Weekly meeting 7/30 7-9pm (by Zoom)

Agenda: 

Take our discussion from last week, come up with a specific work plan, and assign tasks.

Here are some of the things that will likely end up on that plan:

1. Follow up on the community rep ads we discovered last week. Are all of them from agencies in the Valley IIT?
2. Identify Next Steps positions on police accountability issues that are likely to see action in the near future
3. Develop written versions of those positions
4. Draft a template letter on those issues that our members can send to their state legislators.

If you have some topics you'd like to see on our agenda/workplan, please come prepared to discuss, thx!

Meeting Thursday July 16, 7-9pm (Zoom)

This Thursday we will be meeting with the Algona PD Chief James Schrimpsher (and possibly one or more Chiefs from other departments in the Valley IIT).  The main topic of discussion will be the Community Reps on the IIT.

As we discussed 2 wks ago, this will be a bit more of a scripted meeting than usual.  

• Annalesa will lead off with a few comments, and then ask Chief Shrimpsher to speak about his aims for meeting with us.  

• After that, those of you who volunteered to address one of the issues we  talked about at our last meeting will be asked to speak on behalf of the group.  Brief and clear :)
• Howard: Confidentiality Form
• Amy: Training needs
• Carla: Recruitment process
•  Neal: Remaining credible with the community  

Meeting 7/2/2020 (Zoom) 7-9pm

AGENDA:  Prepare to talk to the Chiefs in the Valley IIT about community reps at our meeting next week

1. Format of meeting with the Chiefs:  Annalesa and Fred  -- meeting will also be by Zoom.

2. Prep for the input we want to give.

• Our concerns about the community rep position
• Confidentiality form
• Volunteer burdens and ability to be credible with the community
• Training
• Recruitment process
• ETC -- let's discuss what else.

• Questions we have for them
• What is the interim position, given the Governor's task force
• ETC -- let's discuss

Meeting 6/25/2020 (Zoom)

NOTE: We are meeting 30 min earlier tonight, so that we can end by 8:30, which is when the Black Collective Facebook Live session (which includes Fred) will be broadcast.

AGENDA:

6:30  Welcome to new members (a group of Tacoma attorneys, and the rally they have planned for next Th 7/2)

6:45  Recap of what's happened in the last 2 weeks (will send out a list later this afternoon) (Martina)

7:00 Community rep request for the Valley IIT (Fred)

7:15  Deborah Jacobs from OLEO on elected vs. appointed Sheriff option being considered for King County

Short background points for you to read is on the google drive:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LOzjJQfbRjJwioEwSrPRQ5Q8tqFEUzvcrJCOA-EmCME/edit?usp=sharing 

7:45 Group discussion of Next Steps:  Some ideas to consider, please suggest others

Request list of 30 investigations the AG's office has announced it will review

Continuing to monitor investigations of incidents that will happen in the "gap":  after the 30 that the AG's office is reviewing, but before/if the LETSCA law is changed

Monitoring the AG's review process 

How do we work with the Governor's task force

Charleena Lyles vigil: 6/18/2020

This Thursday NextSteps is going to the Charleena Lyles vigil

For those of you on FaceBook, you can RSVP here:

https://www.facebook.com/events/256243055440977/  

For everyone:

Place:  Magnuson Park -- just north of UW Seattle in NE Seattle.  Off of Sportsfield Dr NE  

Time:  6-9pm

• Those of you who came the last time (2 yrs ago) -- it's in the same place.  The baseball diamond across from the apartments where she was killed.
• For the rest -- We're at the red location marker in the map below. Closest coordinates are  47.678561, -122.260576.   This is a big park.  The plan is to have  signs pointing the way from the entrance(s), but if that fails you can text me at 206 898 8462.

We need a logo!

There are probably some great graphic artists in our midst, so send us some ideas!

To get this started, here's a couple of ideas  note, there are two options, so scroll down.

Meeting 6/11/2020 7-9pm (Zoom)

Hi folks,

It looks like we may have a lot of new members joining us this week.  So, welcome!  We have quite a bit of work to discuss, so we'll probably have to keep introductions short and sweet :)

Agenda:

Said Joquin investigation: updates and strategy going forward (Annalesa/Fred)

Donations (Martina)

Website: About Us section, Annalesa and Fred video, logo? (Martina)

Update from Vancouver (Joyce and Rheta)

Next Steps List of Demands? (Pauly)

Email us for the zoom link if you need it.

Meeting Thursday 6/4/2020 (Zoom)

It has been an extraordinary and historic week.  We'd like to take some time at our Thursday meeting to process some of the emotions and events.  Please email nextstepswa@gmail.com if you need the Zoom link.

So, this week we will start by saying their names.  Those of you who have participated in the Not This Time meetings will be familiar with this.

BUT it turns out Zoom (and all of these virtual platforms) does not work well for the traditional call and response format, due to delays in the audio feed.

SO we will modify this as follows:

• The meeting will begin with Annalesa reading the list of names of the loved ones who have been shot by police.  We'll start with George Floyd, to acknowledge his life, his sacrifice and his impact.    Then she will read the names of those who have been killed by police here in WA State since Jan 1 2020.

