[0:21] What is that?
[0:26] What's that?
[0:27] » Yeah.
[0:27] » Okay.
[0:28] » Uh
[0:29] » 59
[0:31] » Welcome everyone. Um
[0:33] Uh
[0:35] I guess we'll start with our call to
[0:36] order and uh and attendance and roll
[0:38] call. Uh my name is Dan, Dan Zackem.
[0:43] » Oh, Dan DeSimone.
[0:46] » Present.
[0:47] » Chris White
[0:48] » Mary Good
[0:49] » Andrew Glassman
[0:50] » Kim Lacey
[0:52] » Uh good afternoon everyone.
[0:54] Um not aware of any announcements or
[0:57] other news other than
[0:59] uh our agenda items, but if anyone has
[1:01] anything they'd like to raise at the
[1:02] outset, feel free. Any announcements of
[1:04] any kind?
[1:06] No?
[1:07] Um
[1:08] if we could move on to just approval of
[1:10] our agenda, I'll make a motion that the
[1:11] agenda be approved.
[1:13] » Second.
[1:15] » All in favor?
[1:17] » I
[1:17] » I
[1:17] » I
[1:18] » The agenda is approved.
[1:20] Uh we have two sets of minutes
[1:22] um
[1:23] both from our, I believe, April 26th
[1:25] normal meeting and then our training
[1:27] session uh
[1:29] now at the ferry terminal.
[1:31] Uh with regard to each, uh I'll make a
[1:34] motion that the minutes for each uh be
[1:36] approved.
[1:40] » Motion to approve minutes.
[1:42] » Yes.
[1:43] » Okay.
[1:44] » I second.
[1:45] » All in favor?
[1:46] » I
[1:46] » I
[1:47] » They are um
[1:49] our minutes are approved.
[1:51] Um
[1:52] before we get into business, I just
[1:53] wanted
[1:54] to
[1:55] put a couple things on the record, if
[1:56] me. First, I want to thank
[1:58] uh
[1:59] my fellow committee members for taking
[2:01] time and fighting the traffic
[2:04] uh to come on down for this for this
[2:06] special meeting and take time out of
[2:07] your schedule. And also a special thanks
[2:09] to
[2:10] uh our law enforcement members for This
[2:13] is a busy time of year for you folks and
[2:15] and we understand that your time is
[2:16] valuable. So, thank you so much and
[2:18] especially a special thanks to Chief
[2:20] Banks and
[2:22] uh Lieutenant Sweet and and all of your
[2:24] staff for getting us the
[2:27] uh the room and the logistics set up and
[2:28] everything on pretty short notice. So,
[2:30] we appreciate that.
[2:31] I would also be remiss at the outset if
[2:33] I didn't
[2:34] uh mention that Reverend Eddie uh wanted
[2:37] very much
[2:38] uh to be here today.
[2:40] Uh but, he had an unavoidable conflict
[2:42] that took him to an out of out of town
[2:43] meeting in Seaford. Um so, he won't be
[2:46] with us today. Um
[2:48] I just want to mention at the outset
[2:50] that uh our primary purpose, at least uh
[2:54] in this one person's view today,
[2:56] uh is just to briefly assemble uh for a
[2:59] short period of time uh to acknowledge
[3:02] uh the May 19th takeover event in
[3:05] Rehoboth and the fact that this
[3:07] committee uh understands
[3:10] uh that it is an event that the
[3:13] community has a sincere interest in and
[3:16] that there are uh individuals as well as
[3:19] organizations
[3:21] uh that are interested in that event and
[3:24] law enforcement's response.
[3:26] Um it has been gratifying uh to the
[3:29] chair at least, and I'll share with my
[3:31] uh fellow members if they're not aware,
[3:34] um that there's already been a number of
[3:36] face-to-face communications between
[3:39] individuals and various groups and
[3:41] citizens within uh the greater Rehoboth
[3:43] community with with law enforcement and
[3:46] specifically with the Rehoboth Police
[3:48] Department and and Chief Banks and with
[3:53] an already open
[3:55] and direct avenue of communication
[3:57] already existing between the community
[3:59] and the law and law enforcement,
[4:02] um,
[4:03] it may which is of course a great thing
[4:05] and a good thing and one of the reasons
[4:07] that we all love the community that
[4:09] we're in, um,
[4:11] it may be unnecessary for this committee
[4:14] to act as a proactive conduit for a
[4:17] productive dialogue. And that's a good
[4:18] thing.
[4:19] Um, nevertheless, we wanted to say to
[4:23] the community that we're here, we
[4:26] understand that we may have a role with
[4:30] regard to acting as a conduit for the
[4:34] community to reach out to law
[4:36] enforcement with any questions or
[4:37] concerns that they may have with regard
[4:40] to this particular event or any other
[4:42] issue
[4:43] that involves law enforcement in any of
[4:46] our respective communities, whether it's
[4:49] with Delaware River Bay Authority
[4:51] police or the town of Lewis or here in
[4:54] Rehoboth. Um, and we understand that we
[4:56] do have a role in fostering a productive
[5:00] dialogue between the community and law
[5:02] enforcement. And, if appropriate, to
[5:06] offer helpful suggestions
[5:08] should
[5:09] such events arise again in the future.
[5:13] Um,
[5:14] so having said that, um,
[5:17] I would like to suggest and open
[5:20] the floor to discussion with my fellow
[5:21] committee members that we dedicate our
[5:24] third quarter meeting,
[5:26] specifically during the month of
[5:27] September,
[5:28] to a substantive discussion of the May
[5:31] takeover event and law enforcement's
[5:33] response.
