Practice like you want to play the game. It’s an adage that’s popular at almost all levels of athletics, and it’s an ethos embraced by L.E. But with a profession that can involve perilous or fatal situations, how do you create training drills that are as realistic as possible, especially in use-of-force scenarios? Even with safety protocols, reaching that level of authenticity can have dangerous consequences.
This article appeared in the January/February issue of OFFICER Magazine. Click Here to view the digital edition. Click Here to subscribe to OFFICER Magazine.
Late last year, there were at least three acci dental law enforcement training shootings:
- August: A Washington, D.C., officer was killed when she was shot by an instructor during a training session at a library.
- October: A veteran U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer was fatally shot by a colleague in an exercise at an outdoor Miami gun range.
- December: A Sansom Park, Texas, police officer was critically wounded when she was shot in the face during an active shooter training exercise at a school.
OFFICER Magazine spoke with two training instructors about the measures taken to ensure that drills are safe.
‘No substitute for experience’
Good law enforcement training tries to create drills that bring participants as close as possible to what they’ll face on duty. And when it comes to training for situations that could involve a physical confrontation, the more realistic the setting and scenarios, the better.
“There’s no substitute for experience and giving people pseudo-experience and the highest fidelity possible will actually create pre-combat veterans,” says Ken Murray, the training director for the Armiger Police Training Institute in Florida and founder of the Reality Based Training Association. “We’ve been able to prove this time and again. And also when it’s done properly and effectively, we were able to demonstrate through some studies with the Australian Special Forces that you’ll get a 600-800% increase in training efficacy with longer durability over shorter periods.”
A master instructor who has spent years as a police and mili tary trainer, Murray has written a book and multiple articles and policy papers on the topic. In the late 1980s, he co-founded the non-lethal ammunition and training company Simunition.
The training isn’t just about picking up the physical skills needed to respond to a variety of potentially dan gerous calls and events. It’s also about acquiring mental and emotional discipline in the face of intense situations, something Spotsylvania County, Virginia, Deputy Sheriff Tom Perroni calls “stress inoculation.”
Perroni, along with being a deputy, is the current owner and training director for the Commonwealth Criminal Justice Academy in Virginia. He’s worked in public safety and law enforcement for over 30 years and an instructor for just as many, with 15 of those years as a firearms instructor.
“I think force-on-force training is very important,” he says. “It’s probably the closest thing we can get to realism as far as understanding it’s the real weight of your gun, when you pull the trigger you get a bang, a projectile comes out, and you’re firing a projectile at a human being. … It’s a dynamic situation that’s evolving, and you have to think, shoot, move and communicate, and it adds a realism that’s unmatched in training.”
But realistic training has its limits. To para phrase Allen Iverson, we’re talking practice.
“When you say force, there is some mea sure of physicality,” says Murray. “I will say there’s some measure of interactivity, but not necessarily a use of force.”It’s when that physicality and interactivity come into play that safety becomes essential.
Following the protocols
If training is the foundation of a good law enforcement officer, then preparation and forethought are the building blocks of a good training. That starts with by answering a seemingly basic and self-evident question: Why are we doing this training?
“The first thing is we decide what are we testing and we should be teaching them before we test,” says Murray.
“What most experiential training ends up being is experimental training, in that they don’t truly know what the outcome is going to be,” he adds. “They’re going to put something into motion, stand back with their clipboard, watch what happens, and then supply them the positive-negative-positive sandwich, which is one of the silliest ways to train that I’ve ever seen.”
Murray says not having clear training goals can set off a ripple effect that can have ramifications when it comes to the real exercises. A “let’s see what happens” approach can lead to loosely scripted and mapped out scenarios that can leave too much up to chance. A lack of tight planning creates a less-controlled environment and potentially increases the possibility of potentially dangerous accidents.
Once goals are established and plans are in place, work begins to make sure the training area and drill itself are safe. Murray and Perroni both religiously run through safety checklists before every exercise begins. Perroni, in fact, has his checklists on flip cards that he likens to an officer’s Miranda rights card.
“We’ve got an entire protocol that we go through in our schools that we train for instructors, and we’ve got a checklist that takes you all the way through how to make an area safe,” says Murray. “We break things down by areas much like the FAA breaks down airspace. Class A airspace … is the most controlled airspace there is. That’s where jumbo jets are flying. That’s where everything big and fast is floating around with a lot of people on board. And so with us Class A space is the most dangerous, as well, because we’re doing interactive training and we’re going to be pointing weapons at each other. We’ve got different levels of weapons that we’re going to be pointing at each other and we break those down by conditions. By way of example, condition blue is anything that can fire a pro jectile at you. That can either be a marking cartridge, a paintball or an Airsoft VB.”
The instructors also heavily rely on their dedicated safety officers. These are the people in blaze orange vests who stay vigilant that the safety rules are being followed. That can mean securing a training environment searching and re-searching participants to make sure they aren’t bringing unsanctioned equipment, such as their ser vice weapons, into the area. And in the reverse, it can mean double-checking to see that everyone is wearing all of the proper protective gear. Murray says it’s not unusual for participants—and even agencies—to be lax in enforcing the safety protection, thinking that it’s not a big deal in much the same way a motorist might not buckle up.
“There’s got to be some manner of personal protective equipment and that’s non-negotiable if we’re going to be shooting things at each other,” he says. “And a lot of agencies dumb that down to the point they allow groin protection not to be worn. They allow gloves not to be worn. They allow throat protection not to be worn. Some agencies are as idiotic as to only allow eye protection instead of face protection. And these are some pretty large, sophisticated agencies that do things catastrophically badly. And they’re just they’re going to run out the clock and create either significant injury or potential death.
