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Town hires consulting firm to review police policies in wake of Yates incident

UNC graduate Bob Schurmeier has nearly 30 years of experience in Charlotte law enforcement — and now his expertise is bringing him back to Chapel Hill.

Schurmeier is president of Investigative Security Services, a consulting firm in Huntersville, N.C., that has been hired to investigate police policies in the wake of the November raid of a protest at the former Yates Motor Company building.

Schurmeier will attend the community policing advisory committee’s meeting Wednesday to discuss what revisions need to be made to the police policy manual.

Chapel Hill police hired Investigative Security Services in January to improve the department’s policies in the aftermath of the Yates incident.

Schurmeier’s company is a law enforcement consulting firm that works with clients to develop security strategies and technology. The firm, mostly led by retired police officers, also advises clients about law enforcement policies.

The town will pay the consulting firm $7,500 for its services.

But Town Council rejected a request for money from the policing advisory committee to hire an independent investigator, a decision that has led some to question town officials’ ability to objectively review the incident.

While an independent investigator would examine the events of the Yates incident, the consulting firm will work on revising police policy given the facts the department provides the firm.

Ron Bogle, chairman of the policing advisory committee, said the committee’s role is to make policy recommendations to the police rather than investigate specific incidents.

But he said a factual timeline would have enabled the committee to know if the police followed existing policies during the raid and what policies need to be improved.

“The policy recommendations should have a factual basis,” Bogle said.

He said he still accepts the council’s decision to forego hiring an independent investigator because he believes the committee has substantial information.

An ‘inside job’

After the police raid removed “Occupy Everywhere” protesters from the Yates building, Chapel Hill resident Jim Neal drafted a petition for a third-party review of the incident.

In response, the Town Council asked the policing advisory committee to review the raid.

But when the committee requested money to hire a private investigator, the council decided to look into other options.

Council member Donna Bell said the private investigation was not rejected because of money, but because it was unnecessary.

“Having a private investigator would not have improved our fact-finding abilities as they currently stand,” said Bell, who is the council liaison to the committee.

After the decision, Town Manager Roger Stancil proposed the committee use an online forum to gather facts from eyewitnesses, who could post anonymously.

At a Feb. 15 meeting, the committee voted against the online forum because some members thought the information gathered from the website would not be verifiable.

Meanwhile, the town moved forward with its plans to hire a consulting firm.

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But Neal said the policy review by the police consulting firm is a far departure from the demands of his original petition because he considers it an inside job.

He said an independent investigation is necessary to provide police with transparent information to guide any policy changes.

“I don’t think the town should be investigating this in the first place,” Neal said. “We are still left with a one-sided, biased report.”

He said his main issue with the town’s internal review, released Jan. 6, was that it did not detail what options, aside from deployment of the Special Emergency Response Team, the police department considered.

Changing policies

Town residents criticized police for being overly aggressive and using unnecessary force during the incident.

But Schurmeier said the Yates incident was complicated by several factors.

“There are always different ways to handle things, but you go with what you think is best at the time,” he said.

Chapel Hill Police Chief Chris Blue said police will work with the consulting firm to examine other options they could use if similar incidents arise in the future.

“The Yates case reminded us that there were existing operation policies that needed to be improved,” Blue said.

“It is my responsibility to be moving forward on policy issues right now.”

After media representatives were handcuffed on the sidewalk during the Yates raid, the police department drafted a media policy that outlines police interaction with the press during critical incidents.

Though Schurmeier’s consulting firm did not work with the Chapel Hill police on the media policy, his firm will focus on three main policy challenges that arose during the Yates incident.

First, he said the firm will try to provide more options to the police department if it is faced with another critical incident.

He said the department needs more tools during street-level protests other than deployment of the emergency response team.

The firm will also help the police department examine its communication policies, which were called into question after the Yates incident.

Blue agreed the communication breakdown during the Yates incident led them to identify it as an area in need of revision.

Lastly, Schurmeier said he wants to improve the morale of the police department by getting lower-level officers more involved in decision-making.

“We need to inform the rank and file of what is happening and seek their opinion,” he said.

While Schurmeier has identified policy areas that need improvement, he said there is a lot the police department is doing right.

“We are helping them be a better police force,” he said.

Contact the City Editor at city@dailytarheel.com.

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