[5:35] I'll start off by respectfully
[5:36] suggesting,
[5:38] mid to late September for two important
[5:42] reasons.
[5:44] First, it may be
[5:46] that persons who
[5:49] were arrested would like to come and
[5:52] speak to the committee and and provide
[5:54] their views
[5:56] on on the event. Um if we give the
[6:00] criminal
[6:01] justice process more time to work itself
[6:04] out, it may be that uh potential Fifth
[6:08] Amendment issues
[6:10] um which might be an impediment to
[6:13] someone coming and feeling free to speak
[6:15] to us. It may be that those issues could
[6:16] be resolved.
[6:18] So if someone, for example, was arrested
[6:20] and has a pending criminal case, uh it
[6:23] may be that they would choose not to
[6:27] to speak to us and make any public
[6:28] statements and that because that could
[6:31] potentially redound to their detriment.
[6:33] Um so if we give
[6:35] and the process, the criminal justice
[6:36] process, more time to work out, um
[6:39] perhaps we could remove that as an
[6:41] impediment to folks being willing to
[6:43] come speak to us.
[6:45] Um secondly, I I
[6:47] and again, in this one person's view, I
[6:49] believe it would be appropriate to take
[6:52] a little bit more time uh before having
[6:55] a substantive dialogue about the event
[6:58] to allow um Mr. Walton, Mr. Max Walton,
[7:01] who is retained uh by the city to
[7:04] conduct their conduct an independent
[7:07] investigation of the event, to allow him
[7:09] time to and his staff to complete their
[7:12] investigation and to make their findings
[7:14] public.
[7:15] So on the one hand, we are more well
[7:19] informed and better informed, um which
[7:23] at a minimum would make the process, I
[7:25] think, a little bit more efficient, and
[7:27] it just may also be the prudent thing to
[7:29] do, um to wait till we have more facts
[7:33] at our disposal to inform any inquiries
[7:35] that we might have and questions that we
[7:38] would like to pose perhaps uh to law
[7:40] enforcement with regard to their
[7:41] response.
[7:43] Um,
[7:44] so, with those preliminary remarks out
[7:46] of the way, uh, I would open the floor
[7:47] at this point to my fellow committee
[7:48] members for any views they might have
[7:51] uh, and may wish to express with regard
[7:53] to the subject of when should we
[7:55] schedule,
[7:57] uh, our next meeting generally
[8:00] uh, and whether or not at that time we
[8:02] should be discussing or devote time to
[8:05] discussing the May 19th event.
[8:07] And then of course there are other
[8:08] issues that were raised uh, in the past.
[8:11] I know both Chris and Mary and Kim have
[8:14] raised uh, other issues that they'd like
[8:16] to see placed on future agendas and
[8:18] perhaps we could address those as well
[8:19] and take care of all of that
[8:20] administrative business here today.
[8:22] Uh, so with that I will conclude my
[8:25] remarks and open up the floor to my
[8:27] fellow members for any remarks that they
[8:29] care to make.
[8:33] » Ladies first. Uh, I know my man
[8:36] » Um, I I agree with everything you said
[8:39] Dan and um,
[8:42] would like us to have our next meeting
[8:45] hopefully after the independent
[8:47] investigation is complete so that we can
[8:50] have
[8:52] a report
[8:53] a good discussion.
[9:00] » Mr. Chairman, I concur as well.
[9:03] I do think that it's a
[9:05] I do think Mr. Chairman, I do concur as
[9:08] well. I do think that this committee
[9:10] serves multiple purposes and uh, I do
[9:14] not see members of the public. So,
[9:17] you're with the newspaper?
[9:19] Yes. Recognizable.
[9:22] But but the general and you represent
[9:25] the public, absolutely do. But this
[9:27] committee also serves as an opportunity
[9:30] for I've seen people write into the Cape
[9:33] Gazette expressing their opinions etc.
[9:37] But this committee also serves a purpose
[9:40] by allowing a forum to have those same
[9:43] type of citizens come and address their
[9:45] concerns or state their
[9:48] positions or questions, and so on and so
[9:51] forth. So, I think that that's a good
[9:53] idea and that we do allow these other
[9:58] processes
[10:00] to go forward as well.
[10:05] » I agree with both of what Kim and Dan
[10:07] said. Um my only question was I thought
[10:09] that all the charges had been dismissed.
[10:13] » Well, it's interesting because
[10:15] that's
[10:18] our lack of knowledge,
[10:20] right? Because
[10:22] » I I only know this from the press
[10:24] reports.
[10:25] » I mean, that's that's part of it's part
[10:27] of the problem is we don't know.
[10:30] I I believe
[10:33] that
[10:34] the four felony charges
[10:37] were dismissed. And And while I don't
[10:39] want to be to nerd out on the law too
[10:41] much, um
[10:44] but one of the questions that I would
[10:46] have before we have any substantive
[10:47] discussions, assuming for the sake of
[10:49] argument that any of these four young
[10:51] men would like to speak to us,
[10:53] um and we're open to it. And And I'm
[10:55] sure we're all in agreement that if if
[10:57] someone
[10:58] uh would like to speak to us, that we're
[10:59] here to listen. That's what we want to
[11:01] do, and that's what we should do.
[11:03] But, I don't know, for example, whether
[11:05] the charges were dismissed with
[11:07] prejudice or without prejudice. And
[11:09] again, not to nerd out too much, if the
[11:11] charges were dismissed without
[11:12] prejudice, in theory they can be
[11:14] rebrought by the state at any time. And
[11:18] those young men would have an extant
[11:21] Fifth Amendment privilege. Obviously,
[11:23] they
[11:24] They They can make their personal
[11:25] choices in consultation with their
[11:26] counsel, obviously.
