As we have recently seen issues erupt all over the United States which have pitted citizens and police against each other, we continue to be concerned about these intensifying events. From police use of force incidents, peaceful protests to riots and civil disorder, there are challenges facing the police and our nation as a whole.

To better prepare our officers to continue to provide high quality police service and insure we do so in an effective, fair and equitable fashion, we have made changes to some of our policies and added several training modules.  Our officers either have, or are in the process of, taking courses on Implicit Bias and De-Escalation, Intervention and Force Mitigation.  Additionally, we wanted to expand and update our training on several issues that have become hot topics in the current environment.  Although our officers have previously received training in these topics, ongoing training in these topics and others is crucial to maintain professionalism and competence.

The training our officers received on September 16-17, 2020 was entitled Effective and Constitutional Policing.  It covered the following:

• Constitutional Policing
• Procedural Justice and Police Legitimacy
• Bias Free Policing
• Effective Communication
• De-Escalation Techniques
• Physical and Mental Preparation

  This training was presented by attorney Randy Means.

  Randy Means is the principal in Randy Means & Associates, LLC.  He is an accomplished and talented attorney and police legal advisor.  He is a nationally recognized expert in police law, leadership, police accountability and systems.  He has provided legal and risk management services to hundreds of law enforcement agencies, including many of the largest and highest regarded departments in the United States, helping them solve some of the most complex and sensitive problems in American Law Enforcement.  Randy Means had written two books and 100+ published articles on police law, risk management and leadership.  We are fortunate to have had the opportunity for Randy to present this important training to our officers.  Training programs like this will make us a more effective, efficient and professional police department.