New London Public Safety Policy Review Committee: Report and Recommendations

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by  New London Public Safety Policy Review Committee

New London
Public Safety
Policy Review

Committee

Report & Recommendations

January 13, 2021

Submitted to Mayor Michael Passero
Table of Contents
Executive Summary 1

Introduction 2
Committee Membership 2
Subcommittees 3
Invited Guests 3
Committee Charge 3
Committee Meetings 4

National Context 4
Police Reform: Theory and Practice 4
Defining Terms 4
Case Study: Minneapolis 5
U.S. Conference of Mayors Working Group on Police Reform–Statement of Principles 6
1. Redefining the Role of Local Police and Public Safety 6
2. Trust and Legitimacy 6
3. Sanctity of Life 7
4. Equality and Due Process 7
5. Community 7
6. Transparency and Accountability to Reinforce Constitutional Policing 7

NLPD Review Committee Findings 8
Strengths 8
Challenges 9

Committee Recommendations 10
1. Prevent Police Misconduct and Strengthen System of Accountability 10
2. Improve NLPD Hiring and Evaluation Practices 11
3. Expand and Enhance NLPD Officer Training 12
4. Strengthen NLPD and Community Relations 12
5. Restructure Funds and Identify New Funding Sources to Strengthen Human Services 14

Act Concerning Police Accountability (HB 6004) 15

Implementation 16

References 17
recommendations that are provided in greater
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
detail beginning on page 10 of this report.
In the summer of 2020, George Floyd and other 1. Prevent police misconduct and strengthen
Black Americans were violently killed by police
the system of accountability
officers, most often without penalty. These a. Fully implement body and dash cameras
violent police killings sparked the latest b. Establish a Civilian Police Review Board
iteration of a global social movement against c. Review and update complaint
structural racism and police brutality. Locally,
procedures
New London residents connected with this d. Revise the city charter to allow for
global movement and questioned the policies
establishment of a Police Commission
and practices of our local police department.

2. Improve NLPD hiring and evaluation
In response, Mayor Michael Passero assigned a
practices
committee of volunteers to review relevant
a. Develop a recruitment pipeline
policies and practices of the New London Police
b. Create community-oriented onboarding
Department and to present recommendations
c. Improve staffing structure
regarding areas for potential improvement. The
d. Develop formal performance evaluation
committee reviewed numerous resources to
process
understand the full context and the nuances of

national calls for the “abolition” and/or
3. Expand and enhance NLPD officer training
defunding” of police units. One important case
a. Develop specialized training programs
study for the committee was the ongoing work
b. Expand Crisis Intervention Training
in Minneapolis to better align city resources
c. Develop anti-racism training and
with the educational and social services that
certification program
would improve the quality of life for residents

and decrease the need for traditional forms of
4. Strengthen NLPD and community relations
policing.
a. Renew the mission and goals of the
Police Community Relations Committee
The committee met on an almost weekly basis
b. Remove School Resource Officer (SRO)
for more than six months, which resulted in
c. Enhance social media policies and
findings of strengths and areas of improvement.
practices
In addition to regular meetings, the committee

