* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:06] HI. GOOD AFTERNOON. UH, THIS IS MELISSA . THIS IS OUR PUBLIC SAFETY MEETING. I THINK I JUST SAW COUNCILMAN SANDOVAL. SO I THINK WE'RE ALL HERE. UM, BUT BEFORE WE START TODAY'S MEETING, I'D LIKE TO ASK, UM, A MOMENT OF SILENCE TO HONOR ONE OF OUR FALLEN HEROES, SCOTT DIE, WHO BRAVELY LOST HIS LIFE FOUR YEARS AGO TODAY, FIGHTING A COMMERCIAL COMPLEX FIRE ON INGRAM ROAD. PLEASE JOIN ME IN A MOMENT OF SILENCE. THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR HONORING, UH, FIREFIGHTER DEAN AND HIS FAMILY. HIS COURAGE AND SELFLESS DEVOTION TO OUR CITY WILL NOT BE FORGOTTEN. MADAM CLERK, WILL YOU PLEASE CALL ROLL? YES, MA'AM. COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREW SULLIVAN HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER GRO. I'M HERE. AND, UH, CON COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL PRESENT. COUNCIL MEMBER PERRY HERE. AND CHAIRWOMAN KEO HERE. THANK YOU. WE HAVE A QUORUM. THANK YOU, MA'AM. THE [1. 21-3707 Approval of the minutes from the Public Safety Committee meeting on April 20, 2021] FIRST ITEM IN OUR AGENDA IS APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM A, THE APRIL 20TH MEETING. DO I HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND? SO MOVED. THANK YOU. A SECOND. SECOND FOR THE MOTION TO SECOND. AND, UM, PLEASE VOTE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. AYE. MOTION. ALL, ALL THOSE AGAINST. MOTION PASSES. UH, JUST DOUBLE CHECKING, BUT WE, WE DIDN'T HAVE ANYONE SIGN UP FOR A PUBLIC COMMENT TODAY, IS THAT CORRECT? OKAY. THAT THAT IS CORRECT. THANK YOU, MA'AM. MM-HMM. WITH NO PUBLIC COMMENT. WE'LL [2. 21-3649 Briefing and possible action on the Police Department procurement to replace existing Tasers with an upgraded Taser model. [Maria Villagomez, Deputy City Manager; William McManus, Chief of Police]] MOVE ON TO, UH, ITEM TWO ON OUR AGENDA, WHICH IS A BRIEFING AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON THE POLICE DEPARTMENT PROCUREMENT TO REPLACE EXISTING TASERS WITH AN UPGRADED TASER MODEL. MARIA, UH, GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIRWOMAN AND MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE. UH, THIS FIRST ITEM BY THE POLICE DEPARTMENT IS A REPLACEMENT OF OUR CURRENT TASTER EQUIPMENT. UH, JUST TO GIVE YOU SOME BACKGROUND, THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO BEGAN USING TASTERS IN 2006 AS PART OF OUR FISCAL YEAR 2007 BUDGET. UM, SO WHAT WE ARE PRESENTING TO YOU TODAY IS A REPLACEMENT TO AN UPGRADED, UM, MODEL OF THE TASER WE HAVE WITH US TODAY. UH, PAT MURPHY, WHO IS A REPRESENTATIVE FROM AXON, WHICH IS THE CURRENT, UH, TASER PROVIDER FOR THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO. AND IT'S ALSO THE COMPANY THAT WE'RE RECOMMENDING, UH, FOR CONSIDERATION FOR THIS NEW CONTRACT. SO, WITH THAT, I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO, UH, CHIEF MCMANUS FOR THE PRESENTATION. CHIEF. THANK YOU, MARIA. AND GOOD EVENING, OR GOOD AFTERNOON, EVERYONE. SO, UH, MARIA SAID