• If you would like her also to include the name of a loved one important to you, please send us that name.

• This will be followed by a moment of silence.

We would then like to go around the "room" to give each person a chance to share their thoughts, if they wish to.

There are many other action items in process that we can discuss as time and interests allow.

We are meeting online!

We will be conducting our weekly Thursday night meetings online for the duration of the Coronavirus epidemic.  Even as WA State begins to dial back the social distancing restrictions, we will meet online in order to keep our more vulnerable members safe.

We are trying out different apps during this time to get a sense of how well each one meets our needs (or doesn't).  So if you are interested in joining the meeting, email us to get the current meeting details.  Thanks!

Meeting Thursday 3/19 will be held by Skype

Due to the Coronavirus, we will not be meeting in person.

We will again be holding the meeting via Skype, starting at 7pm.

Instructions were sent out to the Next Steps email list.  If you have any questions, please email us at nextstepswa@gmail.com

... Everyone goes home healthy :)

Meeting tonight 3/5/2020 will be held by Skype

Due to the uptick in Corona Virus cases in King County, we will not be meeting in person.

Instead, we will try holding the meeting via Skype, starting at 7pm.

Instructions were sent out to the email list.  If you have any questions, please email us at nextstepswa@gmail.com

Draft forms for Conflict of Interest, and Confidentiality

These drafts were shared with Fred, by Dan Christman at CJTC.  Please review them (just click the links below), and we will discuss them at our meeting on 4/5.

• Draft Conflict of Interest Form (for assessing IIT members)
• Draft Confidentiality Form  (for the Community Reps to sign)

Cowlitz Co Sheriff is advertising for Community Reps for their IIT!

PLEASE SHARE WIDELY -- DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS IS MARCH 16

They have posted the ad up here:  https://flashalert.net/id/CowlitzSheriff/131875

And the official document is on the NextStepsWA website HERE

Renton PD is advertising for Community Reps for their IIT!

PLEASE SHARE WIDELY -- DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS IS MARCH 13

They have posted the ad up on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/CityofRenton/posts/10151310500309944

Resources for monitoring the rollout of I-940 reforms

Independent Investigation resources

The Independent Investigative Teams (IITs) that are intended to fulfill the requirements of I-940 will be set up in 15 regions across the state.  If we want to monitor the progress of setting up these IITs, we need to know where they are, and who is staffing them.

• The current map of these 15 IIT regions is on the google drive HERE

Training resources

The "Basic Law Enforcement Academy" training required for every law enforcement officer in WA State consists of a 720 hour syllabus.  If we want to monitor how training is changing to meet the new requirements of I-940, we should compare the current syllabus to the changed syllabus.

• The current syllabus (as of Jan 2019) is on the google drive HERE  (from the CJTC website)

Next Steps Meeting Thu Feb 27, 7-9pm SeaTac Community Center

Agenda for Thu Feb 27

• Update from Fred on Next Steps opportunity to provide input to the So King IIT development process
• Brainstorming session to identify what issues/topics we want to focus on in giving this input

We're going to defer discussion of the other two items to a later date:

• Review LETSCA Summit Planning document prepared for Fred and Annalesa (the topics we discussed last week).  A draft is now up on the google drive HERE
• Review the list of questions developed by Joyce and the Vancouver team for asking local Chiefs and Sheriffs about the status of the Independent Investigative Teams they are setting up for their region.  A draft is up on the google drive HERE

Meeting Deets:  Same place, slightly later start time

SeaTac Community Center   

13735 24th Ave S   98168 

          Thursday  7:00-9:00pm    

Events (now past)

• Tuesday Feb 25, 9:30am:  KC Sherrif's office responded to OLEO report on the shooting of Mi’Chance Dunlap-Gittens.  Public comment will be taken.  WHERE:  Council Chambers of the King County Courthouse (516 3^rd Avenue, 10^th Floor).

          News Coverage of the hearing:  Stranger article, Seattle Times article

* Next Steps Washington:  Everyone Comes Home Alive* 

Next Steps meeting: Thu Feb 20, 6:30-8:30 PM SeaTac Community Center

We have a meeting location for tomorrow (and next week)!

Meeting time/location:      Thursday  6:30-8:30pm

SeaTac Community Center

13735 24th Ave S

98168

AGENDA:

At the beginning of the meeting we will list the upcoming events of interest to this group, so if you know of any events, please be prepared to give us the details.  We will send out this list of events to the mailing list after the meeting Thursday night.

We will be discussing the meeting Fred had with the Algona Police Chief about the process for, and current status of, setting up the regional IIT for South King County.  It was apparently quite interesting.

We will also list and discuss the many topics we identified as "next steps" after reading through the 940 WACs last week.  It's time to start identifying the work, and doing it.

Looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow ;)

Next Steps Washington

 * Everyone Comes Home Alive *

Next Steps WA Mtg Thurs, February 13, 2020 at 6:30 PM

Next Steps WA Meeting:

Thursday, February 13, 2020 at 6:30 - 9:00 PM

Tukwila Library

14380 Tukwila International Blvd 

Tukwila, WA 98168 

Final official WACs for I-940 implementation (LETSCA)

Hi Folks -- 


Next week (Th 2/14/2020) we will be educating ourselves about the I-940 law  as it stands now.  The formal title of I-940 is the Law Enforcement Training and Community Safety Act (LETCSA), and the implementation regulations are now part of the Washington Administrative Code (WAC).


We will be reading through the official document, the LETSCA WACs.

If you're feeling ambitious, grab a copy from the links below, and study it.  But we will plan to read through it, line by line, at the meeting, so we can all get to know what we are working with in the year ahead.

You can get the official copy of the LETSCA WACs online at: 

• The online version of the Washington Administrative Code
• The website of the Criminal Justice Training Commission (CJTC): CJTC website LETSCA page

But for an easy to ready copy of that official WAC, try this file on the NextStepsWA google drive.

Upcoming Events and Activities

(1)   Next Steps group

We have formed a new group called “Next Steps” that will meet in the south-end.
We hope to have a circle of people that will focus on monitoring the current 940 implementation
and work together towards new legislation needed to accomplish truly independent investigations
of police use of force.

We are looking for your diverse wisdom to move this group onto the Next Steps!!!

What: First meeting of Next Steps

When: Thursday, Feb 6th 7pm-9pm

Organizers:  Fred and Annalesa Thomas

Where: ValleyView Library

17850 Military Rd S

SeaTac, WA 98188

(2)  De-escalate WA legislation and legal follow up

There are lots of activities starting up in this next phase of the process, as the new regulations begin to be implemented on the ground.  Examples include:

                Legislation to require data collection

                Strategies for ensuring that the 39 prosecutors across the state begin to act on the new authority and responsibility that I-940 gives them to prosecute officers whose use of deadly force does not meet the new good-faith standard.

                 Applying for the new community representative positions on the regional “Independent Investigative Teams” that will investigate all cases in which police use deadly force.

Contact:  The Facebook page for De-escalate is a good place to start
https://www.facebook.com/deescalatewashington/

(3)  Seattle SPOG Contract

This contract is being re-negotiated now because it was found to be out of compliance with the Consent Decree. There are several upcoming meetings, with opportunity for public comment, and we will be organizing a reading group to prepare and educate ourselves.

Contact:  Next Steps email

(4)  King County Office of Law Enforcement (OLEO)
This is another opportunity to get involved locally, learn about the operation of the King County Sherrif’s office, and support the office that provides civilian oversight. There are several upcoming presentations to King County Council where public attendance and comment are needed. Having strong turnout will demonstrate to the Sheriff's Office and King County Council that the public is paying attention and wants accountability. It will also demonstrate to the impacted families that they have support. Meetings of the King County Council's Law & Justice Committee will be chaired by brand new Councilmember Girmay Zahilay. These presentations will be among the first meetings he presides over in his new role.

February 11, 2020 at 9:30 AM at King County Courthouse, 516 3rd Ave Seattle 10th Floor

OLEO will present report to Law & Justice Committee on
review of the January 2017 Mi’Chance Dunlap-Gittens shooting 

February 25, 2020 at 9:30 AM at King County Courthouse, 516 3rd Ave Seattle 10th Floor
     OLEO will present report to Law & Justice Committee on
KCSO’s revised policies for reviewing shootings and other critical incidents (see Chapter 6 of linked General Orders Manual).

These are the review processes for administrative investigations, not criminal/I940.

Administrative investigations are important because they determine violations of policy, training, whether the officer will be disciplined or fired, etc.

Problems with the new policy include that they will not interview involved officers after incidents (written statement within 48 hours instead); in reviewing the case they ask very limited questions about whether force was justified; and inadequate access for oversight.

Contact:  Next Steps email

(5)  Charleena Lyles’ inquest

         Charleena’s case is one of the first to go through the new revised King County inquest process. There will be a set of pre-inquest hearings to determine procedures and evidence that will be allowed before the actual inquest happens. As with all of these legal processes, it is very important that we show up to shed some sunlight on the process, and to support the family.

         February 14, 2020 at King County Courthouse, 516 3rd Ave Seattle, 9am 

         Next pre-inquest hearing. We will update when the room is announced. The last pre-inquest
         hearing was held in Room E-854, but that could change for this time.

Contact:  Next Steps email

These are just some examples of local and state police accountability efforts –
please contact us if you know of other important activities and opportunities to get involved.

First Meeting of Next Steps Washington

We have formed a new group called "Next Steps Washington" that will meet in the south-end. We hope to have a circle of people that will focus on monitoring the current 940 implementation and work together towards new legislation needed to accomplish truly independent investigations of police use of force.

We are looking for your diverse wisdom to move this group onto the Next Steps!

WHAT:       First meeting of Next Steps Washington

WHEN:      Thursday, February 6th, 2020, 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM

WHERE:    Valley View Library, 17850 Military Road South, SeaTac, WA 98188

WHO:        Fred and Annalesa Thomas, organizers

Agenda:  on the NextStepsWA google drive here