“Now, with the significant injury part of things, every single one of them is avoidable.”
But not-so-significant injuries are no walk in the park either. Ask Perroni, who was mistakenly shot with a non-lethal round while he was running a room clearing exercise for civilians. He was the safety officer for the drill and was outfitted in his protective gear and an orange vest.
“We had one young man who was very excited,” says Perroni. “He had been excited for weeks leading up to this class, and he was probably the fourth person to make a run through the house. I was standing at the end of the hallway observing him while he was moving with an instructor … and he saw me, and he shot me more than once. Probably put five or six rounds in me.
“And so that was a learning lesson to everyone. Just because you have a gun in your hand doesn’t mean that everyone is a bad guy and that you have to shoot them,” he adds. “He was so keyed up and had such tunnel vision that he just saw somebody and he started pulling the trigger.”
Leading by example
When it comes to preventing gaps in safety protocols, Murray points to being alert for pattern disruptions, which are actions and events that can interrupt your normal habits and potentially introduce dangerous situations. He likens it to a mother placing a baby carrier on top of a car and then answering a phone call. She might have a conversation and by the time she’s done, she’s forgotten about the child on the roof and is driving away.
“Pattern disruptions happen to us all the time, and when we get pattern disrupted, when the interruption goes away, we will go back into the part of what we were doing before, and it might not be safe to do so,” he says.
Murray also stresses that instructors need to remember just how important and influential they are to the officers they train. Instructors not only reinforce the proper safety standards needed in a training environment, but the professional standards needed on the job.
“When I was seeing stage hypnosis 40 years ago, I thought, that can’t possibly be real, and if it is, it horrifies me as a trainer because if people are that malleable at some stranger can look them in the eye, say three magic words, and have them believe that they can’t remember their own name on purpose, then what are we doing by accident?” says Murray, who eventually became a hypnotist himself. “Because every trainer in his own right as a hypnotist, they’ve got all of the makings of a hypnotist. They have prestige, they have someone’s undivided attention, and they have, by its very nature, a co-opting of their critical faculty. And so anything that goes in, we need to be really, really cautious about what gets in there above and beyond the pure physical dangers of a realistic training environment.”
That’s a message that Perroni echoes, as well. Leading by example can be one of the best ways to ensure a safe training experience.
“I don’t think anyone would purposely cause harm, but we’re not perfect, nobody’s perfect,” he says. “We all mistakes, and we have to double-check, triple-check and verify that we’re safe in all training environments, all the time. The safety rules are there for a reason.
This article appeared in the January/February issue of OFFICER Magazine.
Research shows that children learn better when teachers have a specific type of training – the ‘gold standard’ of National Board Certification.
But dramatically fewer teachers in Alabama achieved that license during the pandemic – slowing the progress of what had been strong growth year over year, according to a state report tracking the impact of increased state funding for incentives last year.
“A student learns one to two months more being in a national board certified teacher’s classroom,” Alabama NBCT Network President Krista Marcum told AL.com.
Beyond becoming a better teacher, board certification has monetary perks, too.
Read more Ed Lab: Some Jefferson County aides surprised by new enforcement of job requirement.
All national board certified teachers who are currently teaching in a classroom earn a $5,000 state-funded stipend, and beginning in 2018, those who teach certain subjects in hard-to-staff schools earn an additional state-funded $5,000 every year.
State lawmakers allocated more than $15 million for the current year to pay stipends and help grow the number of National Board Certified Teachers. Lawmakers began funding annual monetary stipends for NBCTs more than 20 years ago, but the current year’s allocation is the highest funding to date.
The number of Alabama teachers earning National Board Certification dropped to 135 in 2021, according to a report covering the 2021-22 school year. The Alabama Department of Education prepared the annual report for lawmakers ahead of the start of the legislative session.
That annual number is just over half of what it was two years ago.
The state’s 1,700 NBCTs aren’t evenly distributed across the state. Of Alabama’s 139 school districts, 18 districts - most in rural areas - had no NBCTs last year. Another 20 districts had only one NBCT in the entire district. Fifteen districts have two NBCTs.
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Chairman Travis Bristol said while having one or two NBCTs in a school is good, learning is really only improved for the students in those one or two classrooms.
“To create school transformation, you’re going to need to have a cluster of teachers,” he said, “and that’s something that the state could create some incentives around.”
Alabama’s $5,000 targeted supplement aims to attract NBCTs to hard to staff, high poverty schools.
And while the targeted supplement hasn’t proven to be a magnet, the number of board certified teachers working in hard-to-staff schools and earning the additional $5,000 stipend rose slightly from 151 in 2020 to 156 in 2021.
Authors of the report called the targeted supplement a “wonderful incentive,” but claim only three districts - Huntsville City, Jefferson County and Mobile County moved NBCTs from a “non-failing school to a failing school.”
The number of teachers applying for state-funded scholarships to help with the $1,900 cost of becoming board certified dropped, too, from 332 in 2020 to 251 in 2021. Scholarships were awarded in four of the 18 school districts without NBCTs:
- Clarke County - 3 scholarships,
- Macon County - 1 scholarship,
- Perry County - 1 scholarship, and
- Phenix City - 3 scholarships.
Decline in interest?
The drop in interest in pursuing board certification was likely due to a number of factors, Marcum said.
