Police chief reports on community oversight, training gains and recruitment progress

The council received the annual community oversight report for the Fire & Police Oversight Commission on April 14. Assistant City Manager Bárbara Anderson opened the presentation and Chief Kelly Gordon gave the department’s summary of service activity, complaint outcomes, hiring progress and training improvements.

Chief Gordon reported the department’s use of expanded training resources, noting an internal increase to more than 8,000 hours of structured training last year (compared with prior years), additional targeted courses and more than 3,000 hours of specialist training for tactical and response teams. She described improvements in recruitment processes (moving from episodic hiring to continuous outreach and monthly interview cycles) and a reduced vacancy rate that the department said is moving toward single‑digit openings.

On accountability, the chief reviewed complaint dispositions (examples: sustained, exonerated, unfounded) and explained corrective actions and follow‑up training tied to sustained findings. She also described new programs and tools — including a Blue Envelope program, Genesis evacuation software and joint response teams for mental‑health calls — and noted that some joint‑response positions are funded using opioid‑settlement monies subject to state rules.

Councilmembers asked for more detail on cost savings from internalizing training, timelines for academy and field training (the chief said roughly two years from hire to independent patrol), and the mechanics for using opioid settlement funds to sustain joint‑response positions; staff responded with implementation detail and noted reporting commitments.

Councilmembers praised the department’s community engagement and recruitment gains and thanked staff for the work on transparency and oversight.