Police address policy reforms in Burlingame

The issue arriving in the wake of a series of community discussions regarding law enforcement policies addressed policy changes which Matteucci acknowledged were spurred by the killing of Floyd by two Minneapolis police officers in May.

“After the death of George Floyd, we made some immediate changes to our use-of-force policy,” said Matteucci.

Banning chokeholds, promoting de-escalation techniques and adopting many of the recommendations under the 8 Can’t Wait campaign were among the use-of-force revisions adopted in Burlingame, said Matteucci.

For his part, Matteucci said many of those policies had already been used in his department but officials were prompted to formalize adopting them in response to the social unrest caused by Floyd’s killing.

Regarding mental health, Matteucci said Burlingame police receive specialized training to assure they are adequately prepared to respond to those needing sensitive treatment. The department also has a relationship with the San Mateo County Mental Health Assessment and Referral Team, or SMART team.

Additionally, he said his department is monitoring the pilot program adopted by other local police forces which are partnering with the county’s behavioral health specialists to see if it is appropriate fit in Burlingame.

To address concerns regarding profiling, especially in traffic stops, Matteucci said his department plans to adopt conditions of the Racial and Identify Profiling Act one year earlier than required.

The act requires departments the same size as Burlingame to more carefully track the perceptions of officers making contact with the public by 2022. But because his department is committed to the issue, Matteucci said the policy will be adopted in 2021.

Under the act, officers pulling over a driver or making contact with the public must log their perceptions of the person’s race, age, sexual identity and other sensitive data to track any potential discrimination or profiling.

Councilmembers shared some discomfort with the effort, noting that the data is misleading because it is built solely around the perception of officers, and not necessarily the accurate identification of a person’s age, race or sexual identity.

“I find that to be very awkward situation for police officers and I don’t know how they would do it,” said Councilwoman Donna Colson.

Matteucci noted that is the point of the new law though, as efforts to address racial profiling must focus on the perceptions of who officers believe they are contacting.

“That’s what the Department of Justice is requiring because it is not who you are actually pulling over, it’s who you think you are pulling over,” he said.

For her part, Mayor Emily Beach lauded the effort and said she believed it is a step in the right direction.

“You can’t fix what you can’t measure, so I think it is great we are doing this,” she said.

Councilman Michael Brownrigg concurred and expressed his appreciation for the department’s commitment to addressing potentially sensitive issues.

“You have consistently leaned into being the best possible partner to our community,” he said.

In other business, Ann O’Brien Keighran rotated into the mayor’s position in the annual City Council rotation. Ricardo Ortiz took the post of Vice Mayor from her and former mayor Emily Beach rotated back to being a councilwoman at-large.

austin@smdailyjournal.com