litigation
that would have to be taken into consideration.
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Nathanael Galick- St. Paul Resident:
What obligation and responsibility do you have to respond to Falcon Heights' Council
and staff concerns if you take your orders from St. Anthony? Would their suggestions be
taken at the same level of input?
Cl -def Mangseth:
Standard operating procedure is that the St. Anthony Manager has given permission to
the Police Chief to have discussions with the Falcon Heights City Administrator to talk
about issues or concerns. The open lines of communication are there.
Dan Johnson -Powers -1974 Tatum St:
He was pulled over long ago on Larpenteur and got a warning for not having a license
on him and speeding. His experience made him want to slow down since that was the
expectation that was set from the officer.
Jane McNintch:
You mentioned that you are now collecting race data. Do you collect information on use
of force? Can you give a couple of examples of how you are using the data to lead the
department. She is very concerned about the informal accountability that was described
regarding conversations with the City Administrator to receive feedback.
Chief Mangseth:
Race data has been collected since 2011, but as of fall of 2016, that is now being collected
on all stops including warnings. There is data collected on use of force and that is
detailed in a narrative on the report. Currently, the DOJ is helping the department with
organization and providing context to the data.
Beth Mercer -Taylor- 2231 Folwell Ave:
She wishes these conversations had happened sooner, and she appreciates that officers
have made it to the community meetings that have been held. Paul Schnell, Maplewood
Police Chief, has a social work background and has done a write up called, "Can Social
Workers Change Policing?" It was printed on January 4, 2017 in a Saint Thomas
University publication. He believes if more social work training was incorporated into
police officer training, officers would have better relationships with the people they
serve and better outcomes in potentially violent situations. She recommends reading it,
and she believes that what the community wants is to give voice to the past and current
injustices. They want to see a change in policing for the entire state.
Tyrone Tyrell:
Nathanael Galick- St. Paul Resident:
The shepherd and sheep analogy of protecting from the wolves bothers him, as a former
so called wolf. It seems that residents are bothered by that training. How would that
feedback be handled? Have there been any arrests that resulted from protestors or
property damaged?
Chief Mangseth:
He is more than happy to sit down with the City Administrator and discuss what
training classes to focus on. No arrests were made. He is not aware of any property
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being damaged. He commends those that peacefully protest. As an officer, he doesn't
believe in demonstrators in the middle of streets and blocking traffic as it is a public
safety concern.
D. APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
1. March 22, 2017 City Council Meeting Minutes
E. PUBLIC HEARINGS:
F. CONSENT AGENDA:
1. General Disbursements through: 4/04/17 $141,108.46
Payroll through: 3/31/17 $19,122.09
2. Donation for 2017 Parks Program Fund
3. Appointment of Hawa Samatar to the Planning Commission
4. Appointment of Farook Meah to the Environment Commission
G: POLICY ITEMS:
Approved
Council Member Gustafson Moved, Approved 4-0
H. INFORMATION/ ANNOUNCEMENTS:
1. Weekly Police Reports - Can Now Be Found At:
htW://www.falconheights.org/index.asl2?SEC=75B3E8BB-785B-4048-B543-
995BAE0716A5&Type=B BASIC
City Administrator Thongvanh:
• There is a link provided for the weekly police reports. These are a broad overview of the
stops. He does have the collected race data since October, but as the Police Chief
mentioned, for the time being there has not been a tangible way to extract that data. He
is working on that. He has been reviewing the overall stops, and the Police Chief is
correct in saying that people have been receiving warnings for minor infractions. Once
this is done, he will have this on the website.
• He has been working on the RFI letter to send out to local police departments this week.
The two-week timeline will be the best case scenario. More likely two to four weeks.
Once he receives the responses back, he will present that information to the Council. He
and the Mayor will also be meeting with the Mayor and City Manager of St. Anthony
tomorrow to discuss the contract.
• Community Conversation #4 will be on May 1, from 6:30-8:30pm. Participants will
provide feedback on the draft Task Force recommendations and how to best be an
inclusive and welcoming community. Childcare will be available for youth ages 3-10.
• He received a message from MnDOT that they have agreed to continue to keep the
median and push button at the Snelling and Larpenteur intersection. The medians at
Crawford and Snelling will be modified so you cannot take a left turn. The current
conditions will stay at Garden and Snelling.
Council Member Fischer:
• Monday he attended the Falcon Heights PTA meeting and listened to a presentation
from the Superintendent Dr. Aldo Sicoli. The conversation discussed the building needs
in regards to space concerns and the continued growth of the district. There were many
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discussions around bullying and how they are working to continue addressing these
matters. Next Wednesday is the Tri -City Work Group meeting.
Council Member Brown Thunder:
• The school district has done a fantastic job working on the facilities expansion. The
NYFS Leadership Luncheon is from 11:30 -fpm at Midland Hills Golf Club on May 3.
Council Member Gustafson:
• The Parks and Recreation Commission met on Monday. He wants to thank the parks
program sponsors. Registrations are open online, over the phone, and in person.
Applications are being accepted for summer employment. Parks and Recreation
Commission members are encouraged that they are working with the Community
Engagement Commission and Environment Commission on holding some combined
events. They went through the new park rental policy and Community Park is now
available to be rented.
• The Task Force met on Tuesday, and they are trying to wrap up their recommendations.
The next meeting is Tuesday, April 18.
Mayor Lindstrom:
• Last night was a good discussion at the Task Force. They had three guest speakers, one
of which was the Mayor of Circle Pines. They have a unique approach to policing; they
have a joint powers agreement with two other communities. They also spoke with the
City Administrator of Little Canada. They utilize Ramsey County Sheriffs Office. They
also had a speaker that served for seven years on the St. Paul Civilian Review Board,
and he talked about that process.
• The Environment Commission met on Monday night. They talked about SolSmart and
the checklist they are creating to inform people the steps they need to take to obtain a
permit when installing solar.
I. COMMUNITY FORUM:
Tom Baldwin -1716 Albert St:
You commented that SAPID has done exemplary service when mentioning seeking out an RFI.
Either you don't believe the stories people have told or that it is an acceptable trade off for the
services. You owe us your leadership. The stories have gone unanswered and uninvestigated.
Council Member Fischer:
His vote last week for the RFI had to do with keeping options open, learning, and exploring
new opportunities.
Mayor Lindstrom:
He respectfully disagrees that we have done nothing to address it. We have taken a very
methodical approach and have run these things through the Task Force and Community
Conversations.
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City Administrator Thon v,� anh:
The Council has directed him to investigate the stories that have been presented, and he has
invited people to reach out to him. The one person that did follow up had found out that the
incident happened in Roseville, not Falcon Heights.
J. ADJOURNMENT: 9:03 pm
ter Lin Strom, Mayor
Dated this 12t' daffy of April, 2017
Sack Thongvanh, y Administrator
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