The Grand Rapids Police Department has announced a new policy that addresses how police officers are expected to interact with local youths. This comes after separate instances involving officers and young people in the past year made nationwide headlines.
According to the Grand Rapids Police Department, the new Youth Interaction Policy is the first recommendation by the City’s Police Policy and Procedure Task Force to be adopted. The policy outlines the police department’s expectation that officers use good judgment and act in the best interest of youth.
GRPD Deputy Chief Eric Payne is a co-chair on the task force.
“I think it was important for several reasons, it gives officers the ability to have judgement and being able to treat juveniles as juveniles, that is one reason," Payne said. "And quite frankly the community asked for it. So I think it’s important that we are responsive to the community also.”
The youth interaction policy comes after the GRPD received criticism from members of the community after they handcuffed an African-American 11-year-old girl last December and ordered five African-American youths to the ground at gunpoint last year.
While the new policy calls on officers to consider a youth’s age when determining whether or not to apply handcuffs or restraints, Payne says the officers were following acceptable protocol—at the time.
“In both of those instances we were in line we were in policy that were existing. What this new policy does is give officers direction that they are able to use their best judgment in these type of circumstances, again, not to rehash what has happened in the past, we have made it clear officers were in policy both instances (but) I wish we (would have) had a better outcome though,” Payne said.
Payne says by forming the policy the police department is giving improved youth interaction the attention and support it needs, including adding scenario-based training specifically designed to prepare officers for interactions with youth.
