POLICE REVIEW MOVES FORWARD
Opposing group calls for police culture ‘transformation’
CHICO » Two months since it began meeting, the policing advisory committee requested by Mayor Ann Schwab is moving forward to discuss use of deadly force by police and whether city budget changes will result, with community suggestions on the table.
Committee considers changes
For the virtual committee meeting Thursday, reports from the previous meetings were presented to allow for
feedback. Members were given a chance to review the report and make additions or corrections.
There was more discussion of adding to current trainings, particularly for updating de- escalation and use of force policies, according to Chico Police Chief Matt Madden and police Sgt. Omar Pena. Pena clarified he is seeking out more updated trainings and certified course options for officers, noting they are “very expensive” and funding will have to be considered.
Madden added he is working to bring the department’s current use of force policy up to date with current state requirements under Senate Bill 230, with the help of the city attorney.
Group calls for citizen oversight
Members of the Chico chapter of Concerned Citizens for Justicemet 10 a.m. outside city hall to present their own plan for police reform for the city to consider.
The organization is calling for consideration of eight policies for reform and a formal citizens’ oversight board, calling the Chico Police Department’s announcement that it will follow the “8 Can’t Wait” policies “a good beginning.”
Coordinator Emily Alma presented the “Action Plan to Transform Policing in Chico” with eight steps, including “increased mental health support for police officers, full transparency and accountability, effective training and deescalation and establishing formal citizen oversight.”
Local author Anthony Peyton Porter said the need for citizens’ oversight is necessary for transparency, calling the Police Community Advisory Board “just the chief’s fan club.”
“Technically, we have citizen oversight via our votes, the silly council and the city manager and it doesn’t amount to a bucket
of warm spit — too many layers to matter,” Porter said.
“We don’t trust the police because their institutions are untrustworthy, biased and secretive. Any particular cop might be a good, honorable, honest, compassionate human, and we ought to give any officer an opportunity toprove that.”
A focus on police interactions with the unsheltered and those with mental illness was also emphasized. Chico Crisis Advocacy and Triage Executive Director Lisa Currier repeated the organization’s goal for more collaboration between police and mental health providers, saying law enforcement officers “are not credentialed mental health providers and are therefore ill- equipped to serve as the primary mental health provider in these circumstances.”
“Police engagement should be the last point of contact,” Currier said. “We need to understand the baseline (needs) of our individuals.”
“We’re not saying defund all police, we’re saying work together as allies… to get people the help they need.”
“To the unhoused in our community, calls for public safety sound like hopes for invigorated attacks on their basic security,” former North Valley Mutual Aid Street Outreach Co
ordinator Addison Winslow said. He criticized the department’s street crimes unit, describing a “pattern for Chico Police Department’s preference for improvisation in the enforcement laws criminalizing homeless, flexible control over people’s lives, where they can and can’t live.”
Winslow said to rebuild and maintain trust among the poor in the community and police, a “transformation of culture” will be necessary, and gave some praise to the police department’s Target Team for their more personal engagement with homeless individuals.
Alma and founding member Diane Suzuki said many in Chico have reported traumatic experiences of police bullying, but those individuals “resist filing a formal complaint with Chico PD due to fears of retaliation,” and no data or records of these incidents are kept as a result.
Alma said the organization is working to gather stories from these individuals, in the hopes they will be willing to share their name and story.
However, she praised new Chico Police Chief Matt Madden’s recent words on listening to the community.
“We need to roll up our sleeves and begin this collaborative work,” Alma sad.
Complaint process
During the committee’s meeting, public commenters also men
tioned concerns about complaints from people of color afraid of backlash, and criticism of the department’s complaint process (which Madden had previously called “robust”), were brought up.
“We cannot have citizens who are afraid to file a complaint,” JohnMartin said, advocating for using a “citizen third party” as one solution.
Marty Dunlap added while glad to hear police “talking about a change of culture,” they were still concerned with transparency and accountability around the use of deadly force.
“How do we make sure what happens in cases of use of force involving law enforcement … are transparent to the public, (that) they are aware of what is occurring and (see) accountability of those actions, to keep respect and regard between the public, community and law enforcement?” Dunlap asked.
The committee’s will next review Chico Police Department’s use of force policy starting online 1 p. m. Oct. 8. Anyone can write comments to policepubliccomments@chicoca.gov by Sunday.
Meetings of the committee take place online second and fourth Thursdays through Nov. 5 with an additional report provided to Chico City Council at the conclusion of the review.