OGDEN – Ogden Police Chief Eric Young says his force is ready for Utah’s newly enacted law enforcement reform bills, and in some cases the agency is way ahead.
Young and other top police officers across the state were involved in the legislative process this year as lawmakers enacted changes such as the minimum use of violence standards and mechanisms for setting up citizens’ councils. Many of the changes went into effect on May 5th.
“There were a lot of ideas that needed a lot of tweaking,” said Young of the reform laws. “Legislators are open to listening and working with us on substantial reforms, not just to cause a sensation.”
These measures included House Bill 334, which requires all officials to be trained on autism awareness and mental illness. The motivation for the bill came in part from the controversy over the Salt Lake police shooting of a boy with autism last year.
“We are actually way ahead of the curve,” said Young, noting that the Ogden Police Department has a virtual training environment supported by specific training on autism scenarios.
He said that some community members with autistic family members are attending so that the police can get their feedback on the real-life experiences of people with autism.
Young said he has a family member with autism, “so I am clearly aware of the need for exercise”.
In another example of legislative attention to life and death police issues, Senate Bill 106 requires nationwide uniform standards for the use of force by the police and requires all police departments to meet the standards.
“We’re already up to date on all of the case law, and to be honest, most of the violent measures are very, very similar,” said Young. He therefore assumes that it will not be difficult to find consensus.
SB 106 directs the Utah Peace Officer Standards and Training Council (POST) to set the standards and review them annually.
The use of violence everywhere attracted greater attention in May 2020 following the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin, who held Floyd’s neck on the sidewalk for more than nine minutes. In a special session later last year, Utah law banned police chokeholds.
Various community activists and members of the Ogden Diversity Commission have spoken to Young and predecessor Randy Watt about violence and other police issues, and Young has indicated his willingness to pursue a dialogue.
Senate Bill 157 directed the Utah Department of Public Safety to create a program to help cities set up citizens’ councils, potentially giving communities a more structured way to speak up on police issues.
“We discussed it,” said Young, “to find a better way to sort of have a public safety subcommittee on the city council.”
He imagines that every citizens’ advice center could take shape: “It will be a kind of one-way street.”
“We will not get them to review cases or pass judgments or make inquiries about the use of force,” he said, “but it will allow us to share information in a more transparent way.”
“We’ll also talk about what happens if officers are attacked or if they are spat on or kicked,” said Young.
Working with the Diversity Commission and town hall-style meetings where police matters can be discussed are also beneficial, he said.
Another reform law, Senate Law 13, is designed to prevent an officer under investigation from escaping control and punishment by leaving one agency to switch to another. The bill stipulates that police authorities and POST will forward information to a recruitment department upon request and that the authorities report certain internal investigations to POST.
Two other bills are designed to help police authorities in a number of key areas: employee recruitment and retention, and officer well-being.
Senate Bill 102 allows certain permanent residents of the United States to apply to become police officers or dispatchers.
“We’ve already seen people interested,” said Young. The Ogden division, like most of the rest of Utah, is struggling not only with maintaining the general strength of the armed forces but also with increasing the diversity of the armed forces.
“Just as the US military has learned the value of national service from non-nationals, so law enforcement agencies in Utah will learn the value of these candidates, especially across language and cultural boundaries, as they have the opportunity to serve their communities and their elected state “Said the Utah Police Chief in support of SB 102.
Meanwhile, House Bill 248 is giving the state Community Mental Health Services Agency $ 500,000 to run a resource program for mental health first responders. This includes the police, paramedics, firefighters, dispatchers and correction officers.
“Mental wellbeing plays an important role in retaining skilled and experienced first responders … and in preventing or preventing behavioral problems resulting from mental trauma associated with emergency response,” said Ken Wallentine, president of the Utah Chiefs of Police Association, said in a prepared statement about HB 248.
Wallentine, West Jordan police chief, said the 2021 legislative reform bills as a whole resulted in “important community reform efforts being made while respecting the integrity of effective public service practices”.
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