The presentation was announced to the public less than 20 hours prior to its scheduled start time, and while certain reforms were promised, it remains to be seen how—or if—they’ll actually come to light.
Castor and Dugan made brief comments during Saturday’s meeting and responded to reporters from CL, the Tampa Bay Times, Univision, WVTV and WFLA in a Zoom press conference held afterwards.
However, the actual report of the task force’s findings was presented by Dr. Bryanna Fox, an Associate Criminology Professor at the University of South Florida (USF) who led the charge on this summer’s feedback report from the community task force, with aid from 12 USF graduate students.
The data collected included both qualitative (non-numerical) and quantitative (numerical) data, using the 21st Century Policing report developed by the Obama Task Force on Policing in 2015 as a framework; Castor herself contributed to this report during her tenure as Chief of Police.
The 2015 report highlighted six pillars of policing; five out of the six were used to develop questions for the Community Task Force and guide focus group discussions:
- Building trust and transparency
- Policy and oversight
- Technology and social media
- Community policing and crime reduction
- Training and education
The sixth pillar in the 2015 report was Officer Wellness and Safety. In addition to the five of six pillars, the topic of funding and resources was also discussed during Community Task Force focus group sessions.
Saturday’s presentation featured a report of 17 key findings from the USF team’s two focus group sessions with the 40 members of the community task force—all of whom received a personal invitation to participate—and 10 Tampa Police Department (TPD) officers. Quantitative data used for Dr. Fox’s report, however, utilized only data from the first focus group session, composed of 30 community member participants.
The report also considered data collected through an online survey completed earlier this summer by 115 USF students in TPD zip codes, created shortly after the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers on May 25.
Dr. Fox noted that neither the members of the community task force, nor the 10 selected TPD officers, should be considered representative of the entire Tampa community and TPD.
Some key demographic data pulled from the Community Task Force and surveyed USF group:
- About 65.4% of the Community Task Force was made up of African Americans, and 19% Hispanic/Latino.
- Within the surveyed USF group, only 11% of participants identified as African American, with the majority of students identifying as white (49%) or Hispanic/Latino (28%).
- More than 70% of the Community Task Force members had received either an Advanced Degree (44%) or a Bachelor’s degree (28%) as their highest level of education.
- Shockingly, 20.8% of the Community Task Force members reported an annual income of over $150,000—with only 29% reporting an income of less than $75,000. About 12% reported an annual income < $14,999.
- Among the USF student group, nearly 60% reported an annual income of less than $14,999.
- None of the members of the community task force identified as Republicans. 60% identified as Democrats. Surveyed USF students were not asked about their political party affiliation.
- Nearly 92% of community task force members reported being a previous victim of crime.
Interviewed community members and surveyed USF students were asked to provide numerical ratings on questions about Tampa policing and community policing, and participate in focus group discussions.
What happened during Saturday’s Facebook Live presentation
The city’s Facebook Live presentation started off on shaky grounds, with about 10 minutes of technical difficulties—namely, an issue of no audio, as Castor spoke to an audience of over 200 Facebook viewers on mute. The City of Tampa’s Director of Communications Ashley Bauman, and Castor, later apologized for the earlier technical difficulties.
Thus, the presentation truly kicked off with Dr. Fox, who began her presentation on the task force findings at about 9:16 a.m. Fox, whose audio settings were adequately functioning, first introduced herself, then moved forward with an introduction of her report and the methodology of her graduate team’s summerlong sessions with the community task force.
Highlights from today’s Task Force on Policing presentation
Addressing the five pillars: Concerning the first pillar—building trust and transparency—the Community Task Force and USF Students reported an average score of 4.7 out of 10.
- In the focus group portion, one community member mentioned how distrust of police is an issue of systemic injustices in the policing system. perpetrated over generations. Participants asserted the need for greater accountability for TPD officers.
- Nearly every question addressing the five pillars received an average score of less than 5 out of 10.
- An average score of 1.9 out of 4 was given in response to the question of whether participants were confident that TPD officers were being appropriately disciplined after engaging in misconduct.
- Community members asserted the need to eradicate double standards for police misconduct. “Officers get a fresh start, yet prison sentences follow us around,” one community member said.
Below average: There were only two areas where TPD scored above 5 out of 10.
- First, its use of social media. Community task members gave TPD an average 5.1 out of 10 score for “how well [they’re] doing in their social media use”.
- Second, TPD received an average 5.4 out of 10 score for how well it’s doing in crime reduction. Scores for overall fear of crime, including property crime and violent crime, were low among community members.
Lack of awareness about policing policies: A repeated message throughout the presentation was the finding that, according to Fox, members of the Community Task Force appeared to be unaware of TPD policies and policing standards already implemented within the department.
