Capitol Beat A Publication of the IACP Capitol Police Section

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1 Capitol Beat A Publication of the IACP Capitol Police Section September 2010 Volume 2, Number 2 In This Issue Chair Report IACP Conference Capitol Police Section Meeting Highlight Capitol Police Section Member department Demonstrations and rallies IACP Section Membership Helpful Links IACP Website National Conference of State Legislatures National Governor s Association Contact Us Dan.Blackdeer@wisconsin.gov Dan Blackdeer Section Chair Mark.Dunaski@state.mn.us Mark Dunaski IACP Board Liaison Maxwell@theiacp.org Dianne Beer-Maxwell IACP Staff Liaison Chair Report It has been a rewarding year for the Capitol Police Section since the last annual conference meeting in Denver. The Section has purchased the Young Family Quilt with all proceeds going to the National COPS organization. The quilt will be held at IACP HQ with our staff liaison Dianne Beer-Maxwell. It will be used as the section colors/flag for our annual section meetings. We have filled 3 of the 4 regional vice chairs positions that will help promote, recruit, gather information and collect ideas from members in their region. Captain Marc McCune of the Kansas Highway Patrol Capitol Police will be the Midwest regional vice chair. Captain Leonard Dittman of Colorado State Patrol Executive protection detail will be the West regional vice chair. Sergeant Eric Yealdhall of Maryland Capitol Police will be the East regional vice chair. South Regional vice Chair Vacant. We want to thank our IACP board liaison Chief Mark Dunaski of the Minnesota State Patrol for his continued support of the section and we look forward to working with our new IACP board liaison Colonel Bryan Tuma of the Nebraska State Patrol who will be the chair of the Division of State and Provincial. I know that many states have travel restrictions during this tough economic time and we will continue to host a mid-year webinar to allow the members to attend our meetings. We will continue to look to partner with other divisions, sections or committees to meet the needs of the members of the Capitol Police Section and IACP. I look forward to getting a chance to meet and work with each of you. IACP Conference Capitol Police Section Meeting The Capitol Police Section Board has set its date and time for its annual meeting in Orlando at the IACP Conference. The meeting is scheduled for Saturday, October 23rd from 2pm to 4pm in room 306AB of the Orange County Convention Center. I would like to thank the Florida Division of Law Enforcement - Capitol Police for taking time to make a presentation on their operation in Tallahassee. This is an excellent opportunity for members to hear about a department that has the same mission, goals and values. We will also be hearing a presentation for the Bureau of Justice Assistance on how they can help us gather statistics for State Capitols. Part of the agenda will also include a round tabletop discussion on issues that members are seeing at their respective agency.

2 IACP Capitol Police Section Mission: The mission of this section is to allow its members to develop and promote professional relationships among its members and the IACP; and to increase the efficiency and capabilities of each law enforcement agency that provides service to our state and nation s critical assets. This will be accomplished by providing educational training, promoting effective leadership, sharing information, and mentoring our future leaders. Capitol Police Section Membership: Section membership is open to individuals who are now, or have been, engaged in or responsible for providing police services at a national or state/providence State House. Section members will promote and develop beneficial relationships with the private sector and our individual communities. Integrity, honor, and ethical behavior will be the standard for professionalism among our section members. Member Department Kansas Capitol Police In each issue of the Capitol Beat, we plan to highlight one of the member departments in the Capitol Police Section. This will be an opportunity for our members to learn about each others departments and responsibilities. Highlighted in this issue is the Kansas Highway Patrol Kansas Capitol Police (Troop K). Attached is an article written by Kansas Capitol Police Officer Patrick Saleh on page 3. Any other member department that would like to contribute an article for the next issue of Capitol Beat should contact Section Chair Daniel Blackdeer. Demonstration and Rallies The Nation s Capitol building along with each state s Capitol Building represents government and authority. It is these buildings that bring people together to voice their opinion in favor or against an issue to their lawmakers. It is up to us to protect everyone s freedom of speech as protected by 1 st amendment right. Our goal is to provide protection from injury, protection against property damage and protect, and allow opposing groups to assemble and participate in free speech. Here are some of the issues that our Nation s Capitol and State s Capitol police forces have faced this past year: Arizona Immigration Law Budget Tea Party Marriage Right to carry Firearm We can help successfully manage these issues by making contact with the leaders of these groups before the event with the understanding of establishing our expectations and goals for having a safe event. We must also be prepared for different levels of response, including contingency plans by having an incident action plan that is managed by using ICS. We can contact other Police Departments where similar events or same events have taken place and find out how they managed the event. For the most part, many of the demonstration or rallies that we manage are uneventful. The issues that are highly emotional and bring out very strong view points from both sides can change our resources and event set up. Sharing information about demonstration/rallies that have successfully worked makes us better in our crowd management.

3 The Kansas Capitol Police as they are known today are members of a specialty troop of the Kansas Highway Patrol (Troop K). The Capitol Police originally became part of the Kansas Highway Patrol in 1976, under the designation of Kansas Capitol Area Security Patrol or C.A.S.P. In the early days of C.A.S.P., the police officers of this special unit were statutorily only allowed to enforce laws on or about state property; leaving them powerless to act on a violation of the law when traveling from one property to another. In 1995 The Kansas Legislature gave county wide law enforcement jurisdiction to the Capitol Police, and several years thereafter full statewide jurisdiction. With this added jurisdiction and the expanding role of C.A.S.P. legislation was also passed to officially change the name of the unit from C.A.S.P. to the Kansas Capitol Police in Troop K provides 24 hour, 7 days a week police coverage. This coverage currently entails answering calls for service and patrolling over 100 state properties in Shawnee County Kansas, assisting other law enforcement agencies, investigation of traffic accidents, intervening in crimes in progress, and traffic enforcement. The Capitol Police are also charged with providing uniformed police protection at the governor s mansion, the statehouse, the insurance regulation building, and the judicial center. The local agencies have also come to rely on the capitol police to assist them in high risk situations, as every capitol police officer has been equipped with a Colt M-4 rifle, and has received extensive building search/active shooter training. Officers are also armed with a Glock 21SF.45 ACP, Remington 12 gauge shotgun and the X26 TASER. The Capitol Police are currently staffed by a troop commander holding the rank of captain who comes from the trooper ranks, an administrative lieutenant, a patrol lieutenant, 5 sergeants, 26 building police officers, 19 road patrol police officers, a special investigator assigned to the Kansas Fusion Center, 5 dispatchers, 26 non-sworn capitol area guards, two administrative assistants, and an electronic locksmith technician. Patrols are currently accomplished by the use of Ford Crown Victorias, Dodge Chargers, and several police officers that have been cross trained to utilize police bicycles. The Mission of the Kansas Highway Patrol: The Kansas Highway Patrol is devoted to the improving the quality of life in our state through spirited and dedicated service. We pledge to be responsive to the concerns of our citizens while providing professional law enforcement services in the most effective and efficient manner possible. We believe in treating all persons with courtesy and respect. The preservation of individual dignity and constitutional rights is paramount in the performance of our duties. Protecting the rights of our employees and providing them with a safe, secure working environment is of equal importance. We are committed to providing protection of life and property through enforcement of traffic and other laws of the State of Kansas. We recognize that our authority to uphold and enforce the law is derived from the people. Therefore, we will endeavor to exercise this authority in a competent, fair and honest manner.

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