Iowa-Nebraska NAACP & Iowa Police Chiefs Association announce statewide law enforcement Equity Task Force

Iowa City, Iowa…On May 25, 2020, we watched in horror as George Floyd tragically lost his life while in the custody of Minneapolis police officers. The callousness and disregard shown for Mr. Floyd is sickening and leaves everyone, including police officers across this nation, shocked, appalled, and infuriated. The tactics demonstrated by this officer were reprehensible. The Iowa Police Chiefs Association joins our nation in condemning the actions of these officers.

Since the death of Mr. Floyd, law enforcement has observed many protests, both non-violent and violent, and we have witnessed regrettable confrontations between citizens and law enforcement officers.

The Iowa Police Chiefs Association strongly supports freedom of speech and the right to peacefully protest. Although difficult to recognize right now, Iowa policing has made significant advancements in recent years. Police leaders across our nation have acknowledged the misdeeds of the past and have sought out community partners to build a better future. The Iowa Police Chiefs Association is renewing those efforts by forming a Law Enforcement Vision for Equality Task Force. IPCA President Rob Burdess, Newton Police Chief, and the Iowa-Nebraska NAACP State Area Conference of Branches President Betty C. Andrews are announcing the formation of this task force to create a common ground to develop proposals for necessary change, as well as to provide a communication mechanism to improve relations between law enforcement and all community members equally. The purpose of this task force is to allow for open communication between various groups about concerns or recommendations related to improving law enforcement procedures and relations with diverse stakeholders. This open exchange will allow for all parties to have their voice heard with an open mind towards understanding what is currently happening in our communities, why it is happening, and what we can collaboratively do to improve on it. This effort will allow the various groups to get familiar with each other and to develop trusting relationships that will allow for an open exchange of ideas.

“Despite the advances that Iowa law enforcement has made in recent years, there is clearly more work ahead. Iowa’s police executives, and the officers they lead, must embrace the concerns and criticism being voiced and re-examine their policies and approach” states President Burdess. “At the same time, while policing is the focus, community members and elected officials must realize they play a crucial role in moving constructive efforts forward.”

“It is undeniable that now is the time for improving law enforcement and community relationships. Those relationships are authenticated by transparent practices and engaged citizens.” Said Betty C. Andrews, President of the Iowa Nebraska NAACP. “Through establishing this statewide Law Enforcement Equity Task Force, the Iowa Police Chiefs Association is poised to ensure unbiased policing in our state. This includes building on recent improvements and also addressing racial profiling, hiring practices, citizens review boards, officers living in the communities they police, and a number of other challenging topics” She said.

Past IPCA President, Chief Jeremy Logan, Oelwein Police Department, and Iowa City NAACP President Kevin Sanders will chair the task force of stakeholders.

Members of the Law Enforcement Vision for Equality Task Force are:

Kevin Sanders President, Iowa City NAACP, Co-Chair, State Criminal Justice Committee

Chief Jeremy Logan Oelwein Police Department

Chief Tim Carmody Council Bluffs Police Chief-ILEA Council Member

Chief Rex Mueller Sioux City Police Department

Chief Daniel Banks Hudson Police Department

Sheriff Lonnie Pulkrabek Johnson County Sheriff

Sheriff Tony Thompson Black Hawk County

Sheriff Sheriff Jason Sandholt Marion County Sheriff

Comm. Stephen Bayens Iowa Department of Public Safety Commissioner

Lt. Ryan Doty Des Moines Police Department

Brian Guy Retired Clinton Police Department Chief – Form Chair of the ILEA Council

Joe Gonzalez Retired Des Moines Police Department Lieutenant

Ike Rayford President, Sioux City NAACP

Monique Scarlett Unity in the Community Founder

About the NAACP Founded in 1909, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization. Its half-million adult and youth members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities and monitor equal opportunity in the public and private sectors. The Iowa-Nebraska NAACP State Conference of Branches was founded in 1939.

SCPD teams up with mental health professionals to serve those in crisis

By Sgt. Jeremy McClure, Community Policing Sergeant

In the Safe Policing for Safe Communities Executive Order Signed by the President recently, direction for police departments to partner with mental health providers when responding to people dealing with mental health, homelessness, and addiction was included. For the Sioux City Police Department, partnering with mental health professionals is business as usual.

“We seek to make these types of partnerships that improve the quality of service we can provide to the people we serve,” said Dutler “We often find that we are leaders in national trends and ahead of other departments in implementing these types of programs.”

One of those partnerships is with the Mobile Crisis Assessment Team or MCAT. The unit is composed of mental health professionals provide by the Sioux Rivers Assessment Regional Health & Disability Center that can respond with law enforcement to the location of the individual in crisis.

In 2019, the Sioux City Police Department documented over 2,800 times in which officers checked the welfare of someone. In many cases, the person being checked on were experiencing a crisis and could benefit from the help of a mental health professional. Initially, Sioux City officers had little available options for helping someone in crisis. Often, the only available option was to take them to a hospital emergency room. The partnership with MCAT has changed that.

“We send out two people trained in mental health and crisis intervention,” said Nicole Eaton, program director for Sioux Rivers. “The assessment team can then determine the level of care the person needs.”

Officers sent to check on a person determine if the matter is a mental health issue. After ensuring the safety of the scene, they will contact the MCAT and request that they come to their location. When MCAT arrives and determines that officers are not needed, then officers leave the person in the care of the MCAT. The team will then assess the person’s need for a higher level of care and if needed, will transport that person to a care facility or make appropriate referrals. The MCAT is available 24 hours a day and will respond within 60 minutes.

The MCAT was developed as part of a mandate from the State of Iowa for mental health service providers to create mobile assessment teams. Sioux Rivers was contracted by Rolling Hills Community Services Region to provide MCAT services.

“We recognized early on that there needed to be a partnership between MCAT and emergency responders in order to make this program work correctly,” said Eaton.

Seeing the opportunity to improve services provided to people in crisis or with mental health problems, the Sioux City Police Department embraced the program and trained all officers to utilize it.

“The chief has been very supportive in implementing the program,” said Officer Andrew Dutler who represents the department on the MCAT committee. “We started working with Sioux Rivers in implementing the MCAT in early 2019 and began utilizing it in November of 2019.”

For years the department has provided training to officers to help people with mental health problems and to better respond to people in emotional crisis. Some officers received additional specialized training to help in its response to people with mental health problems.  

“Although our officers received training on helping people with mental health problems or that are in crisis, the MCAT provides a higher level of specialized care and relieves officers from a non-criminal matter,” added Dutler.

Since partnering with the MCAT, the department called them out 47 times according to statistics compiled by Sioux Rivers. In 26% of the call outs, the person was taken to higher level of care and the other 74% were referred to other resources and diverted from hospital emergency rooms.

“The goal of our program is to not only assess children and adults to help determine safety and whether they need a higher level of care, but to also provide resources and follow-up support so that we can intervene in a cycle in which individuals are continually in crisis without knowing what to do or how to get help,” explained Eaton.

The partnership between the Sioux City Police Department and the MCAT continues to grow. Now with more attention being paid to how law enforcement can better serve those in our community with mental health issues, this partnership will undoubted be looked to as a successful model.

“Recently, we discussed further that with police reform being at the forefront in the nation, that it will be an even more valuable tool for law enforcement to utilize when responding to mental health related calls,” added Eaton. “We are committed to working with SCPD to strengthen that bond and partnership that we have developed over the last year and continue to work together to service our mental health community.”