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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (March 18, 2015)
A12 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015 FROM PAGE A1 FORCE: continued from page A1 — but each incident is re- viewed. “Every use of force is reviewed administratively — that’s inside the depart- ment — and they can also be reviewed criminally if it appears somebody has done something extremely inap- propriate,” Edmiston said. “... If I felt there was a po- tential for criminal (consid- eration), I would automati- cally call the Oregon State Police (to investigate).” Edmiston said HPD is researching the possibility using less lethal bean bag proMectile shotguns. Of¿- cers have also been volun- tarily using body cameras, he said, and HPD will be reTuiring of¿cers to use cameras beginning next month. “I actually caught a lit- tle bit of ÀacN on this from other departments that ar- en’t transitioning to (cam- eras),” he said. “I thinN it’s important. I thinN it’s the wave of the future. I thinN it’s important, not only to hold ourselves account- able, but to hold the citi- zens that we interact with accountable.” Edmiston said, while helpful, the cameras do not always capture “all the facts all the time,” so of¿- cers must use force “rea- sonably,” in accordance with established policies. The HPD Policy Man- ual states, “Of¿cers shall use only that amount of force that reasonably ap- pears necessary given the facts and circumstances perceived by the of¿cer at the time of the event to ac- complish a legitimate law enforcement purpose.” Although “reasonable” can be dif¿cult to de¿ne, Edmiston said almost all HPD employees have at- tended critical incident stress management train- ing in the last two years. He also said that ensur- ing of¿cers are mentally healthy and prepared for the rigor of the job is im- portant, and the chaplain program started in October COOLING: continued from page A1 other options. Jeffery-Hoague said the board has yet to formal- ize a schedule on when the cooling station will be open. When it does start to get hot, organizers plan for the building to be open pos- sibly from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday and on weeNdays when temperatures are expected to reach at least 95 degrees. “What we want to do is Neep people from suffering due to the elements,” she said. “We want people to be safe, regardless of the con- ditions, whether it is too hot or too cold.” During the warming station board meeting this weeN, Jeffery-Hoague talN- ed with board members and volunteers about the features the building could have during the new sum- mer daytime hours. She said she had been thinNing about offering things liNe card games and other sim- ple activities, possibly a movie and then a computer station available for people who need to do paperworN. She said they could also have a couple of mats for people to checN out if they were interested in taNing a nap. Others discussed the possibility of serving warm-weather foods to help their guests beat the heat. “We could have a set up right outside the building where we could cut up a watermelon,” Hermiston volunteer Kathy Davis said at the meeting. “Outside would be the perfect place for that.” Jeffery-Hoague said she liNed the idea, but she had to checN with the city to maNe sure something liNe that would be OK. She said she also has to checN with has helped signi¿- cantly. “Over the last three and a half years, we’ve really been focusing inside the department on ¿xing the relationships, and I’m a ¿rm believer that if you have healthy employees, that’s going to equate to healthy decisions being made out on the street,” he said. Edmiston said HPD em- ployees are also involved with various organizations to establish relationships within the community, and the department began of- fering a 2 percent pay in- centive to bilingual of¿cers last year to better represent the Hispanic population. He said about 37 percent of the city has Hispanic ties, and six of HPD’s 26 of¿cers are bilingual, as are three other employees, including Chaplain Hector Ramirez, who is a member of the Hispanic Advisory Committee. Edmiston said HPD could only be successful with the trust of the people it serves, and of¿cers must maintain that trust despite their vast “discretionary authority.” “With that discretion comes scrutiny, and we understand that,” he said. “We’re not always going to get it right, and when we don’t get it right, we’re go- ing to rely on committees such as this and the com- munity to assist us.” After the meeting, HAC Chairman Eddie De La Cruz said the presentation made him feel more com- fortable that of¿cers would maNe sound decisions. “I thinN we have a big chance at preventing all these crazy things that’s been happening around the nation with the po- lice maNing the wrong decisions,” he said. “Our police department is way ahead. (Edmiston has) done a great job as chief since he tooN over, and he’s doing his homeworN. I was very impressed and very happy with the infor- mation he provided us. It gave me a sense that we’re OK here.” the city to see what require- ments would have to be met to simply operate a daytime facility. Jeffery-Hoague said she has had offers of donations for computers and has a computer of her own that she doesn’t use anymore that she would liNe to dedi- cate to the cause. The facil- ity will also receive a dona- tion of a washer and dryer, which guests may use to do their laundry when they visit the facility. Board members are currently worNing on the speci¿c requirements and rules for the cooling sta- tion, but Jeffery-Hoague said they want to Neep it as least invasive as possible. She said many of the rules at the warming station will be the same for the cooling station, but there might be a simpler sign-in system for guests since they may only be there for a couple of hours as opposed to the whole day. She said there would still be a strict policy of no weapons, alcohol or drugs, and people could still be asNed to leave if they re- fused to follow the rules. Volunteer coordinator Barb Leque said warming station organizers were thrilled with the number of volunteers they had this year and hope to have just as many come out for the cooling station. “We want to provide our guests with at least a few hours of relief,” she said. “Hopefully it will be eas- ier for people to volunteer since we’ll be open on the weeNends, and it is during the summer time.” For information about volunteering for the cooling station this summer, contact Leque at 541-571-2075. For other questions, people can email Jeffery-Hoague at warmingstation@gmail. com or call her at 541-720- 4295. SEAN HART PHOTO Hermiston Police Chief Jason Edmiston, right, responds to questions from Hermiston’s Hispanic Advisory Committee regarding the department’s use-of-force policies at the meeting Monday. Get Unlimited Everything. Plus $50 back. Switch to a Simple Connect Prepaid Plan for just $45/mo. with Unlimited Data, Talk and Text, including 1GB of high-speed data. Plus, for a limited time, get a $50 U.S. Cellular® Promotional Card to use toward the latest accessories or your next month of service. Things we want you to know: Add. fees, taxes and terms apply and vary by svc. and eqmt. Use of svc. constitutes acceptance of agmt. terms. In order to receive plan minutes, the monthly charge must be paid before due date. You may be charged at any time of day on your due date and should refill before that date to avoid svc. interruption. Roaming, directory assistance and international calls require additional account funds to complete calls. 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