Residents still reeling from a February SWAT raid pelted Columbia Police Chief Ken Burton with questions yesterday, mainly about how he plans to change a police mentality some consider overly aggressive.
"I'm not naïve," Burton said. He said he knows police are at the service of the public, "but getting that philosophy across to young, energetic police officers is always a challenge."
Sitting in the hot seat in the living room of Sid and Joan Sullivan's home, Burton tackled questions from about 15 members of CoMoCitizens, a group formed after Columbia SWAT team officers raided Jonathan Whitworth's home, killing a dog but only finding a misdemeanor amount of marijuana. The raid came up during the discussion, but Burton was quick to say he gets the message.
"You don't have to hit me in the face with a wet mop," Burton said. "I have listened to the public."
The crux of the more than hourlong conversation focused on the mentality ingrained in the department Burton took over last year, a mentality CoMo
Citizens co-founder Donald Warren described as "we are police, you are public."
"We want to see the divide between police and citizens disappear," he said.
Burton said he's making changes from the top down and holding officers accountable. No one's job is sacred, he said, adding that one officer would be facing termination today. This morning, Burton said the officer is entitled to go through the administrative process first, but if terminated, the firing will be made public.
Burton also re-emphasized his commitment to geographic policing, saying officers should know business owners and residents on their beats. Some officers won't like their future appointments, he said. Young officers want to work in areas where there's action – catching criminals, not stopping soccer moms for making illegal U-turns, he said.
"So it's more about an adrenaline rush than helping people," Warren challenged.
"I don't deny that," Burton said. "They want to be where the action is."
Attendee Gene Robertson said he has no problem with neighborhood police, "but the problem is when they bring in other guys" who don't know the residents.
Burton agreed, saying he has heard at least one complaint that a non-neighborhood officer was a "jerk." He said he's taking steps to make sure officers respond only when needed. Instead of the eight to 10 officers who respond to a scene now, Burton said, only two or three will respond in the future, and a sergeant will have to request more if needed.
Burton said he's trying to teach his officers to treat people as they would want family members treated in the same situation. "It's easy for me to say," he said. "It's harder to get it through thick heads."
As for future SWAT raids, Burton could not promise that teams would not conduct dynamic entries in cases where search warrants for drugs are being served. Most police responses are complaint-based, he said. If officers get a call from a resident about drug activity next door, "it's up to us to do something about it. It could be marijuana, or it could be ******* or ******. We don't know until we're well into the investigation."
But he did vow that the department would do its homework and go through the proper steps before using SWAT teams to serve search warrants. What his department has gone through in the past few months has been rough, he said, and he doesn't want it to happen again.
Burton also asked for patience as he makes changes but said residents should hold him accountable.
"If in five years we're still talking about the same thing," he said, "you need to run me out of town on a rail."
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: The Columbia Daily Tribune
Author: Janese Heavin
Copyright: 2010 The Columbia Daily Tribune
* Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article
"I'm not naïve," Burton said. He said he knows police are at the service of the public, "but getting that philosophy across to young, energetic police officers is always a challenge."
Sitting in the hot seat in the living room of Sid and Joan Sullivan's home, Burton tackled questions from about 15 members of CoMoCitizens, a group formed after Columbia SWAT team officers raided Jonathan Whitworth's home, killing a dog but only finding a misdemeanor amount of marijuana. The raid came up during the discussion, but Burton was quick to say he gets the message.
"You don't have to hit me in the face with a wet mop," Burton said. "I have listened to the public."
The crux of the more than hourlong conversation focused on the mentality ingrained in the department Burton took over last year, a mentality CoMo
Citizens co-founder Donald Warren described as "we are police, you are public."
"We want to see the divide between police and citizens disappear," he said.
Burton said he's making changes from the top down and holding officers accountable. No one's job is sacred, he said, adding that one officer would be facing termination today. This morning, Burton said the officer is entitled to go through the administrative process first, but if terminated, the firing will be made public.
Burton also re-emphasized his commitment to geographic policing, saying officers should know business owners and residents on their beats. Some officers won't like their future appointments, he said. Young officers want to work in areas where there's action – catching criminals, not stopping soccer moms for making illegal U-turns, he said.
"So it's more about an adrenaline rush than helping people," Warren challenged.
"I don't deny that," Burton said. "They want to be where the action is."
Attendee Gene Robertson said he has no problem with neighborhood police, "but the problem is when they bring in other guys" who don't know the residents.
Burton agreed, saying he has heard at least one complaint that a non-neighborhood officer was a "jerk." He said he's taking steps to make sure officers respond only when needed. Instead of the eight to 10 officers who respond to a scene now, Burton said, only two or three will respond in the future, and a sergeant will have to request more if needed.
Burton said he's trying to teach his officers to treat people as they would want family members treated in the same situation. "It's easy for me to say," he said. "It's harder to get it through thick heads."
As for future SWAT raids, Burton could not promise that teams would not conduct dynamic entries in cases where search warrants for drugs are being served. Most police responses are complaint-based, he said. If officers get a call from a resident about drug activity next door, "it's up to us to do something about it. It could be marijuana, or it could be ******* or ******. We don't know until we're well into the investigation."
But he did vow that the department would do its homework and go through the proper steps before using SWAT teams to serve search warrants. What his department has gone through in the past few months has been rough, he said, and he doesn't want it to happen again.
Burton also asked for patience as he makes changes but said residents should hold him accountable.
"If in five years we're still talking about the same thing," he said, "you need to run me out of town on a rail."
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: The Columbia Daily Tribune
Author: Janese Heavin
Copyright: 2010 The Columbia Daily Tribune
* Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article
