The Chapel Hill Police Department’s strong-handed response to the Yates Motor Company building raid by Occupy protesters last year prompted a review of the department’s policies.
After verifying the presence of “known anarchists,” police deployed a team armed with assault rifles in the raid to remove the illegal occupants and secure the building.
Ten months after the raid, the police department has shown significant progress with the changes implemented.
A main criticism of the department’s response to the raid was that there were no formal, written policies for the Special Emergency Response Team, the armed team that responded to the incident.
This is certainly a fair criticism. However, more attention should be paid to the police’s response since then.
First, the department has engaged citizens in the policy discussions, particularly through regular forums and the input of the Community Policing Advisory Committee.
That group has been working alongside Investigative Security Services, a consulting group hired in response to the Yates incident.
In addition, the police department now hosts annual meetings with the media and has established a 24-hour telephone line.
Most recently, police finally established written policies for its emergency response team.
