Interested in LEO opinions on this......

[The Annoyed Man]

Here's the article in question:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/3 ... 1383132890

In November 2011, a homeless man estimated to be in his 40s was found dead in a tent at the Occupy encampment in Salt Lake City's Pioneer Park. He died from a mix of a drug overdose and carbon monoxide poisoning from a portable heater. The incident prompted city officials to determine that it was no longer safe for the protesters to camp in the park overnight.

Salt Lake City Police Chief Chris Burbank, 46, was in charge of the eviction. But Burbank took a decidedly different approach from his counterparts in other cities who used aggressive, confrontational measures to oust their own Occupy encampments.

In a nutshell, it is an article about the Chief of Police of Salt Lake City, Utah. He has taken a different approach to dealing with crisis situations and protests, trying to get away from confrontational shows of overpowering force, and toward trying to reason with people. The libertarian in me says "right on," but the pragmatic conservative says "I'm not sold 100%." I like the idea of showing more respect to citizens, and I agree with him that officers get paid, in part, to take risks on our behalves so that we don't have to, but I'm not certain that his methods won't result in at least some increase in injury or death to officers, and I don't think that is acceptable either.

I am curious for any board members who are either active or former LEOs to know what you think of this guy's methods. Some of the discussions here have gotten heated over how police interact with citizens, and it seems to me that it is in the interests of police agencies to be constantly self-examining for better ways to do things. As culture changes, so should they be willing to change as necessary to meet the changing needs of the culture. . . . .so long as they can do so without surrendering good standards of police work.

Discuss.

(For the record, I don't usually read HuffPo. This article showed up on my FaceBook timeline, which is how it got my attention.)

[texanjoker]

If it worked good for them. I wonder what office he is running for? Regardless if they were in "riot" gear, if the crowd was 200 you can be sure they had many leo's present. It would take a large number to make 19 arrests. The article should state their numbers. If the people left on their own that is good and kudos for the leo's doing the eviction. Different cities fuel a different kind of protester and it's good to see the people in Utah are mellow. His views on some stuff such as immigration is a joke. I wonder how the rank and file likes his leadership? I'll bet when he was on the swat team he would have had a different opinion on how to handle this .

Side note: I had to go to the occupy Austin encampment on an investigation. It was nothing but a drug infested homeless camp. It was embarrassing to see it set up on the steps of city hall.

[tallmike]

Wow. I'm not a cop, but I like that guy!

Personally, I think the rights and safety of the citizens trumps the safety of police officers. I believe strongly in officer safety but I believe even stronger in citizen rights.

[wil]

Wow. I'm not a cop, but I like that guy!

Personally, I think the rights and safety of the citizens trumps the safety of police officers. I believe strongly in officer safety but I believe even stronger in citizen rights.

It is why for the longest time, LE or as they were referred to as 'peace officers' were so respected and venerated within the community.
It was understood that officer safety took a back seat to the requirements for maintaining civil liberties. Most everyone understood and respected the officer for making a deliberate choice in what he did with the risks it ran to do so.

[Shoot_First]

If it worked good for them. I wonder what office he is running for? Regardless if they were in "riot" gear, if the crowd was 200 you can be sure they had many leo's present. It would take a large number to make 19 arrests. The article should state their numbers. If the people left on their own that is good and kudos for the leo's doing the eviction. Different cities fuel a different kind of protester and it's good to see the people in Utah are mellow. His views on some stuff such as immigration is a joke. I wonder how the rank and file likes his leadership? I'll bet when he was on the swat team he would have had a different opinion on how to handle this .

Side note: I had to go to the occupy Austin encampment on an investigation. It was nothing but a drug infested homeless camp. It was embarrassing to see it set up on the steps of city hall.

Talked to my SLC LEO son yesterday about Burbank. He said lots of discussion about Huff Post article. Burbank was my son's FTO, then his SWAT LT after promotion, then became the previous chief's horseholder, then became the SLCPD Chief. Initially viewed favorably because he came up through the ranks vice the previous chief who came from the Asst. Chief in LAPD. Now, the view is mixed. Burbank says he wants to be the longest serving SLCPD Chief, but my son says he is not the same person he was before. During a recent meeting Burbank was asked his opinion of one officer versus two officer patrol cars and he just shrugged his shoulders without giving any opinion. Son busy competing for SGT and is #1 after written and management interviews but another two weeks of scenario based panels.

[EEllis]

I'm not a LEO but I can tell you trying to use the min force at all times is just as absurd as using the max force at all times. Not only can using less force hurt officers but in the wrong situation it allows and encourages resistance which can create escalation and give way to more serious situations and increased injuries to civilians also. As a part of a balanced approach and using common sense deescalation is great and some of the best cops I know are amazing at it but it doesn't work in every situation.

Also his crap about knocking and just asking dealers to move. That to me is amazingly short sighted and total bull. Great the neighborhood is better but the next one that the dealers moved to isn't. You don't solve a problem by moving it around.

[tbrown]

If they want a peaceful way to get protestors to Move On then maybe they can send in LDS missionaries.

[texanjoker]

If it worked good for them. I wonder what office he is running for? Regardless if they were in "riot" gear, if the crowd was 200 you can be sure they had many leo's present. It would take a large number to make 19 arrests. The article should state their numbers. If the people left on their own that is good and kudos for the leo's doing the eviction. Different cities fuel a different kind of protester and it's good to see the people in Utah are mellow. His views on some stuff such as immigration is a joke. I wonder how the rank and file likes his leadership? I'll bet when he was on the swat team he would have had a different opinion on how to handle this .

Side note: I had to go to the occupy Austin encampment on an investigation. It was nothing but a drug infested homeless camp. It was embarrassing to see it set up on the steps of city hall.

Talked to my SLC LEO son yesterday about Burbank. He said lots of discussion about Huff Post article. Burbank was my son's FTO, then his SWAT LT after promotion, then became the previous chief's horseholder, then became the SLCPD Chief. Initially viewed favorably because he came up through the ranks vice the previous chief who came from the Asst. Chief in LAPD. Now, the view is mixed. Burbank says he wants to be the longest serving SLCPD Chief, but my son says he is not the same person he was before. During a recent meeting Burbank was asked his opinion of one officer versus two officer patrol cars and he just shrugged his shoulders without giving any opinion. Son busy competing for SGT and is #1 after written and management interviews but another two weeks of scenario based panels.

Kind of what I would expect.