THAT, UH, PAT MURPHY IS ON THE LINE. HE IS THE, UH, SENIOR EX, SENIOR NATIONAL ACCOUNTS EXECUTIVE FOR TASER, UH, WORKS THE ENTIRE STATE OF TEXAS, AND, UH, HE IS STATIONED OUT OF ARIZONA. UH, WE ALSO HAVE ON THE CALL, UH, CAPTAIN BRIAN REYES FROM THE TRAINING ACADEMY, SERGEANT RAY GARCIA FROM THE TRAINING ACADEMY, AND OFFICER JUAN HONDO FROM THE TRAINING ACADEMY. AND THEY'LL BE AVAILABLE FOR ANY QUESTIONS THAT, UH, YOU MAY HAVE AT THE END OF THE PRESENTATION. AND I KNOW THAT, UH, CHIEF HOOD IS EAGER TO GET STARTED OUT THERE WITH YOU. SO, UH, WE'LL TRY NOT TO TAKE TOO LONG WITH THIS, UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO, AS MARIA SAID, WE FIRST STARTED USING TASERS BACK IN 2006, 2007. UH, THE TASER MODEL THAT WE USED BACK THEN WAS THE X 26 P MODEL. UH, ACTUALLY, I'M SORRY. WE STARTED USING THE X 26 P MODEL IN 2016, AND THE TASER, UH, EVOLVED OVER THE YEAR TO THAT MODEL OVER THE YEARS TO THAT MODEL IN 2016. AND IT IS AT ITS END OF LIFE, UH, RIGHT NOW AFTER FIVE YEARS, MEANING THAT PARTS CARTRIDGES, UH, WON'T BE AVAILABLE ANY LONGER AND THE WARRANTY WILL BE EXPIRED. UM, WE ARE RECOMMENDING THAT THE CURRENT MODEL X 26 P BE REPLACED WITH THE TASER SEVEN. THAT, UH, MODEL HAS BEEN TESTED AT THE ACADEMY, AND IT HAS ALSO BEEN RECOMMENDED FOR APPROVAL BY THE LABOR RELATIONS COMMITTEE. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO, UH, IN [00:05:01] MARCH OF THIS YEAR, AN R F O WAS, UM, WAS RELEASED FOR THE TASER SEVEN, UH, AXON RESPONDED TO THAT R F O, UH, DURING THE SAME MONTH. AND THE NEW TASER SEVEN OFFERS, UH, A NUMBER OF NEW IMPROVEMENTS OVER THE CURRENT MODEL. AND THE ONE THAT, THE, THE TWO THAT ARE MOST, UH, I IMPORTANT TO US ARE THE INCREASED AUDIT CAPABILITIES AND THE INCLUSION OF A VIRTUAL REALITY TRAINING, UH, UM, THE ABILITY TO VIRTUALLY TRAIN WITH THIS NEW MODEL. AND, UH, THE PROPOSED CONTRACT IS FOR ANOTHER FIVE YEARS WITH A RENEWAL OPTION OF AN ADDITIONAL FIVE YEARS. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO, UH, THE TRANSITION WOULD REQUIRE A TWO DAY TRAINING CLASS. AND, UM, THE BENEFITS OF TASERS USING TASERS, THEY REDUCE INJURIES TO THE PUBLIC AND THE POLICE OFFICERS, UM, THEY ALLOW FOR USE OF LESS THAN LETHAL, UH, TO A LESS THAN USE, LESS THAN LETHAL TOOL TO DIFFUSE ESCALATING SITUATIONS. AND THEY REDUCE, CAN REDUCE THE USE OF DEADLY FORCE. SO THIS NEW CONTRACT ALLOWS FOR THE REPLACEMENT OF 1,450 TASERS AND 252 FOR PARKS AND AIRPORT. HOWEVER, THE PARKS AND AIRPORT WILL, UH, BE, UH, SUBMITTING THEIR OWN, UH, BUDGET REQUESTS FOR THE, UH, FOR THE RENEWAL OF THE TASERS. UH, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO, I MENTIONED ALREADY THAT THE, THE, THE TASER WOULD REQUIRE A 16 HOUR BLOCK OF TRAINING. AND VOLUNTARY EXPOSURE MEANS THAT, UM, ANYONE WHO DECIDES THEY WOULD LIKE TO BE SHOT BY A TASER TO FEEL WHAT IT'S LIKE, THEY CAN DO THAT. UM, THEY'LL DO HANDS-ON DRILLS AT THE ACADEMY, HIGH STRESS SCENARIOS, UH, LIVE CARTRIDGE QUALIFICATION, AND, UH, A GENERAL MANUAL POLICY REVIEW IS ALSO REQUIRED. AND, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, I THINK MOST OF YOU ARE OUT AT THE TRAINING ACADEMY, UH, DOING OTHER, UH, SCENARIOS. SO THIS WOULD BE THE SAME TYPE OR SIMILAR TYPE OF TRAINING AS Y'ALL WENT THROUGH. