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1777r RESOT_,UTION NO (~ 7 7 A RESOLI~ITION APPROVING A POLICY OF THE WEST MEMPHIS POLICE DEPARTMENT PROHIBITING RACIAL PROFILING AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. WHERErtiS, A.C.A. ~ 12-12-1401, et seq., requires each municipal police department in the State of Arkansas to adopt by January 1, 2004, a policy prohibiting racial profiling as defined in A.C.A. § 12-12-' 401; ~nd WHEREAS, the attached policy prohibiting racial profiling has been prepared and developed for the West Memphis Police Department to assure compliance with the requirements ofA_C.A. fi 12-12-1401, et seq. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WEST MEMPHIS, ARKANSAS, THAT the attached policy prohibiting racial profiling by the West Memphis Police Department is hereby approved and adopted. ADOPTED this _ ~ day of December, 200 ~. .~i~Gt ~, WILLIAM H. JOHN ,MAYOR ATTEST: ~~oo, .~...~ f~O.~ SPONSORED B~' ~~ ~L~l~- k PROHIBITION OF RACIAL PROFILING I. Purpose. (A) Members of the West Memphis Police Department shall not violate the constitutional rights of persons, regardless of race, ethnicity national origin or religion. (B) This policy serves to (1) clarify the circumstances in which officers may consider race or ethnicity when making enforcement decisions, and (2) reinforce procedures that assure the public this agency is providing service and enforcing laws in an equitable and lawful fashion. II. Prohibition and Prevention of Racial Profiling; Departmental Policy: (A) Law enforcement officers of this agency are prohibited from engaging in racial profiling in any aspect of law-enforcement activity as defined by this policy. (B) It shall be the policy of this law enforcement agency that officers base pedestrian or motor vehicle stops, detentions, or arrests of a person upon a standard of reasonable suspicion in compliance with the United States and Arkansas Constitutions as well as federal and state law. (C) Law enforcement officers of this agency shall be prohibited from utilizing race, ethnicity, national origin or religion as the basis for stops for violations for which nongroup members would not be stopped. III. Definitions. (A) "Reasonable suspicion" means a suspicion based on facts or circumstances which of themselves do not give rise to the probable cause requisite to justify a lawful arrest, but which give rise to more than a bare suspicion; that is, a suspicion that is reasonable as opposed to an imaginary or purely conjectural suspicion. (B) "Racial profiling" means the practice of a law enforcement officer's relying, to any degree, on race, ethnicity, national origin, or religion in selecting which individuals to subject to routine investigatory activities or in deciding upon the scope and substance of law enforcement activity following the initial routine investigatory activity, except that racial profiling does not include reliance on the criteria in combination with other identifying factors when the law enforcement officer is seeking to apprehend a specific suspect whose race, ethnicity; or national origin is part of the description of the suspect and the description is thought to be reliable and locally relevant. IV. Field Officer Responsibilities. (A) Members of this law enforcement agency, whether sworn, civilian, or volunteer, shall treat every person with courtesy and respect when interacting with the public and will conduct all law enforcement duties in a professional manner (B) Officers shall base all pedestrian and motor vehicle stops, detentions, investigative activities, or arrests on a standard of reasonable suspicion and in doing so shall not violate this policy. (C) Upon initial contact, and when feasible and reasonable to do so, each law enforcement officer shall provide his or her full name, written identification, jurisdiction, and the reason for the pedestrian or motor vehicle stop. V. Supervisor Responsibilities. (A) Each supervisor is responsible for ensuring that all personnel under their command fully understand the content of this policy and are operating in compliance with the procedures herein. VI. Allegations of Biased Law Enforcement Practices. (A) All allegations of violations of this policy shall be investigated by the department in a like and consistent manner and in accordance with the established policies of the West Memphis Police Department for the Internal Affairs Unit and Internal Investigations. VII. Review and Reporting Requirements. (A) Management of the West Memphis Police Department shall implement a systematic review process to generate periodic analyses of the statistical information collected from allegations of violations of this policy. (B) If a pattern is identified, the agency head or his or her designee or the Internal Affairs Unit, if applicable, shall be responsible for conducting an investigation to determine whether a trend is present indicating that an officer of the agency may be using race, ethnicity, national origin, or religion as a basis for investigating other violations of criminal law. (C) Officers found to have engaged in a pattern of racial profiling shall receive timely assistance, remediation, or discipline, including but not limited to termination. (D) Members of the West Memphis Police Department shall be required to report any violations of this policy to a supervisor immediately upon witnessing such y event. VIII. Training. (A) Training in compliance with Ark. Code Ann. 12-12-1404 and regarding this policy; This training shall include: 1. Training of all current and future agency employees as to this policy and the prohibition against racial profiling; 2. Annual in-service training stressing the understanding and respect for racial, ethnic, national, religious and cultural differences and development of effective and appropriate methods of carrying out law enforcement duties; 3. A review of the agency's operating procedures that implement the prohibition against racial profiling and the affirmation by agency employees that they have copies of, understand, and are following the policy, and 4. If possible, foreign language instruction to ensure adequate communication with residents of a community. IX. Retaliation. (A) No member of this law enforcement agency; regardless of rank or stature, shall retaliate against fellow officers, officials, civilians, or volunteers for reporting incidents of racial profiling or for participating in or cooperating with the investigation of those incidents. (B) Actions or behaviors found to constitute retaliation shall be immediately addressed and may lead to dismissal. X. The Use of Mobile Video/Audio Recording (MVR) Equipment. (A) The use of Mobile Video/Audio Recording (MVR) equipment, including the duration for which the recordings are preserved, shall be pursuant to the established policy of the West Memphis Police Department for Mobile Video Recording Equipment. XI. Application. (A) This order constitutes agency policy and is not intended to enlarge the employee's existing civil or criminal liability in anyway. It shall not be construed as the creation of an additional cause of action by either the employee or any third party.