CITY OF SIMI VALLEY MEMORANDUM

Transcription

1 CITY OF SIMI VALLEY MEMORANDUM AGENDA ITEM NO. Consent (6) April 24, 2017 TO: FROM: City Council Police Department SUBJECT: AUTHORIZATION TO RATIFY THE ACCEPTANCE OF FUNDING FROM THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY TO PURCHASE PROTECTIVE RIFLE ARMOR PLATES, HAND-HELD RIFLE BALLISTIC SHIELDS AND RELATED EQUIPMENT, AND APPROVAL OF A SUPPLEMENTAL BUDGET REQUEST STAFF RECOMMENDATION It is recommended that the City Council ratify the acceptance of the sub-grant award from the 2015 Homeland Security Grant program in the amount of $21,060 from Part A funding to purchase 42 rifle protective plates and 21 plate carriers, authorize the City Manager to accept Part B funding for an amount not-to-exceed $15,000 to purchase 24 additional rifle protective plates, 12 plate carriers, and no more than 4 hand-held rifle ballistic shields, and approve a Supplemental Budget Request. CITY MANAGER S RECOMMENDATION The City Manager recommends City Council ratification the acceptance of the sub-grant award in the amount of $21,060. The funding for the equipment is entirely grant funded. BACKGROUND AND OVERVIEW The Ventura County Sheriff s Department coordinated a grant request to obtain funds from the 2015 Homeland Security Grant program. Prior to submission of this request, the Ventura County Sheriff s Department sought input and support from each of the SWAT Teams in Ventura County in order to ensure that this was a standardized and collaborative effort throughout the County. The Simi Valley Police Department was part of this process and sent a letter in support of this program. The grant award was designed to be shared by all of Ventura County s SWAT Teams. As a result, on April 5, 2017, the Simi Valley Police Department was notified that grant funds were awarded to the City in two parts. Part A of the award is $21,060 with an expenditure deadline of May 30, Part B is not expected to be issued until late summer of 2017 with an estimated deadline of sometime in September It is anticipated that the Part B award will not exceed $15,000. Both Parts A and B are reimbursement grants with no matching requirement. The City intends to use the grant to purchase new rifle protective

2 2 plates, carriers and shields. Part A will fund 42 rifle protective plates and 21 carriers while Part B will fund 24 rifle protective plates, 12 carriers, and no more than 4 hand-held ballistic rifle shields. After Parts A and B of the grant have been fully expended, all Patrol vehicles and all 20 SWAT team members will be equipped with rifle protective plates. Staff is confident that the funds can be expended by the due date and all plates and carriers can be delivered by the vendor. In addition, staff fully expects that the requisite reimbursement request for Part A can be completed and submitted by May 30, FINDINGS AND ALTERNATIVES The three aspects of this program are: to provide on-going active shooter response training to patrol officers and first responders; to develop standardized, regional police tactics for active shooter events; and, to provide needed tactical equipment to support these objectives. The 2015 Homeland Security Grant under consideration addresses the third aspect of the program, that is, to provide the needed tactical equipment. Ventura County s five autonomous Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) teams are seeking to standardize responses to critical incidents such as active shooters, terrorist attacks, and other crises incidents that would require a response from multiple agencies in Ventura County. The project includes agency-wide training, equipment, and the development of regional police tactics to effectively respond to any number of crisis events that may be encountered in Ventura County. This proposal addresses strategic law enforcement needs to combat the continued increase in active shooter events seen across the nation. A 2016 FBI report showed a six-fold increase in active shooter events since 2001, as well as a recent spike in armed attacks against law enforcement. One of the objectives of this grant is to increase the level of training for patrol officers and other first responders in how to deal with active shooter events. Currently, patrol personnel receive minimal training in active shooter incidents and training that is received focuses on school shootings. Our objective is to use SWAT officers to continue to provide training in the following areas to increase the overall capability of patrol officers. Training for SWAT personnel is already included in the Department s budget and will not be impacted by providing cross-training to patrol officers. MACTAC Multiple Assault Counter Terrorism Action Capability training is a counterterrorism response strategy for responding to incidents like the 2008 Mumbai attacks that require specialized response tactics and potentially involve multiple coordinated attacks. The training and planning is intended to prepare officers to rapidly identify and respond to critical incidents and to prepare the Department to seamlessly coordinate a response and effectively deal with simultaneous incidents. The most critical objective is to minimize loss of life during a deadly force incident. MACTAC specifically addresses the importance of avoiding over convergence of resources in order to be prepared in the event of multi-pronged or series of attacks carried out by one or more perpetrators.