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO, ANOTHER BENEFIT OF THIS, UH, OF THIS NEW MODEL, UH, ENHANCED MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS TRAINING. SO, BACK IN 2006, UH, 2007, PRIOR TO BEING AUTHORIZED TO CARRY A TASER, UH, THE REQUIREMENT WAS THAT YOU WENT THROUGH THE 40 HOUR BLOCK OF CRISIS INTERVENTION TRAINING THAT WAS, UH, THAT WAS NOT MADE MANDATORY UNTIL ABOUT 2008. SO UP UNTIL THEN, IN ORDER TO GET A TASER, YOU HAD TO GO THROUGH THAT 40 HOUR BLOCK OF TRAINING. SO IT'S SCENARIO BASED, UH, EMPHASIS ON DEESCALATION, FOCUSED ON GAINING COMPLIANCE WITHOUT EVEN HAVING TO USE THE DEVICE. UH, PART OF THE TRAINING THAT THAT TASER WILL PROVIDE WILL BE VIRTUAL TRAINING WITH A 360 60 DEGREE, UH, SURROUNDING VIDEO. AND THEN THAT DEVELOPS OFFICER'S ABILITY TO RECOGNIZE, DESCRIBE DEESCALATE, UH, SITUATIONS WHERE MENTAL HEALTH CONDITIONS ARE INVOLVED. UH, IT ALSO, UM, UM, THIS TASER ALSO PROVIDES FOR THE ABILITY TO DISPLAY A WARNING ARC, WHICH IS ALSO A DEESCALATION TECHNIQUE. SO YOU DISPLAY THE WARNING ARC AND, AND HOPEFULLY THE, THE THOUGHT IN THE PERSON THAT'S BEING, UH, BEING DEALT WITH IS, I DON'T WANT ANY PARTS OF THAT. UM, WHATEVER YOU NEED ME TO DO. SO THAT'S PART OF ALL THAT AS WELL. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. THE COST OF THE TASERS FOR FIVE YEARS IS, UH, IT'S A CONTRACT FOR A HUNDRED, I'M SORRY, FOR 824,000 ON $180, UH, FOR A TOTAL OF 4.1 MILLION OVER THE FIVE YEAR CONTRACT. UH, WE WOULD HAVE AN OPTION TO EXTEND THAT CONTRACT FOR AN ADDITIONAL FIVE YEARS AND RECEIVE THE MOST UP-TO-DATE TASER MODEL AS THEY CONTINUE TO ADVANCE, UH, FOR A TOTAL AMOUNT OF 1.1 MILLION. THE CONTRACT WOULD PROVIDE THE CITY WITH THE TASER, HOLSTERS, AND UNLIMITED FIELD USE CARTRIDGES, RECHARGING DOCKS, RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES, AND HARDWARE WARRANTY. UH, IT WOULD ALSO, UH, PROVIDE US WITH EVIDENCE.COM LICENSES WHERE THE BODY-WORN CAMERAS, UH, CAN BE DOWNLOADED. THE, THE FILM FROM THE BODY-WORN CAMERAS CAN BE DOWNLOADED. AND THEN, UH, TRAINING CARTRIDGES IS DELIVERED ANNUALLY ALONG WITH THE TRAINING SUITS. THE TRAINING SUITS ARE FOR, UH, YOU PUT THEM ON WHERE YOU WANT TO FEEL THE, UH, WHAT THE EFFECTS OF THE TASER ARE LIKE. AND THEN THE INSTRUCTOR LED TRAINING, THE, UH, AXON WOULD PROVIDE A [00:10:01] TRAINER, UH, FOR THE SAN ANTONIO POLICE DEPARTMENT TO, TO TRAIN THE TRAINERS IN USE OF THE NEW TASER. UH, FINALLY, UH, LAST STEPS, NEXT SLIDE. UH, WE RECOMMEND THAT THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE FORWARD THIS REQUEST TO THE CITY COUNCIL FOR FULL CONSIDER OR FULL CITY COUNCIL FOR CONSIDERATION AT THE JUNE. SO JUNE 3RD, A SESSION. AND THAT'S THE END OF MY PRESENTATION. AND WE ARE ALL READY FOR QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE. THANK YOU, CHIEF. UM, CAN YOU ELABORATE A LITTLE MORE ON THE, THE MENTAL HEALTH, UM, TYPE TRAINING THAT, THAT