“I feel like there was just a lot going on in our state at the time. Elementary teachers were working on LETRS [literacy training], and that was a huge endeavor,” Marcum said.
COVID played a part, too, she added. “I saw a lot of teachers trying to learn how to teach online. It was a lot.”
Alabama’s decline mirrored a national trend.
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Chairman Travis Bristol agreed there was a lot going on for teachers over the past couple of years.
“People were literally just trying to attend to their children,” he said. “I can imagine that many decided to, instead of attempting to pursue this application that is for them in service of their children, that they were just trying to ensure their children had some of the basic needs.”
He said he believes the numbers of new NBCT candidates will rebound moving forward.
And the latest numbers appear to support Bristol’s forecast. Alabama had 189 newly-certified NBCTs in 2022, according to newly released numbers. The next report will be issued in December.
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OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – Teacher merit pay based on evaluations does not get love from Oklahoma lawmakers, but a bonus stipend based on national certification gets bipartisan support in the House.
Republican Mark McBride authored HB2558, which would supply a pay bonus stipend from $3,000 to $5,000 depending on the total years of being certified. The bonus would be earned each year on top of the minimum salary for five years.
“I believe in raising the base pay and allowing teachers to have things like this that they can go through to raise their own pay,” said McBride.
The bill passed through the House Appropriations and Budget Education Subcommittee with unanimous bipartisan support.
The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards is the certification that would be required to earn the stipend.
“I don’t know in the education system how you actually come up with some kind of merit based that that works,” said McBride. “But we can have individual programs like a board certified teacher or other things that supply you a bonus, a stipend if you complete their program.”
It takes two to three years to complete your certification.
“It is rigorous, it’s challenging, and it’s rewarding,” said Claudia Swisher.
Swisher is a retired teacher and spent nearly 40 years in Oklahoma classrooms. She said there are four components teachers go through in order to get certified.
Teachers take multiple choice tests and get evaluated in the classroom on video.
After five years, teachers go through a maintenance training which requires additional hours of writing, analysis, and videotaping.
“I know now I have held my practice up to the very highest standard in the nation,” said Swisher, speaking about the certification.
3,128 Oklahoma teachers have received their certification, according to the NBPTS website, and there are 145 candidates in Oklahoma right now.
The bill differs from a proposal by State Superintendent Ryan Walters because his proposal was based on teacher evaluations done in each district.
“Those who know how to play the game, those who know how to suck up to their local administration are the ones who will take advantage of it or will who will see the results of that close relationship they might be maintaining with an administrator,” said Andy Fugate, Democrat from Oklahoma City.
McBride’s HB2558 has bipartisan support because Democrats see it as a more equitable way of rewarding teachers.
“This process is far different because the evaluation and the effort, quite frankly, is being monitored by a third party national organization and a board of individuals who help a teacher become better in the classroom,” said Fugate.
NHPD hopes to see progress with national de-escalation program, cultural sensitivity training and other adjustments following the paralyzation of Randy Cox in police custody.
Yale Daily News
Content warning: This article contains references to suicide.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a hotline for individuals in crisis or for those looking to help someone else. To speak with a certified listener, call 1-800-273-8255.
Crisis Text Line is a texting service for emotional crisis support. To speak with a trained listener, text HELLO to 741741. It is free, available 24/7 and confidential.
To talk with a counselor from Yale Mental Health and Counseling, schedule a session here. On-call counselors are available at any time: call (203) 432-0290.
Students who are interested in taking a medical withdrawal should reach out to their residential college dean.
Additional resources are available in a guide compiled by the Yale College Council here.
Last July, New Haven Police Department Officer Chad Curry responded to a crisis call from a man considering suicide. Using de-escalation techniques, Curry persuaded the man to put down the knife he was holding to his neck until an ambulance crew arrived.
NHPD Chief Karl Jacobson and Assistant Chief David Zannelli have credited Curry’s response to the incident — which was recorded on body camera — to NHPD’s implementation of a national program called Integrating Communications, Assessment and Tactics program, or known as ICAT. It has so far been implemented in 33 states and 125 police departments, including one in British Columbia.
ICAT is an officer training program designed by the nationwide Police Executive Research Forum to avoid the use of force in situations that are better resolved through communication. The program, which the NHPD implemented in July, is one of several police training the department has added since Jacobson and Zannelli were sworn into their current positions.
“It’s like verbal judo with tactics,” Assistant Chief Zannelli explained. “We try to use de-escalation whenever it’s plausible, whenever it’s safe to do so, to calm people down because someone’s excited or they’re in a traumatic event, or nervous, it doesn’t do much good to just yell at them. So we use time and we use distance, we use understanding to try and relate to the person.”
The ICAT program involves 12 hours of up-front training and additional refresher training, according to Zannelli. The NHPD trains three instructors for ICAT, and these instructors train other officers who are scheduled on duty. It costs the NHPD approximately $800 to train each of the three initial ICAT instructors and $2,500 in total for the program.
The program aims to realize the proposition laid out in NHPD’s Use of Force General Statement, which was issued last January in response to NHPD Officer Justin Cole’s head-punching unarmed New Havener Shawn Marshall. Section 6.01.05 of the statement outlines strategies for de-escalation and mitigation. The statement defined the “necessary” use of force, and permits the use of force only when “necessary, reasonable and proportionate to the threat encountered.” The statement also orders officers to intervene upon witnessing another officer’s unnecessary use of force.
Jacobson mentioned changes the department has instituted following the paralyzation of Randy Cox in police custody this summer. One of these changes included mandating the Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement, or department-wide ABLE training.