[11:28] But, I wouldn't want to see our
[11:30] committee be a venue for young people
[11:34] saying things that could come back to
[11:36] hurt them later or be used against them.
[11:38] Um, so it's a good it's a good point.
[11:42] There are also other folks, if my
[11:44] understanding is correct again just from
[11:45] press reports,
[11:47] that there were other arrests for
[11:49] uh underage drinking, uh perhaps there
[11:53] was a fight or some I don't know, but
[11:54] there were other there were charges
[11:56] other than
[11:57] or in addition to the four prominent
[12:00] felony charges. Um, so with regard to
[12:03] any of those folks,
[12:05] on the one hand, would we love to hear
[12:07] their perspective if they wanted to
[12:08] share it? Of course. Would we want them
[12:10] to risk harming themselves in the
[12:13] process?
[12:14] I think not.
[12:16] So, if we give more of this time to work
[12:18] out and we can learn more, then we can
[12:20] be more informed uh about how we proceed
[12:24] in our questioning of anyone who appears
[12:26] before us. But that's it's a great
[12:28] question, Andrew, and it's something
[12:29] that we need to learn.
[12:35] Any Anything else on that particular
[12:36] topic?
[12:38] Um [clears throat]
[12:39] Chief?
[12:41] » I think uh
[12:44] Speaking of talking about dates, we're
[12:46] looking at September, if I heard you
[12:48] correctly, maybe the latter. Um
[12:51] keeping in mind Tuesdays I think worked
[12:53] the best for everybody. So far we've
[12:55] been doing it consistently.
[12:57] Um the 2nd and 3rd we usually have state
[13:00] meetings. Can I only say that if that's
[13:02] the case, that would say the 22nd or the
[13:05] 29th
[13:07] um day. And then I would look over at
[13:09] Marco and see if any of those dates are
[13:11] available here or if um Tom knows if if
[13:15] the room's available in Lewis.
[13:19] » We're on one of the fine DRBA vessels as
[13:21] well. That's always a possibility.
[13:23] [laughter]
[13:23] » That's correct, too.
[13:25] » There you go.
[13:26] » But you got those dates works for
[13:27] everyone.
[13:31] » Okay.
[13:32] » So, I heard both days are are really
[13:35] available in here for 10:00. That's the
[13:37] 22nd and 29th. That's
[13:40] last two
[13:42] Tuesdays of the month of September.
[13:45] If anybody has a preference.
[13:46] » Any preferences among my colleagues?
[13:50] I I'd suggest that we
[13:52] go with the 29th just to make sure that
[13:54] we've given it time.
[13:56] » Great suggestion. It's a good point.
[13:58] » Think holding it here, given the
[14:00] majority of the topic will be about
[14:02] [clears throat] the takeover.
[14:04] It might lend itself to more community
[14:06] members.
[14:07] » Also a good point.
[14:08] » Coming and commenting.
[14:10] » So, Tuesday, September 29th, 10:00 a.m.
[14:14] here.
[14:16] » Correct. And I'll work with you, Mr.
[14:18] Chairman, to get the agenda put together
[14:20] and make sure that the city of Rehoboth
[14:22] Beach gets that posted and put out to
[14:24] everyone as it gets closer.
[14:26] » Great. Now, I
[14:28] So, just so we play by the rules, I
[14:30] suppose make a formal motion that we
[14:32] hold our next
[14:33] quarterly meeting on Tuesday, September
[14:35] 29th at 10:00 a.m. here in Rehoboth.
[14:38] Second it. Second. Favor say I.
[14:41] » I.
[14:41] » Okay.
[14:43] Um
[14:46] Should we
[14:47] um
[14:48] My notes reflect that
[14:51] there were other issues. Should we also
[14:53] include on the agenda Chris, for
[14:55] example, last time we were here
[14:57] uh raised the issue of fraud and senior
[15:01] citizen victims.
[15:02] Kim had raised uh wanting to have some
[15:04] discussion about mental health crisis
[15:06] responses and gang activity.
[15:09] Um
[15:10] Mary
[15:11] » I have two two topics.
[15:12] » Had had two different topics.
[15:13] » Yes.
[15:14] » I I On the one hand, um I'll I'll
[15:18] take judgment from you folks. On one
[15:20] hand, I don't want to overload it if got
[15:22] one big topic we want to deal with, but
[15:24] also
[15:26] how do you think
[15:27] we should handle that with regard to our
[15:29] other issues?
[15:31] » I mean, it seems to me we need to see
[15:33] how this plays out in terms of the
[15:35] timing with the report from the
[15:38] independent counsel completing that and
[15:42] being ready for that timing. So, one
[15:44] thought would be we could list out the
[15:47] top the other topics, prioritize them.
[15:51] If the takeover topic can be discussed,
[15:54] then we put that first cuz I think it is
[15:56] on people's minds and and then based on
[16:00] the list of priorities, we can time out
[16:02] what else we have room for or what may
[16:04] be more urgent. And then the the other
[16:06] topics
[16:07] still important, we could push to the
[16:09] next meeting potentially.
[16:10] » Fair enough. We get We get to what we
[16:12] can get to. We start with the takeover
[16:14] incident. However much time that takes,
[16:17] get to as much else as we can. If not,
[16:20] we push it to our
[16:22] our next regularly scheduled meeting.
[16:24] Does that make sense?
