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Field Training Officer Nicole Crissman, left, and new Toledo Police Officer Amber O'Connell.
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TPD faces challenges in finding minority recruits

THE BLADE/JEREMY WADSWORTH

TPD faces challenges in finding minority recruits

Toledo Police Officer Nicole Crissman coached probationary Officer Amber O’Connell through different scenarios as the two prepared to approach a reportedly stolen Jeep Liberty at the corner of Laurel and Aberdeen avenues during a recent patrol.

Such felony stops can be among the most stressful moment for an officer, explained Officer Crissman, 31. The driver or passengers may flee from a car or someone inside the vehicle may have a weapon. Getting anyone out of the vehicle requires a methodical approach. 

Officer Crissman then jumped from the passenger seat of the cruiser, drew her gun,and ordered the driver to exit the car.

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The driver put her hands behind her back.

Shirley Green looks at the new exhibit about the history of African-American police officers at the Toledo Police Museum in Toledo.
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'An opportunity to compete': History of black police officers in Toledo

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Officer O’Connell, 29, exited the driver’s seat and handcuffed the suspect. She had to handle the majority of the stolen car stop herself to get credit for it during her probationary period. 

The driver was later identified as Toledo resident Dolores McHugh, 60 — the rightful owner of the Jeep.

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It turned out Ms. McHugh reported the vehicle stolen one day in March, and two days later she saw it on Woodsdale Avenue. She recovered it herself and notified police. Somehow, a recovered vehicle report was not processed through the computer system and the police cruiser’s license plate reader still identified the Jeep as stolen.

Despite having a gun pointed at her and being detained in handcuffs, Ms. McHugh was in good spirits. She embraced both officers O’Connell and Crissman in a hug. 

“They’re just doing their job,” Ms. McHugh said.

But not all calls end with a happy hug.

Hostile and violent narratives related to police have emerged across the nation in recent years. Some are stories of officers being ambushed while sitting idly in cruisers. Others are tales of police brutalizing those they’re sworn to protect and serve.

“When we have police officers making poor decisions in other parts of the country, we all get painted with the same broad stroke,” said Toledo Police Chief George Kral. “It’s simply not fair, but it’s reality.” 

It adds to how recruiting efforts may be more difficult today than a few decades ago — in Toledo and several police departments across the country. Multiple agencies across the country report dwindling patrol numbers and many also struggle to find solid candidates, Toledo Police Department spokesman Lt. Kevan Toney said.

In the late 1980s, thousands of people packed into the SeaGate Convention Centre to take the police examination. Within the past few years, that number has dwindled to a few hundred people because “no one wants to do this job anymore,” Chief Kral said. 

“That tells you, with everything going on with the tenor across the country as far as law enforcement. It’s a challenge to get people who really want to put themselves in harms way, intentionally,” he said. 

Despite these challenges, Toledo police aim to double the amount of new officers joining the ranks in calendar year 2018. 

Two people, four eyes

Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz, during the 2017 mayoral race, pledged to add 40 officers a year to the police department. With an estimated 25 retirements a year, that will equal a net gain of 15 officers annually, the mayor said.

Eighty officers have actually been hired in calendar year 2018 — doubling the promised amount. 

“It’s not to say the same thing is going to happen every year. But in calendar year 2018, we’re going to put 80 additional officers on the street. I think that’s significant,” Mayor Kapszukiewicz said.

All that means a busy time for the department, with the gap between academy classes growing significantly shorter.

The 63rd academy class of 25 officers graduated in May, 2017.

The 64th academy class began just two months later in July, 2017. The 27 officers from the class graduated in February, 2018.

They’ve now moved to the field training program and have been on the road with a training officer for the past few months. 

During the training program, probationary officers must complete nearly 250 skills — from taking reports, to making traffic stops, to handling overdose calls, to driving to a scene with lights and sirens activated. 

“You go through a couple different field training officers and you learn variations from different ones,” Officer O’Connell said. “Everyone has their own different style of policing. It’s cool to take little bits and pieces from everyone, put it together, and see what works best for you — that’s what I’m doing so far.”

Probationary officers are critiqued on every move they make. 

It’s stressful, not only on the rookie officers, but also on their training officer.

“Being a training officer, you basically have four eyes — you are in charge of two people,” said John Mattimore, a senior field officer who helps coordinate the training program. “It’s hard enough to do this job when you have to worry about yourself and your back, but now you’ve got to worry about what someone else is doing 100 percent of the time. The stress level goes way up.”

Putting an academy class together involves a series of intensive background investigations, physical fitness and medical testing, a psychological examination, and interviews. It’s a lot of work, but it’s worth it to have the new officers, Officer Mattimore said. He’s been a patrolman for nearly 23 years, and within the past 10 years, he said he can feel the strain of not having enough officers on the street. 

“We back each other up and we do what we can, but obviously we can provide more services if we had more police,” Officer Mattimore said. “It’s hard to be proactive if you don’t have time to be because you’re going call to call to call.”

The department as a whole is becoming significantly younger as efforts to recruit more police ramp up.

Approximately 44 percent of the department will have less than 10 years of experience, Chief Kral said.

Officer Mattimore said while the officers may be inexperienced, the training prepares them for situations they may encounter.

Officer O’Connell’s graduating class will begin solo patrol as early as July. That’s also about the same time the next police academy class — an estimated class of 40 officers — will start. 

Ramping up recruiting

Mayor Kapszukiewicz said he is aware adding “a few more police officers” will not resolve all crime issues, but Department of Justice standards suggest Toledo is under policed for a city its size. The standards call for 2.4 officers per 1,000 residents — or roughly 660 officers for a city Toledo’s size. 

