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Chief O'Brien talked about the work of another Rotarian who is with the Fire Service. Ron Rasmussen has been a super star according to Chief O'Brien heading the Fire Service EMS. Ron talked about the first case in the county and the sensitivity of transporting the patient in a bubble to the hospital. He regularly meets with Central Command and works with all of the various city, county, state and federal agencies involved in COVID-19. Chief Dyer talked about the challenges facing police departments. Topics such as changing some of their operations as well as going on calls which will be much different than in the past. Because of COVID-19, the Police Headquarters is closed to the public, they are using on-line recordings and making sure that when officers are on a call, they remain outside the home or business and asking people to come outside as well. Communications is a challenge such as keeping employees up to date and tele-communicating when possible. The Police Department had 4 cases of COVID-19 in the police department and all have recovered. Two weeks ago with all that has been going on with COVID-19 and stay at home requirements over the past three months, Chief Dyer didn't think anything could get worst until the death of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer occurred. The Chief acknowledged the outcome as a total breakdown in the system. The event nationally where a 75 year old man was pushed down by a police officer and given little assistance by other officers was another example of a total breakdown in the system. In 2001, Washington State mandated that all police officers be evaluated with checks and balances including psychological evaluations. Officers must meet these standards otherwise certification is revoked. Also, recently the passage of HB 1064 requires that any officer involved shootings are evaluated by an independent source outside of the local jurisdiction. Lake Stevens Police Department has recently been accredited. Another key in the Police Department is training and making sure there is no absolutely no bias by anyone in the department. On other topics, he spoke about last week's student protest in Lake Stevens that went very well. Also trying to "defund" the police isn't the right approach. Good communication skills can help debunk most situations. There is no tear gas in the Lake Stevens Police Department. Another terrific program. Thank you John and Kevin.
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