engaged in research and thoughtful analysis and
5. Restructure funds and identify new
consulted with city officials as well as local and
funding sources to strengthen human
national experts. Strengths of NLPD included
services in New London
recent adaptations to the department’s use of
a. Employ a holistic approach to budgeting
force policies, including: banning neck and chest
for public safety and support services
holds; implementing the use of body and
b. Increase Funding to the Department of
dashboard cameras; and improving surveillance
Human Services
technology. Another area of strength was in the
c. Involve City Council in contract
department’s longstanding participation in a 40-
negotiations
hour Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training
d. Explore external funding
model, though a relatively small proportion of
officers have completed the training.
The committee also advises the Mayor to adopt
relevant portions of the Act Concerning Police
Areas of concern uncovered by the committee
Accountability (HB 6004), as articulated in this
led us to create five overarching goals, listed
report.
below, with a set of 18 specific
1
Lonnie Braxton, Esq.
INTRODUCTION
Senior Assistant CT State’s Attorney
Built upon a long history of racial violence in the
Rev. Florence Clarke
United States, the senseless killings of Breonna
Retired Educator and Minister
Taylor, George Floyd, and countless other Black
Americans by police in the summer of 2020 set
Efraín Domínguez, Jr.
this nation and the world ablaze with outcries
President, New London City Council
for racial justice and greater police
accountability. In New London, consistent with
Jerome Fischer
trends around the country, many activists and
organizers took to the streets to express Retired Executive Director, Jewish Federation of
solidarity with the global Black Lives Matter Eastern Connecticut
movement and to make demands of their local
and state governments to reform, and in some Curtis K. Goodwin
cases, abolish the current policing model. New London City Councilor
On May 25, 2020, Mayor Michael Passero Jean Jordan
responded to demands from New London
President of New London NAACP
citizens by calling together a group of
Retired New London Teacher
volunteers to review the policies and practices
of the New London Police Department (NLPD).
Tamara Lanier
This group would eventually become a working
First Vice President of New London NAACP
committee that would be charged to make
Retired Chief Probation Officer
recommendations for actions that could be
taken to improve policing in the city.
Daryl McGraw
The report that follows summarizes the President of Formerly Inc.
research and analysis completed by the
committee, presents findings on the current Dr. John F. McKnight, Jr., chair
state of policing in New London, and offers Dean of Institutional Equity and Inclusion and
recommendations to the Mayor and City Affiliated Associate Professor of Education at
Council for areas of improvement.
Connecticut College
COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP Clayton Potter, youth representative
Community Engagement Coordinator at
The Mayor assembled a small group of
Connecticut College
community leaders with varied professional
backgrounds and areas of expertise to discuss AdannaLee Robitaille, youth representative
policing in New London. After a few discussions
and organizational meetings in July, the group Mary Savage
decided to formalize its work and expand its Director of Campus Safety and Emergency
membership to include additional
Operations at Connecticut College
representation, specifically, to amplify the
voices and perspectives of New London youth. In order to obtain important documents and
The final membership roster of the committee review information about current NLPD policies
is provided below. and practices, the committee issued a standing
meeting invitation to the following officials
2
from the city of New London, most of whom Efraín Domínguez, Jr.
regularly attended committee meetings: Jerry Fischer
Curtis Goodwin
Mayor Michael Passero
Mayor of New London Training and education
Mary Savage
Steven Fields
Clayton Potter, chair
Chief Administrative Officer
Lonnie Braxton
Jeanne Milstein
Police and community relations
NL Director of Human Services

Daryl McGraw
Chief Peter Reichard
AdannaLee Robitaille, chair
New London Police Department Rev. Florence Clarke
Jean Jordan
Captain Brian M. Wright
New London Police Department INVITED GUESTS
The committee especially appreciated the
As part of our deliberations, we met with two
consistent and cooperative participation of
resources outside of New London city officials:
Police Chief Peter Reichard and Captain Brian
Jack Drumm, Chief of Police of the Madison, CT
Wright. They answered committee members’
Police Department, and Katharine Evans and
questions and provided all the documents and
Samantha Rabins, representatives of the Denver
information we requested. We also appreciated
Police Department and Mental Health Center of
the participation of Director of Human Service
Denver Co-Responder Initiative.
Jeanne Milstein (whom we formally
interviewed), and the constant and respectful We also met with the Police Community
support and participation of the Mayor and Relations Committee on two occasions to learn
Chief Administrative Officer Steven Fields. All more about the committee’s formation and
New London officials respected our current function.
independence and determination to be as
objective and thorough in our review as COMMITTEE CHARGE
possible.
After a few organizational meetings, Mayor
SUBCOMMITTEES
Passero formalized the committee and provided
the following specific charge to the group:
The committee worked as a whole to complete
the NLPD policy review, to review practices for The Public Safety Policy Review Committee is
the hiring and retention of NLPD officers and to charged with reviewing all aspects of law
discuss police accountability. The group divided enforcement within the City of New London.
into subcommittees to delve more deeply into This will involve reviewing current police
three areas of focus. The subcommittees were department policies, practices, and any other
assigned as follows: aspect of the police department’s operation
that the committee considers important for its
Restructuring funding
consideration. The committee should also

