--'-=-__ 2010. 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Generalorder I --- Page 4 --- County of Mono - Superior Court cc,*

Hiring of the Chief: The MLPD Report included a suggestion that, when the Chief retires, the Town Council consider doing a comprehensive search for a new chief, including recruitment of both inside and outside candidates. The Chief will be retiring in August 2010. The Chief informed the Grand Jury that the Town is currently searching for an interim police chief who would hopefully begin work as of July 1, thereby allowing for a 5-6 week transition period with the Chief. Any interim chief would only act in such capacity for approximately six months. This time period would allow the Town to conduct a comprehensive search for a new chief, and it is the Grand Jury's understanding that both inside (if any) and outside candidates will be considered. "Brady" Violations: The Chief informed the Grand Jury that there have been no 2. "Brady" violations in the past year. Wildlife Specialist: The Chief reported that the Wildlife Specialist is doing a

"Brady" violations in the past year. Wildlife Specialist: The Chief reported that the Wildlife Specialist is doing a

good job, gets along well with the MLPD officers, and reports mainly to the MLPD Sergeants. The Chief believes that the Wildlife Specialist is currently doing everything that is required by the Wildlife Management Contract between the Town and the Wildlife Specialist. The Wildlife Specialist currently is permitted to carry a gun, but, according to the Chief, has not yet fired the gun while on the job. Issues with Sergeants: The MLPD Report addressed issues with two of the

MLPD Sergeants. One Sergeant had been involved in two internal affairs investigations and was ultimately terminated from the MLPD in summer 2009. The Chief informed the Grand Jury that such Sergeant has appealed his firing and the hearing on such appeal is ongoing. The Chief could not predict the outcome of the appeal, but noted that the hearing has been difficult for the MLPD because officers have been subpoenaed and have had to testify against one another. Also, the MLPD intends to fill the position vacated by the Sergeant, and has conducted interviews with potential candidates. However, the MLPD has decided to wait to fill the position until the appeal hearing involving this Sergeant has been resolved. The second issue with a MLPD Sergeant involved complaints about such Sergeant's behavior, including excessive micromanagement, and lack of support and mistreatment of subordinate officers. As stated above, the Chief asked the MLPD Lieutenant to conduct an investigation into the Sergeant's behavior, and such investigation was completed in October 2009, as detailed in the Lieutenant's memorandum of October 16, 2009. As part of this process, several MLPD officers and Sergeants were interviewed in order to clarify the complaints and concerns. This allowed for specific complaints and issues, rather than rumors and innuendo, to be presented to the Sergeant. A performance improvement plan, with specific goals and objectives, was put into place for the Sergeant. The plan also requires monthly meetings and reviews between the Sergeant and the MLPD Lieutenant. The Chief informed the Grand Jury that the Sergeant, while initially extremely defensive about the complaints against him, eventually adopted a positive attitude and pledged to work at improving his behavior. When asked by the Grand Jury if the Sergeant's behavior had noticeably improved, the Chief stated that there definitely had been improvement, but that it was still a "work in progress" and that the required monthly reviews were not always occurring on a regular basis.

Special Assignments: The MLPD Report addressed a specific complaint about an officer who had been assigned to the Mono Narcotics Enforcement Team ("MONET"), but had not been performing well in that position and had been left in the position for too long. The Chief reiterated to the Grand Jury his belief that the officer in question had been successful in other MLPD assignments, and that the MLPD strives to make all officers successful in their assignments. As summarized in the Chief's October 27, 2009 memorandum to the Town Manager, several changes in procedure were put into place by the MLPD to better monitor activities associated with special assignments, including: (i) requiring members of MONET to submit a monthly (rather than a quarterly) report recapping their activities during the month; (ii) requiring the School Resource Officer to submit a daily log recapping his activities at the schools; (iii) requiring the Traffic Officer to maintain a daily activity log and broadcasting his activities via the police communications system; and (iv) monitoring of the activities of the Detective by both the Lieutenant and the Sergeant on the day shift, and sharing the Detective's caseload regularly with other officers during daily briefings.

Communication: The MLPD Report identified problems with, and breakdowns in, communication between MLPD personnel as one of the most important issues within the MLPD. The MLPD Report recommended that the Chief conduct "fireside chats" with each of the officers in the MLPD to better identify specific issues of concern. The Chief reported to the Grand Jury that he had completed "fireside chats" with all officers in fall 2009, spending one to three hours with each officer. As reported by the Chief to the Grand Jury, and as set forth in the Chief's summary notes regarding the "fireside chats," issues raised by officers in such chats, included: (i) improving public perception of the MLPD by setting a good example and providing better outreach to the public about MLPD accomplishments through press releases, etc.; (ii) better community outreach, including outreach to the Hispanic community; (iii) timeliness of written work and reports; (iv) securing better equipment and taking better care of such equipment; (v) taking better care of each other; (vi) developing goals; (vii) maintaining open communication and an open door policy, and more brainstorming with officers; (viii) providing better training, including weaponless defense training; and (ix) identifying possible locations for a new police facility. The Chief stated that he and the MLPD officers identified potential fixes (immediate fixes, fixes to be completed within one year, and long-term fixes) to the various issues and have been endeavoring to address each of these issues over the past year. The Chief also held a meeting with all members of the POA to get their input on communication and other issues within the MLPD. The Chief's notes summarizing such meeting indicated that the discussion included (i) how and when to fill the vacant Sergeant position; (ii) the promotion process; (iii) the behavior problems with another Sergeant; (iv) the need to improve communication between the Chief and the Lieutenant; (v) the possibility of a second administrative position and a second lieutenant position; (vi) ways to improve communication between officers and resolving differences in working styles; (vii) training budget and increased training opportunities, (viii) better equipment, including plastic seats in MLPD vehicles and improved booking room benches; and (ix) the potential for a new MLPD building. The Chief has shared all issues and ideas raised in the "fireside chats" and the meeting with the POA with all of the MLPD officers in briefings and squad meetings. He said that the organization as a whole is working at improving communication. The Chief reported to the Grand Jury that most, if not all, police vehicles now have video recording equipment. Some of the vehicles now have plastic rear seats. The MLPD has worked at improving its community outreach efforts, and plans to implement a specific outreach effort to the Hispanic community. The MLPD now provides six range trainings per year for officers, each of which includes one hour devoted to weaponless defense training, and three hours devoted to weapons training. The Chief said that the Town has secured a real estate agent to help identify potential sites for a new MLPD facility. Several sites are under consideration, but no decision has been made and likely won't be made for some time due to budgetary reasons. The Chief also shared with the Grand Jury the 2010 MLPD Goals, which include (i) improving community relations, (ii) improving officers' overall fitness and professional appearance, (iii) handling transition within the organization over the next several years and encouraging officers to discuss assignments, promotional interests and methods for self-improvement; (iv) maintaining a cooperative working relationship with the Wildlife Specialist and allied agencies; (v) improving training opportunities for officers, and (vi) implementing and improving outreach to the Hispanic community.