MESA, AZ — The Mesa Police Department shared with the public this week wide-ranging policy and training changes designed to reduce the number of deadly encounters.
The department held an open house Tuesday night to mark the end of what they called a "sentinel review" of a spike in the number of police shootings in 2022. Mesa officers were involved in 17 shootings that year. The city averages six officer-involved shootings per year.
"This was really high," Chief Ken Cost said. "It was almost like two years combined."
A team of officers, Arizona State University experts, and community members examined the circumstances of each shooting and suggested new training and policy.
Nearly half the shootings occurred within the first minute of an encounter, and in nearly half the shootings the officer fired his weapon within 5 seconds of unholstering, according to the review.
"The fact that the officers in 47% of the cases had to make a decision in a split second is one of the factors we wanted to address with tactics."
The department is teaching more techniques to officers to create "time and distance," which can slow down situations so de-escalation and communication skills can be used.
Descriptions of the changes were listed on the posters at an open house in Mesa Tuesday night. Dozens of residents attended and police leaders were on hand to answer questions. A summary of the sentinel review and the full ASU report is also available on Mesa's police department website.
"I think Chief Cost has been amazing," said Mary Lou St. Cyr who served on the community review committee. "He has opened up everything people know what’s going on."
After a shooting, there are also new procedures that go beyond the traditional investigations into whether the use of force was justified. Additional after-action reviews focus on the entire scenario to identify best practices and room for improvement.
"That’s encouraged by us," Chief Cost said. "That’s the best way to affect culture is the fact that these officers and the sergeants are reviewing themselves and understanding."
According to the Mesa Police Department, 0.2% of calls involve some sort of use of force, but Chief Cost hopes training and policy differences will help officers in everyday situations as well, making their police agency better overall.