“If an officer sees that another officer is treating someone poorly, ABLE gives the officer the skills on how to deescalate that [other] officer, get them away from and also report what that officer has done and go through the proper procedures and everything.” explained Chief Jacobson at a Civilian Review Board review meeting on Jan. 23.
Michael Jefferson, an attorney for Cox and former chairperson of Connecticut’s African American Affairs Commission, expressed his support of NHPD’s efforts.
“I really do, I genuinely believe the Chief and his administration are trying,” said Jefferson. “It’s just difficult because you’re dealing with a very entrenched culture. And you’re attempting to tackle white supremacy. Policing grew out of slave patrols, and to eradicate the notion that criminality is Black and brown is the key.”
But despite the efforts of the NHPD, Jefferson explained that police brutality must be combatted not only through training but also reforms of the recruitment process.
“I think the vetting process is important. Who we allow to be trained is important,” Jefferson told the News. “Who we allow and who are we allowing in our freedom Academy you know, are they even worthy of being here?”
Jefferson suggested that NHPD officers engage with potential recruits to get a sense of what kind of person they are and why they want to be part of the organization. He urged NHPD officers involved in the hiring process to determine whether recruits have been affiliated with white supremacist organizations, as well as how they reacted to police brutality against Black men like Rodney King and Tyre Nichols.
“I think the vetting process has to be improved,” said Jefferson. “Some of those things are quite telling.”
To this purpose, the NHPD made additions to their existing cultural diversity and anti bias training. At the most recent Civilian Review Board meeting, Lt. Manmeet Colon discussed how the training has been useful for New Haven officers.
“For someone that’s coming from the outside that is not familiar with the inner city and how the upbringing is of folks in the inner city, we try to play scenarios,” Colon said. “We try to supply examples so they can better understand what people are going through in a city like New Haven.”
Currently, according to Zannelli, NHPD officers are required to take a cultural sensitivity training course that teaches the principles of Martin Luther King. In addition, all NHPD officers are required to visit the Ruby & Calvin Fletcher African American History Museum in Stratford, Connecticut. The museum is run by Jeff Fletcher, a 20-year veteran of the New Haven Police Department.
“It’s a thought provoking tour that we do,” explained Zannelli. “We recently signed on to that to supply our new recruits a different perspective. This is why we have to take our time when people see us on scene. If I’m calm, but my African American brothers are not, it’s because the history is different for them. We’re trying to be progressive with how we teach our people.”
The Police Executive Research Forum, PERF, is a nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington D.C. that researches and reports on police policies and crimes.
Complaint filed to stop construction at Atlanta Public Safety Training Center amid permit appeal
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Groups who oppose the construction of Atlanta's future public safety training facility are asking the courts to block construction at the site until the appeal against its land disturbance permit is sorted out.
In a Fulton County Superior Court filing, three plaintiffs, including Amy Taylor, a community representative on the project's Community Stakeholder Advisory Committee, are asking for emergency injunctive relief. Taylor also filed the appeal with DeKalb County's Zoning Board of Appeals, arguing that the permit should have never been issued. Edward "Ted" Terry is also listed as a plaintiff, he currently serves as DeKalb County Commissioner for District 6.
In Monday's complaint, individuals said that despite an appeal against its permit, the Atlanta Police Foundation -- who is the main funder of the project -- is still clearing land at the planned site of the future training facility. The site has been the epicenter of a more than yearlong protest movement that refers to the area as "Cop City."
Those who oppose the facility said the appeal should mean that the foundation must stop all construction or clearing of the site until the zoning board reaches a decision -- but the foundation has continued business as usual.
The foundation said county zoning requirements don't apply to them, according to the filing.
"Atlanta Police Foundation, Inc. claimed the site 'is exempt from county zoning requirements altogether' because it is 'being developed for a public facility,'" records read. "Amy Taylor's appeal stayed the land-disturbing activity but Atlanta Police Foundation, Inc. has refused to stop clearing and DeKalb County has not issued a stop work order."
Though government facilities are typically permitted to move forward with plans, according to the complaint, as the site is in unincorporated DeKalb County it must follow local zoning ordinances. This is why the group of plaintiffs is now asking for a restraining order to stop all land disturbances at the DeKalb County site.
Interest in the site sparked an environmental movement to "Defend the Atlanta Forest," with protesters living in tree encampments in the South River Forest adding that building the public safety complex will help destroy the region's largest urban forest. The filing further outlines how the construction could be environmentally harmful due to the sediment discharges caused by clearing and excavating -- citing it could impact waste flowing into Intrenchment Creek and violate state law.
"The Atlanta Police Foundation, Inc. also failed to comply with procedural requirements for obtaining coverage under the general permit," the 17-page complaint alleges.
Ultimately, the group is asking for the court to immediately prevent all land disturbances pending DeKalb's zoning board of appeals' decision on the appeal. A judge will supply the Atlanta Police Foundation the opportunity to show why the request for a temporary restraining order should not be granted during a hearing on Thursday at 2:30 p.m.
It was unclear if any further work at the site could continue before a decision was made -- the plaintiffs said this injunction would clear it up.
There is no timeline for when the zoning board will announce its decision on the appeal.
11Alive has reached out to the Atlanta Police Foundation for comment on the complaint but has yet to hear back.
The full complaint can be read below. The history of the embattled site follows.
Contention around 'Cop City'
Political interest in the project and the protest movement against the complex, which has involved semi-permanent tree encampments in the South River Forest where it is to be built, have mushroomed since a clearing operation last month resulted in an injured Georgia State Patrol trooper and an activist shot and killed.