WILL COME WITH THE TASERS OR, OR MAYBE, UM, UM, SURE. CHIEF, YEAH. WELL, I'M, I'M HAPPY TO TAKE THAT IF YOU LIKE. PLEASE, PAT. THANK YOU. YEP. SO, UH, IN 2018, UH, WE INTRODUCED AXON VIRTUAL REALITY, WHERE, UH, THIS WAS DESIGNED TO REALLY COMPLEMENT, UH, SAN ANTONIO'S EXISTING C I T TRAINING. UM, WHAT IT DOES IS WE HAVE, UH, ABOUT A DOZEN DIFFERENT MODULES, UH, SUCH AS AUTISM, SCHIZOPHRENIA, UH, HARD OF HEARING, P T SS D UH, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE. EACH ONE OF THESE MODULES SORT OF PUTS YOU IN THE SHOES OF THAT SITUATION THAT'S HAVING THAT CRISIS. AND THEN IT REVERSES THE ROLE. SO NOW YOU'RE THE OFFICER, YOU COME UP ON SCENE, AND AS THE SITUATION EVOLVES, YOU HAVE CHOICES TO MAKE. AND THOSE CHOICES WERE REALLY, UH, EMPHASIZED AROUND DEESCALATION. AND THOSE, THOSE CHOICES RESULT IN AN OUTCOME. UM, THE MORE DEESCALATION SKILLS WE SEE, WE USE THE, THE, TYPICALLY THE SITUATION RESOLVES ITSELF IN A MORE DEESCALATION FACTOR, UH, FORM. SO, UM, WE ARE EVOLVING THESE MODULES ABOUT EVERY, EVERY, EVERY OTHER MONTH WHERE WE COME UP WITH A NEW MODULE. UM, AND WE REALLY BELIEVE THAT THIS TYPE OF TRAINING JUST KIND OF ENHANCES, UH, CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS, GIVES OFFICERS MORE REPETITIONS, AND, UH, THE END OF THE DAY GETS EVERYBODY HOME SAFELY. THANK YOU, UH, PAT, THANKS FOR THAT CLARIFICATION. UM, WE HAVE A, UH, NEXT TO COUNCILWOMAN SANDOVAL. IF, UH, BY THE WAY, ANY COUNCIL MEMBERS OR COMMITTEE MEMBERS THAT WANNA ASK QUESTIONS, PLEASE USE THE HAND FUNCTION. THANK YOU. GO AHEAD, COUNCILWOMAN SANDOVAL. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, CHAIR. UH, THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THE ITEM FOR DISCUSSION CONSIDERATION, UH, UH, COMMITTEE, IT'S, IT'S GOOD TO BE ABLE TO TALK ABOUT THINGS LIKE THIS. UH, BEFORE WE, WE VOTE ON LAMENT AT THE FULL COUNCIL, UH, FIRST JUST AN ADMINISTRATIVE QUESTION. YOU NOTICE THAT THE VALLEY OF THE CONTRACT IS OVER A MILLION DOLLARS. NORMALLY THAT WOULD GO THROUGH A HIGH PROFILE SOLICITATION PROCESS. COULD YOU EXPLAIN, UH, WHAT PROCESS WAS USED? THANK YOU. YES, COUNCIL IMAN, UM, THIS PARTICULAR CONTRACT HAS A PUBLIC SAFETY EXEMPTION BECAUSE OF THE TYPE OF EQUIPMENT, UM, TO OUR KNOWLEDGE. UH, AXON IS THE ONLY PROVIDER OF THE EQUIPMENT. SO THERE WAS NO COMPETITIVE PROCESS THAT YOU WOULD NORMALLY HAVE ON A, UH, PROCUREMENT OF EQUIPMENT. SO WE EXERCISE THAT, UH, EXEMPTION, AND THAT IS THE REASON WHY WE'RE BRINGING THIS TO THIS COMMITTEE RATHER THAN THE AUDIT COMMITTEE. THANK YOU. IN TERMS OF AXON BEING THE ONLY PROVIDER, YOU MEAN THEY'RE THE ONLY PROVIDER OF TASERS AT ALL, NATIONALLY, COUNCILMAN, AND I'M GONNA HAVE TO MURPHY ADDRESS THAT QUESTION. GO AHEAD, TED. I'M, I'M SORRY, PAT, I'M CALLING YOU TED NOW, . NO PROBLEM. UM, YEAH, GREAT, GREAT QUESTION. UM, AND WE HEAR THAT THAT'S A, THE QUESTION COMES UP A LOT. WE, WE ARE THE ONLY MAKER OF THE TASER DEVICE. WE ACTUALLY CHANGED OUR NAME. WE, WE STARTED AS TASER INTERNATIONAL BACK IN 1999. WE CHANGED OUR NAME, UH, IN 2017 OR SO. UM, BUT THE, IT IS