[16:25] » Yeah, and as far as my topic is with uh
[16:29] fraud with the seniors, um
[16:32] I am working with the University of
[16:33] Delaware Osher Lifelong Learning
[16:36] Institute, and then we have a class that
[16:38] is scheduled in September and October.
[16:41] It's five sessions from 2:30 to 3:45 in
[16:45] Lewis.
[16:46] Um so, Lieutenant Locklear and then Dan
[16:49] have um graciously um agreed to
[16:52] volunteer to present at um two of those.
[16:55] I'm going to be a presenter as well as
[16:57] the um Better Business Bureau of
[16:59] Delaware and then possibly AARP. So, I
[17:02] don't think it's a topic we necessarily
[17:04] need to discuss here. I was just
[17:05] bringing it up something I was um
[17:07] working on.
[17:08] » That Well, that's that sounds great.
[17:10] Talk about that. An issue that needs to
[17:12] be addressed, so thanks for doing that,
[17:13] Chris. Get that organized.
[17:15] » Should I
[17:16] just briefly mention two topics so
[17:19] everyone's aware?
[17:20] So, um
[17:22] the first one came from a citizen who
[17:25] was concerned about um
[17:28] jurisdictions publishing via the
[17:30] newspaper and social media mugshots of
[17:34] arrestees, in particular juveniles, and
[17:37] I I don't have any specifics as to
[17:39] whether that's
[17:41] uh a common practice or whether that's
[17:43] not done, but I think it would be useful
[17:46] for us to hear about the approach the
[17:49] different jurisdictions take towards
[17:52] that, the policies and procedures that
[17:54] govern it, and what happens after that
[17:58] case is adjudicated, in particular if
[18:00] the person is not found guilty, that
[18:04] material is still out in the public
[18:06] domain. So, that's um my first question,
[18:09] and it did come from a citizen of
[18:11] Rehoboth Beach.
[18:13] The second one came from uh my
[18:15] ride-along that I did with Lieutenant
[18:17] Lamore, which was extremely informative.
[18:20] Uh we spent 6 hours together, um
[18:24] and I learned through that visit and
[18:27] tour
[18:28] uh about a little bit more about the use
[18:31] of tasers, and I know you participated
[18:33] with the the training on tasers, which I
[18:35] was unable to do.
[18:37] Um I also learned that I believe the
[18:39] city of Rehoboth and the city of Lewis
[18:42] do use tasers as part of their protocol,
[18:45] but um the Delaware um
[18:48] uh River and Bay Authority does not have
[18:51] tasers for some jurisdictional reasons,
[18:54] and so,
[18:55] uh you know, when we were talking about
[18:57] this with respect to, you might have 800
[19:00] people on the ferry, and the choice is
[19:03] you're either physically trying to
[19:06] handle a situation, potentially
[19:09] you know, injuring yourself or a um a
[19:12] victim or a witness or a perpetrator
[19:16] or you have the use of a firearm
[19:19] it does seem like you know some
[19:21] questions about whether or not tasers
[19:24] should be more broadly used. So my my
[19:27] reasoning in bringing this up is just to
[19:29] help educate our committee about how the
[19:33] use of tasers works and maybe the pros
[19:36] and cons of of that in terms of an
[19:39] alternative to the use of deadly force.
[19:44] » That's a great issue. Mayor and I spoke
[19:46] offline about that briefly and it is
[19:48] something that's worthy of of discussion
[19:50] and and something that we
[19:53] would benefit from educating ourselves
[19:55] on that. So
[19:56] if we get to it
[19:58] that's something that we can we can talk
[20:01] about.
[20:01] » Yes Mr. Chairman I would add since that
[20:05] topic comes up has come up
[20:07] depend on our time frame and so when we
[20:10] get to that maybe we can have a bigger
[20:13] topic just on use of force in general to
[20:15] how we sit there and
[20:18] what tools are on our tool belt per se
[20:20] and what we use for different
[20:22] jurisdictions and
[20:23] and reasons behind it. Most our
[20:25] departments have people use of force I
[20:28] want to say I'll call them specialists
[20:29] there's you know they teach firearms
[20:31] training or they teach taser training or
[20:33] baton or or hands on handcuffing things
[20:36] like that so we can think 21 our
[20:39] departments we have some specialties
[20:41] that we can talk about that more detail
[20:44] or whatever. I think that's always
[20:46] important and I think it's certainly
[20:47] something this committee should be
[20:49] talking about that's what the public's
[20:51] interested in use of force and as we
[20:53] move forward so I think it's certainly
[20:55] appropriate and think um
[20:57] that may almost be a day in it by itself
[21:00] if we had different people talking about
[21:02] use of force in their
[21:04] the different tools that we have.
[21:06] » Well, thanks, Chief.
[21:08] Um
[21:10] So, I just to
[21:12] uh to conclude on on that topic, um
[21:14] again, I I just wanted to reiterate I
[21:15] was I was gratified to hear, and I'm
[21:17] sure my fellow committee members are
[21:19] gratified to hear that there has been
[21:21] uh
[21:22] an open line of communication
[21:24] uh between law enforcement and members
[21:26] of the community and different groups
[21:28] within the greater Rehoboth community.
[21:31] Um but if we can add to that, if we can
[21:33] help play a role uh in facilitating um
[21:37] community involvement, uh that's what
[21:39] we're here to do, and
[21:40] uh we're willing and able and anxious to
[21:43] listen, and if appropriate, pass on
[21:45] suggestions that uh may come from
[21:48] different community members in terms of
[21:51] of how we may handle ourselves uh should
[21:53] si- similar situations arise in the
[21:54] future.