The GBI has said the activist, Manuel Esteban Paez Teran who was also known as Tortuguita, shot the trooper and was killed in return fire. That official version of events has been disputed by the protest movement and Paez Teran's family. In particular, the lack of bodycam video - which GSP troopers do not wear - has become a point of contention in fleshing out what exactly happened during the shootout.
The GBI has said a ballistic analysis shows a projectile recovered from the trooper's wound matches a gun tied to Paez Teran through purchase records. Tortuguita's family has said the activist was a pacifist whom they don't believe would have shot anyone. They added a private autopsy revealed Paez Teran was shot at least 13 times claiming law enforcement displayed excessive use of force.
The opposition movement reached a peak with demonstrations through downtown Atlanta that left a police vehicle burned out and several buildings damaged, one of them targeted for housing the Atlanta Police Foundation.
Six people were arrested after those demonstrations. So far, at least 14 people have been arrested in the forest and are accused of domestic terrorism.
The foundation would build a roughly 85-acre complex on the Old Prison Farm site in south DeKalb County under a land lease agreement with the City of Atlanta. People have questioned is the city could back out of the lease.
As for the protesters, they have opposed the facility on environmental and historical grounds, saying it would decimate one of the largest preserved forest areas in the city and desecrate historically Native American land of the Muscogee Creek people, who once lived in the woods and called it the Weelaunee Forest before being displaced by white settlers in the early 19th century.
They also oppose it on the grounds that the land was once the site of the Old Prison Farm, a jail complex that was billed during its operation in the mid-20th Century as an "Honor Farm" where prisoners farmed the land as a "dignified means of imprisonment," a practice which has since been scrutinized for its profit generation and exploitation of unpaid labor.
The law enforcement community has argued the training facility would be a crucial component in stabilizing the police force, aiding in recruitment and retention after low morale and departures following the racial and criminal justice protests of 2020.
They also said it would Boost training and community ties, framing it as an answer to police reform demands stemming from the 2020 protests to eliminate contentious policing practices and reduce tensions.
COEUR d’ALENE — Multiple North Idaho College trustees have issued pleas for the public to make comments in support of NIC’s current direction at next week’s board meeting.
Board Chair Greg McKenzie reportedly sent a text message to at least one NIC student asking for comments praising the board and Interim President Greg South, while Trustee Mike Waggoner requested via email that “a large number of conservatives” attend the meeting.
Scheduled for Wednesday, it will be the first meeting since NIC received a show cause sanction from its accreditor, the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. Show cause is the last step before loss of accreditation.
“Time to rally the troops and positive love for public comments,” McKenzie’s text message said. “Don’t say anything negative of liberals, just support the board and the direction and actions of President South.”
McKenzie’s message went out Thursday night, before NIC published the agenda for the next regular trustee meeting. It included when and where the meeting will occur — 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 22, at the Student Union Building — and noted that an executive session is planned for 5 p.m. but “not likely to succeed.”
“Please rally supporters for public comment,” the text message went on. “Would love an overwhelming supply of support for board and ensuring student success and a place for everyone to learn.”
It’s unclear how many people received the message. McKenzie did not respond Friday to requests for comment from The Press.
Damian Maxwell, NIC student body president, condemned the text on Friday.
“It just seems wildly inappropriate to send a message like that as chair,” he said.
Maxwell noted the reference to “liberals.” He pointed to comments Trustee Todd Banducci made to Trustee Tarie Zimmerman during a Dec. 10 special meeting, when a line of people who wished to supply public comment stretched halfway around the room.
“Well, gee, Tarie, if we’d recruited our people, we’d have had 50 people here too, but we kind of gave them Saturday off,” Banducci said.
“I think that’s kind of indicative of who he’s inviting to these meetings,” Maxwell said. “If he’s rallying troops, he’s rallying a very specific type of troops.”
An email sent Saturday with the subject line “CANDLELIGHT LOCAL, STATE & NATIONAL ISSUES” included a call to action from Mike Waggoner, urging conservatives to supply public comment.
“They need to sign up early, be polite and be positive about the school and Interim President Greg South,” Waggoner wrote.
He said it’s “very obvious” that NIC has been “mismanaged” for at least a decade.
“(South) and his team are now making the changes necessary to reverse those declines in enrollment and reductions in the classes offered and of course some staff and faculty are upset with those changes,” Waggoner wrote. “Word on the street is that many of them will be coming to the board meeting to complain and try to intimidate Dr. South.”
The email also circulated on social media, appearing in the public North Idaho Freedom Fighters Facebook group and elsewhere.
The board has limited the public comment period for Wednesday’s meeting to 30 minutes, with two minutes for each speaker.
Board policy states board meetings may include an opportunity for members of the public to address the trustees on any item on the agenda, not just action items. Each person wishing to speak must provide their name and the agenda subject they will address.
The policy grants the board chair the authority to allow public participation in a meeting and the authority to limit public comments.
While the trustees are encouraging people to attend and comment in their support, they will hold the Wednesday meeting in the Lake Coeur d’Alene Room at the Edminister Student Union Building, which can accommodate around 100 people.
Some audience members had to watch the January meeting from an overflow room because there wasn’t enough space for them all. In December, trustees held the board meeting in the Schuler Events Center on campus, which has a significantly greater capacity for public attendance. That meeting drew around 400 people.