OUR PROPRIETARY TECHNOLOGY. WE ARE THE SOLE SOURCE. UM, AND IN THE 18,000 LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES IN THE US AND 99.99% OF THEM USE THE TASER DEVICE. THERE ISN'T, THERE IS NOT AN ALTERNATIVE. OKAY. GREAT. THANK YOU. WE LEARN SOMETHING NEW EVERY DAY HERE. MM-HMM. . UM, SO, UM, SO WE ARE TRANSITIONING FROM THE CURRENT TASER MODEL OR A CURRENT TASER MODEL TO THE NEXT ONE. HOW LONG DO YOU EXPECT THE NEXT ONE TO BE FULLY SUPPORTED? YEAH, HAPPY TO TAKE THAT, THAT QUESTION AS WELL. UH, MY, MY BEST GUESS JUST IN WHAT I'VE SEEN HISTORICALLY IS THAT DEVICE WILL BE AROUND FOR QUITE SOME TIME. WE INTRODUCED IT IN 2018. MY, MY BEST GUESS IS WE WOULD SUPPORT IT THROUGH, PROBABLY THROUGH THE REST OF THIS DECADE. UM, WE, UH, WE TEND TO HAVE A, A LIFESPAN OF ABOUT MAYBE [00:15:01] ABOUT 10 TO 12 YEARS ON A WEAPON PLATFORM. SO IT'S GONNA BE QUITE SOME TIME WE ARE, TO BE, UH, TOTALLY TRANSPARENT, WE ARE DEVELOPING A TASER EIGHT, UH, THAT MAY BE RELEASED IN THE NEXT THREE TO FOUR YEARS. UM, AND THEN SAN ANTONIO WILL HAVE THE OPTION AT THE END OF YEAR FIVE TO, UH, EITHER KEEP THE PLATFORM THEY'RE ON TODAY, MOVE UPGRADE TO THE TASER EIGHT, OR, OR CANCEL THE CONTRACT ALTOGETHER. OKAY. THANK YOU. UM, A COUPLE OF OF QUESTIONS ABOUT THE, THE USE OF, UH, THIS POTENTIALLY NON-LETHAL FORCE. UM, NOT SURE IF THIS IS FOR, FOR MARIA OR, OR FOR YOU, PAT, UM, OR TED AS THEY CALL YOU. UM, SO THE BRIEFING DOCUMENT STATES THAT TASER SEVEN HAS A TRACK RECORD OF REDUCING INJURIES. UH, WOULD YOU BE ABLE TO TALK, SPEAK TO THE EVIDENCE BEHIND THAT STATEMENT? UM, SO YES, I'M, I'M HAPPY TO ADDRESS THAT. I DON'T, I'M NOT SURE THAT THE, THE NEWER DEVICE HAS A FANTASTIC, OR EVEN A DOCUMENTED, DOCUMENTED TRACK RECORD FOR REDUCING INJURIES. WHAT I CAN TELL YOU IS WE'RE SEEING FAR, FAR GREATER LEVELS OF DEESCALATION WITH THIS NEW DEVICE BECAUSE OF ITS ABILITY TO DEESCALATE USING THINGS LIKE THE WARNING ART, FOR EXAMPLE. UM, WHAT SAN ANTONIO HAS TODAY DOES NOT HAVE A WARNING ARC. WHAT WE'RE SEEING IS IN AREAS WHERE THEY'RE TRACKING USES OF THE TASER, THE VAST MAJORITY OF SITUATIONS ARE BEING, UM, DEESCALATED JUST BY THE PRESENCE OF A TASER DEVICE, DRAWING THE WEAPON OR SAYING, I HAVE A TASER, OR USING THIS, THIS WARNING ARC. SO WE ARE DEFINITELY SEEING GREATER LEVELS OF DEESCALATION. I JUST DON'T HAVE A WHOLE LOT OF HARD DATA TO SHOW THAT THIS NEW DEVICE IS REDUCING INJURIES. I HAVE A LOT OF DATA TO SHOW YOU THAT TASER IS A WHOLE, REDUCES INJURIES. UH, BUT BEING THAT THE WEAPON IS RELATIVELY STILL NEW TO THE MARKET, IT'S BEEN OUT FOR TWO YEARS, WE'RE STARTING TO COLLECT THIS DATA. UM, BUT I DON'T HAVE A WHOLE LOT TO COMPARE TO THE OLDER PLATFORM OTHER THAN, THAN SAYING THAT IT'S FAR MORE EFFECTIVE. AND, AND EFFECTIVE TYPICALLY MEANS LESS, LESS INJURIES. 'CAUSE IF I DO HAVE TO USE THE DEVICE, WE WANT IT TO WORK. UM, WHEN IT WORKS, WE SEE LESS INJURIES THAN WHEN IT DOESN'T WORK. IF IT, IF I WERE TO MISS HAVE A MISSED SHOT OR A CLOTHING DISCONNECT OR TOO CLOSE OF A PROBE SPREAD AND I'M NOT ABLE TO GAIN COMPLIANCE, THINGS TEND TO ESCALATE. UH, AND OFFICERS HAVE TO GO HANDS ON AND WE SEE MORE INJURIES RESULTING OUT OF THAT. THANK YOU. UH, CHAIR, I'D LIKE TO GO BACK IN THE QUEUE. ONCE, UH, EVERYONE HAS GONE AROUND, I HAVE A COUPLE MORE QUESTIONS. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, UH, PAT FOR THAT EXPLANATION. YOU'RE WELCOME. THANK YOU. HELLO, I'M HERE, . I THINK I'M NEXT. OKAY. UH, I CAN'T HEAR YOU CHAIR IF YOU'RE TALKING, UM, BUT CAN YOU ALL HEAR ME? I'M SORRY. CAN YOU HEAR ME? I CAN HEAR YOU NOW. I'M SORRY. COUNCILWOMAN, , GO AHEAD. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. UM, THANKS FOR THE PRESENTATION. WHAT IS THE ARC WARNING? YOU, YOU MENTIONED THAT, WHAT IS THAT? REMEMBER THAT THE DEVICE, THAT, THAT IS WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU TAKE THE CARTRIDGES OFF AND YOU PULL THE TRIGGER, IT MAKES A CLICKING SOUND. UM, I DON'T WANNA TRY AND DESCRIBE IT FOR YOU, BUT IT MAKES A, A LOUD CLICKING SOUND, UH, WHEN IT ARCS. AND THAT IS A WARNING FOR, SERVES AS A WARNING FOR SOMEONE, UH, WHO MAY BE ON THE, UH, THE OFFICER MAY BE DEALING WITH. AND IF I CAN ELABORATE ON THAT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, CHIEF. UM, WHAT WE BUILT INTO THE NEWER DEVICE IS THE ABILITY TO ARC RIGHT OVER LIVE CARTRIDGES. SO WHAT, WHAT SAN ANTONIO HAS TODAY, IF THEY WANT TO USE ARCING AS A DETERRENT, WHICH WORKS REALLY, REALLY WELL, THEY HAVE TO TAKE THE CARTRIDGE OFF THE DEVICE, WHICH LEADS 'EM A LITTLE BIT VULNERABLE. 'CAUSE NOW THEY HAVE A DEVICE WITHOUT A CARTRIDGE ON THE NEWER DEVICES. WE BUILT IN A FUNCTION WHERE YOU CAN ACTUALLY, UH, SEND ELECTRICITY RIGHT OVER THE FRONT OF LIVE CARTRIDGES BY PRESSING A LITTLE BUTTON ON THE SIDE OF THE DEVICE. SO WHAT WE'RE SEEING IS A LARGE AMOUNT OF COMPLIANCE BY, BY THE PRESENCE OF A TASER, IF THE PRESENCE ITSELF DOESN'T, UM, GAIN COMPLIANCE. THE WARNING ARC, THE AUDIBLE WARNING WHERE WE'RE HEARING ELECTRICITY, UH, OVER THE FRONT OF THESE CARTRIDGES IS, IS REALLY, REALLY COMPELLING. [00:20:01] AND WE GAIN COMPLIANCE OFTEN BY JUST PRESSING THIS LITTLE BUTTON TO, TO SHOW I HAVE A TASER. OKAY. AND WITH THESE NEW, UM, TASERS, SO E EVERYONE'S HEARD THE STORY, UM, OR THE, THE, THE TRAGIC EVENT THAT HAPPENED THAT ONE POLICE OFFICER MISTAKE, UH, MISTOOK HER TASER FOR A GUN. AND SO, UM, AND THEN FATALLY KILLED A PERSON, BUT SAID THAT SHE WAS, THOUGHT SHE HAD HER TASER. SO TELL ME HOW THESE TASERS ARE NOT GOING TO BE MISTAKEN FOR A GUN. ABSOLUTELY. UH, CHIEF, WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO ADDRESS THAT? HOW CAN BOTH ADDRESS IT? SHE'S, GO AHEAD PAT, WHAT YOU CAN DO. AND THEN PAT, IS THERE A DESIGN CHANGE THAT YOU ALL DID? SO, UH, SO YEAH, SO GREAT, GREAT QUESTION AND SUPER TIMELY WITH WHAT'S HAPPENED RECENTLY, OBVIOUSLY. UM, SO TO PUT IT INTO CONTEXT, THERE'S BEEN ABOUT 4.6 MILLION EXPOSURES IN THE FIELD USING A TASER DEVICE. OUT OF THOSE 4.6, WE, WE'VE SEEN A REPORTED NUMBER OF FOUR INCIDENCES THAT RESULTED IN DEATH DUE TO WEAPON CONFUSION. UM, NOW ONE, ONE IS, IS FAR TOO MANY, BUT, UH, BASED ON THE TOTALITY OF NUMBERS USES