San Marcos Chief of Police Stan Standridge had just over a month under his belt in the position when he addressed the community in his first Chief Advisory Panel Meeting Monday night.
“I want to broaden the scope and purpose as to why we are here,” Standridge said. “Cite and release is such a small proponent of what we do on a daily basis. We need to have a much more detailed conversation.”
Standridge not only pledged his dedication to the task, stating San Marcos was his forever home, he pledged to address the deep societal issues plaguing the police department and the community.
Standridge opened the conversation in an exercise of unity by asking those present to share their one word impression of the killing of George Floyd earlier this year. Responses of “pathetic, disgusting, anger, dismayed, sad, horrified, concerned, unbelievable, disappointed and common” filled the room.
“Police in the United States need to own the historical injustices that are incurred to our citizens and the present injustices,” Standridge said. “Historical abuse and present day abuse. I am sorry that in many cases we have failed you. Police are not responsible for historic abuse and racism, but they are responsible to it.”
His plan for comprehensive reform includes training that “goes a lot further,” policy changes and addressing the acute and chronic trauma of the San Marcos Police Department.
He plans to make SMPD an accredited agency next year, ensuring they meet 170 best practices about use of force, pursuits, evidence handling, records handling and more. Standridge also plans to send representatives to training for “ABLE,” a program designed to promote active bystandership, once he has the support of residents and city council.
A first step in addressing the trauma of the police department, they set a date for the memorial of Officer Justin Putnam.
After introducing the scope of the work he intends to lead, Standridge shared the fourth quarter report detailing data of the Cite and Release policy.
There were 456 arrests in the fourth quarter, 118 or 28% of which were eligible for a citation under the Cite and Release Ordinance passed by the city council in the spring.
According to discussion in city council meetings. It's important to note that those who were issued a citation, are required to report to the Hays County Jail later to be booked and magistrated, it simply delays the process of magistration. Cite and Release enables the individual to get their affairs in order before reporting to the jail, hopefully causing less harm to the individual’s family and livelihood by an untimely arrest.
The 39 who committed a citation eligible offense but were arrested fell under circumstances outlined in the ordinance that calls for arrest; three had outstanding warrants, eight had no Hays County connection, address or place of work, two were in imminent danger, three demanded a magistrate on the spot and 23 had committed other higher level crimes.
Of the 118 who were cited and released, the majority were for possession of marijuana under two ounces. There were also 44 street diversions for possession of marijuana in the fourth quarter, up from 22 in the second quarter and 13 in the first quarter. The increase in street diversions correlates with the police departments’ increase in enforcement as the pandemic has gone on.
