Cedar Rapids police chief finalists talk priorities

CEDAR RAPIDS — The city has narrowed its search for a new Cedar Rapids police chief to four finalists, who were each available to meet with community members at an event last week.

Before the community reception, the candidates were invited to participate in 15-minute interviews Wednesday with representatives from local media organizations, including The Gazette. One of the four candidates — Tom Whitten, the chief deputy for the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office in Texas — declined to talk with reporters.

Reporters talked about several topics with the other three candidates: Jeff Coday, a captain in the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department; David Dostal, a captain with the Cedar Rapids Police Department; and Jennifer Birkhofer, a deputy sheriff at the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office in Omaha.

Here is some of what the three finalists who met with reporters said:

Vision/priorities

Coday: “My top priorities would be to keep the community safe, prevention and reduction of violent crime, transparency and officer wellness.”

Dostal: “I want to continue what we're doing. I think we're moving in a great path right now. There are some areas where I would like to improve, tweak a little bit at the department, but right now I definitely want to continue on with what we've been doing, and I want to expand our community engagement or community involvement with the police department.”

Birkhofer: “I would be very remiss to say I have a vision of making sweeping changes of any kind. That really first initial vision is maintaining that transparency and communication that it sounds to me like this department is known for.”

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School resource officers

Coday: “If (youth) can interact in a positive way with police at a younger age, I think that pays dividends in the long run. It's also important to have officers in schools immediately, that way we can share information and get ahead of any potential problems that might be developing at school.”

Dostal: My philosophy is schools, especially nowadays, are an area that definitely need attention for safety reasons. I think it's absolutely great that we have school resource officers in our schools. .… I would like to get them back into the middle schools. I firmly believe that interaction is a positive thing with students and the police department.“

Birkhofer: “I think that (a School Resource Officer program) is very valuable in the schools because that is that bridge and communication between the law enforcement community and the youth. That is where relationships are established and where that trust is built.”

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Transparency

Coday: “I think transparency is of the utmost importance. If we're not transparent, then that breeds distrust and, maybe in some cases, resentment with the community. So, I think it's important, even when we make a mistake, it's important to own up to that.”

Dostal: “Transparency with the media in the police department is absolutely a necessity. It crushes rumors. It gets information out to the public on an event that's taking place. … If there's an investigation going on at the time, there are certain things that we need to hold close to our vest, so we cannot release all the information. That's based on the integrity of the case at hand and also the protection of any constitutional rights of individuals involved, be it a victim, a suspect, or even an officer.”

Birkhofer: “It's extremely important that when you have information that you can release to the public that isn't going to be a detriment to an investigation, that information be shared, especially if it is in regards to public safety, or if it is going to help in solving the crime or reducing crime.”

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Community relationships

Coday: “The use of social media and traditional media, I think, is vital to any amount of transparency that you're going to have. It's a tremendous resource for police. It's a great way for us to leverage our messaging and get our messaging out to the community and hopefully improve community relations.”

Dostal: “I firmly believe that we need to … increase the community involvement and community partnership. I see that as being an advantage to both the police department and the community itself, to build trust. In our community service division, we have a community outreach sergeant. … One of the things I would like to do is expand that Community Outreach Division portion and create an even more in-depth relationship with the community.”

Birkhofer: “Community policing is viewed very differently by different people. You'll have one person tell you that community policing means that your officers that are on the street are getting to know their community, and working with the community. You'll have somebody else tell you that community policing means that you have very positive community services division. … I believe that both of those things tie into community policing, and I have done those in my own work.”

Group violence intervention

Coday: “I think it's important that we remain engaged with our youth, specifically … working with school police, getting all of our community partners involved in getting community resources to those families in need that are facing issues, particularly those that have children that might be out committing crime. I think that's a good opportunity, if we can be part of that as a police agency, to get resources to those families and try to intervene and prevent future violence.”

Dostal: “When we first brought on Group Violence Intervention … It was a little hard to take on to begin with, because … we haven't done that before. But, as the program progressed, it's benefited. We've … assisted them in doing some notifications and I think it's definitely created a better partnership with the community, with the police department and actually has made some positive efforts for curbing a little bit of the gun violence.”