- For instance, some participants seemed to be unaware that all eight use of force policies proposed in the national 8 Can’t Wait initiative have already been implemented in Tampa. These policies include promoting de-escalation tactics, a ban on chokeholds by officers, and a duty to intervene.
- However, while Fox and Castor both repeated this talking point, they seemed unwilling to consider the fact that a lack of awareness about these policies’ implementation also seems to imply that they are not effective. The use of force by TPD officers has increased 24% since 2017. These policies have also not prevented the recent use of excessive force against Tampa Bay activists like Jae Passmore, Jason Stuart Flores, and the murder of individuals like Jonas Joseph.
What officers had to say: Ten TPD officers participated in the Community Task Force sessions, engaging in open dialogue with community members and listening to their concerns.
- Said one officer on the topic of increasing accountability, “We want to champion the good cops, but then get rid of the bad ones.”
- Officers admitted a behavioral pattern of misconduct can often be seen in these “bad apples,” yet little was said as to TPD response to this pattern of misconduct and why it’s allowed to occur.
- One officer recommended officers “take time to have a conversation and show people that we're here to help,” in an effort to humanize the police, and promote positive interactions rather than highlighting negative interactions of enforcement.
Implementing a procedural justice model: From the data collected, Dr. Fox and her team developed a few suggestions for how to address concerns about community interactions with police, and how to improve these relations. The first of these was the implementation of a procedural justice model.
- According to Fox, this model of policing serves to “build community trust and legitimacy” through the adoption of policies that would increase transparency, accountability, focus on relationship-building between community members and police, and appropriately address police misconduct.
- Aspects of procedural justice policing have already been implemented in TPD, however. For instance, the promotion of de-escalation tactics. The use of body worn cameras is also featured in a procedural justice model.
Improving community relations with police: Dr. Fox and her team expressed support for strengthening the model of community policing—which is not beloved by all, mind you, nor determined to necessarily be effective at improving interactions with police.
- Fox et. al championed community policing—which essentially increases the police presence in communities—as a way to “[build] relationships and trust”
- One community member suggested TPD officers do “reverse ride-alongs,” where they spend a day in the communities they are policing/patrolling. Um, alright.
- Fox formally recommended “turning relationship-building into a policing philosophy”—however that might actually be applied beyond the proposed solution of expanding community policing, increased officer training, and implementing policies that are sure to justify further increases to the already-bloated TPD budget.
Police response to mental health calls: Dr. Fox and her research team suggested the implementation of a co-response model for mental health and social welfare calls to the police. This model would involve hiring mental health experts and social workers to co-respond to these calls, working in collaboration with the police department.
- Addressing the response of law enforcement to mental health crises is critical, considering an estimated 25% of fatal encounters with police officers in the United States involve people with mental illness, according to the Treatment Advocacy Center.
- St. Pete Mayor Rick Kriseman and the Chief of Police recently announced their own decision to reallocate $3 million of the city’s police budget towards the creation of a Community Assistance Liaison (CAL) response team, which would consist of community and social services professionals.
- In a virtual media presser following the public presentation, Castor expressed moderate support for a co-response model, but stated concerns about how the city would get such a program “up and running”. To address this concern, one might look to similar programs, like the Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets (CAHOOTS) program implemented in Eugene, Oregon, which has seen demonstrated success in cost-effectiveness and reducing police involvement in mental health crisis calls.
- Arguably, however, developing co-response teams for mental health calls is not all that we can or should be doing to address mental health crises—and the criminalization of mental illness—in our communities.
Defunding the police: Throwing shade on protestor calls to “defund the police” appeared to be a key strategy throughout the presentation—a sure sign that continued pressure by Tampa Bay activists has not gone unnoticed. The question of “What does defunding the police mean to you?” was one of those posed to Community Task Force members. According to Fox, “the task force members resoundingly said, you know, defunding means taking officers away from the street. I don't want that.”
- However, a further explanation of these answers seemed to reveal a lack of understanding about what defunding the police actually means to local Tampa Bay activists. Namely, that a defunding plan would involve developing an alternative public safety system. Perhaps Sunday’s People’s Budget Workshop event at MacFarlane Park, hosted by the newly-formed People’s Safety Coalition, will be able to provide a more representative primer on that.
- Mayor Jane Castor also used scare tactics to dismiss calls to defund, stating that defunding TPD would take senior officers and “younger, often more diverse officers” from the street. The downside of reducing a looming police presence, of course, is debatable.