On the agenda for next week’s meeting are the following action items:
• Revised Policy 3.02.23.01 Conflict Resolution/Mediation
• Revised Policy 3.02.29 Alternate Work Schedules
• Head Start Self-Assessment
• Head Start Criteria for Selection
• Head Start Non-Federal Share Waiver Request
“Accreditation and show cause update” is listed as an information item.
Kathleen Miller Green, an instructor of child development at NIC for 17 years, questioned why no action items related to NIC’s accreditation are on the agenda. Though she is the Faculty Assembly vice chair, she emphasized that she spoke as an individual faculty member and not as a representative of the group.
“Why would we talk about revising policies in a college that, within the next two months, is facing being told that we’re going to be closed down?” she said Friday.
Absent from the agenda was any reference to a letter issued to trustees this week by the Faculty Assembly executive committee, which calls on trustees to undo all actions taken in December 2022.
The letter outlines four steps the committee believes necessary to remedy the 26 areas where NIC is out of compliance with accreditation standards and requirements: remove Interim President Greg South and his team of interims; remove college attorney Art Macomber; reinstate NIC President Nick Swayne; and supply Swayne full operational authority over NIC.
“We encourage you to consider how else you can meet the standards included in the sanction of show cause letter and what you can each personally do to allow NIC to recover from the damage your actions have caused,” the committee said.
The executive committee indicated that it expected each of the four items to appear on the meeting agenda as an action item.
“Anything short of this shows insufficient response to the gravity of this situation and will be deemed as willfully and intentionally seeking to destroy NIC,” the committee said.
In the past two years, amid ongoing threats to accreditation due to board dysfunction, NIC’s Faculty Assembly has issued five votes of no confidence in trustees, mostly recently this week. The Staff Assembly and Associated Students of NIC have also issued multiple no confidence votes.
Miller Green said the votes aren’t made lightly. Trustees have yet to address them.
“It’s unprecedented,” she said. “We have received literally not one sentence of response. Neither have the students. Neither have the staff.”
She implored the public to stand up for North Idaho College next week.
“You need to show up,” Miller Green said. “You need to be at that meeting. There needs to be so many people standing to make public comment that this meeting goes till midnight. This is it. We don’t get another chance.”
The NWCCU rescheduled two major deadlines this week, giving North Idaho College until March 31, rather than March 13, to submit a report explaining why its accreditation should not be terminated and pushing a site visit back to April 26-27.
NIC announced Friday that Interim President Greg South sent two letters to NWCCU this month, before receiving a show cause sanction. Dated Feb. 2 and Feb. 8, the letters describe recent training trustees received to better fulfill their governance responsibilities. This training included “discussion concerning the trustees’ roles and responsibilities in general and specifically in the accreditation process.”
To read all correspondence between North Idaho College and the NWCCU, as well as other documents related to accreditation, visit nic.edu/accreditation.
The next agenda and meeting materials are posted at nic.edu/board.
Opponents of the project allege crews are still working on the land when they shouldn't be.
ATLANTA — A hearing is set for Thursday in a lawsuit seeking a temporary restraining order against the Atlanta Police Foundation. The restraining order is an attempt to halt construction at the site of Atlanta's future public safety training facility.
Groups opposed to the building of the training facility are asking the courts to block construction until an appeal against its land disturbance permit in DeKalb County is sorted out.
In a Fulton County Superior Court filing, three plaintiffs, including Amy Taylor, a community representative on the project's Community Stakeholder Advisory Committee, are asking for emergency injunctive relief.
Taylor also filed the appeal with DeKalb County's Zoning Board of Appeals, arguing that the permit should have never been issued. Edward "Ted" Terry is also listed as a plaintiff, he currently serves as DeKalb County Commissioner for District 6.
In Monday's complaint, individuals said that despite an appeal against its permit, the Atlanta Police Foundation -- who is the main funder of the project -- is still clearing land at the planned site of the future training facility. The site has been the epicenter of a more than yearlong protest movement that refers to the area as "Cop City."
Those who oppose the facility said the appeal should mean that the foundation must stop all construction or clearing of the site until the zoning board reaches a decision -- but the foundation has continued business as usual.
The foundation said county zoning requirements don't apply to them, according to the filing.
"Atlanta Police Foundation, Inc. claimed the site 'is exempt from county zoning requirements altogether' because it is 'being developed for a public facility,'" records read. "Amy Taylor's appeal stayed the land-disturbing activity but Atlanta Police Foundation, Inc. has refused to stop clearing and DeKalb County has not issued a stop work order."
Though government facilities are typically permitted to move forward with plans, according to the complaint, as the site is in unincorporated DeKalb County it must follow local zoning ordinances. This is why the group of plaintiffs is now asking for a restraining order to stop all land disturbances at the DeKalb County site.
Interest in the site sparked an environmental movement to "Defend the Atlanta Forest," with protesters living in tree encampments in the South River Forest adding that building the public safety complex will help destroy the region's largest urban forest. The filing further outlines how the construction could be environmentally harmful due to the sediment discharges caused by clearing and excavating -- citing it could impact waste flowing into Intrenchment Creek and violate state law.
"The Atlanta Police Foundation, Inc. also failed to comply with procedural requirements for obtaining coverage under the general permit," the 17-page complaint alleges.
Ultimately, the group is asking for the court to immediately prevent all land disturbances pending DeKalb's zoning board of appeals' decision on the appeal. A judge will supply the Atlanta Police Foundation the opportunity to show why the request for a temporary restraining order should not be granted during a hearing on Thursday at 2:30 p.m.