3 3 Patrol Ballistic Shield Ballistic shields are used by departments across the country to give their first responders added protection when trying to resolve dangerous or potentially dangerous situations. Shields are used in a multitude of situations that include officer down extractions, clearing vehicles during felony car stops, approaching potentially armed subjects during the arrest phase, and various other scenarios where ballistic protection is advantages. In addition, nationwide active shooter and terrorists events involve attacks with weapons that exceed the protection levels afforded by normal patrol officers body armor. It is becoming clear that increased portable ballistic protection has become a necessity. Across the nation, law enforcement is increasing its attention in preparing patrol officers to respond in situations that had previously been the domain of SWAT. With proper training and tools, like the ballistic shield and rifle plates, first responders will not only be more prepared and confident to take immediate action during an active shooter or terrorist attack, but also their effectiveness and chances for success will increase. Another aspect of the grant is to develop regional police tactics with other SWAT Teams in the County to ensure seamless collaboration in handling large scale events. One key benefit of standardized training among law enforcement agencies is that it ensures consistent output. In other words, all law enforcement agencies within Ventura County are receiving the same standardized training in the fields of MACTAC, Active Shooter, and Ballistic Shields. This standardized training will prove to be beneficial in times of mutual aid and multi-jurisdictional terrorist attacks where seamless collaboration is essential to success. In order to ensure standardized, regional police tactics, the five County of Ventura SWAT teams will participate in yearly joint training scenarios involving an active shooter or multiple active shooters in different locations. This type of joint regional training will employ tactics, training, and equipment. Issuing protective plates and carriers to SWAT personnel ensures rapid deployment of on- or off-duty SWAT personnel who can respond singularly to any incident and provide expertise, leadership, and tactics in resolving various crisis situations. SWAT personnel have received extensive training on tactics, and with afforded tools and equipment, will make a favorable impact on patrol personnel dealing with a threat. In addition, this program will allow the Simi Valley Police Department to provide rifle plates and a plate carrier for all black and white Patrol vehicles. With the funding of this project, SWAT personnel will be categorized as force multipliers. A force multiplier is a factor or combination of factors that dramatically increases (hence multiplies ) the effectiveness of a person or group, resulting in a limited number of personnel the ability to accomplish greater things than without it. In total, the 2015 Homeland Security Grant program will equip an estimated 95 SWAT operators within the County with rifle rated ballistic plates and carriers at a total cost of $95,000. An added benefit for the Simi Valley Police Department is that the rifle plates will also be deployed to Patrol and Traffic personnel; something that is not being implemented by all the other agencies.

4 4 Since the SWAT Team currently has plates, the first 20 new plates will go to SWAT and the plates that are currently being used by SWAT will be placed in patrol vehicles. As Part B funding becomes available, new plates, carriers and hand-held ballistic rifle shields will be purchased for the remaining black and white Patrol vehicles. Due to the abbreviated timeline for the expenditure of the grant funds, the City Manager provided tentative approval to the department to proceed, however staff requests the City Council s ratification of the acceptance of the grant funds. Upon ratification by the City Council, the Simi Valley Police Department will purchase the first set of plates and carriers pursuant to Part A of the grant funding. Staff will also complete and submit a grant reimbursement workbook to the Ventura County Sheriff s Department Office of Emergency Services. When Part B funds become available, staff intends to purchase the remaining rifle protective plates and hand-held rifle Patrol ballistic shields. It is anticipated that Part B funding will also have a constricted timeline. Therefore, staff requests approval of Part B purchases for an amount not-to-exceed $15,000. In accordance with the City s Purchasing Policies and Procedures, staff will obtain bids from vendors to secure the lowest price for the best quality product and initiate a purchase order. The following alternatives are available to the City Council: 1. Authorize the ratification of the acceptance of the Part A award of $21,060 and the Part B award of an amount not-to-exceed $15,000 from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to sign all necessary grant-related documents; 2. Approve the Supplemental Budget Request for $36,060 to provide funding for the purchases; 3. Do not ratify the acceptance of the award from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and do not approve the Supplemental Budget Request; 4. Provide staff with other direction. Staff recommends Alternative Nos. 1 and 2. SUGGESTED CITY COUNCIL MOTION I move to authorize the ratification of the acceptance of $21,060 for the Part A award and up to $15,000 for the Part B award from the 2015 Homeland Security sub-grant for the purchase of rifle protective plates, carriers, and hand-held Patrol ballistic rifle protective shields and authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to sign all necessary grant-related documents, and approve the Supplemental Budget Request.

5 5 SUMMARY The Ventura County Sheriff s Department coordinated the request for a grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Each of the SWAT Teams in Ventura County, including the Simi Valley Police Department, provided supportive letters toward the acquisition of this grant. As a result, a reimbursable sub-grant was awarded to the City of Simi Valley for $21,060 for Part A funding, with a deadline of May 30, In addition, it is anticipated the City will receive a Part B award amount that will not exceed $15,000, with an estimated reimbursement deadline of September The grant monies will be used to purchase rifle protective plates and carriers for the SWAT Team and each of the black and white Patrol vehicles. In addition, funds will be used to purchase hand-held Patrol ballistic rifle shields, which will be shared assets for the Police Department s first responders. It is recommended that the City Council ratify the acceptance of the 2015 Homeland Security Grant of $21,060 from Part A and up to $15,000 from Part B, and approve the Supplemental Budget Request to fund these purchases. Prepared by: Robert Brill, SWAT Team Commander David M. Livingstone Chief of Police INDEX Page Attachment A Notification of the Sub-grant Award... 6

6 6 ATTACHMENT A