[21:56] So, with that, I thank everyone.
[21:58] Um
[21:59] Yes, sir.
[22:00] » If I may not to belittle the same topic,
[22:02] but um here in Rehoboth Beach is has
[22:05] been uh mentioned that um the city has
[22:07] retained outside counsel to be looking
[22:09] into this investigation. It is my
[22:11] understanding, again, the mayor and
[22:13] council or will decide, I guess, if they
[22:15] want to, but I believe
[22:17] that they'll they're going to do a
[22:19] when this the investigation's done, open
[22:21] forum to anyway and have people come in,
[22:23] so this would be another opportunity.
[22:26] So, um
[22:27] which I think is great or whatever. Um
[22:30] so, it may have already be out there and
[22:32] discussed ahead of time, but obviously
[22:35] there's several different approaches
[22:37] maybe
[22:37] » I'm sorry. So, you were saying that when
[22:39] the
[22:40] When the report's done
[22:41] » My understanding is the city may elect
[22:43] to decide to have a open house or a
[22:45] community forum or something, too. So,
[22:49] Um so,
[22:50] the That's why it's good have maybe some
[22:52] other topics ready there so we you guys
[22:55] obviously can hear it again hear again,
[22:57] depending on how the conclusion of the
[22:59] um investigation goes. I will just echo
[23:02] um as um the chairperson said, is I have
[23:06] um
[23:06] been reaching out and speaking with some
[23:08] different community members, some
[23:09] outside citizens, some residents, just
[23:11] talking to them one-on-one. Um not not
[23:14] many. And then
[23:16] a couple local groups have reached out
[23:19] out and so I met with two of them. I
[23:21] think there was a total five of us got
[23:23] together last Thursday and spoke and it
[23:25] was productive or whatever. And still
[23:28] not substantive cuz we still waiting for
[23:30] an investigation and all, but I'm
[23:32] certainly have that dialogue and all
[23:34] with beach since this is where it
[23:35] occurred. Is I'm very fortunate. I have
[23:38] a lot of different community members and
[23:40] organizations such as Camp and Main
[23:43] Street, Chamber of Commerce and all. And
[23:45] I meet with them monthly.
[23:47] So at the same time we broke talked
[23:49] about it and all. And all of them have
[23:50] concerns rightly so and and they're
[23:52] board members that they want to report
[23:54] back to. So they'll be coming, you know,
[23:56] in
[23:58] ready to hear what's going to be
[23:59] concluded or whatever, but everybody's
[24:01] been very um
[24:03] forthright and very professional. All
[24:05] organizations say, "How can we help?"
[24:07] You know, we know there's investigation.
[24:09] Help out with training or anything like
[24:11] that. So
[24:12] I do want to say publicly thank you to
[24:14] our community members and and for for
[24:17] the support without taking sides. It's
[24:19] just hey, let's wait for the the facts
[24:21] to come out. So that's that's been
[24:23] really good and I think that goes to
[24:25] show a lot about this packs what why we
[24:28] have this and why we have law
[24:30] enforcement we get together with our
[24:32] community members. So
[24:34] we can have those um
[24:37] partnerships already. So we sit there
[24:39] and have that open line of communication
[24:41] or whatever. But yes, everybody's
[24:42] waiting for the facts just like this. So
[24:45] are we. And you know, I'm sure though um
[24:48] that will come out and there'll be some
[24:49] things that we can
[24:50] learn from that as every
[24:53] case anytime how we we improve on on it
[24:56] and
[24:57] work with our community. So, we're
[24:59] certainly looking forward to that, but
[25:01] yes,
[25:02] Decker, what you said, we are reaching
[25:03] out as much as possible. I'm kind of
[25:05] limited on what I can um
[25:07] as far as the investigation stuff, I can
[25:09] say um on Thursday and this past Monday
[25:12] um majority of my
[25:14] um officers that were being interviewed
[25:17] have been interviewed. I'm not sure
[25:19] which else is how many more if any more
[25:21] are on the list or not. Uh but I know um
[25:24] the ones I saw and I know
[25:26] um
[25:27] meeting with the attorneys to further
[25:29] investigation, so it is moving along.
[25:32] » Right.
[25:32] Thanks, Chief, for that update.
[25:34] Appreciate it. Um
[25:37] at this time open the floor to public
[25:39] comment, but seeing that there are
[25:41] no members of the public present.
[25:43] Um
[25:44] » Mr. Chairman, just two items before we
[25:47] » Yes, sir. Yes, sir, Dan.
[25:48] » Um Lieutenant, I read in the newspaper
[25:51] that you have a new addition to your
[25:53] staff the of the four-legged nature that
[25:55] is
[25:56] assigned to Cape May.
[26:00] » That is correct.
[26:02] » [clears throat]
[26:02] » K9 Joker is his name.
[26:04] » Got you. Congratulations on that front.
[26:06] » Thank you.
[26:07] » And also to our law enforcement
[26:09] leadership, fellow members, Mr.
[26:11] Chairman, if I'm not mistaken, it was
[26:13] June 1 year ago that we first met.
[26:16] So, I don't see a cake, but hey, you
[26:19] know what? Congratulations
[26:21] » [laughter]
[26:21] » 1 year in the books and thank you for
[26:24] having the confidence in all of us to be
[26:26] on the committee.
[26:27] » My pleasure.
[26:29] » Thank you for stepping up and
[26:30] volunteering.
[26:32] » Well, if he really stepped up, he would
[26:33] have brought the cake.
