Dresner answers questions on transparency, Tasers

The head of the Columbia Police Department took questions regarding the department's relationship with the community and recent incidents involving officers' use of Tasers at an NAACP meeting Tuesday night.

Interim Chief Tom Dresner said problems and mistrust have arisen in the community because of a lack of transparency on the part of the department, which has been as issue that he has addressed since he was appointed to the position in July.

"Your police department is not talking to you near as much as it should," Dresner said.

Dresner explained the department's complaint system as well as its internal affairs process, which has seen changes this year with the creation of the two-officer Professional Standards Unit.

Dresner said that out of 8,000 arrests from the creation of the PSU until the end of September, there have been 241 complaints against officers.

Dresner also said establishing a citizen review board would contribute to the complaint process.

"We can't get anything done without the support of the community," Dresner said to those in attendance. "We know that you need us and we need you, too."

Missouri NAACP President Mary Ratliff said an open dialogue between members of the community and the police department would help problems in the relationship between residents and the department.

"If you have cancer and you put a Band-Aid on it, you don't cure cancer," Ratliff said. "You just cover it up. We need to talk about problems we have in the community." 

Glenn Cobbins, a community organizer, said members of the community should also show transparency by particiapting in the complaint process.   

Complaints can be submitted at the police department lobby, as well as at the Columbia Public Library, City Hall, the office of City Manager Bill Watkins or on the city's Web site. 

Because the matter is still under investigation, Dresner said he could not give specific details about a recent incident at Hickman High School involving the school's assigned resource officer and three students. Dresner still took questions regarding the procedure of the investigation, which is being handled by the PSU. He said a full report on the issue would be released next week.

Dresner also took questions regarding the department's use of Tasers, and defended the use of the devices amid concerns from audience members regarding suspects with medical conditions.

"The (Taser) is essentially safe in most situations," Dresner said.

Audience members also asked Dresner about an incident in September in which police used Tasers on a man who threatened to jump of a pedestrian walkway on a bridge at Interstate 70 and Providence Road, causing the man to fall 15 feet and suffer injuries.

John Pipes, a Columbia resident, asked Dresner if there was immediate danger to the officers involved in the incident, which would warrant the use of a Taser.

Dresner said there is a "hierarchy of safety" involved when officers engage a suspect. He said officers worry about hostages or victims first — there were none in the September incident — and then would worry about the welfare of any innocent citizens involved with the incident. In this case, he said, drivers on the interstate below the bridge fit into this second category, which is followed by concern for the safety of police officers on the scene and, lastly, for the suspect. 

Dresner's appearance at the meeting comes after several activist groups held a press conference Monday morning to address concerns with reports that had been released on Oct. 31 regarding Taser use by the department. 

Ed Berg, an attorney and a volunteer for Grass Roots Organizing, submitted the request for the reports and was in attendance to the meeting Tuesday. He said from his findings in the reports that officers have been using the devices improperly, such as an incident in which a suspect was running from police. He also said out of the 49 reports of Taser use that it received from the department, 26 detailed incidents in which the devices were used on an African American.

Shortly after the news conference Monday, Dresner issued a news release in which he defended the department's policy regading Tasers, and that while the department invites feedback from the community, he has complete confidence in the department.