{"id":51976,"date":"2021-09-24T16:37:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-24T23:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/home2\/supporters-of-police-reform-laws-disagree-with-auburns-response\/"},"modified":"2021-09-24T16:37:00","modified_gmt":"2021-09-24T23:37:00","slug":"supporters-of-police-reform-laws-disagree-with-auburns-response","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/northwest\/supporters-of-police-reform-laws-disagree-with-auburns-response\/","title":{"rendered":"Supporters of police reform laws disagree with Auburn’s response"},"content":{"rendered":"
Auburn police aren’t responding to certain calls or making arrests for most misdemeanor crimes, citing police reform bills that don’t necessarily prevent either.<\/p>\n
In a July 12 Auburn City Council study session<\/a>, Auburn Police Chief Daniel O’Neil said the new police reform laws would have a big impact on the department’s ability to respond to calls.<\/p>\n During the meeting O’Neil said that due to the new laws and comments from the public, Auburn police officers would no longer be responding to most calls regarding mental illness, suspicious subjects or activity, noise complaints, RVs and “transient” camps and welfare checks. O’Neil said police would also not respond to trespassing calls if the person is already gone.<\/p>\n Policies of the new laws do not prevent police officers from responding to any type of calls. The attorney general’s office sent a memo clarifying this on Aug. 2.<\/p>\n “Bill 1310 does not prohibit peace officers from responding to community caretaking calls including mental health calls,” the memo said.<\/p>\n O’Neil said the memo did not impact department practices.<\/p>\n Jesse Johnson, sponsor of House Bill 1310, said it’s unprofessional for departments to simply not respond to calls.<\/p>\n “You have departments in different parts of the state who say ‘we disagree and we’re just not going to respond to a call,’” Johnson said. “I think that’s unprofessional, because it’s their job to protect and serve the community.”<\/p>\n O’Neil said officers not showing up to a given call doesn’t mean the department is refusing to provide services.<\/p>\n “We have never refused services to our community but rather, at times, we have utilized technology or resources to resolve community concerns that don’t necessarily require a response from a uniformed officer,” O’Neil said. “Additionally, we have been listening to demands of our community for non-police officers to handle issues that are not criminal in nature.<\/p>\n During the meeting O’Neil also said Auburn police officers should not make arrests for misdemeanor crimes because it is not equitable to only arrest people who chose not to resist. The exceptions to this rule include DUIs and domestic violence related offenses where an arrest is mandatory, O’Neil said.<\/p>\n “For most misdemeanor crimes we are not going to make a physical arrest, we are going to complete a report and issue a citation or refer that case to the prosecutor’s office,” O’Neil said.<\/p>\n O’Neil cited House Bill 1310 as the reason behind this decision.<\/p>\n However, House Bill 1310 does not prevent police officers from using force to arrest someone as long as there is probable cause that the person committed a crime, according to the bill<\/a>.<\/p>\n “A peace officer may use physical force against a person when necessary to: Protect against criminal conduct where there is probable cause to make an arrest; effect an arrest; prevent an escape,” the law states.<\/p>\n