After protests, are changes coming to the Raleigh Police Department?
When the Wake County Sheriff’s Office sprayed tear gas at protesters for the first time last spring, it surprised Raleigh police officers and commanders.
There wasn’t a “continuity of command” during that pivotal moment that shifted the dynamic of the protest, said Sean Smoot, of 21CP Solutions.
“Based on the information we obtained it was a surprise to the officers who were there and it was a surprise to the command staff of the Raleigh Police Department,” he said. “They found out the sheriff’s department deployed the gas after they deployed the gas.”
Updating the Police Department’s mutual-aid agreements with other law enforcement agencies is one of 38 changes in the department’s policies that consultants are recommending in light of this summer’s protests against police brutality.
Chicago-based consultant 21CP Solutions, hired by City Manager Ruffin Hall, released its report Tuesday.
“The Raleigh Police Department is actually quite good,” Smoot told the City Council.
“It’s important to say that from the outset; it does set a backdrop,” he said. “Is it a perfect police department? We have yet to find a perfect police department.”
The consultants recommend the department give clearer guidance on using force in a crowd, when to deploy tear gas and when to turn on officers’ body cameras.
Protests last spring demanded police reform and an end to systemic racism after the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died after a white police officer in Minneapolis pressed his knee on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes.
Demonstrations in Raleigh on May 30 and 31 began peacefully but ended in vandalism and violence as law enforcement agencies deployed tear gas and fired sponge grenades. Some protesters threw water bottles, rocks and fireworks at police and downtown buildings.
Raleigh City Council response
State law doesn’t require police departments to have mutual aid agreements, but it is strongly recommended, said Nola Joyce, of 21CP.
“What we saw in the existing agreements is the basics,” she said. “What we are recommending and encouraging is that it goes beyond the basics to address, very specifically, questions like what munitions can be used by who.”
Another recommendation from the 53-page report states if police intend to use chemical munitions like tear gas they should “maintain a sufficient supply that has been vetted for quality and usability.”
Council member Jonathan Melton asked what other police departments do and said he opposes chemical munitions like tear gas. The report only focuses on Raleigh and its use of force during the protests, representatives for 21CP said.
The Raleigh Police Department’s internal report confirmed it used expired tear gas on protesters.
The city is experiencing challenges it never thought it would face, but it must address them proactively, said Council member Patrick Buffkin.
“These are difficult conversations, but our community is counting on us to confront these issues,” he said. “And doing so in a way that is productive and conducive for our future. We are all in this together even if we don’t agree on why it happened or what we should do now.”
These recommendations are not indictments on police officers “but important opportunities” to better keep the city safe, Buffkin said.
‘Unprecedented times’
Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin and Police Chief Cassandra Deck-Brown faced calls to resign during a virtual Town Meeting shortly after the initial protests.
“We are committed to learning from that experience and improving our performance,” Hall said Tuesday.
Deck-Brown requested the external review but did not speak during the council meeting Tuesday. In a statement afterward she said she’s looking forward to reviewing the report.
“The Raleigh Police Department has a well-established record of continually striving to improve the service it provides to the city, and the 21CP Solutions report will be carefully considered by the Department in that spirit,” she said.
The city “has experienced unprecedented times regarding what began as a peaceful rally and march (May 30) that suddenly shifted to individuals storming the Wake County Public Safety Center and the deployment of tear gas by another law enforcement agency,” Deck-Brown wrote in a memo in June.
The choice of 21CP Solutions faced immediate criticism from some community members who argued the company would not be impartial because it was made up of former law enforcement officers.
21CP’s report says it is not an “independent after-action report” and that it used information provided by the Police Department and community members.
The report and contract with 21CP Solutions cost $87,500.
This story was originally published November 10, 2020 at 5:03 PM.