[26:34] » That's true.
[26:34] » [laughter]
[26:37] » Um Mr. Chair, I'm wondering, too, if we
[26:39] can talk briefly about Mary's survey and
[26:43] the work that's being done there as it
[26:45] relates to potential new members.
[26:48] » Sure.
[26:48] » And the other thing is I think
[26:51] we're starting the clock on some
[26:53] continued training. Is that right for
[26:55] this coming year?
[26:57] Do we have more training?
[27:00] » I I'd have to read that. I don't think
[27:01] we have to is the your first year you
[27:03] had to have 20 hours now. I certainly
[27:06] think we should always be learning and I
[27:08] will always open up any training we have
[27:11] on like when we come back to taser again
[27:14] on for that and our seasonal training
[27:16] and things like that. So um
[27:18] and I would encourage the board if you
[27:21] have a topic of some training or
[27:22] whatever to let us know. We might even
[27:24] have instructors
[27:26] to be able to sit down and talk about
[27:28] it, you know, could we have detectives
[27:30] um
[27:30] when we talk about fraud or seniors or
[27:33] people we can sit up
[27:35] people to come in here, AG's office um
[27:39] FBI protection details, what whatever. I
[27:42] think it's whatever this committee
[27:44] wants, but we certainly
[27:45] can do additional training.
[27:47] » I would welcome, you know, emails or
[27:49] whatever about any upcoming trainings or
[27:53] um education that would help us as a
[27:55] board.
[27:56] » It's interesting cuz I I tried to
[27:58] research whether there was any ongoing
[28:00] requirement. It doesn't appear that
[28:02] there is anything
[28:04] listed. It's silent on that, but I would
[28:07] concur with your recommendation that we
[28:10] need to continuously
[28:12] be keeping ourselves educated and I
[28:15] think just learning helps us to be
[28:18] better able to serve the community.
[28:23] » In that regard maybe the discussion of
[28:25] use of force would be better off as a
[28:28] training session rather than a
[28:30] using the minutes of a regular meeting.
[28:34] It's a suggestion.
[28:36] Perhaps
[28:37] Perhaps
[28:39] » Yeah, I think we certainly can do do
[28:41] that and use as training hours even at
[28:43] one of the regular meetings and um one
[28:45] of us
[28:46] would talk offline and um bring in
[28:48] different people from our department and
[28:50] our person in charge of taser and other
[28:52] one can talk about overview of policies
[28:55] and procedures we use it for us. Um
[28:57] maybe have our one of our firearms
[28:58] instructors to sit there and talk about
[29:00] about that and what the requirements are
[29:02] and all and um so yeah.
[29:06] Yeah, so I think you could take a full
[29:08] 90 to hours up on that and use it as
[29:10] training during one of our meetings.
[29:12] » Okay.
[29:13] » Yeah, I like the idea of doing it doing
[29:15] it during a meeting because then the
[29:17] public gets to hear
[29:19] about the policies and procedures and
[29:22] about the training that the officers
[29:24] undergo and I think that would be of
[29:26] benefit to the community.
[29:28] » And and hopefully as we get this going
[29:31] we'll have more community members um
[29:32] come forward to these meetings and be
[29:34] able to ask questions at the time while
[29:36] we're all there.
[29:38] » Okay.
[29:39] » Sounds good.
[29:40] Um Mary, if you want to take a moment to
[29:42] » Sure.
[29:42] » Discuss the
[29:44] » Sure, so
[29:45] » What you've been trying to do for us.
[29:46] » So at our last meeting just to bring
[29:49] everybody back to that we had an
[29:52] applicant. We made the decision to put
[29:55] on hold um
[29:57] bringing anyone new onto the committee
[29:59] until we were able to really assess
[30:02] our own makeup with respect to are we
[30:05] representative of the constituencies
[30:08] that we serve.
[30:09] So with our chair's help we have
[30:12] developed a very brief
[30:14] survey for each of our committee members
[30:17] » [clears throat]
[30:17] » That is intended to just better
[30:20] understand their experiences and
[30:22] perspectives. It's an anonymous survey.
[30:25] Uh there's no attribution of names. Uh
[30:28] in fact it's simply a check the box. So
[30:32] people won't be writing in any comments.
[30:35] Um I will then take those results,
[30:38] summarize those results
[30:40] and at a future meeting when
[30:42] appropriate, share that with
[30:45] the committee and our officers and the
[30:47] public so that we're better informed as
[30:50] to as candidates present themselves,
[30:54] what gaps we may have currently on the
[30:56] committee and where we might be looking
[30:58] to try to augment our own experiences
[31:02] with other members of the community that
[31:03] may bring unique perspectives.
[31:08] » Great. Thank Thank you, Mary. Thank And
[31:10] thanks for taking on the responsibility
[31:12] of doing that.
[31:14] Um
[31:19] Okay. Um
[31:20] Again, open the floor again to public
[31:22] comment.
[31:24] Hearing none, I'd make a motion to
[31:27] adjourn.
[31:29] » Before we adjourn, looks like we have
[31:31] some folks that just showed up. Do they
[31:33] have anything they'd like to engage on?
[31:38] » Um
[31:39] I Yeah. Coast City News. Hi.
[31:42] » Okay.
[31:43] » I have one one more thing. Um
[31:46] Could we just get a little update or
[31:48] whatever on the summer officers?
[31:51] And how that's working for you?
[31:52] » Thank you for for that, Andrew. Um
[31:55] to to my from my perspective,
[31:57] we they're doing a really good job. Um
[31:59] so
[32:00] we had four four returnees.