review the police department budget and
Tamara Lanier, chair
deliver an opinion on whether the budget is
John McKnight
appropriate with regard to the overall
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distribution of city resources in relation to other and towns about a range of possible actions–
critical city services. The committee should also with terms like defunding, dismantling, and
review relevant statistics on police department downsizing being used interchangeably and as
operations such as use of force and civilian subcategories under the overarching idea of
complaints. The committee should consider the “abolishing police.”
effectiveness of the existing civilian complaint
The committee referenced numerous news
process and the existing Police Community
stories, journal articles, and other resources to
Relations Committee. The overall goal of this
understand the variety of current ideas about
committee is to evaluate whether New London
police reform. We tapped into a lively debate
polices our community in a manner consistent
among scholars and activists about the
with community expectations. The committee
feasibility of building an entirely new approach
will complete its work by identifying
to public safety with so few practical ideas
shortcomings and recommending changes.
about how they can be implemented. This
section seeks to define and summarize the
COMMITTEE MEETINGS
important elements of two key concepts in the
national discussion on policing: abolition and
The committee decided to meet on a weekly
defunding.
basis starting with an initial meeting on June 17,
2020 and continuing through January 13, 2021.
These meetings were set up and administered DEFINING TERMS
by Mayoral Secretary Richelle Meneses. We
Abolition. Calls to “abolish” the police have
thank Richelle for her dedication and skill in
been a consistent refrain in movements for
facilitating our virtual gatherings.
racial justice and protests against police
The committee was not intended to serve as a brutality. The rhetoric of abolition has been
standing committee in the city of New London, used in a variety of ways and for different
nor was the committee granted budgetary or purposes and, in an important presidential
other decision-making authority. Therefore, in election year, it has also been heavily
order to accomplish the work outlined in its politicized.
charge in an efficient and timely manner, the
Martin Sheeks, member of Minneapolis-based
committee members agreed to meet privately
community organization MPD150, defines
and to offer once monthly public hearings.
abolition and related concepts as follows:
Video recordings of private meetings can be
made available to the public from the Mayor’s
“There are a lot of different terms floating
Office by request.
around right now — defund, dismantle, disband
— but what it comes down to is a call for the
NATIONAL CONTEXT
abolition of policing. This does not mean that
when you dial 911 there won’t be someone to
POLICE REFORM: respond to your emergency; it means that the
THEORY AND PRACTICE right person will respond with the right skills
and tools to provide the care needed. We
already have some of this in the form of fire
Across generations, many scholars, activists,
departments and EMS… As we abolish policing,
and everyday citizens have imagined and
what we need to think about is what other
reimagined different approaches to policing
systems we can put in place to make sure
that would enhance public trust in law
people are getting their needs met. Not having
enforcement. The events of the summer of
the response be police also means that more
2020 reenergized discussions in American cities
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communities will feel safe calling for help” CASE STUDY: MINNEAPOLIS
(Illing, 2020).
The Minneapolis Police Department has been in
Ayobami Laniyonu, a sociologist at the
the national spotlight for months following the
University of Toronto, describes police abolition
viral spread of video footage of the four officers
in the following manner:
involved in the killing of George Floyd. It
perhaps comes as no surprise, then, that the
“Police abolition to me is a framework for
actions of city officials following Mr. Floyd’s
thinking about and imagining alternatives to the
death continue to be scrutinized by leaders and
nation’s current model of policing. My work and
decision-makers in cities and towns across the
the work of many other scholars demonstrate
country. Minneapolis has become an important
that policing works in part to manage and
case study for observing how police and
perpetuate inequality, especially racial
community relations are intensified in moments
inequality. Abolition is an orientation toward
of crisis and how community organizers, law
changing our current model of policing that
enforcement, and elected officials often
puts policing’s role in managing the deep racial
struggle to find common ground.
and class inequality in the United States at the
forefront” (Illing, 2020).
Perhaps most notably, in June 2020, the
Minneapolis City Council decided by a majority
Defunding. The idea of defunding police is
vote to dismantle its Police Department in order
closely related to calls for abolition in its focus
to create a new system of public safety, a
on reallocating funds from police toward
pronouncement that was met with widespread
education, health and wellness, and human
approval from activists and organizers (Searcey
services departments. Georgetown University
& Eligon, 2020). However, a few months later,
law professor Christy Lopez connects the two
attempts to move forward with dismantling the
ideas as follows:
department faltered because of political and
“‘Police abolition’ and ‘defund the police’ are legislative speed bumps, including the lack of
not terms I came up with, and different people support from the city’s Mayor. Several City
mean different things when they use those Councilors were interviewed as saying there
terms. But a shared objective among most was confusion among them about what
defund proponents, which I also share, is that dismantling and defunding MPD would entail
we need to reset public safety in order to and how it could be practically achieved
eliminate our overreliance on law enforcement, (Herndon, 2020).
