PORT TOWNSEND — Law enforcement officers in Jefferson County said they were shocked by the actions of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who knelt on the neck of George Floyd for nearly nine minutes.
Jefferson County Sheriff Joe Nole and Port Townsend Police Department interim Chief Troy Surber said in recent interviews that the actions taken by Chauvin are not permissible or acceptable among their departments, sentiments echoed by their counterparts in Clallam County.
The death of Floyd on May 25 has spurred international protests against police brutality and systematic racism, with many demonstrations happening throughout the North Olympic Peninsula.
Both Nole and Surber and their respective departments watched the video that went viral showing Floyd’s death and said they were shocked by the actions of Chauvin, who has since been charged with second-degree murder.
“We are trained that there are times where you put a knee on someone’s neck when you are handcuffing them, but it’s a momentary thing,” Nole said. “You’re taught that it is not something you would want to linger on or something like that.
“We were all very shocked that someone would sit on someone for that long, especially once they were already in handcuffs,” he continued.
“The whole reason for doing something like that is to put them in handcuffs and render the situation safe.
“It’s rare to have to do that,” he said. “That is not a technique that is used all the time. It just doesn’t happen very often.”
Surber agreed with Nole.
“It was a tragic event that occurred that was shocking,” Surber said. “It took me a while to even watch the video. That’s not part of our training. That’s not how you apply any type of hold to anybody. That’s just not part of our training.”
Community policing
Both departments use community policing tactics to serve Jefferson County, focusing on getting people help for mental health services, drug addiction and other services when possible, and avoiding arrests unless necessary, Nole and Surber said.
“We’re part of the community,” Nole said. “I think that community policing is being there for the community, and one thing, as far as the protest, the idea that disturbs me is that someone would be afraid to call a police officer or deputy for help because they’re scared something might happen to them.
“We’re here for everybody regardless of what the diversity might be, but I also understand that we have more to learn and that we need to listen,” Nole continued.
“Law enforcement is a representative of the community, and living up to the needs and standards of the community.”
The Port Townsend Police Department has a community service officer, Wendy Davis, who helps at events in the city, assists with animal control, parking downtown and other duties. She does not carry a weapon, Surber said.
“She does a lot of tasks that — in our philosophy — shouldn’t be done by a police officer, and that’s why she does the events and does the parking, and she doesn’t wear a weapon,” Surber said.
“Her primary function is with the community events, and we have quite a few major events in the city of Port Townsend, and that’s where she interacts with the public and helps those events go smoothly.”
Both departments have carried out state-mandated de-escalation training, although Surber and Nole said they would appreciate more funding to increase that training.
Both said they work to help people find resources they need instead of arresting them immediately.
“We have reoccurring training for de-escalation, but it’s also mixed in with crisis-intervention training,” Surber said. “It’s trying to find another alternative to arrest, when possible, and if it’s a medical call, keep it a medical call, or struggling with mental health and it’s finding resources.”
The police department hired navigator Jud Haynes, a behavioral health professional, to assist officers.
The sheriff’s office has been working to get funding for a navigator program as well, Nole said.
“To me, that’s what community policing is about,” Surber said. “It’s trying to find other alternatives then just direct law enforcement contact.”
The navigator can work with an individual, he said.
“It gets them to the right person with the right training.”
Both Nole and Surber were outraged that the three officers with Chauvin did not intervene. Both Nole and Surber said it is an expectation of their officers that they hold each other accountable to staying within protocols and training.
“It’s part of our policy that, if you see someone doing something that is outside of policy, or even if you just think it’s wrong, you have to tell them to knock it off,” Nole said.
“That doesn’t sound like a whole lot, but we do have that responsibility and we’re aware of, if you see someone going overboard, you’re supposed to do something.
“In my recollection of being here for 27 years, I’ve never known of that happening.”
Both departments do not use choke holds as a method of enforcement, they said.
If a situation did arise that required an internal investigation for either department, Surber and Nole said it would be handled by an outside agency, probably from Clallam County, so it could be performed by a neutral party.
However, there has not been a cause for an internal investigation in recent years, they said.
Both Surber and Nole said their departments are learning from the problems that have been illustrated at the other departments across the nation so they don’t repeat the mistakes.
“We have a good department here,” Nole said. “But I still think it’s important for us to be aware of what’s going on, and it’s disturbing to think how we all get painted with a broad brush, as far as being law enforcement, that, therefore, we’re bad.
“But that doesn’t relieve us of the responsibility to continue to learn and to listen and to meet with the community with their concerns are on everything, but particularly now and social justice.”
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Jefferson County reporter Zach Jablonski can be reached by email at zjablonski@peninsuladailynews.com or by phone at 360-385-2335, ext. 5.