It was unclear if any further work at the site could continue before a decision was made -- the plaintiffs said this injunction would clear it up.
There is no timeline for when the zoning board will announce its decision on the appeal.
11Alive reached out to the Atlanta Police Foundation for comment, bot those requests went unreturned.
Contention around 'Cop City'
Political interest in the project and the protest movement against the complex, which has involved semi-permanent tree encampments in the South River Forest where it is to be built, have mushroomed since a clearing operation in December resulted in an injured Georgia State Patrol trooper and an activist shot and killed.
The GBI has said the activist, Manuel Esteban Paez Teran, who was also known as Tortuguita, shot the trooper and was killed in return fire. That official version of events has been disputed by the protest movement and Paez Teran's family. In particular, the lack of bodycam video - which GSP troopers do not wear - has become a point of contention in fleshing out what exactly happened during the shootout.
Recently released bodycams by Atlanta Police - whose officers were in the forest but not at the scene of the shooting - has provided something of a window into the shootings, while also raising new questions about what happened.
The GBI said a ballistic analysis shows a projectile recovered from the trooper's wound matches a gun tied to Paez Teran through purchase records. Tortuguita's family said the activist was a pacifist whom they don't believe would have shot anyone. They added a private autopsy revealed Paez Teran was shot at least 13 times, claiming law enforcement displayed excessive use of force.
The opposition movement reached a peak with demonstrations through downtown Atlanta that left a police vehicle burned out and several buildings damaged, one of them targeted for housing the Atlanta Police Foundation.
Six people were arrested after those demonstrations. So far, at least 14 people have been arrested in the forest and are accused of domestic terrorism.
The foundation would build a roughly 85-acre complex on the Old Prison Farm site in south DeKalb County under a land lease agreement with the City of Atlanta. People have questioned is the city could back out of the lease.
As for the protesters, they have opposed the facility on environmental and historical grounds, saying it would decimate one of the largest preserved forest areas in the city and desecrate historically Native American land of the Muscogee Creek people, who once lived in the woods and called it the Weelaunee Forest before being displaced by white settlers in the early 19th century.
They also oppose it on the grounds that the land was once the site of the Old Prison Farm, a jail complex that was billed during its operation in the mid-20th Century as an "Honor Farm" where prisoners farmed the land as a "dignified means of imprisonment," a practice which has since been scrutinized for its profit generation and exploitation of unpaid labor.
The law enforcement community has argued the training facility would be a crucial component in stabilizing the police force, aiding in recruitment and retention after low morale and departures following the racial and criminal justice protests of 2020.
They also said it would Boost training and community ties, framing it as an answer to police reform demands stemming from the 2020 protests to eliminate contentious policing practices and reduce tensions.
Feb. 14—OTTUMWA — Officials with the Ottumwa Community School District made an eight-point presentation that tackles equity issues and creates an "all-in" process that breaks down racial and ethnic barriers between students, families and staff members.
Director of curriculum and learning Maria Lantz, Evans Middle School principal David Harper, OCSD assistant superintendent Brad McCloskey and district special education coordinator Mike Stiemsma discussed with the board the aspects of creating a welcoming environment in all the district's buildings.
The district has moved equity to the forefront after the U.S. Department of Education's civil rights office cited it for neglecting the bullying of a middle school student for two years. Gerald Baugh, a resident in the district who wrote an editorial in The Courier, continues to be concerned about harassment in the schools going forward.
"My concern is what's been done to curb that harassment and what's being done to eliminate the hostile environment," he said. "This problem, you know, is like a leaky roof. It's not going to go away unless you address it. I'd like to see more being done."
The district hopes the equity plan is part of the solution.
"Equity work is really vast, and it's not just one thing. It's really centered around rigorous and challenging learning for every single kid, ensuring every single kid feels safe and has a sense of connectedness and belonging," Lantz said. "We know that we are a very divers community in every way, and we strive to engage, educate and empower all of our students every single day."
The comprehensive "Equity Pathway" plan falls under eight parts:
Youth leadership. This facet puts in place a student leadership at Evans, and a student action committee at OHS. Various student clubs and activities are also important to increase opportunities for students.
Community partnerships. Part of this was developing an Equity Review Committee, which Stiemsma is a part of. The principle creates work-based learning experiences, and a scholarship program through Indian Hills Community College for minorities.
Access to core instruction. The principle allows for expanded training for staff in dyslexia-friendly practices, translation earbuds to provide a native language with grade-level instruction, an increased English Language team and partnerships with the Ottumwa Public Library and John Deere Works for EL and migrants summer programming.
High-quality curriculum and expanded learning opportunities. This principle creates apprenticeships, internships and work-based opportunities for all students, and provides "rigorous, highly-vetted curriculum."
Safe, supportive learning environments. In this area, the district's leadership team's work is centered on motivating and inspiring every staff member and student, and making safety and security a priority in every building.
Professional learning. This principle discusses the district's instructional framework and bases it on the experience of students, and talks about the district's outreach efforts with firms to provide feedback to the district as well as professional development that can be passed on to students and the diversity that exists.
Health and well-being. This principle offers free breakfast and lunch for every student, in-service days for teachers and district-wide celebrations of achievements.
Family engagement. This area works with the Marshallese community, having a yearly parent-advisory committee, having bilingual associates to facilitate parent communication, especially in Spanish, Marshallese and Chuukese languages. The area also creates an Evans Equity Parent Committee.
"These pieces don't live in silos. It has to work inner-connectedly," McCloskey said. "In any school system, we forget really the essence of our existence when we talk about building projects and the intangibles that go along with the learning environment.