[32:03] And um
[32:07] you know, so with so many younger ones,
[32:09] some first year, they're a little bit
[32:10] hesitant. So we're out there they're
[32:11] doing some ride-along with full-time
[32:13] officers and walking with full-time
[32:14] officers, but they're doing a nice job.
[32:16] Um I've had no complaints. Um when I
[32:18] speak with them one-on-one, they love
[32:20] it.
[32:21] And uh they really thought the training
[32:23] went well. And uh and um quite honestly,
[32:27] um I've seen them to be more um engaging
[32:30] this year with the public. I have
[32:32] received um letters already and emails
[32:35] um about their engagement and um being
[32:38] out front and being seen. So, that's
[32:40] always positive early on because
[32:42] sometimes it takes a a month or two
[32:45] you know, for them to feel comfortable
[32:47] in the uniform that they're wearing per
[32:48] se. They
[32:50] but so far it's been very positive.
[32:54] Our summer overall is
[32:56] been steady but nothing major. Um,
[33:01] Mark, anything you want to add with
[33:02] summer officers?
[33:03] » I don't think so. I mean, I would I
[33:04] would I think when we started I was
[33:07] speaking with Kim that they seem to be a
[33:09] lot more proactive this year than they
[33:11] have in past years, which is good. It's
[33:13] nice to see them go out and actually do
[33:14] something.
[33:16] » Yeah, and I think that gets goes back to
[33:18] the training that we changed it up this
[33:20] year and they had more time on scenario
[33:23] based
[33:24] and using the radio and get
[33:26] body camera and things like that to just
[33:29] get more comfortable with their tools
[33:32] and with their selves in uniform. So,
[33:35] like I said, I think that's been a big
[33:36] help help
[33:38] spend additional hours and more training
[33:40] on us and this year we
[33:42] as many of you may know,
[33:44] we actually put in two TAC officers. So,
[33:47] they're with them all four weeks and
[33:49] also it's very consistent with those
[33:51] individuals. So, they feel more
[33:53] comfortable with them sharing things
[33:55] because not only do we talk about
[33:58] what their jobs are and functions out
[34:00] there, we talk about their health and
[34:02] wellness. So, we've got those components
[34:04] in there too. So, I think they feel more
[34:06] comfortable even with us to to go out
[34:09] there and in turn hopefully that
[34:10] reflects out to our public.
[34:13] » Chief, free question.
[34:14] » I'd like to add that as I take my walks
[34:17] on the boardwalk, I've met I would say
[34:19] four seasonal officers
[34:22] and I try to engage them and let them
[34:24] know I'm on the committee and ask them,
[34:26] you know, is this your first year? Do
[34:28] you want a career in law enforcement?
[34:30] Get to know them for, you know, two
[34:31] three minutes and they've been very
[34:33] professional, very engaging and they all
[34:35] seem very happy to be here. So, I would
[34:38] encourage you to do the same and you get
[34:39] some exercise as well.
[34:41] » It's it's actually I would agree with
[34:43] you. I've been trying to do the same and
[34:45] it's really encouraging to see how many
[34:48] members of the community are approaching
[34:50] them just to have a chat, you know, they
[34:52] they do seem more engaged this year. So,
[34:56] kudos. If that was part of the training,
[34:59] that's really helping them to do better
[35:00] outreach. That's seems to really be
[35:02] working.
[35:04] » It is but at the same time we're very
[35:06] fortunate. It's
[35:08] it's been a turnaround the last year and
[35:10] a half with off more officers applying
[35:13] for full-time and seasonal employment.
[35:15] So, you have more opportunity to do more
[35:17] interviews, testing and look for those
[35:20] individuals cuz as we know at the beach
[35:22] resorts and and with the ferry terminal,
[35:25] it is about
[35:27] the public serving. It's about
[35:28] communication and so
[35:31] that's what we need out of our officers
[35:33] to be ambassadors and that's what we sit
[35:35] down and teach them a lot as some of you
[35:37] said in the training and you would hear
[35:39] that from the mayor, commissioners and
[35:41] myself when I'm addressing them.
[35:44] » Thank you, Chief. And Mary thankfully
[35:47] pointed out that I was skipping over
[35:49] one item agenda
[35:51] one agenda item, excuse me.
[35:54] If there was any additional reports or
[35:56] anything from
[35:58] from our law enforcement members.
[36:01] Lieutenant Lamore, is there any
[36:03] » No.
[36:03] » We'll go down the line.
[36:04] » None.
[36:06] » Not this time.
[36:07] » [clears throat]
[36:07] » Next time I'll probably have a list of
[36:09] different events that we've had
[36:10] » Right.
[36:11] » Up until September that I can report on.
[36:13] » Right. Thank you.
[36:14] » We had we did have the World Cup watch
[36:16] party at the ferry. I can report on
[36:19] that. There was I think over a thousand
[36:20] people showed up.
[36:21] » Really?
[36:22] » Yeah.
[36:22] » Yeah, I was going to do a kudos on that
[36:24] because I attended and it was the police
[36:27] presence was wonderful, the city of
[36:29] Lewis, and the Delaware River Bay
[36:31] Authority.
[36:33] And [clears throat]
[36:34] it was really nice to see families and
[36:37] kids
[36:38] all convening and
[36:41] cheering on a team.
[36:43] » Yeah.
[36:43] » Nice nice community event.
[36:45] » They were expecting around 500 and a bit
[36:47] more than double. So.
[36:50] It was a lot.
[36:51] But it went well.
