APD Update - Council feedback

Councillors gave feedback regarding Aurora Police Chief Oates' presentation:

Councilwoman Wallace -

"For district one, some of the officers are eager, are excited for this," Wallace said. "I'm hopeful that it will succeed. I've talked to a few of them in my ward, and they're excited."

For the mediation program, Oates said that it would be funded through seizure funds.

"We're hoping for a very favorable contract where we only pay for it if we need it," Oates said.

Councilman Broom -

"Opening up those desks and those other two (districts) really make a lot of sense," Broom said. "I think that's good."

Councilwoman Markert asked about disparities between officers' work shifts under the suggested 12-hour program.

Oates: "I'm confident that everybody's going to work the same amount of hours here."

Councilman Beer

"This is really positive ... Will there be anybody who is being assigned to patrol who doesn't want to be assigned to patrol? This isn't going to be punishment duty for anyone, is it?"

Oates: "No, they signed on to be police officers."

Beer asked if City Manager Ron Miller could find a way to measure the efficacy of the cited changes.

Councilwoman Sue Sandstrom

"Some of these things may not work ... but you're willing to take the chance and try them," Sandstrom said. "I really applaud all of these things."

Oates lauded Lt. Brown for suggesting the 12-hour shift concept.

Mayor Ed Tauer

"I like the idea of changing things," Tauer said. The mayor followed up with specific questions regarding the 12-hour shift, the tactical day and customer service.

Tauer also asked for specifics about data from the recent matrix study, specifying changes regarding the ratio of detectives in the department.

"On the whole, the matrix gave a lot of praise to how we distribute the workload," Oates replied. "I think for the time being we've addressed them."

Tauer also asked about the vocabulary of the 'verbal judo' program in regards to de-escalation. Oates replied that the name of the program in trademarked, and that it's designed to help diffuse conflicts through dialogue.