18 Sep Richmond Delays Decision on Police Communication Policy

(Samantha Kennedy for Bay City News)

By Samantha Kennedy

Richmond officials on Tuesday failed to inch forward on changes to the city’s communication policies in the event of an officer-involved shooting or other in-custody deaths, but change is likely still on the horizon.

After a substitute proposal was rejected and another was not considered because of a misunderstanding on how to extend the meeting, the Richmond City Council will have to wait before making any changes.

Council members Claudia Jimenez and Sue Wilson proposed that revising the current communication protocol and increasing services for those directly impacted would help restore public trust and promote public safety.

“We are talking about critical incidents where a member of the community has lost their lives at the hands of the police,” said Jimenez. “And having a neutral party to (share) that information instead of the police is what’s important here.”

In August, Officers Nicholas Remick and Colton Stocking fatally shot Angel Montano while he was reportedly experiencing a mental health crisis and carrying two knives. Montano’s death, the second this year at the hands of officers, spurred criticisms of how the department released footage to the public.

The proposal calls for the city manager to issue a press release within 24 hours of a shooting; current protocol leaves the responsibility to RPD and doesn’t define a timeframe.

“It seems more reassuring to community members to then hand off the communication about that to any other department,” said Wilson. “It’s going to appear biased if it comes from the Police Department.”

Council member Jamelia Brown said that the city manager taking over the responsibility was redundant, saying that the suggestion was made because “many of you can’t stand the sight of law enforcement officers.”

Dozens of officers rallied at the meeting about staffing issues, but also agreed that there should be increased support for survivors affected by traumatic encounters with law enforcement incidents, despite pushing back against “the politicization” of the issues by some on the council.

“No one’s hiding anything. No one’s concealing anything,” said Benjamin Therriault, president of the Richmond Police Officers Association. “When you spread that and you push that around, you’re just — again — you’re doing what you always do, which is playing politics. You’re not doing any governance.”

At one point, Mayor Eduardo Martinez paused the meeting at the urging of council members Soheila Bana and Brown due to an audience outburst prompted by an exchange between an officer making public comment and Montano’s family and friends.

Police Chief Bisa French said the proposal would cause delays and could further the possibility that misinformation would be spread.

“We all know the game of telephone. You tell someone one thing, and it turns into something else,” French told the council.

City Manager Shasa Curl would not have to write the release, according to the council, but would be tasked with reviewing the release before it goes out to the public.

Curl reminded the council that RPD operates 24 hours, whereas she does not. Some communications sent out, such as emails about the Montano shooting to council members, are already reviewed by Curl before being sent.

After Montano’s death on Aug. 4 around 5:00 p.m., Lt. Donald Patchin made an initial social media post shortly after 8 p.m. By 10 p.m., the media had received the press release. At 11:13 p.m., the release was on the department’s website.

A press release for the first officer-involved shooting this year, in which Jose Mendez Rios was killed in February, was sent out eight hours after the incident.

Council member Doria Robinson told Jimenez and Wilson after the meeting that she wanted to keep the responsibility “in the hands of the chief.”

The policy changes are set to be reconsidered at the next meeting on Sept. 23.

Calls for unedited footage

Jimenez and Wilson also called for any released bodycam footage to be unedited and only redacted in legally required instances.

The cosponsors’ requested change, backed by community members like Montano’s family members, is in response to RPD’s released footage that is “highly edited to alter the narrative of what happened,” Jimenez wrote. 

RPD’s released footage includes a combination of bodycam footage from officers involved, a 911 call between Montano’s brother and a dispatcher, various graphics, and context for the situation.

The breakdown, which French said was done in-house, resembles those done for other cities by contractors in an effort to comply with a state law that requires police departments to release footage within 45 days of a shooting.

The law requires that footage be released following critical incidents like uses of force that result in death and great bodily injury.

The video of the Montano shooting cuts off after the shooting begins, and shots cannot be heard.

In July, the Antioch Police Department released a similar critical incident video related to the fatal shooting of David Bahrami. APD, which already contracts with Cole Pro Media for public relations, paid the company’s spinoff $6,000 for the video.

“I’m fighting for neutrality here,” said Wilson. “If we only do half the context, I’d rather do none at all.”