The Palm Beach County Sheriff has released findings of an independent review into the agency's Internal Affairs Department.
The report inspired by a Contact 5 investigation withThe Palm Beach Postlast year found problems with how PBSO investigated shootings that involve their own.
The review by the Police Executive Research Forum, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, took about 9 months to complete. And while the 100 page report makes 70 recommendations for improvement, the sheriff was quick to conclude the report confirms they are doing a lot right.
Read the full report:
Part 1, Part 2
"This report will help us firm up some polices that are already in place- most are minor some are more intricate changes to get us in line with best practices,” Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said during a briefing with the media Wednesday morning before he gave reporters copies of the actual report.
Many recommendations focused on the need for better and more consistent record keeping and improvements to policies like the "absolute prohibition" of deputies shooting at or from vehicles used as a weapon.
In 2010, a PBSO deputy shot then-17-year-old Jeremy Hutton who has Down Syndrome. According to the deputy, Hutton who had taken his mother's mini-van out for joyride was heading straight towards the deputy when he fired. But street video shows just the opposite. Hutton was driving away from the deputy at the time of the shooting. PBSO recently settled the civil lawsuit over that shooting for $450,000.
The independent review follows a NewsChannel 5 joint investigation with The Palm Beach Post last year which found the agency had a high rate of clearing deputies who pull the trigger. As part of the Line of Fire series, NewsChannel 5 and the Post also found PBSO's internal affairs investigations into deputy shootings often lack critical details or skew details in favor of the deputy.
As part of the PERF's $100,000 review, the group reviewed deputy shootings over 3 years including the shooting of Dontrell Stephens who was recently awarded a stunning $25 million verdict by a federal jury over the PBSO shooting that left him paralyzed from the waist down. In 2013, Stephens was pulled over for a bicycle infraction before a deputy shot him 4 times. The deputy claimed he through the cell phone Stepens' was carrying was a gun. The shooting was captured on video and made national headlines after Channel 5 and the Post showed in publicly as part of their joint investigation.
Stephens' shooting was one of more than half the shootings PERF review where the suspect shot was not armed with a gun. In response, PERF suggests, "PBSO should approach some critical incidents differently."
According to Sheriff Bradshaw, the agency already is. About a year ago, PBSO started training deputies in what he describes as "tactical pause." The approach provides time for supervisors and deputies to "pause, assess and plan" before responding. PERF praised the measure and mentioned its potential impact, so did Sheriff Bradshaw.
"Last year we had 3 (deputy shootings), this year, knock on wood, we've had one," he said.
The sheriff has put together a special team who will review every one of these recommendation and determine what they will adopt and what they won't.