discrimination, and avoidable harm in public
There continues to be vast disagreement among
safety, including unnecessary police killings…
the residents of Minneapolis as to how best to
What this means in terms of action items and
allocate the city resources to deemphasize the
policy initiatives is that we need to scrutinize
role of police. But conversations about abolition
our state and local budgets, educate ourselves
have helped the city to engage in thoughtful
about what police do versus what we need to
dialogue about other possible models for
be and feel safe, and realign the budget and our
ensuring public safety.
social programs to better serve our public
safety needs. We start this process by
Using Minneapolis as one example of many, the
rethinking what we mean by public safety and
NLPD Review Committee has taken into account
by questioning our assumptions about when
the need to balance idealistic and pragmatic
and why law enforcement is the right vehicle to
approaches to police reform in order to achieve
address a problem” (Illing, 2020).
the goal of making substantive changes that will
keep the New London community safe and free
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from unmitigated racial bias, violence, and things like mental health care; affordable, high
brutality in policing. quality health care; accessible housing; healthy
food options; good paying jobs; quality and safe
U.S. CONFERENCE OF MAYORS WORKING education options; and other social services, the
GROUP ON POLICE REFORM–STATEMENT police are consistently thrust into a role of
addressing these various social issues – a role
OF PRINCIPLES
for which they were not created and for which
they will never be properly equipped. We must
In June 2020, the United States Conference of
meet community needs with proper funding
Mayors (USCM) developed a national Working
and investments and avoid inserting the police
Group on Police Reform and issued a Statement
into roles in which they must be the primary or
of Principles in which city leaders expressed a
only public response. If we ask too much of the
shared commitment to “recasting the
police, and not enough of ourselves, our
relationship between our police departments
residents will always get too little.
and the communities they serve.” The principles
of police reform–adapted from an original
version authored by former UK Prime Minister 2. TRUST AND LEGITIMACY
Sir Robert Peel–are presented, in full, below
because of their relevance to our work in New Public approval and acceptance are the basis of
London and the committee’s recommendations. effective policing. The public and police must
find common ground on which to trust each
The six sections that follow have been excerpted other. Police must earn their community’s trust
from the USCM Working Group on Police and cooperation, and, in turn, the public must
Relations Statement of Principles. respect officers as faithful guardians of the
community who both follow and enforce the
law. This requires those who enforce the law to
1. REDEFINING THE ROLE OF LOCAL
be accountable for adhering to it. Unintentional
POLICE AND PUBLIC SAFETY mistakes are not the same as intentional
misconduct, but when police cross the line of
The current moment calls into question, but
established policy or legally permissible
also provides a unique opportunity to discuss,
conduct, they must be held accountable in
the first principles of policing and requires a
order to have legitimacy in the eyes of the
community conversation on the proper role of
public. Effective policing requires the police and
police in addressing the needs of residents.
members of the community to develop
Building healthy, safe and vibrant communities
constructive and respectful ways of interacting
requires many other tools than law
with each other. The principles of community
enforcement alone. We must reset the compact
policing are critical to this process. The well of
[understanding/trust] between police and
good will must be built and filled daily and long
communities they are sworn to protect. This
before a crisis hits. These principles of trust and
should begin with a hard but essential dialogue
legitimacy must also permeate the decisions
defining the proper role of the police. We need
about supervisor selection, especially the front-
to ask, “Who is best equipped to be the first
line supervisors who are in most frequent
responder in addressing a long list of calls for
contact with officers on a daily basis. Thus, the
service?” The reflexive answer cannot be “the
criteria for supervisor selection, training and
police.” When the government has no presence
accountability are essential elements of
in communities in a healthy and supportive
defining the culture of a department.
way, the primary governmental actor that
Supervisors must be held accountable for
people see and identify are the police. In the
reinforcing the core values of the department in
absence of appropriate levels of funding for
the discharge of their daily responsibilities.
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3. SANCTITY OF LIFE Members of the community must be included
as teachers in the training process and given an
At the core of a police officer’s responsibilities is opportunity to assist in curriculum development
the duty to protect all human life and physical so that a community perspective is part of the
safety. To ingrain this fundamental principle, mandatory training for all recruits and veteran
use of force policies must clearly state this officers. Departments must also do more to
requirement, with specificity, and require ensure that in recruitment, promotion and
officers to intervene when a fellow officer is retention decisions, diversity matters.
using disproportionate or unnecessary force. As
is often stated, just because one can use force,
5. COMMUNITY
does not mean that it should be used. It is
critical that we ensure that officers are properly Departments must strive for a sincere belief
trained to value the sanctity of life and only use among officers that respectful, constitutional
the minimum amount of force necessary, if any, engagement with the community is the most
to accomplish lawful objectives. Officers must powerful tool they possess, over and above a
