Chief, what do you think of the Ferguson case? Specifically, given the fact Officer Wilson was not interviewed for an official police report, and his story has changed since the beginning– ending with an unreasonable story, and the prosecutor did not follow protocol for the grand jury.

If you were writing a “lessons learned from Ferguson” what would it say for a rookie Boise police officer?

1. Would he support a Community Police Commission? Either to advise on policy or complaints.

2. What is his biggest recommendation for increasing cycling safety and the animosity between cyclist and drivers? How could the police department help?

Since September 11th 2001, the dramatic change, no doubt encouraged by the patriot act and Homeland Security, in police nationwide has seen community policing shoved to the curb and the rise of the “brutal warrior cop.” The “US vs. THEM” mentality is very prevalent today than it was 13-years ago. Being pushed by homeland security, the rise in the use of military grade hardware has even reached Idaho – your department has its own MRAP.

People I know have begun to fear the police and they certainly don’t trust any of them. The events in Ferguson, MO are just a small example of this.

The vast majority of police officers hired today have some form of High School, Military, and may have even worked for a different department. Yet the majority of those in law enforcement fit a profile that is not diverse: usually white, usually male, and usually lacking a college degree. Some I know have said this is to help perpetrate the “jack-booted thug, bully with a badge mentality.”

The sad truth is that we as a society don’t expect, nor do we encourage, our best and our brightest to become police officers. Young people who are perceived as smart and compassionate, and who exhibit leadership qualities are encouraged to go into politics, the non-profit world, possibly business, or perhaps law, but only to become lawyers, even doctors of medicine, etc. Rarely, if ever, are they encouraged to wear a badge. This reality crystallized for me when I was discussing an allegation of police brutality with a friend who is white, male, rich, and tilts conservative. He told me he feared the police, something I found hard to believe. His reasoning? “Every time I’ve ever been pulled over I remind myself I’m dealing with a high school flunky, ex-military fool with a gun and a badge.”

Why in Boise is there such a poor emphasis on educated officers?

I’d be interested in the chief’s views on the seemingly recent increase around the country in police shootings of unarmed citizens and what should be done to minimize them. I’d also be interested in his views of the gun culture behind the fear that misbehaving people are increasingly likely to be armed.

I am 65. No record. White. And for many reasons (some rational, some not so much) I find myself afraid of cops. Is there some way to keep officers reasonably (note *reasonably*) safe without intimidating people?

Chief Masterson – what was your biggest accomplishment during your career?

–What equipment has BPD requested and/or received from the Department of Defense and other military departments through the Excess Property Program (DoD 1033) or similar programs?

–Do you have any concerns that the increased presence of military-grade equipment in the hands of local police forces contributes to a ‘warrior cop’ or ‘Us vs Them’ mentality among officers? Why or why not? If you agree that it can contribute what specific steps have you taken with the BPD to prevent or mitigate these effects?

–Do you support the use of ‘body cameras’ by police forces in general? What about BPD in particular? Why or why not?

–What is your opinion of the use of civil forfeiture laws by police departments to seize cash and real property from citizens? How often do BPD officers invoke civil forfeiture if at all? What percentage of BPD’s annual budget comes from seized items?

–As an officer do you support the decriminalization or legalization of marijuana? Why or why not?

–Do you feel Boise is a safer place to work and live than when you first took office? What, if anything has contributed to the change?

–What would you consider your most significant accomplishments as Police Chief? What would you consider some of your greatest missed opportunities or mistakes?

–What do you consider to be the most pressing issues for law enforcement in Boise? In Idaho? In the nation at large?

–If you had fiat power in relation to law enforcement in Boise what if anything would you do or change?

–Finally what advice would give to your successor?

Why isn’t the loud vehicle laws not inforced? Motorcycles for example.

Why did the appropriate and traditional “protect and serve” on cars get replaced with “Protect * Serve * Lead?”

We don’t elect police, and it’s not their job to lead society. Protect and serve is appropriate. Lead sets the wrong tone.

Don, that’s Lead, as in lead bullets.

It sounded better than “Protect. Serve. Butt-taser.

Lead, as in leadership? ha!

Don inquired about the addition of “Lead,” to the motto on the cruisers. Which put me to thinking.

I think it would be VERY appropriate for our police to LEAD BY EXAMPLE in such things as:
– following speed limits
– reducing our impact on the environment and saving fuel $ (thinking of cop cars that seem to be running 24/7, even if the cop isn’t in the car)
– fiddling with electronic gizmos while rolling down the road (scares me to death, since I ride a bicycle and feel particularly vulnerable to inattentive drivers!)

I’m surprised that nobody has yet asked…
WHICH DONUT SHOP IS BOISE’S FINEST??
Ha! (I’d give the nod to Country Donuts, but the cops are the true experts.)

I like Masterson and I even find this troubling. Thanks, Easterner.

Inappropriate use of police / motor vehicle information systems:

A high profile case in Minnesota highlighted the commonplace abuse of police computer files when a retired officer did a look-back and discovered hundreds of intrusions… some of which had romantic motives. 1) What is the law in Idaho on accessing an individual’s file? 2) Does BPD have rules and/or an audit system to catch/prevent such illegal intrusions? 3) How does an individual get a record of who/when/why their file has been accessed? 4) Are off duty BPD officers who work for private/corporate security allowed to access police/state file systems while performing non-BPD security duties? 5) Does BPD share information with any private/corporate/retail security firms? One last unrelated question: Any chance of using your license plate reading cameras to identify uninsured cars?

EDITOR NOTE–Zippo, you have 6 questions here and a bunch more previously on this thread. Don’t expect answers as we have a limited space (and reader attention span) and the chief has limited time to go through all the Qs as well. Everyone: try to ask one or two good questions at a time.

Blinding Lights

First, thank you for your years of law enforcement service.

Why do the police lights, particularly on the rear of the vehicles, have to be so bright at night when making traffic stops, blocking lanes (like at BSU games), etc? Highway traffic signs dim at night (usually) so why can’t police car lights dim at night? Do we really need all those really bright flashing lights at night? I can understand bright flashing lights in daylight, but at night?

Maybe this is a light bar manufacturer problem. And I get the whole thing about officer safety. I worked for a law enforcement organization for two years as a civilian. I’d suggest the current level of brightness actually impairs officer safety because it makes it so difficult to see around and near the police vehicle at night.

It appears Boise uses a type of traffic advisor light bar in the rear window but, unlike the State Police, it’s not used as a directional indicator – only as a wig wag with red and blue lights thrown in for good measure.

How about reconfiguring those lights to all yellow and using them to indicate which direction traffic should go? And dim them down at night, along with the light bars. For folks with visual impairments, drivers and non – drivers, the intensity of the light is a killer.

And can we at least have some type of department wide general guideline about what type of flashing configuration is used in what circumstances? Right now, based on observations Saturday night (12/6), it doesn’t seem like there is at least a general guideline.

Thank you.