An outside review of the Bennington Police Department has found the law enforcement agency portrays a “warrior mentality,” creating a mistrust by some in the town.
“Over time,” reads the report from the International Association of Chiefs of Police, “Bennington’s police practices have sown deep mistrust between parts of the community and the department, undermining the agency’s law enforcement legitimacy.”
The International Association of Chiefs of Police was contracted by the town to conduct a review of the department’s practices and procedures last summer. The group outlined its findings, as well as recommendations for improvement, Monday evening during a presentation streamed online on the local public access channel, CAT-TV, and that group’s Facebook page.
The town’s Selectboard has set a meeting for May 4 to go over the report and its recommendations. The report is posted on the town’s website.
The report said the “warrior mentality” is pervasive throughout the department, including its website, which the report stated, “emphasizes a warrior appearance, rather than that of a community partner responsible for safety that embraces guardianship and community engagement for all residents, visitors, businesses, and diverse populations within the town.”
Paul Doucette, the town’s police chief, could not immediately be reached Monday for comment.
Stuart Hurd, Bennington town’s manager, said Monday afternoon that he had reviewed the report.
“It’s a report that I would say was not unexpected,” he said. “There are positive comments in it by IAPC about our policies and procedures not encouraging systemic bias, we felt that, we’ve known that all along.”
He added that the town has already taken on some of the recommendations in the report, such as updating its policies.
“We don’t have a lot of issues with the recommendations,” he said. “Unfortunately, policies when in place tend not to get updated as regularly as they ought to.”
Hurd said he didn’t believe that the department’s “warrior mentality” had caused mistrust in the community.
“That’s a perception issue,” he said, adding, “That’s what this report talks about, people talking about their perceptions and their concerns.”
The report criticized the department’s policies, procedures and protocols on a number of fronts. Some policies were outdated, while others were non-existent, such as the lack of a sexual harassment policy or one dealing with hate crime reporting.
And that wasn’t the only problem.
According to the report, “Bennington was unable to provide full and detailed data, policies, and vision and mission statements that clearly address bias-free practices; economic or past criminal record(s); and gender, sexual preferences, or racial disparities, which suggests that data collection, analysis, and dissemination processes need to be examined.”
The Selectboard sought the review of the police department after the Vermont branches of the American Civil Liberties Union and NAACP called on Attorney General TJ Donovan to open an investigation into the handling of evidence related to allegations of threats against Kiah Morris, then a Democratic state representative from Bennington and the only African American woman in the Legislature.
Donovan declined to take on that task, advising the town to hire an independent entity to conduct that investigation.
In addition, Morris and her husband, James Lawton criticized the Bennington Police Department’s handling of complaints they made, from a reported break-in at their home to vandalism as well as online racial harassment. The Bennington Police Department has defended its actions.
Morris announced in summer 2018 she would not be seeking re-election, in part, citing racial harassment.
Following Morris’ resignation, Donovan, the attorney general, conducted an investigation into the matters raised by Morris and Lawton, and determined that no criminal laws had been violated, citing the broad protections of the First Amendment regarding the online harassment.
The International Association of Chiefs of Police review did not focus specifically on the Morris cases, but instead took a broader look at the policy and procedures of the department.
“The singular focus for this study,” the organization wrote, “was to determine whether there was evidence of policies, procedures, or operational practices within the police department that created opportunities for unfair, discriminatory, or biased policing activities.”
The organization, according to the findings, “found no policies that would encourage systemic bias in the organization. What was found is the lack of policies that would strengthen opportunities to support members of the community who are most at risk for disparate treatment.”
The report also stated that while the existing policies appear “neutral,” the lack of policies in other areas may lead to bias in the implementation of the current policies.
“Furthermore,” according to the report, “additional areas of policy that are not currently part of BPD policies could add value to the BPD, increase accountability, and build trust and legitimacy in the community.”
The review found that while the department had adopted the state’s model Fair and Impartial Policing Policy and had a “use of force” policy in line with the “leading practices,” other policies were lacking, such as one dealing with an internal affairs investigation.
“In interviews with officers, not a single officer knew or understood the policy — including that there is a standard form to give to a complainant,” the report stated, adding, “There is a clear sense among a significant number of the citizens interviewed that voicing concerns about members of BPD will not be effective. The administration of the internal investigations process needs to be addressed immediately.”
The report also stated that the department’s domestic violence protocol is eight years old and should be reviewed and updated to take into the latest research and investigative techniques.
In addition, according to the report, there were a number of gaps in policies and operating procedures. For example, the department does not have a policy on the identification and investigation of hate crimes.
“The reporting of crimes against those in protected classes requires an understanding of who is covered by hate crimes, how to approach investigative techniques, and report hate crimes,” the report stated. “In interviews in the community, there were cases of individuals who are covered under the definition of hate crime that felt their cases did not receive proper attention.”
Also, according to the report, the department lacked a policy for responding to people in mental health crises. The department also did not have a policy to address sexual harassment or personnel relationship in the workplace,
“There is a policy in the Town of Bennington Personnel Manual,” the report stated, “and it is assumed that the policy covers members of BPD, but the policy is outdated (enacted 1996).”
“As a result,” the report stated, “there is a significant lack of trust from some of the community, particularly from people who suffer economic and financial hardship, are homeless, or are members of diverse populations including racial and ethnic groups that are a significantly smaller population in the town.”
And when concerns of racial bias had been raised, the report stated, community members reported that the Bennington Police Department leadership denied any such bias, and instead claimed the agency was being targeted.
“Denials of racial bias are sources of frustration and doubt for diverse community members and were viewed as open demonstrations of a lack of desire by the police department to engage with the diverse members of community in good faith,” the report stated.
Also, a community survey conducted as a part of the review, according to the report, showed that many residents had a positive perception about the department, others had issues with trust.
“Of the survey respondents,” the report stated, “38.1 percent reported that to some extent, they do not trust the Bennington Police Department. Interestingly, though, one-fifth of respondents feel they have been at least somewhat discriminated against by the department.”
The group’s review included community visits, surveys of residents, as well as talking with members of the department, including ride-alongs with officers.
Interviews with both the sworn and civilian members of the department, the report stated, found that while they knew their positive titles they were “less certain” about their roles and responsibilities in carrying out the department’s mission.
“Most employees do not know what the mission or values of the Bennington Police Department are, nor do they understand how their positions and jobs contribute to those roles,” the report stated. “Very few sworn or civilian staff could identify whether there were performance objectives related to their roles, either individually or as an organizational subunit.”
In addition to updating its policies, the report’s other recommendations included moving toward more of a community-policing model driven by data.
The report also calls on the department to create a position for a “dedicated community liaison whose responsibilities are to meet with key community stakeholders and develop community police programming catered to the specific and unique needs of the Town of Bennington.”
The International Association of Chiefs of Police also recommends the department create a civilian oversight board, with representation from diverse populations of the community.