Pullman police officials outlined recent efforts to mend local relationships and department morale Monday amid backlash over a sergeant’s arrest on sexual assault charges as well as viral video tied to an ongoing excessive force lawsuit.
Police Chief Gary Jenkins told the city’s Police Advisory Committee he had met with WSU administrators, multicultural student groups and the Black Faculty and Staff Association to answer questions and address recent concerns.
“That’s kind of what we’ve started,” Jenkins said. “(We are) trying to work on rebuilding some trust that may have been lost with some of those communities on campus.”
Sgt. Dan Hargraves faces felony charges of sexually assaulting a student in his custody last spring. He resigned Nov. 26. The department also faces a civil rights lawsuit over the 2017 arrest of former WSU football player Treshon Broughton. Video of that arrest, first published by Whitman County Watch, has since circulated widely on social media.
Police officials dedicated much of the monthly advisory committee meeting to discussing the department’s policies on use of force and answering questions. Jenkins said some department staff had struggled with recent online reactions and had participated in a debriefing exercise to process their feelings.
“We’ve been getting a lot of I guess negative comments, from not necessarily members of our community, but from anybody who wanted to post,” he said, adding, “Officers are just feeling really stressed right now from all of this negative attention on the department.”
In a presentation to the committee, Pullman Sgt. Greg Umbright emphasized the department has used physical force in just 37 incidents out of more than 12,000 calls for service this year. Thirteen of those incidents results in minor injuries. No one was hospitalized or killed.
“I think that we do a pretty good job with it,” he said.
Umbright briefly explained case law and department policy on use of force tactics. He also explained a “continuum” of force for applying the least amount of force necessary to resolve a confrontation.
“An officer must use sufficient force to overcome the force that they face,” he said. “Citizens expect us, the officers, to win. You pay us to win. You pay us to protect you. Your expectation is that we win.”
Umbright then asked volunteers to help him demonstrate several physical compliance techniques as well as the challenges of restraining suspects who put up resistance. Volunteers cringed as he placed them in various wrist holds and mock takedowns.
The sergeant had one volunteer demonstrate pulling a fake handgun unexpectedly to reinforce how quickly situations can escalate.
Umbright explained officers have received valuable assistance from bystanders in some physical confrontations, mostly helping by giving officers space to work. He noted bystanders with firearms have intervened in incidents elsewhere in the country, but can also complicate officers’ efforts to identify threats.
The presentation also briefly covered the use of Lateral Vascular Neck Restraints, commonly known as sleeper holds, that can render a subject unconscious. The technique has faced increased scrutiny in recent years following the 2014 death of Eric Garner in New York and the “I Can’t Breathe” movement.
Here’s an in-depth Seattle Times piece from 2014 explaining the regional use and perceived risks of LVNR holds.
“It’s a low level use of force,” Umbright said of such holds. “Most people give up. … People don’t actually die from it. It’s quite safe.”
A committee member asked Umbright how the department could counteract media sensationalism of police force to improve public understanding of the nuances and challenges involved. Umbright explained more first-hand community demonstrations could help spread awareness.
“The media, they’re out there to make money, so they like to …,” he said, trailing off with a wave of his hand.
Read Daily News coverage of the meeting here. Watch the entire meeting here.
The Pullman Police Advisory Committee meets at 5:30 p.m. every second Monday of the month. The next meeting is Jan. 14 and may feature a presentation from the Whitman County Coroner.
Find other local meeting times and agendas in our Civic Calendar.