Police chiefs propose reforms. ‘There are some things that need to change,’ Ramsay says

A national police organization that Wichita Police Chief Gordon Ramsay is a board member of has released police-reform proposals for policymakers to consider, including banning choke holds unless officers are in a fight for their life.

The recommendations this week by the Major Cities Chiefs Association come in the wake of national outcries by some to defund police after the killing of George Floyd, who died last month in Minneapolis police custody after an officer knelt on his neck for several minutes.

“We recognize there are some things that need to change,” Ramsay said in a phone interview. “We want people to know we want to be part of the solution. We want to be at the table.”

Policymakers could make the recommendations a nationwide requirement and possibly distribute funding based on police departments meeting those guidelines, Ramsay said.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday that he said would encourage better police practices and establish a database of officers with a history of excessive-force complaints. Officials said the order also would promote certification agencies that teach officers de-escalation techniques.

Ramsay, who also is a member of Trump’s Presidential Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice, said the association’s recommendations carry weight since the nation has turned its attention to police brutality after Black Lives Matter protests in major cities across the country.

‘So this is the voice of the big cities of the country that are saying: ‘Hey this is what we support,’” Ramsay said.

The four pages of recommendations address issues that have been long discussed and ones brought more to light after the killing of Floyd. Some of the recommendations ask for federal dollars in order to achieve them.

The recommendations include:

• A National Misconduct Registry, which will allow police departments to better vet hires from other departments
• Police departments having a use of force policy available for the public to see and those policies not including “chokeholds or carotid holds, unless an officer is in a fight for his or her life.”
• Data collection and reporting as well as funding for it. Part of the idea is to have nationwide data available about people hurt or killed by police.
• Additional training on “implicit bias, racial, religious, and cultural sensitive, and procedural justice.”
• Keeping the 1033 program. The program allows excess equipment from the U.S. Department of Defense to go to law enforcement. Ramsay said there has been concern about police being able to militarize and the equipment being able to help do that. Ramsay said the equipment includes a range of equipment that some departments might not be able to afford. He said his previous police department in Minnesota received valuable tourniquets from the program.
• Eliminating no-knock warrants on narcotics cases and restricting the practice to “situations like hostage rescue and violent crimes”
• Changing the timeline for police misconduct investigations from the date of the incident to the date of discovery. Ramsay said some police departments have contracts where officers must be investigated within a certain timeframe of the incident, which means some police are not investigated because of contract limitations.
• Officers wearing body cameras
• Adoption of national standards, which would include training and use of force

The statement also opposes repealing or amending the controversial legal doctrine of qualified immunity.

The entire document can be viewed at majorcitieschiefs.com.

Wichita police officers have worn cameras since shortly after Ramsay arrived in 2016. The department also has conducted additional training, such as de-escalation, and no-knock warrants were eliminated years ago, police officials said.

The WPD’s use of force policy can be viewed in the regulations section at www.wichita.gov/WPD/Pages/Policy. The WPD is also considering other changes to its use of force policy at the request of Ramsay.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.