have the tools and judgment to differentiate gun and a badge. Police officers must be
circumstances that do not warrant the use of regarded as guardians and part of the
force. Use of force policies and training must community they serve and work to support and
also include, but not be limited to: bans on engage with those communities to effectively
chokeholds or any other carotid restraints; de- discharge their public safety mission. We should
escalation and critical incident training; peer support police outreach initiatives and more
intervention to prevent misconduct; bans on broadly consider how to address the needs of
shooting at moving vehicles except under youth, people with mental illness, people with
extreme circumstances where a life is at risk; disabilities, immigrants and refugees, people
limitations on car pursuits to avoid death or from various faith traditions and others who
great bodily harm; and defined parameters for come into contact with law enforcement. Police
foot pursuits, among other things. departments’ hiring, retention and promotion
practices should strive to be more
4. EQUALITY AND DUE PROCESS representative of the populations they serve.
Departments must also incentivize officers to
Police conduct must not vary on account of live in the communities they serve and to
race, religion, national origin, age, sexual otherwise spend time building real, authentic
orientation, gender, gender identity or other relationships with members of the community,
status. Every person is entitled to equal especially youth.
treatment, respect for his or her constitutional
rights and due process of law. Fairness, respect
6. TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY
and professionalism enhance public safety as
TO REINFORCE CONSTITUTIONAL
they enhance public support and cooperation.
POLICING
We are mindful that the history of policing in
many places has been interwoven with the
True police reform will not come about through
nation’s history of racial discrimination,
improved policies and training alone. We must
including efforts to use police forces to ratify
ensure that police fulfill their commitments to
and maintain segregation and other forms of
protect the residents they serve and that police
racism. To ensure equal and just treatment of
build trust and legitimacy through transparency,
all persons, departments must provide
engagement and accountability. Police must
consistent training on impartial policing, anti-
play a role that reinforces democratic principles
discrimination principles, and cultural literacy.
in our society. To ensure public awareness and
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reassure the public that officers are working to have been issued to external organizations, like
protect the community, departments should the New London chapter of the NAACP. Given
make their policies publicly available and, these details and our review of policies and
consistent with relevant laws and agreements, practices, this section outlines areas of strength
provide access to law enforcement data and
and challenges for the department to consider.
findings of officer misconduct. Technology that
can enhance accountability–such as body
STRENGTHS
cameras and early warning systems– should be
utilized. Cities should adopt uniform policies for
Use of Force Policies. The impetus for
the prompt release of video, audio and initial
establishing this committee was the death of
police reports on all matters of public interest,
George Floyd and many other African
including specifically those arising from police-
Americans at the hands of local police officers.
involved shootings, deaths in custody, or
Some of these tragic incidents occurred after
allegations of First Amendment violations. The
our group was convened. Therefore, we first
collective bargaining agreements between cities
and their police departments should provide reviewed policies related to the use of force,
fair, sensible and workable accountability and we are pleased that the NLPD now, of their
mechanisms and eliminate any provisions that own volition, and in conformity with State
are roadblocks to addressing conduct that is guidelines, has the following regulations and
inconsistent with the policies and laws that 4 plans in place:
govern our officers. Police unions must engage
with good will as well and participate in these • Choke holds are not allowed. Nor are
urgent reforms, work with cities as partners — neck or chest holds, which restrict
not obstructionists — on accountability and breathing or the flow of blood.
transparency and other reforms so that we can
create stronger police departments that are • Body and car dash cameras will be used
truly responsive to the needs of residents and
constantly by all officers on patrol.
establish better police community relations that

serve both communities and officers. Cities
• Technology will be upgraded to
should also work to eliminate any state laws
accommodate the use of body and dash
that impede the implementation of sensible
cameras, improve 911 responses, and
accountability measures across police
departments. Transparency and more robust to monitor surveillance cameras.
accountability mechanisms are necessary to
Crisis Intervention Training. The New London
improve police-community relations.
Police Department has been considered a
leading agency in the state of Connecticut
NLPD REVIEW COMMITTEE FINDINGS
because of its specialized training in de-
escalation and crisis intervention. The
The committee completed an extensive review
Department was the first in the region to
of NLPD policies and practices in order to make
partner with an outside organization to offer
recommendations for improvement. The
De-escalation Training.
committee learned that NLPD officers have not
discharged firearms (except to exterminate
NLPD was also the first department in the New
rabid animals) since the year 2011. There have
England region to adopt the Crisis Intervention
also been relatively few complaints about police
Team (CIT) Model, which they initiated in the
conduct to the department (approximately 10-
year 2000. Often referred to as the “Memphis
12 annually). However, many more complaints
Model,” the CIT program was first developed
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