"We exist to educate human beings."
McCloskey added later in the presentation that "we're making sure our staff and teachers have the very best tools and curriculum at their disposal at all times, and we're always looking at updated and vetting the curriculum that we're using in the classroom."
The district has been at its equity plan since September, but this month to the end of the school year are critical. Lantz said an equity audit will be conducted in each building according to its school improvement plan.
More importantly, the coming months will ask for parental involvement.
"If a family doesn't feel heard at the building level, or they didn't feel like their family needs were met, then they would work with me, and I would be kind of a liaison for the family with the building," Lantz said.
Stiemsma said, "our diversity advocate team actually spearheads a lot of work."
"We get people lined up and we do everything we can get to get human interpreters," he said. "We've also had conversations with JBS about maybe some creative ways we could do things like parent-teacher conferences, so if we can make it more convenient for parents and increase our attendance for those kinds of things."
Lantz said community involvement will be key to seeing the plan come to fruition.
"We want to bring the community into the schools with interpreters for conferences, but we also have a responsibility to be present and engaged in our community in a variety of ways."
Lantz encouraged anyone wanting to be a part of the equity committee to contact her directly.
— Chad Drury can be reached at cdrury@ottumwacourier.com, and on Twitter @ChadDrury
© Douglas Hook/Hartford Courant/TNS A flight simulator at the learn 2 fly Connecticut pilot training school at Hartford-Brainard Airport.
A controversial, $1.5 million state-funded study of Hartford-Brainard Airport that will outline alternatives for the 200-acre airfield in Hartford’s South Meadows — including closing it down and redeveloping it — is launching Thursday with the first of five community meetings.
A draft report from a team of urban planning consultants led by BFJ Planning of New York is expected by the end of August, with a final report due Oct. 15. State legislators would then use the report in the 2024 session of the General Assembly to decide whether the state-owned airport should remain open or be closed. If closure is chosen, the report would point to a preferred redevelopment alternative.
© Mark Mirko/Hartford Courant/TNS With The Hartford skyline visible in the background, a secured plane rests on the tarmac at Hartford-Brainard airport. A state-financed study getting underway will develop options for the airport both redeveloping and keeping it open.
The Federal Aviation Administration would then have to approve closing the century-old Brainard.
“This is a fresh start,” Thomas Madden, associate principal at BFJ and Stamford’s former economic development director, said. “We’re taking a very open approach to all of this. There is no agenda on anyone’s part here because we’re just going to be presenting the facts back to the state legislature.”
© Douglas Hook/Hartford Courant/TNS A single-engine aircraft takes flight at Hartford-Brainard Airport last summer.
Last year, state lawmakers approved the funding for the study. But Brainard’s future has been debated for decades, stretching back to the 1950s when a large portion of the airport was taken to develop the city’s South Meadows area.
The latest push to close and redevelop — led by Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin and state Sen. John Fonfara, D-Hartford, and supported by the city council — is built on the argument that redevelopment would foster economic development that would add to Hartford’s tax base, sorely needed by the city.
The city recently completed a study of the airport that shaped options — and the pros and cons of each — for distribution, residential and advanced manufacturing along with the airfield remaining in existence. The study did not dig deeply into costs as BFJ will do, particularly tackling the thorny issue of cleaning up contamination that likely exists under Brainard.
The recent push to redevelop spawned the formation of an aggressive opposition group, the Hartford Brainard Airport Association, led by Hartford pulmonologist Michael Teiger.
The association, whose members include local pilots, Brainard tenants and others, have pushed back against the airport being cast as a “playground for rich folks” with single- and twin-engine planes. The association also argues that Brainard is crucial for its pilot training schools and should be invested in as an asset to promote economic development in the region.
The association also believes the findings will be no different than a legislative study conducted in 2016 that recommended Brainard stay open. That study never came to a vote, dismissed by those who support redevelopment, including Fonfara.
The future of Brainard is expected to become a key issue in this year’s mayoral election in Hartford. Fonfara is among the field of announced candidates that, so far, are seeking to succeed Bronin. Bronin is not seeking a third term.
In addition to environmental concerns, BFJ will examine economic and regulatory issues that could affect both the airport staying open or closing.
BFJ and its team of consultants also will analyze the subject of environmental justice and “you look at what can go on there,” Madden said. “You don’t want to be marginalizing any social or economic groups with any development.”
A 2006 study by the Metropolitan District Commission, the regional water and sewer authority, called for nearly 7 million square feet of commercial and manufacturing space, stores, apartments, a marina, a rebuilt trash-to-energy plant, an expansion of a nearby wastewater treatment plant and river park. In July, the MDC board of directors passed a resolution that it does does not take a position for or against the closure of the airport.
BFJ will review the findings of previous studies of Brainard and its viability, Madden said.
Madden said Thursday’s meeting at the Metzner Early Learning Center at 680 Franklin Ave. in Hartford will outline the goals of the study for the community and how it is expected to unfold in the coming months. The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m.
A website that will track the progress of the consultants and provide answers to questions posed by the public has been established at https://hartfordbrainardairportstudy2023.com.
Walk-ins to the meeting, which begins at 6:30 p.m., are welcome, but those attending are asked to register in advance at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hartford-brainard-airport-redevelopment-study-tickets-532226262077 to ensure there is enough seating and hand-outs.
Contact Kenneth R. Gosselin at kgosselin@courant.com.
©2023 Hartford Courant. Visit courant.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
