Rochester Police Chief Franklin outlines a 'blueprint' for the department's future

After seven months of reviewing its policy manual, the Rochester Police Department brought new language to the table Monday, providing the Rochester City Council with a “blueprint for re-envisioning” the department in a study session Monday afternoon.

RPD Chief Jim Franklin presented his findings to the council, citing a need for “continuous improvement” in his department after protests against police brutality dominated public discussion for much of 2020.

“This is us charting a course for this department, and where we’re headed as an organization,” said Chief Franklin.

In his presentation, the chief touted changes to RPD’s use of force policy — identified as one of three policies that needed review, after Mayor Kim Norton signed onto a pledge requiring the department to do so in June. 

The updated policy, dated to June 10, 2020, adds a ban on ‘carotid control’ — a specific type of neck restraint — except in cases of deadly force, as well as a “duty to intercede” clause, requiring officers to stop and report any co-workers they witness using force “that is clearly beyond that which is objectively reasonable under the circumstances.” 

In addition to the pledge Norton signed in June, the department was required to enact policies to abide by the #8cantwait guidelines over the summer. The guidelines call for departments to enact a “use of force continuum” to decide what levels of force are correct. While RPD did not implement a continuum, Chief Franklin says his department’s guidelines go further than what was required, opting instead to focus on “necessity” of force — a stricter standard, he adds.

“Our critical decision-making use of force model is actually better than the use of force continuum,” said Franklin. “That’s much more of an antiquated process.”

Franklin added that RPD created an “Office of Professional Standards and Accountability” near the end of 2020, designed to address citizen complaints and monitor the way officers adapt to situations on the job — specifically, sending out “incident reports” on nationwide instances of police brutality and quizzing RPD officers on what they would have done. 

While current professional standards manager Sandra Ewing remains in her position, the new office will work in conjunction with her to report to the chief. Currently, RPD Lieutenant Ryan Manguson is listed as “interim lieutenant” for the office on RPD’s website.

According to Franklin, it’s his hope that the new office will “create a cultural shift” inside the department. Police culture, he says, has bristled at criticism and internal review in the past — but if the new office works as intended, he believes a “culture of accountability” will follow. 

“If we can get to a place, culturally, where we can review critical incidents and not be overly sensitive to that self-critiquing, this is going to be a systemic shift in law enforcement,” said Franklin.

RPD joins dozens of larger police departments that have operated a similar office for decades.

During a period of council discussion, members primarily showed appreciation for the presentation and gave the chief good marks. Council Member Nick Campion, however, did challenge Chief Franklin to come up with concrete benchmarks on equity and inclusion, saying it would be important to “elevate all voices” in 2021 and beyond.

“It’s an ongoing challenge for us to make sure we’re not hoisting too much of our personal appreciation or experiences with RPD as the whole experience of Rochester,” said Campion. “This is a good start, but I would be very interested in coming back with how we’ll measure success in more abstract areas.” 

Bus rapid transit update

The council also heard an update on the proposed $114 million bus rapid transit line on 2nd Street SW, set to break ground in late 2022.

Presenters from the city and Destination Medical Center laid out “preferred features” of the buses and transit stations, sourced through community input sessions and a team of ten Rochester residents. Among the top features listed: “level boarding” for accessibility purposes; on-board bike racks; and off-board fare payment, similar to how Metro Transit operates in the Twin Cities.

Deputy City Administrator Aaron Parrish added that over $2 million of the project’s price tag had already been spent on design work, saying prototypes for the buses and stations would be finished by the spring.

As the project inches forward, council members said they were excited to help the process move forward — noting that the finished product likely would fundamentally change how people get around the city.

“I could make the case that this is the most important project in the city right now, both financially and in terms of quality-of-life impacts,” said Council Member Patrick Keane. “This is one of those point-in-time reviews, but I think it’s obvious that work goes on with this every day. This is going to be a multi-generational project.”

DMC is still awaiting word from the federal government on whether or not the project will receive federal funding — which Parrish said was “required” for the project to continue. The first indications on whether the feds will fund the project will likely come next month, when the project will be graded by the Federal Transit Administration. 

The BRT line, slated to run between the west transit village and the Government Center, is scheduled to open in 2025. Plans still remain to extend the circulator down Broadway to the Graham Park area, though that portion of the project remains on hold for the time being.

Isaac Jahns is a Rochester native and a 2019 graduate of the Missouri School of Journalism. He reports on politics, business and music for Med City Beat.