- Castor did concede that she does agree with one aspect of the defunding discussions: namely, the idea of reallocating a portion of police funding into social services to address transportation, housing, mental health care services, and workforce development. “I totally agree with that,” Castor stated. In her media press conference, Castor reiterated this sentiment, saying “everyone is in favor” of that method of defunding, as long as it doesn’t “[pull] officers off the street”.
- Castor’s recent proposal to increase the TPD budget by $13 million next year, however, doesn’t seem to reflect this supposed common ground.
Abolishing the police: Inspired by abolitionists such as Angela Davis, Mariame Kaba, and Ruth Wilson Gilmore, several Tampa Bay activists have been vocal about their goals for police abolition—envisioning a public safety system divorced from a policing system that has its roots in racism and xenophobia.
- Tampa Mayor Castor, a former police chief, and members of the Community Task Force, however, evidently do not have this same vision. As one Community Task Force member stated, “Abolishing the police….would be a catastrophe.”
- This fear of abolition, however, seems to stem from similar misconceptions about defunding—namely that it would result in increased crime, an unreliable public safety system, and is generally a pie-in-the-sky kind of idea.
Reduced crime in Tampa: Both Dr. Fox and Mayor Castor touted Tampa’s reduced crime rate—a supposed 80% reduction, according to Castor in July—yet conveniently failed to mention that the TPD has seen a 223% increase in officer use of chemical agents like pepper spray, according to an internal report obtained by CL in June. It’s uncertain whether this reduced crime rate reflects violence perpetrated by TPD officers.
Community Policing: At one point in the presentation, Castor claimed that “every single officer is a community police officer, and it's one of the reasons that they have the majority of their resources decentralized out into the specific districts.” CL digital editor, Colin Wolf, disputed this on Twitter, bringing up the fact that only 17% of Tampa police officers live within city limits.
After Fox’s presentation Saturday morning, Castor confirmed that the key findings presented in this initial presentation were not to be the end of her new Community Task Force.
“I'm going to ask [Dr. Fox and her team] if they will continue in an oversight capacity, so that they can see that these findings that have just been laid out, that they are appropriately implemented within the Tampa Police Department. Again, so they can make that a better organization that everyone in our community would be proud of.”
“We can't undo our past, but we can educate ourselves on that. So that we don't make the same mistakes again,” Castor said.
Chief of Police, Brian Dugan—whom BLM protestors have called on Castor to fire, for multiple reasons—addressed viewers saying, “I know I, as your chief of police, need to do better, and our police department needs to do better.”
He went on to say that he will continue to “digest” the findings presented and that he looks forward to reading a hard copy of Fox’s report. “I appreciate the community that has been involved in this who has the courage to give us those hard conversations and give us the information that we need to really make an impactful change.”
If Dugan is as committed to listening to the community—or rather, personally invested in community stakeholders in Castor’s prestigious task force—one would hope this would mean stopping the targeting of Black Lives Matter protesters for arrest, not doxxing Black women who deign to film TPD officers who point guns in their direction, and generally putting his nice words into action. Actions speak louder than words, after all, and Dugan’s behavior has said a lot.
Mayor Castor encouraged continued community involvement, and asserted her plan to ensure that all recommendations and findings gathered through the Community Task Force sessions would be “successfully implemented” in the TPD.
While some of Castor’s language sounds encouraging, whether some of the more promising recommendations will come to fruition is yet to be seen. And even still—lacking from these findings is input from Tampa Bay activists, who have continued to take to the streets in protest over the last three months, despite dwindling numbers of attendees in recent weeks.
Many of the protestors continuing to show up at Black Lives Matter protests here in Tampa are young and passionate about enacting meaningful change in the community. They’ve used their social media skills to promote education about policing, public safety, reinvesting in community social services, and community oversight.
They’ve encouraged fellow Tampa protestors to call their City Council members, attend City Council meetings, vote in local elections, and consider more compassionate approaches to community justice.
Many community organizers in the local Black Lives Matter movement understand that demanding meaningful reforms to policing, and addressing systemic forms of oppression against Black, brown, and indigenous people of color (BIPOC) in Tampa Bay communities requires more than protesting in the streets.
Mayor Castor’s continued dismissal of local activists, and TPD’s minimization of their concerns about the use of force against protestors, does a serious disservice to community members who—albeit not granted prestige within the mayor’s Community Task Force—nonetheless are expressing sincere concern, anger, and a commitment toward improving the well-being of all members of the Tampa Bay community.
UPDATED: 08/30/20 8:45 p.m. Updated to remove a reference to Andrew Joseph III, who died after being kicked out of the Florida State Fair by Hillsborough County Sheriffs, not TPD.
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This article appears in Sep 3-9, 2020.