By Thomas P. Caldwell, InDepthNH.org
PORTSMOUTH — The Portsmouth Police Commission on Oct. 26 will be voting on a package of reforms to address the concerns that arose following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May 2020.
Among the proposals is a review of Exculpatory Evidence Schedule (“Laurie List”) decisions around officer misconduct, with the police chief now reporting every case in which an officer has been under investigation by Internal Affairs and any suspensions or terminations of officers that result.
Attorney Lisa Wolford, a member of the working group that developed the recommendations, said that, if they are adopted, “Portsmouth may be the only jurisdiction in the state, if not the region, to undertake such initiatives.”
Police Chief Mark Newport said the process began when a group of residents got together and created a list of proposals and ideas they wanted to address with the police department. They approached the police commission, and Commissioner Joe Onosko led the collaborative effort to develop the list of reforms.
Wolford, who has experience as both a public defender and a prosecutor, said she and fellow residents and attorneys Marta Hurgin and Stephanie Hausman initiated the recommendations for increased transparency and accountability. Hurgin is a former public defender who now handles eviction and unemployment insurance cases for 603 Legal Aid, a nonprofit that provides free civil legal services to low-income clients. Hausman is a veteran trial and appellate litigator at the Public Defender’s Office.
“The three of us have a combined total of more than 40 years of criminal justice experience, so we’ve been attuned to these issues professionally and paid particular attention to national and state developments in the wake of George Floyd’s murder,” Wolford said. “We began this endeavor by talking to neighbors, community members, people like Clifton West of BLM Seacoast and Joseph Lascaze of ACLU-NH, and some of our police commissioners.”
She said the effort was an attempt to restore public confidence in law enforcement.
The recommendations begin with basic efforts to collect and maintain data on officer encounters with civilians — pedestrian, bicycle, and motorized vehicle stops — in which the civilian’s constitutional rights are impacted: “that is, situations in which the person is not at liberty to unilaterally decide to end the police encounter,” according to a PowerPoint presentation at a recent public hearing.
Development of a policy to require the collection and posting of that information is the second recommendation.
Other suggested policies would prohibit non-disclosure agreements concerning settlements and publishing on the city website any settlement agreements made against the police department and contracts with Primex, a municipal- and school-funded company providing insurance coverage, risk management training services, contract reviews, and other employment-related matters.
Another goal is to improve the complaint process and remove the language about false reports, which can discourage a person from filing a complaint.
The recommendations include requiring officer performance evaluations that include a review of case outcomes, and using case outcomes in training and improvement efforts. They also call for negotiating with police unions to develop procedures that include discussing any violations of the constitution by an officer.
Other recommendations include working with local agencies to determine alternative call responses in cases of mental health problems and other categories of activity that do not require an armed response. While the commission and department have stated that they do not believe that officers should ever respond to a call unarmed, they agreed the explore CAHOOTS-type responses.
Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets is an initiative that began in Eugene, Oregon, with a community-based public safety approach to crises involving mental illness, homelessness, and addiction.
Wolford said data collection at the policing and prosecution stages of the criminal legal system is one of the most important reforms.
“The community and the police department have to have a way of knowing whether our officers are comporting with anti-bias policing principles, and whether our criminal justice practices actually work,” she said. “Are they equitable? Do they rehabilitate? Decrease recidivism? Make Portsmouth a safer, more humane, more productive place to live?”
She also said that examining better ways to respond to matters like mental health-related calls is important, “and understanding all that we ask our officers to do. With over 40,000 calls for service a year, you can bet we ask them to do just about everything — and that ask might not be either cost-efficient or consistent with public safety goals.”
Black Lives Matter Seacoast has endorsed the recommendations.
The commission will meet at the Eileen Dondero Foley City Council Chambers on Oct. 26 at 5:30 p.m. to vote on the proposed changes.
T.P. Caldwell is a writer, editor, photographer, and videographer who formed and serves as project manager of the Liberty Independent Media Project. Contact him at liberty18@me.com.