[36:52] » Great. Chief?
[36:53] » The only upcoming thing for Lewis uh our
[36:55] June 10th celebration is this Saturday
[36:57] 1:00 to 5:00 in Blockhouse Pond.
[37:01] And that's it.
[37:02] » Thanks.
[37:03] » I was just going to mention the summer
[37:04] races which we've already talked about
[37:06] out so that has going well and of course
[37:08] we're having a big event coming up the
[37:10] 5th of July for our fireworks and
[37:12] celebration in 250 years. So it's going
[37:14] to be an extended fireworks. So we're
[37:16] expecting big crowds and hoping for
[37:18] great weather and I just had So we're
[37:21] setting that up or have law enforcement
[37:23] agencies come in and help us out. The
[37:25] big lift is from the Delaware State
[37:27] Police and their special unit so they'll
[37:29] all be in place as well as live other
[37:31] local municipalities and in turn will
[37:33] help them out with their events back and
[37:36] forth throughout the state up and down
[37:38] the state A for that. So it's a
[37:39] definitely a group effort. Just spoke
[37:42] with the lifeguards this morning. We'll
[37:44] have lifeguards on the beach as we do
[37:45] every year too.
[37:47] And for anything that happens extended
[37:50] hours so they'll they won't be guarding
[37:52] but they'll be helping us with the
[37:53] fireworks and crowd control and things
[37:55] like that on the beach and till it's
[37:57] over.
[37:58] » Right. Thanks, Chief.
[38:00] » And one of Sorry, Lieutenant.
[38:02] » Sorry, I do have two more things since
[38:03] we won't be back till September. Um
[38:05] so grain concert series they call it
[38:08] rocking the docks. It's every Friday
[38:11] throughout the summer. So I think
[38:12] there's like
[38:13] 18 concerts
[38:16] on the ferry green.
[38:18] And it's they get anywhere from 3 to 700
[38:21] people.
[38:22] » Wow.
[38:23] » Depending on who's what
[38:25] who's playing in the concert.
[38:27] And then we also have Rock the Boat
[38:28] concerts, and that's every Thursday
[38:30] through the summer.
[38:31] » Fireworks.
[38:32] » And the fireworks, July 2nd, 3rd, and
[38:34] 4th events.
[38:35] » Wow.
[38:36] » Obviously, if they're plugging their
[38:38] fireworks, uh
[38:39] » [laughter]
[38:40] » Lewes has quite a show on July 4th
[38:42] itself at dusk on
[38:45] on Lewes Beach. So.
[38:47] » And sure as well, this body won't meet
[38:50] till September.
[38:52] Uh
[38:52] » [clears throat]
[38:52] » I see on the calendar that August 4th is
[38:54] listed as the National Night Out for law
[38:56] enforcement.
[38:57] » Yep.
[38:58] » Could one of you maybe briefly explain
[39:00] for folks that may or may not know what
[39:03] that is, and do each of your agencies
[39:05] participate in that?
[39:07] » Sure, uh National Night Out is a is a
[39:09] just that. It's a National Night Out
[39:11] where
[39:12] municipal law enforcement agencies get
[39:14] to connect with their communities. Uh
[39:16] Lewes, we do it on August 4th uh every
[39:19] year.
[39:20] » First Tuesday of the month, I think. Uh
[39:23] of August. And uh it's just it's a good
[39:25] event. We cook uh for our community. We
[39:28] have a band. We have uh
[39:30] probably 30 different vendors there
[39:32] providing uh
[39:33] you know, free things from, you know,
[39:36] blood pressure screening to uh
[39:38] information about uh
[39:40] different services in the state uh that
[39:43] people can take advantage of. So, it's a
[39:44] really nice event for Lewes. It's a
[39:46] Blockhouse Pond. Uh
[39:49] 5:00 to 8:00
[39:51] on August 4th.
[39:55] » In Rehoboth, we unfortunately do not. I
[39:57] tried early on to have that, and we just
[40:01] the community most of it was rental
[40:02] property at the time. Um and we just
[40:05] didn't get the buy-in from community.
[40:06] So, it was a lot of just visitors or
[40:08] whatever, um which is great, but um we
[40:11] had so many other events going on at
[40:12] same time with bandstand concerts and
[40:15] and all of that. It was just kind of
[40:17] adding to some of the chaos and really
[40:18] wasn't taking the time to get our
[40:20] message out. So, people were coming out,
[40:22] maybe grabbing some free food or and
[40:24] all, which is fine in the product, but
[40:26] they really weren't engaging law
[40:28] enforcement where we really want to give
[40:30] back to. So, we've been trying to other
[40:32] smaller events during fall months and
[40:34] springs, things like that with our
[40:36] community. And all and being involved in
[40:38] like Camp Rehoboth block parties and
[40:40] things like that, trying to get
[40:42] involved. That being said, we do
[40:45] recognize the importance of it. So, we
[40:47] send officers each year to Lewes, to
[40:49] Milton, other departments that are
[40:51] having that and help out and things down
[40:53] to Ocean View and Bethany, like we'll
[40:55] help out at different events.
[40:57] » Great.
[40:58] Thanks, gentlemen.
[41:00] Uh again, open the floor
[41:02] uh to public comment.
[41:05] Seeing no one present,
[41:06] I'll make a motion to adjourn.
[41:08] » Second.
[41:09] » All in favor?
[41:11] » I.
[41:11] » I.
[41:12] » Thank you all. Thanks, everyone for
[41:13] coming.
[41:14] » Thank you.
[41:14] » Thank you all.
[42:23] » Mhm.