06-29-2020-SWS - Laserfiche WebLink

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ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — JUNE 29, 2020 4 Undersheriff Ramacher said he would check with the Sheriff to see if it could be shared with the Council but it probably wouldn't be shared with the public. Mayor Grant suggested it be shared with the City Administrator and Councilmembers could read it if they wished. Mayor Grant asked if they could describe the types of force in their continuum and what can be used to respond to specific types of resistance. Commander Baebenroth responded they use a reasonable control options matrix with the ultimate objective of every law enforcement encounter to avoid or minimize injury. The policy relies on the Fourth Amendment ruling about objective reasonableness. They factor in the totality of all the circumstances and the range of options that a deputy may have to use in the intense split- second decisions. Any situation is constantly re-evaluated and they respond as the situation changes. Some of the factors used to determine what is reasonable force are immediacy and severity of the threat to the deputies and others, conduct of the individual as perceived by the deputy at the time, age, size, strength, injuries, level of fatigue, number of deputies and subjects on the scene, if the suspect is under the influence of drugs or alcohol, mental capacity, if weapons are involved, if backup is available, and seriousness of the offense. Mayor Grant wondered how large the force continuum chapter was in the manual. Commander Baebenroth said there are 85 pages that he presents to deputies at their initial hire. Councilmember Holden mentioned there is possible legislation regarding chokeholds and asked how they would respond to it. Undersheriff Ramacher said the wording he read earlier would be put into their policy very soon, regardless of whether the legislature deals with it or not. Mayor Grant asked if there were policies that permit officers to intervene to stop excessive use of force and what would the repercussions be if an officer should do that. Undersheriff Ramacher stated their policy says that any deputy present and observing another deputy use force that is clearly beyond that which is objectively reasonable under the circumstances shall, when in a position to do so, intercede and prevent the use of force. The deputy who observes the use of force that exceeds the force permitted by law should report their observations to their supervisor. It is the expectation that staff does that. He has confidence that would happen in the Ramsey County Sheriff s Office. Councilmember Holmes asked if they could give an example of when a sheriffs deputy did intervene in a situation where one officer was exceeding the force and another officer de-escalated that. Undersheriff Ramacher replied that over the years he could give many examples where a deputy was becoming agitated and other deputies have stepped in. The expectation is that when deputies