Street dancer response may spur police reform
Mental health professionals could respond to some calls
The widespread protests nationally and locally over police violence and how law enforcement treats people of color may soon result in a shake-up in the way Alameda police do business.
The changes could include having mental health workers go out on some 911 calls, as well as establishing a citizens advisory board to regularly review police policies and procedures.
Other possible changes include developing protocols for how Alameda police provide information on social media and having officers routinely be trained in de-escalation techniques to prevent encounters with people from becoming violent.
The recommendations are from a community committee set up by City Manager Eric Levitt. On Tuesday, the City Council unanimously asked Alameda officials to review and report back on the recommendations.
Levitt established the committee after the arrest of Mali Watkins, a Black man, last May on Central Avenue.
Officers contacted Watkins after a witness reported that she was concerned for his mental well-being because of his behavior. Watkins, who was in the roadway, told police he was dancing and exercising.
As he began to walk away while officers were continuing to question him, they forced him to the ground and handcuffed him, then took him into custody on suspicion of misdemeanor arrest.
Nearby residents filmed the encounter. After the footage appeared online and in the media, some viewers said it highlighted the aggressive way police treat Black people.
The case prompted about 250 people, many of them high school students, to show up outside the Alameda Police Department, where they chanted and listened to speeches calling for police reform.
The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office declined to prosecute Watkins or the officers, but offered to train Alameda police on how to interact with people when making arrests, issuing citations and questioning them.
The Alameda council’s action Tuesday was at the end of a five-hour meeting, where it heard from about two dozen people, all supporting the recommendations.
“This is the culmination of a community outcry for change. Now,” Alameda resident Amos White said.
Other proposals include launching a “Who to Call” campaign, which could include leaflets and refrigerator magnets that provide phone numbers and contact information where people can report someone in a mental health crisis, instead of dialing 911.
“There are a lot of alternatives to 911, especially during daylight hours,” said Alphonso Mance, a committee member.
Vice Mayor Malia Vella said police dispatchers likely still will need to handle the reports because the public instinctively will dial 911 in an emergency.
“How do we handle those calls that we know are going to come into 911?” Vella said.
Some people told the council that having officers not be sent on calls for someone in mental distress will free up police to more quickly respond to robberies and other serious crimes.
Known as the Steering
Committee on Police Reform and Equity, the community group put in more than 3,000 hours since forming in August to develop the recommendations.
The committee’s report did not call for defunding the police.
Instead, it urged the city to find ways to help the department reach its budgeted staff level of 88 sworn officers. There are currently 70.
Councilman John Knox White said he heard from someone afraid to visit Alameda because of possible interactions with the police.
“If we don’t hear what’s being said and make changes, that’s a problem,” he said.
Councilwoman Trish Herrera Spencer noted that’s she’s Latina, an attorney, grew up in Los Angeles and that racial issues resonated with her. But she said residents are concerned about crime and their safety.
“Our police should not be held accountable (with policies) for incidents that occurred in other cities and across the country,” Spencer said, adding, “What are we going to do to reduce crime?”
Other recommendations include Alameda hiring a full-time crime analyst to review data.
White suggested the city also look into creating a rebate program to help residents better safeguard catalytic converters on their vehicles — a popular target for thieves throughout the Bay Area. The rebate would compensate people, for instance, who get a mechanic to weld their convertor to the vehicle frame, preventing an easy removal.
The emissions control devices contain metals that can be turned into cash at recycling centers.
The aim, the councilman said, would be to stop crime, rather than officers respond to it.
The same night the Alameda council approved looking into the recommendations, the Oakland City Council voted unanimously to establish a pilot program that would have the Fire Department send civilian outreach workers to emergencies involving mental health crises or other nonviolent crimes instead of police.
A similar program has been in place in Eugene, Oregon, since 1989, when a partnership was formed between law enforcement and the White Bird Clinic, a local nonprofit that offers counseling, drug treatment and other services. The program has saved millions of dollars in police and emergency response costs, advocates say.
The program mobilizes two-person teams — a medical professional and a crisis worker — who respond to Eugene’s 911 system or the police nonemergency number based on a dispatcher’s assessment of a call, and who should show up.
Other ideas floated in Alameda include having officers not make a priority of minor traffic stops that might stem from expired registration, tinted windows or a mechanical issue, such as a nonworking taillight.
Councilman Tony Daysog rejected the approach.
“I think our police should still enforce the law at all levels, even if they are misdemeanors,” Daysog said.
The District Attorney’s Office can decide afterward whether to press charges, he said.
Levitt said during an interview that he aims to get back to the council on the string of proposals and what should be done about them, plus how they might be funded, by late April or early May.