Yet, TPD has approximately 600 officers, or about 2.1 officers per 1,000 residents, according to the mayor. Chief Kral has said a force of 725 officers would be ideal. 

“If we can bring on a class of 40 officers a year, every year for the four years of my term, that would mean a net increase of 15 officers per year,” the mayor said. “Or, by the end of my four-year term, we will have 60 additional officers, which will get us from the 600 to the 660 we need in order to hit the recommended standard.”

With the additional officers, Chief Kral said he can already fill positions he hasn’t been able to in years. He’s added seven new detectives to the gang task force, four detectives to the vice/narcotics unit, and two detectives to the crimes against property unit — areas of focus residents identified as most concerning to them in a 2017 community relations survey.

Within the past few years, Chief Kral has implemented a full-time recruiting team. Members of the team attend job fairs, college events, and they try connect with military personnel.

The police department now accepts the National Testing Network exam and testing dates are available on a variety of dates at multiple testing centers across the country — making it more accessible for potential candidates to apply rather than take a test on a scheduled day in Toledo. 

Toledo police pushed its maximum age to join to 40, and social media has recently played a large part in getting police’s message out. It allows officers to show day-to-day life in multiple areas of the department and a heavy recruitment focus is planned in the next few weeks. 

There’s hope to attract a demographically diverse recruitment class, Chief Kral said. He said he wants a department that represents the City of Toledo.

“That is one of my prominent goals is to increase the diversity of the department,” Chief Kral said. “Right now, I have no command officer above the rank of sergeant who is African American. That just can’t be.”

The 63rd academy class of 25 officers consisted of 16 white men, four black men, one biracial man, a white woman, a black woman, a Hispanic woman, and an Asian woman. The most recent class was 27 white men, two black men, five Hispanic men, three white woman, and a black woman.

Being a woman in the field offers its own challenges, but it also brings positive qualities at the same time, Officer Crissman said. 

Officer Crissman, a small-framed woman, said she’s glad she doesn’t come off as a threatening officer. 

“I don’t want to come to somebody’s home as a big, bulky man. I like being able to bring my sensitivity that I do have to the department,” she said. 

Officer Crissman’s easygoing side showed as she joked and had a victim laughing when she responded to a menacing call in the 2200 block of Rosewood Avenue during a recent patrol with Officer O’Connell.

The woman’s brother made several threatened to shoot the family and burn down their home. The woman called police when he drove past the central city residence multiple times. 

“If I can leave there with that lady, smiling and laughing and joking around — even if I can take that fear away from her for 20 minutes — he has 20 minutes where she felt safe,” Officer Crissman said. “And that’s something you just can’t give to people all the time unless you’re in this type of job.” 

Officers’ starting pay is just shy of $49,000 per year, according to the city’s human resources website. Other compensation includes health and life insurance, a 401(k) option, and a pension.

Answering the call

Both officers Crissman and O’Connell said they always knew they wanted a career in law enforcement. 

Officer O’Connell’s father, Brian O’Connell, works at TPD. As a child, Officer Crissman saw community policing at its best while growing up in the Cleveland area. She wanted to provide the same to others.

Officer Crissman said police often see people on their worst days and officers are often negatively associated with the experience. 

“People don’t call us because things are going well. They’re calling us because things are really bad. Their life is falling apart,” she said.

In her own life, there was an instance when Officer Crissman’s mother had to be rushed to the hospital. One officer suggested calling children’s services for the young Crissman. Another officer had another idea: he would sit with the then 7-year-old until family could be contacted.

“For him to take all of that time out of his day to sit with me until they could find my grandma and get a hold of her to come home. I realized they can make that difference, it may be one person in an entire career, but it can happen,” Officer Crissman said. 

“I always wanted to be the officer when I leave your home, you remember me because I’m respectful and I’m courteous and I answer all of your questions. I always wanted to be able to do that for my community just like the officers did for me,” she added.

Contact Allison Dunn at adunn@theblade.com, 419-724-6506 or on Twitter @AllisonDBlade.

First Published June 22, 2018, 11:15 a.m.

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Field Training Officer Nicole Crissman, left, and new Toledo Police Officer Amber O'Connell.  (THE BLADE/JEREMY WADSWORTH)  Buy Image
New Toledo Police Officer Amber O'Connell during equipment check Wednesday, May 8, 2018, at the Scott Park Station in Toledo.  (THE BLADE/JEREMY WADSWORTH)  Buy Image
New Toledo Police Officer Amber O'Connell, left, and Field Training Officer Nicole Crissman during equipment check Wednesday, May 8, 2018, at the Scott Park Station in Toledo.  (THE BLADE/JEREMY WADSWORTH)  Buy Image
Field Training Officer Nicole Crissman, left, and new Toledo Police Officer Amber O'Connell during equipment check Wednesday, May 8, 2018, at the Scott Park Station in Toledo.  (THE BLADE/JEREMY WADSWORTH)  Buy Image
The 61st Toledo Police Department Basic Police Officer Academy class including Nicole Crissman, left, and William Clark, take their oath as the class gets underway.  (THE BLADE)  Buy Image
New Toledo Police Officer Amber O'Connell during equipment check Wednesday, May 8, 2018, at the Scott Park Station in Toledo.  (THE BLADE/JEREMY WADSWORTH)  Buy Image
New Toledo Police Officer Amber O'Connell embraces Officer Brian O'Connell after he presented her with her badge during the Graduation Ceremony for the Toledo Police Department's 64th Academy Class Friday, February 2, 2018, at Bowsher High School in Toledo.  (THE BLADE)  Buy Image
THE BLADE/JEREMY WADSWORTH
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