I have been interested in police use of force issues for all of my 23 years in policing and as chief, I am keenly aware and sensitive to concerns about police use of force. When I first entered this profession, I believed that by now there would be something created that could reliably incapacitate someone without harming them.  Unfortunately, that option does not yet exist.  

 Shortly after arriving in Wichita, I expanded the use of less lethal options to deadly force and now every sergeant's squad has beanbag shotguns that can be an option if practical.  We also recently purchased and are testing a device capable of firing high velocity foam rounds that temporarily incapacitate someone and is less likely to cause serious injury or death. Tasers are still an option, but they are reliable only under ideal circumstances.  We are always watching for new technology to help us reduce the need for deadly force.  Until we find a tool that can reliably incapacitate someone, there will be a need to use force to protect individuals and officers.

 Here is my philosophy on the use of force by police.  I have focused on creating a police culture that is focused on utilizing good police tactics in an effort to avoid creating a crisis.  Good tactics increase officer safety and decrease the use of force police must use.  My expectation for our officers is that they focus on the important concept of de-escalation. While the concept is fairly simple, it starts with effective communication.  Because of state and federal budget cuts, there is an over reliance on police for dealing with our communities mentally ill and we have become the 24/7 mental health workers on our streets.  For a number of years WPD has been providing officers comprehensive training on how to de-escalate individuals through crisis intervention training and mental health first aid.  About 75% of commissioned officers have received this training and the positive effects are being noticed.   Additionally, a large number of our volatile calls involve those under the influence of alcohol or drugs.  The lack of chemical dependency treatment options requires our officers to be skilled in dealing with those with substance abuse problems.

In addition to effective communication, we are training our officers to consider their approach to potentially dangerous situations. Rather than rushing into a volatile situation, whenever possible officers should use a tactically sound approach that includes using time and distance, good cover and communication skills to slow down violent incidents. 

 What many don’t know, is that we respond daily to calls of individuals wanting to do harm to themselves or others and these incidents are peacefully resolved by Wichita police officers.  In the last few weeks alone I am aware of numerous calls individuals calling 911 and requesting that an officer be sent so they can kill police officers or make requests of a police officer can kill them.  One recent situation involved a man threatening suicide with a knife at a church, officers used good positioning to keep themselves safe while talking with the man offering support.  Officers were careful not to put themselves in a position where they would have to use deadly force.  By communicating and utilizing de-escalation techniques they were able to convince the man to drop the knife. They brought him in to the hospital to get the help he needed. In all of the recent situations our officers used effective communication skills, tactics - and in a couple of cases utilized excellent and innovative police methods to ensure the safety of the individual in crisis as well as the officers. These are the everyday police incidents that are resolved peacefully that you don't hear about. 

In closing, recognizing the sanctity of human life is important to me as your police chief and we will continue to focus and train and build our culture around this philosophy. 

Priorities

I have thoroughly enjoyed my first few months in Wichita and believe it is important to keep residents updated by providing a brief outline of my priorities.  My overriding goal is to keep our community safe.  I am passionate about the role police play in society strongly and know that police count; making a positive difference in our communities every minute of every day.  I was pleased to read a February survey found 90% of those who had contact with Wichita police staff had a fair, good or excellent interaction. While those numbers are good, there is always room for improvement. Here are my priorities as we move forward.

1. We have not been able to hire enough officers to replace those that are retiring and it has left us shorthanded. Since arriving, I have spent a lot of time on the street and consistently see officers start and end their shift with 911 calls waiting to be answered. Residents are waiting too long for officer response and we are not as proactive as we could be because of our inability to hire enough people. We need to work harder and smarter at recruiting individuals to become police officers. We have not been able to recruit enough officers in recent years to reach our budgeted number of staff. We have the support from City Administration, Mayor or Council to hire more officers, but we simply can't get enough people in the door fast enough. We are currently about 30 officers short and unless we change our practices, we will continue to lose ground and could be 50 officers short by the end of the year. We simply need to change our business practice around hiring, because what we are doing is not working. Filling the empty squad cars is a priority.

2. While our officers are busy, I want to see our officers moving closer to the community and take every opportunity to have positive interactions. We must be careful not to become overly focused on enforcement and instead engage citizens proactively in crime prevention, neighborhood watch, citizen patrols and consistently look for opportunities to have positive contacts. Now in my 24th year of policing I learned a long time ago we solve crime by having good relationships with those we serve because they provide information when they know and trust their police. Many police departments moved away from community policing and in places such as Ferguson became overly focused on revenue generation through tickets. While we will always have to enforce laws,  it is imperative to remember we are the servants, guardians, protectors, problem solvers and helpers in our community - not oppressors and occupiers of our neighborhoods.

3. I want to ensure safe neighborhoods and provide our officers with tools to be successful in their effort. Through technology, training and new ordinances I know we can have a powerful impact on safety because I've done it. Since arriving here, I've met with over 30 community groups and hear resident’s concerns at every meeting and have found a common theme related to habitual problem properties.  Stories relayed to me by residents involve chronic problem properties where the term being neighborly is not part of the equation. Blight, parties and other disturbances has neighbors upset - and they look to the police for solutions. I have found that too often our officers are responding over and over and lack tools to improve the situation. Most concerning is taxpayers are subsidizing excessive police response to problem properties.


 


Like most everything in life a few seem to ruin it for the majority. I have found motels fit into this category and recognize the majority of motels are managed well, however in Wichita a couple of clusters of motels are infested with crime and drugs; and it seems to be occurring with management's full knowledge. Problem motels bring down the surrounding neighborhood and are utilizing an enormous amount of police resources. The time has come for the owners and managers of problem motels to be accountable for the problems occurring at their property. We will be calling on their owners and management to work with us to create safe and drug free environments - we simply are not going to tolerate what is occurring at these places any longer.


4.  I have begun a top to bottom review of policies and practices.  While this is a major undertaking and there is a lot to do, I recognize that this is an area staff and stakeholders want reviewed to ensure we are following best practices and meeting industry standards.