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Mayor George stated her belief that Lakewood's Police Department should be a model for other departments, based on its use of technology and participation in the Ohio Collaborative. She noted that officers will continue to be trained in crisis intervention. Acting Police Chief Wilkins introduced her team and asked Captain Sprague to give an overview of munitions used to address Councilmember Kepple's expressed concerns regarding tear gas and beanbag munitions. Captain Sprague stated that the Lakewood Police Department does not use tear gas for crowd control. If needed, police would deploy an OC Vapor, which is the least intrusive method of dispersion. Stepping into clean air would eliminate the effects of the agent and no decontamination is necessary. He reviewed tactics for dispersion, which would include a command to disperse and use of non-toxic smoke. Councilmember Kepple asked if this was the policy of just Lakewood Police or whether it would include the Westshore Enforcement Bureau. Captain Sprague indicated that it would include the Westshore Bureau as well. It was noted that no one in the Westshore Bureau uses beanbag munitions. The only non-lethal projectile used by Lakewood Police is a pepper ball, which is a powdered form of pepper spray. Cleveland Police would have to comply with Lakewood's policy if they were to enter the city. There is an MOU set up between the two cities. Councilmember Rader asked how Lakewood fits in as a member of the Westshore Enforcement Bureau and how the organization is set up. Captain Sprague specified how chain of command works with Westshore operations. Department policy within the 6 different cities belonging to the Westshore Enforcement Bureau is very consistent. Chairperson Neff inquired as to when the department's anti-bias and diversity training would begin. Lieutenant Warner stated the next anti-bias de-escalation training will not be the first and that the department has had over 10,000 hours of human relations training over the last 5 years. The timeline on the new training is unclear. COVID-19 has relegated all training to online modules. Lt. Warner also provided information on crisis intervention training (CIT) and how the department works off of the Memphis model, which pushes for 25%-30% of officers in a department to be CIT trained. Lakewood currently has 27% of its officers CIT trained. Cleveland tried to train all of its officers and it did not work out well for them. Having all officers trained does not allow officers to build good report with people or mental health agencies. The department handles about 200 CIT calls a year. Councilmember Kepple highlighted the importance of the 8 Can't Wait Strategies. Chief Malley noted the importance of de-escalation training and averting the use of force in crisis incidents. He noted that a CIT is on duty every shift. He cited department statistics that showed the very low arrest/use of force rates on crisis calls. Mr. John Hill— 1075 Lakeland Ave. —While giving credit to Lakewood Police's efforts, Mr. Hill stated his belief that many people nationwide see the police as a monolith and proposed more community outreach by the department to showcase how it differs from others. He requested more transparency on department policies,procedures, and trainings.