Legislature(2021 - 2022)BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
04/20/2021 03:30 PM Senate COMMUNITY & REGIONAL AFFAIRS
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB72 | |
| SB81 | |
| SB46 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | SB 72 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SB 81 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SB 46 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
SB 46-LAW ENFORCEMENT: REGISTRY; USE OF FORCE
4:42:58 PM
CHAIR HUGHES announced the consideration of SENATE BILL NO. 46
"An Act relating to the Alaska Police Standards Council;
relating to municipal correctional officers and municipal
correctional employees; making municipal police officers subject
to police standards; establishing a statewide use-of-force
database in the Department of Public Safety; requiring a
municipality that employs a person as a municipal police officer
or in a municipal correctional facility, the Department of
Corrections, or the Department of Public Safety to report for
inclusion in the database incidents of use of force by state and
municipal police, probation, parole, and correctional officers
and municipal correctional facility employees; and providing for
an effective date."
4:43:11 PM
SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON, speaking as sponsor of SB 46, thanked the
hard-working peace officers and office staff who provide law
enforcement services that protect the lives and welfare of the
people in Alaska's communities. She said the recent civilian
casualties has intensified the attention on issues surrounding
policing and police/community relationships and created momentum
to address longstanding injustices.
SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON related that during last summer and into
the fall she and Senator Begich worked on a series of bills that
the offices refer to as TPIP (turning pain into progress), which
was crafted after the national "8 Can't Wait" campaign. She said
the data shows that implementing these 8 specific policies can
reduce police violence by as much as 72 percent.
She acknowledged Alaska's uniqueness and emphasized the amount
of time her office spent talking to stakeholders and gaining
input to ensure that the policies proposed in SB 46 would be
fitting for Alaska. She reported that she engaged public safety
agencies including the Anchorage Police Department (APD0,
Anchorage Police Employees Association, Public Safety Employees
Association (PSEA), and the National Organization of Black Law
Enforcement Executives during the process. She said this
proactive approach made her confident that these public safety
policy changes will benefit both the citizens of Alaska and
Alaska's law enforcement officers.
4:45:28 PM
CHAIR HUGHES
4:45:32 PM
DELANEY THIELE, Staff, Senator Elvi Gray-Jackson, Alaska State
Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, read the following sponsor
statement and sectional analysis for SB 46:
Senate Bill 46 establishes a use-of-force database
under AS 44.41.055 that will be overseen by the
Department of Public Safety which will collect reports
of use of force by a municipal police officer,
municipal correctional facility employee, a probation
officer, parole officer, correctional officer, state
trooper, village public safety officer, or regional
officer. This report will be submitted by the
Department of Public Safety under AS 44.41.020(h). The
Alaska Police Standards Council shall maintain a
central registry with information that the Council
obtains from the Department of Public Safety, the
Department of Corrections, or a municipality.
This bill also requires the Alaska Police Standards
Council to adopt regulations that require a police
officer, probation officer, parole officer, municipal
officer, or correctional officer to report to a
supervisor when an incident of force or deadly force
occurred or in a situation in which an officer was
prepared to use deadly force. This report will also
include demographic information such as the person
whom the force was used, age, gender identity, and
sexual orientation if freely given by the individual.
Additionally, the officer who used the force and the
borough or census area in which the use of force
occurred.
Currently, there is no database that tracks instances
of use-of-force within the State of Alaska. While this
database will not be open to the public, it will be
shared for employment purposes amongst departments and
agencies who may be hiring an officer or employee as
well as the Alaska State Legislature. This will allow
for transparency among agencies and will close
loopholes that allow officers to be hired on to
another agency after being fired for use-of-force
incidents or certificate denial or revocation.
4:47:43 PM
MS. THIELE read the following sectional analysis for SB 46:
Section 1: AS 18.65.220 is amended by adding new
subsections (b) which will require a police officer,
probation officer, parole officer, municipal
correctional officer, or correctional officer to
report, to a supervisor, when another officer used or
prepared to use deadly force against a person. (c)
requires that the Council shall maintain a central
registry of denied or revoked officer certificates.
(d) requires that the Council shall adopt and prepare
a report detailing the registry information to the
chief clerk of the house of representatives and the
senate secretary no later than Dec. 1st of each year.
(e) states that upon request, the Council shall assist
a department, an agency, or municipality in developing
rules that comply with regulations adopted under (b)
of this section.
Section 2: AS 18.65.285 is amended to replace the word
"may" with "shall."
Section 3: AS 18.65.290(b) is amended to define
"municipal correctional officer."
Section 4: AS 18.65.290 is amended to add "deadly
force" has the meaning given in AS 11.81.900(b).
Section 5: AS 18.65.670(c) is amended to provide
training in the subjects set out in 18.65.220(a)(3).
Section 6: Amends AS 29.71 by adding a new section, AS
29.71.070, use of force reporting requirement.
