Consent decree likely at end for police department

WARREN -- The assumed end of the 2012 consent decree between the U.S. Department of Justice and the police department should not be seen as an ending, but as a beginning of a new chapter in policing, city officials said.

The statement comes on the heels of a joint request the Justice Department and the city's law department made last week of a federal court judge to dismiss the decree, under which the U.S. government has monitored the police department's policies and procedures on use of force and other issues.

The judge has not ruled on the request.

Mayor Doug Franklin, police Chief Eric Merkel, Law Director Greg Hicks and other city leaders came together Monday to discuss improvements in the department during the past seven years.

"It not only has been the hard work of the police leadership making it possible for the city to come from under the consent decree, but especially the officers working with residents every day," Franklin said. "They have taken this work to heart."

The end of the decree is a "milestone, but is by no means an end to the work we need to do," he said.

Officers have gone through thousands of hours of training, Franklin said, and building better relationships between police and residents has been an important part of getting to this point.

Programs started under the consent decree that helped to improve relationships include the Warren Citizen Police Academy, a multi-week class in which citizens learn how the department operates, and the Bridging the Gap program in Warren City Schools that has police working directly with students.

"The programs will be ongoing," Franklin said. "Relationships are fragile. We will do what is in our power to maintain and strengthen relationships."

In addition, city officials have worked with various community groups to improve police-resident relations.

"We've been to several community meetings," Franklin said. "We've never had a problem in getting command staff to participate."

Also helping to bring the consent decree to an end was Assistant Law Director Traci Timko Sabau, who worked directly with the department daily, and the emphasis put on accountability from the police command staff to patrol officers on use-of-force complaints, Hicks said.

Merkel said changes were made to the department's policies and procedures, and officers have been trained on methods to de-escalate situations before they become greater problems.

"Every instance of use of force is reviewed, not only from the supervisor on the street, but also by a use-of-force review board," Merkel said. "Our police officers want a better police department."

Sabau credited the officers for taking the changes to heart.

"They jumped through the hoops whenever we made changes in the policies and then jumped through them again when we changed them once again," she said.

rsmith@tribday.com