Birkhofer: “I have looked at some of the practices that are going on here that are most likely responsible for reducing (gun violence). They have a (police community action team) that goes out and actively works to reduce that gun violence, and it looks like they're seeing positive results from that, and I would like to see that continue moving forward.”

Birkhofer declined to answer a question about working with community groups to deal with gun violence, particularly involving youth.

Mental health

Coday: “I think that it's critical that we work with all of our community partners, especially those that specialize in mental health issues or mental illness. … If we can get community resources to those people that need it, I think it improves the overall quality of life within the community. It's important that we have trained professionals that know how to interact and deal with people in crisis.

“It's obviously a problem that you can't arrest your way out of with mental illness, so we really need to do our part to foster that link between the community resources and those that need them.”

Dostal: “We have an outstanding mental health unit. We partner with Foundation 2, going out into the public, in the community, and assisting any of those individuals any way we can. It's been a great resource to have with our department. It has helped out, provided resources to those individuals that may be battling a mental crisis. I would like to expand it and keep it going.”

Birkhofer: “I would want to see an ongoing relationship with the mental health liaisons … and with the nonprofits that support that.

“There are a lot of programs out there that offer mental health training for officers, and I would like to see, if it's not already being done here, that they're receiving … training so that they are, if a liaison is not available, better equipped themselves to handle the situation.”

Technology

Coday: “I think technology is critical. We're never going to have enough officers to effectively police a city without the use of technology. Technology such as body-worn cameras is critical for transparency. Other technology that's out there available … can help with traffic enforcement. … I think if we embrace technology, that'll greatly aid our ability to keep the community safe.”

Dostal: “When I started on the department I basically had a walkie talkie and my gun belt. I did not have any sort of in-car camera. I did not have a body-worn camera. I did not have a Taser. So, technology advances as my career progressed. I firmly think there's always room for change, always room for improvement.”

Dostal declined to answer a question about his experience working with technology to maximize policing, like automated traffic enforcement cameras.

Birkhofer: “There's a lot of technology that is available, that I am aware that not all agencies have. So, (we have to be) willing to look beyond what is right in front of us, and be willing to expand, and be open minded in thinking about how we can make improvements.”

Balancing equity and support of officers

Coday: “Officer wellness is important, so I think it's important that we're taking care of our officers in every way that we can. I think most officers agree with transparency, they want transparency, they want to build that relationship with the community. … Being open and honest and transparent with both the officers and the community, I think, builds that mutual trust and then mutual respect.”

Dostal: “Equity within the police department, anywhere, is of vital importance. I would foster it in any way I can. Our department right now, I feel, treats everybody equally. … Can we always improve? Sure. But at that point we would come up with a plan, and it would be a collaborative effort.”

Birkhofer: “If you're ensuring that your policies and your daily actions of your department … are in line with one another, it makes following policy and backing your officers very easy. Because if policy is in best practice and you are following policy, then when the investigation comes out, and when everything is done, you will you'll be able to say we have done everything right.”

Civilian oversight

Coday: “In building trust and transparency, it's important to have that oversight and be able to receive input … and give (the community) another option to have somebody hear their grievance or an issue they might have with the police department, and have somebody that can bring those issues to the department.”

Dostal: “I firmly support the citizen review board. I think that's a great way to show trust with the community. They do, right now, review some of the complaints that we have. They review data. I think it's just one way to continue partnership with … the community and not have anything to hide from the community.”

Birkhofer: “My understanding of the citizens review board here is that they have a very positive relationship with the police department in reviewing different items within the department, whether that's internal affairs or reports that they review, and that their feedback on some of that information is critical in really educating the department about what the public thinks as well as their understanding of how the department works. I view those review boards as very critical in information sharing, and coming to a mutual understanding between the members of that board and their communities that they represent and the police department”

Each of the four finalists also was interviewed Wednesday by five panels of city and community leaders. City Manager Jeff Pomeranz will identify two final candidates. He will then appoint a chief, with the advice and consent of the mayor and City Council.

The new chief will succeed Wayne Jerman, who retired last April after signing a severance agreement. Jerman was paid more than $188,000 a year and oversaw a department of 270 full-time equivalents.

Comments: (319) 398-8328; emily.andersen@thegazette.com