Section 7: Amends AS 44.28.020 by adding a new
subsection (d) that requires the Department of Public
Safety to submit a report on each incident in which a
probation officer, parole officer, or a correctional
officer uses force against a person. The report must
include information required under AS 44.41.055(b).
Section 8: Amends AS 44.41.020 by adding a new
subsection to read: The Department of Public Safety
shall submit the to the statewide use-of-force
database, each time a State trooper, VPSO, or regional
public safety officer uses force against a person.
4:49:57 PM
Section 9: AS 44.41.055 is amended by a new section to
establish a Statewide use-of-force database and its
requirements.
Section 10: AS 18.65.280(b) is repealed.
Section 11: The uncodified law of the State of Alaska
is amended by adding a new section that applies to
employment contracts entered on or after the effective
date of sec. 2 of this Act.
Section 12: Amends the uncodified law of the State of
Alaska by adding a new section pertaining to
transition: employment, peace officers. Giving them an
effective date of sec. 10 of this Act to comply with
AS 18.65.240 requirements.
Section 13: Amended by adding a new section regarding
regulations of the Department of Corrections, the
Department of Public Safety, and municipalities that
employ a person as a police officer or in a
municipality correctional facility to adopt and
publish regulations.
Section 14: Section 13 provides for an effective date
under AS 01.10.070(c).
Section 15: Provides for an effective date of this
Act.
4:51:16 PM
SENATOR MYERS noted that the bill provides a definition for
"deadly force" and asked why it does not provide a definition
for "use of force" or force in general.
SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON answered that the statutes currently
provide a definition for "force" and she was still working on a
definition for "use of force."
CHAIR HUGHES asked Lieutenant Eric Olsen for the statutory
definition of "force."
4:52:28 PM
LIEUTENANT ERIC OLSEN, Alaska State Troopers, Department of
Public Safety, Juneau, Alaska, stated that he did not have the
definition committed to memory, but it was in AS 11.81.900. He
offered to look it up and report back to the committee.
4:52:54 PM
SENATOR WILSON expressed concern about privacy if the data
related to law enforcement's use of force were to be available
through a freedom of information (FOIA) request.
SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON restated the question and emphasized that
names and addresses would not be made public. Rather, the
statistics would be public.
4:54:44 PM
CHAIR HUGHES summarized that the names and addresses of officers
would not be available to the public, but that information would
be available to agencies and police departments that were hiring
officers. She asked if individual law enforcement entities
maintain their own databases and if they check with other law
enforcement entities when they do a background check on an
applicant.
SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON replied she believes that some agencies
follow that protocol. SB 46 would require that all agencies
check on this information
CHAIR HUGHES noted the public safety personnel who were
available to answer questions.
4:56:32 PM
SENATOR MYERS said it makes sense to track whether or not a
police officer has had their police certificate revoked due to
the improper use of force. However, he wonders about tracking
revocations based on things such as inability to pass the
physical due to weight gain.
CHAIR HUGHES asked Mr. Griffiths to comment.
4:58:11 PM
ROBERT GRIFFITHS, Executive Director, Alaska Police Standards
Council (APSC), Juneau, Alaska, asked Senator Myers to restate
the question.
SENATOR MYERS asked if the database would include certificate
revocations for reasons other than for excessive use of force.
He cited the example of not passing the physical and asked if
the bill intends to include that sort of revocation in the
database, because that would be a concern.
4:59:14 PM
MR. GRIFFITHS answered that APSC only revokes certifications
based on violations or lack of compliance with current
regulations. Not passing the physical is not a standard that
APSC looks at to permanently revoke an officer's certification.
Permanent revocations are based on misconduct, abuse of
authority, unlawful use of force, and lack of respect for the
rights of others. Those violations result in officers being in
the database.
CHAIR HUGHES asked Mr. Mlynarik if law enforcement entities
throughout the state have reporting requirements and keep
records of violations and if they share that information with
other agencies that are looking at an applicant.
5:00:50 PM
PETER MLYNARIK, Board Member, Alaska Association of Chiefs of
Police, Soldotna, Alaska, answered that many agencies track use
of force violations, but whether or not that information is
shared depends on what the applicant releases. All applicants
undergo a background check and violations are usually uncovered
then.
CHAIR HUGHES asked if that means that some agencies do not track
use of force violations or if it means he did not know about all
agencies.
MR. MLYNARIK answered that he was not sure how many agencies
track use of force violations. He said all agencies are not
required to keep use of force reports or share that information.
5:01:47 PM
CHAIR HUGHES asked if violations involving the inappropriate use
of force would necessarily show up in an applicant's background
check.
MR. MLYNARIK answered that the information would be disclosed if
the information were in the department's records and the
individual signed a release.
5:02:42 PM
CHAIR HUGHES thanked the sponsor and her staff and held SB 46 in
committee for future consideration.