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While there were a differences of opinion on some points, both police and councilmembers agree that this conversation was necessary.
ROCKVILLE, Md. — Montgomery County Councilmembers sat down with the county’s police department on Monday for a meeting of the minds on how to keep the county safe.
The goal was to look at how the department’s policies line up with the Council’s expectations.
The county’s standards for police stem from new laws that were put in place back in 2020 after the murder of George Floyd.
The two major points for the day’s discussion were use-of-force and no-knock warrants.
Data from the department shows that use of force incidents have shot up significantly since 2022, but police explained that the higher numbers are actually a good thing, because it shows their efforts to emphasize transparency is working.
“We’ve clarified through the culture that there’s a black and white line of when reporting is necessary,” said Captain Jason Cokinos. “We’ve clarified what use of force is. Specifically, anything that’s other than complaint handcuffing or unresisted escorting, anything else is reported.”
However, the data also shows that 57% of use of force incidents involve Black civilians, despite Black people only making up 18% of the county’s population. Councilmember-at-large, Will Jawando, highlighted how even with the MCPD’s updates, this disparity continues to persist and called for community input.
“The disparities are present under both definitions,” Jawando remarked. “If African American folks are making up nearly 60% of the use-of-force, we should be in a room with folks who’ve experienced that and talk about the context of the force and how it’s used…that significant of a disparity, it’s incumbent on us to investigate that critically.”
The MCPD also went over no-knock warrants, emphasizing that due to the level of danger, only SWAT team members may participate in these operations.
The Department also highlighted that not only have these operations decreased, they make up a lower percentage of warrants served.
As the afternoon wore on, police said that policy can only cover so much, but assistant chief Darren Francke says he’ll be taking the Council’s feedback back to the department as it continues to refine its policies.
“I don’t know if there’s a perfect policy to be had anywhere, but that’s what we’re striving for,” promised Francke.
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