IN THE FIELD, WE BELIEVE THAT'S PRETTY SMALL. NOW THAT SAID, UH, WE DO BELIEVE WE CAN REDUCE RISK BY ENHANCING TRAINING, BY DOING MORE ROLE ROLEPLAY, SCENARIO BASED TRAINING, WHICH, UH, WHICH WE'VE IMPLEMENTED IN THE TASER SEVEN PROGRAM, YOU'RE GONNA SEE A LOT MORE ROLEPLAY SCENARIO. WE BELIEVE THAT WILL ENHANCE, UH, OFFICER'S ABILITIES, UH, WITH CRITICAL THINKING, UH, AND MANIPULATING WEAPONS. UH, AND THEN THERE'S REALLY JUST SOME BEST PRACTICES, UH, SUCH AS AS, UH, SUPPORT SIDE DRAW, UM, HAVING A, A YELLOW TASER DEVICE, ALL WHICH, UH, SAN ANTONIO DOES TODAY, WE ARE LOOKING AT AND THINKING ABOUT DIFFERENT THINGS LIKE CHANGING FORM FACTOR AND SUCH. BUT WE'VE DONE A LOT OF RESEARCH AND A LOT OF TESTING AND EVALUATION ON THE FORM FACTOR THAT EXISTS TODAY. WE'VE TRIED THINGS LIKE FLASHLIGHTS, WHICH ARE REALLY KIND OF HARD TO MANIPULATE. THE REASON WE BUILT IT THE WAY IT IS, BECAUSE IT IS EASIER TO MANIPULATE, TO HOLD. UM, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S HARDER TO GET THE DEVICE OUT OF AN OFFICER'S HAND WHEN THEY HAVE A BETTER GRIP ON IT. WHAT WE'RE SEEING IN DIFFERENT FORM FACTORS IS THEY'RE NOT AS ACCURATE WHEN FIRING THE DEVICE, AND WE REALLY NEED OFFICERS TO BE VERY ACCURATE. SO WE ARE THINKING ABOUT EVERYTHING. WE'RE LOOKING AT IT ALL WE, BUT WE DO BELIEVE WE CAN DO REDUCE RISK BY JUST SIMPLY BEST PRACTICES AND ENHANCED TRAINING. I'LL JUST JUMP ON THE TO THAT PAT BY, BY, AND YOU KIND OF MENTIONED IT. SO, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER, THE, THE TASER IS ON THE WEAK HAND SIDE, OPPOSITE, THE OPPOSITE THE, THE SERVICE WEAPON. AND IT CAN EITHER BE A CROSS DRAW BY A STRONG HAND OR A WEAK HAND DRAW. SO IT, IT'S, IT'S NEVER, EVER ON THE SAME SIDE AS A GUN. AND YOU'VE GOTTA REACH ACROSS YOUR BODY IF YOU'RE GOING STRONG HAND, OR YOU CAN, YOU CAN DRAW IT WITH YOUR WEAK HAND, BUT, UH, THE, THE, THE SERVICE WEAPON IS NOWHERE NEAR THE, THE TASER AND IT'S DRAWN COMPLETELY DIFFERENTLY. OKAY. THOSE ARE ALL OF MY QUESTIONS, CHAIR. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN VIAGRA. COUNCILMAN ANDREW SULLIVAN. UM, THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR, AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION. THE QUESTION THAT I HAVE IS THAT WE'VE SEEN A LOT OF TIMES WHERE THERE'S OVER TAING OR PEOPLE WHO ARE USING EXCESSIVE TASING. SO IS THERE A VOLTAGE, UM, STOP ON, ON THESE PARTICULAR TASERS, ON THIS NEW MODEL TO WHERE WE'RE NOT OVER ADVERTISING? ANOTHER FANTASTIC QUESTION. SO THERE HAS BEEN SOME SAFEGUARDS BUILT INTO THE NEW DEVICE, SUCH AS A, UM, UH, AN AUTOMATIC SHUTDOWN. SO WHAT WE'VE FOUND, OFFICERS, I'VE NEVER BEEN AN OFFICER, SO I DON'T KNOW, BUT I CAN IMAGINE IN, IN SORT OF THE HEAT OF THE BATTLE WHEN THINGS ARE HAPPENING, YOUR FINGER CAN GET STUCK ON THE TRIGGER AS YOU'RE EVALUATING THE SITUATION. THAT COULD TEND TO LEAD FOR LONGER THAN THE, THAN INTENDED FIVE SECOND DURATION. THE NEW TASERS ARE BUILT WITH A, WITH A SHUT DOWN AT FIVE SECONDS AND AN AUDIBLE WARNING AT THREE SECONDS TO SAY, HEY, WE'RE THREE SECONDS, WE'RE GONNA SHUT THAT