Mesa police chief has right idea
Mesa Police has a use of force problem.
And while it’s tempting to blame the officers — it’s on them to decide how to react, after all — I also place the blame on training.
And policy.
And the department’s culture.
All of which need to change. Mesa Police Chief Ramon Batista gets that.
That’s why he has enlisted the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) to review department policies and past uses of force. And based on their previous recommendations, that could mean sweeping changes to how the department looks and functions.
In Mesa, like many departments across the nation, there’s an idea that officers should take control of situations, arrive with a strong presence and never back down, particularly when they encounter someone who is resisting their commands.
You can understand why. Officers want to ensure their own safety while they’re out on the job — and let’s be honest: Policing is not a safe job. Particularly today, given the distrust and lack of respect many people have for officers.
But that’s also why things must change.
Precisely because there is so much lack of respect ...
And because many of the people officers encounter are mentally ill, disabled or impaired by drugs or alcohol ...
Not to mention video recordings are everywhere, sometimes offering valuable context but also sometimes convicting officers in the court of public opinion …
Police departments have no choice but to try a different tack.
A patrolman’s job can’t be solely about arriving on a scene, barking orders and escalating physical force when suspects disobey (though there will certainly be times where a situation justifiably calls for that).
Policy must reflect and officers must be trained far more extensively on conflict resolution and deescalation tactics.
Because — let’s face it — when officers are faced with split-second decisions, they revert to their base instincts and their training. And what are they getting now?
According to PERF, new recruits nationwide get a median of 58 hours of firearms training and 49 hours on defensive tactics, compared to 10 hours of communication skills and eight hours each on crisis intervention and deescalation tactics.
Ongoing training for experienced officers follows a similar pattern.
No wonder so many officers reach instinctively for a weapon or escalate physical force when they encounter someone who refuses to follow their orders.
Departments talk a lot about when officers can use force, not necessarily when they should. And disciplinary actions rarely hold officers accountable for what they did to escalate a situation to a point where force was necessary.
PERF says it’s time to change that. The organization noted during a 2015 forum that many officers have a “warrior” mentality — which is necessary to respond to situations where people are in immediate danger.
But that’s only a fraction of calls. Most of the time, PERF noted, officers should function more as guardians, there to calm everyone down and prevent harm — even to suspects who wish to harm them.
Batista has studied those reports and says he’s on board.
“That is where we’re going to go,” he told me.
Now, admittedly, I have reservations about the philosophy and how it’ll will play out in Mesa. Particularly if the rank-and-file decides to balk (there are rumblings already that officers are gearing up for a fight).
But the reality is policing has changed.
There are too many high-profile shootings and too many “look at the angry cop harassing me” videos on YouTube to proceed with the same tactics, even if they worked for years before.
We need to have some tough conversations.
And, yes, some very fundamental things about how police go about their jobs are going to have to change.
Give Batista credit for recognizing as much.
Officers must be trained far more extensively on conflict resolution and deescalation tactics.