EUGENE, Ore — As Oregon legislators prepare to meet in special session this week, and possibly pass new rules on policing, the state’s public safety training academy is scheduling a series of public sessions to explain how it trains every local and state law enforcement officer.
The Department of Public Safety Standards and Training’s three webinars will cover the agency’s role, police training and use of force.
“We wanted to not come in and defend what Oregon is doing, but to really share what Oregon is doing and has been doing,” department Director Eriks Gabliks said.
The webinars will be presented to local government leaders, members of the Legislature, community leaders and the media at different times and dates over the next few weeks. The sessions are open to the public and will be recorded for viewing later. To register for the events online, use the DPSST Facebook page.
On Wednesday, the Oregon Legislature meets in special session to consider legislation on several topics, but police accountability is one of the most prominent.
Legislative suggestions include: banning police use of chokeholds; creating a police discipline statewide database; requiring mandatory reporting by police officers of other officers’ behavior; and banning the use of tear gas.
Local law enforcement agencies say they go above and beyond DPSST’s minimum requirements, especially when it comes to accountability and use-of-force tactics.
“I think Oregon is leaps and bounds ahead of some in terms of standards that are required because some states have hardly any,” said Polk County Sheriff Mark Garton.
Garton, as well as officials from the Marion County Sheriff’s office and the Salem Police Department, say they’re open to having discussions with community members about current policy, and welcome questions to help the community better understand what they do.
Benny Williams, president of the Salem-Keizer Branch of the NAACP, said law enforcement agencies should emphasize changes such as community outreach and diversity on the force.
“The fact that they want to expose their policies and practices, that’s a good thing … but very few of us … are truly interested in going through a 300-page document,” Williams said. “We simply want these guys to do what they’re paid to do and what they’re sworn to do.”
The role of DPSST
In a state with 5,600 full-time police officers, Gabliks said DPSST is responsible for maintaining the standard in officers’ background investigations, basic curriculum and field training.
One webinar will address the state agency’s role and partnership with local law enforcement — particularly when it comes to allegations of police misconduct.
One misconception is that DPSST can investigate the use of force at local agencies, Gabliks said.
“We’re not set up for that,” he said. “We’re not the internal affairs of police officers, that’s the responsibility of the employer.”
DPSST typically investigates when the misconduct reaches the status of criminal allegations.
“We do have, at times, people who make bad decisions and tarnish the badge — that leads to them to no longer work in our profession.”
One important accountability tool the agency uses is a system called the National Decertification Index (NDI) — a database that allows agencies nationwide to indicate if an officer’s certification has been suspended or revoked due to misconduct. The database is through the International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training, a non-profit organization that develops statewide standards and administers training programs.
The database allows agencies’ hiring managers to check on the certification of officers.
Gabliks said Oregon has had multiple examples of success in the use of the database.
Still, Gabliks said there’s no guarantee an officer won’t slip through the cracks because not every state uses the system. Oregon decertifies 40 to 50 criminal justice officers per year.
Critics, like Williams, say the database only helps so much.
“What’s missing is if you have an officer such as the one in Minneapolis who never had any discipline, he simply stays on the force … until he gets caught in the highest act of abuse,” Williams said. “Had he decided to go elsewhere before that incident, would … his record have been readily available or not?”
Training new hires
Another webinar will walk participants through the 16-week curriculum for newly hired police officers, how it’s developed and how it’s delivered.
New recruits spend 640 hours training — including testing and graduation — before receiving their law enforcement certification. Approximately 50% of that time is spent in scenario-based training venues, Gabliks said.
“We don’t want students to sit in the class,” he said. “We spend time … learning criminal code, the Constitution and implicit bias, but we also build on that by having officers apply that in scenario-based training.”
Use of force
Gabliks said the Oregon’s basic course on use of force doesn’t include chokehold training.
“We haven’t taught chokeholds for over 14 years,” he said, “… but when you watch the news, you see that and say well that must be what they’re being trained at the academy.”
That doesn’t mean it’s not included in training at the local level. But for “those (agencies) that do … it’s usually a defensive tactic of last resort, meaning its a lethal situation,” Gabliks said.
Cadets are also taught to communicate and de-escalate before using any “hands-on” tactics.
“A lot of our younger offers struggle with verbal communication because they’re used to doing everything on an iPhone,” he said.
Many DPSST training tactics start with basic defensive tactics followed by techniques such as “ground fighting” — the use of control holds and pressures from the body while in compromising situations without punching or kicking.
