At the June 22, 2020 Ardenwald-Johnson Creek Neighborhood Association regular meeting, Milwaukie Police chief Luke Strait provided a statement. A request was made during the meeting to have the statement available in writing.
First and foremost, I join our community and the entire country in acknowledging the horrific nature of what happened to George Floyd in Minneapolis. None of us will forget the footage from that video. This is a shocking reminder of what the worst-case scenario can be. The feelings of anger, confusion, sadness and helplessness have impacted the entire country, but most of all our communities of color. The only path forward is to renew our commitment and dedication to identifying how and why this happened and systematically taking steps to break down structures of racial inequity at all levels. I believe this work begins with honest assessments and open dialogue within our organization and community.
There are many procedures and practices currently in place in our agency to fight systemic racism. With that said, I recognize we are not perfect and there are always opportunities for improvement. Today I pledge to renew our efforts to keep all members of our community safe, especially those that have been harmed by police practices that target people of color.
These efforts will include examination of policies, use of force training, officer accountability, hiring practices, community engagement, procedural justice and legitimacy. Increased training related to implicit bias, and diversity, equity and inclusion will be key components.
I believe organizational culture and internal accountability are keys aspects of our current foundation for success. The majority of significant disciplinary events in the past 15 years, were brought forward by individual department members who saw something and spoke up. It is my goal to perpetuate this culture so that Milwaukie officers know that both the community and their fellow officers have high expectations for fair and equitable policing.
We routinely critique our own performance and critical incidents. We have hard conversations and hold each other accountable. We also review critical instances from across the state and around the county, using those as opportunities to examine our own policies and training to look for areas of weakness and opportunities to improve.
We have a clearly written policy which articulates a duty for any officer to intercede if they witness an officer using force beyond that which is objectively reasonable under the circumstances.
De-escalation techniques are embedded in our organization and we will continue to train and emphasize them more in the future.
Integrating a mental health component into our response to critical incidents will continue to be a priority and our partnership with programs such as the Behavioral Health Unit will continue to be critical.
We acknowledge how even one tragic injustice such as this can further destroy our relationships with our communities of color. We agree justice must be done and we embrace our role in taking steps to eliminate the influence of racism and bias within our communities.
As a member of law enforcement for the past 25 years, I’m a passionate advocate for all those who dedicate their lives to this challenging career. I will have no success as a leader without consistently acknowledging how extremely challenging this job is and just how often our staff does an incredible job. I often receive phone calls and emails from the community praising the professional and compassionate work of our officers and support staff. I absolutely acknowledge there are times when we come up short. We can continue to evolve and improve, and we will work together with our community to do that.
I believe if done correctly, we can set an example of the right way to work through incredibly challenging issues such as these. The Milwaukie Police Department will embrace these challenges.”
Use of Force
- Duty to intercede if any officers observes inappropriate use of force
- Duty to report any use of force which “could have cause an injury”, even if it did not
- Supervisors immediate investigation of use of force including interviews of witnesses, officers, suspects, with findings to command staff
- Untruthfulness, or bias, are grounds for decertification and termination
Some other factors
- Exhaustive pre-employment backgrounds
- Full background investigation report goes to psychologist, followed by a full psychological evaluation
- Final job offer is not made until applicant has successfully passed those phases
- 18 month training and probation period, with no union representation
- If someone is fired we determine if it was related to ethics, truthfulness, or bias. If so we revoke their police certification through the state.
- De-escalation techniques are imbedded in our organization
- Policy and procedures are developed through Lexipol, based on national best practice
LUKE STRAIT
Chief of Police