DEVICE DOWN AT FIVE. THEN IT SHUTS DOWN. IT GIVES THE OFFICER THE ABILITY TO, TO, TO THINK AND LOOK, UH, AT WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THIS SITUATION. IF THEY NEED TO RE-ENERGIZE AND INCAPACITATE, THEY CAN. SECONDLY, ACCOUNTABILITY IS REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT. THERE'S A LOT OF DATA THAT'S COLLECTED ON THESE DEVICES, AND THAT DATA, UM, IS SOMETHING THAT IS AUTOMATICALLY DOWNLOADED IN INTO EVIDENCE.COM. SO FROM THE USE OF FORCE SITUATION, I COULD SEE THE DURATION, THE TIME, THE CHARGE OUTPUT. DID I HAVE A GOOD, DID I HAVE A, UH, UH, DID I HAVE A, YOU KNOW, BOTH PROBES IN, DID I HAVE A GOOD EXPOSURE THAT COUPLED WITH THE BODY-WORN CAMERAS, REALLY, REALLY PAINT [00:25:01] A, UH, AN ACCURATE STORY. CHIEF? ANYTHING TO ADD TO THAT? YOU GOT IT, PAT. THANK YOU. AWESOME. OKAY. AND SO THE NEXT QUESTION IS, BECAUSE I WANNA KNOW, UM, ARE THE TASERS CHARGED AS SOON AS THE BODY CAMERA COMES ON, OR DOES THE BODY CAMERA COME ON WHEN THE TASER IS PULLED? HOW DOES THAT COORDINATION WORK? SO THE, THE, THE, IT IS OPTIONAL. YOU'LL HAVE THAT OPTION NOW. IT'S A, IT'S A, IT'S AN OPTION WITHIN EVIDENCE.COM. IT'S A, IT'S AN AGENCY-WIDE OPTION. UM, WHEN THE, THE, THE TASER DEVICE IS ARMED, IT'LL AUTOMATICALLY ACTIVATE ALL TASER, UH, TASER, BODY-WORN CAMERAS, ACTS ON BODY-WORN CAMERAS WITHIN A 30 FOOT RANGE. OKAY. CHIEF, WERE YOU GONNA SAY SOMETHING? GONNA SAY EXACTLY WHAT PAT JUST SAID? . OKAY. AND THEN MY LAST QUESTION THAT I HAVE IS, WE KNOW THAT, UH, UM, WE HAVE SEVERAL INDIVIDUALS THAT HAVE HEART DEFIBRILLATORS. AND, UM, IS, IS THIS DEVICE COMPATIBLE OR WILL IT CAUSE A DEFIBRILLATOR TO SHUT DOWN IF IT IS USED ON SOMEONE THAT HAS THAT PROSTHETIC DEVICE? HMM. Y YOU, YOU HONESTLY HAVE ME A LITTLE BIT STUMPED THERE. I I DON'T KNOW THE SPECIFICS ON DEFIBRILLATORS. I, UH, I DON'T THINK IT HAS, UH, AN EFFECT ON A DEFIBRILLATOR, BUT I, I'D HAVE TO CHECK ON THAT FOR YOU, AND I'M HAPPY TO DO THAT. OKAY. THANK YOU, PAT. I'LL WAIT FOR THAT FOLLOW UP. THOSE ARE ALL THE QUESTIONS THAT I HAVE RIGHT NOW, MADAM CHAIR. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN ANDREW SULLIVAN. UM, MAKING SURE, COUNCILMAN PERRY, YOU DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTION? YOU DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? OKAY. WE'LL GO BACK TO COUNCILWOMAN, UM, SANDOVAL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, CHAIR. UH, AND THANK YOU COUNCILWOMAN ANDREW SULLIVAN FOR THOSE QUESTIONS. I DO HOPE WE GET AN ANSWER, UH, IN ADVANCE OF THE, UH, UM, THE VOTE, UH, ON JUNE 3RD. SO WE CAN TAKE THAT INTO ACCOUNT, UH, A COUPLE OF OF THINGS. UM, I'LL, I'LL POSE TWO QUESTIONS AND THEN, UH, LEAVE IT TO, TO THE TEAM TO DECIDE WHO, WHO PICKS THESE UP. MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT IN ORDER TO USE A TASER, UH, YOU HAVE TO BE ACTUALLY FAIRLY CLOSE TO THE INDIVIDUAL AND, UH, AND THAT THAT REALLY PUTS, UM, THE, THE POLICE OFFICER IN, IN HARM'S WAY SHOULD THE, SHOULD THE INDIVIDUAL, UH, THAT THEY'RE INTERACTING WITH HAVE SOME KIND OF WEAPON. AND THE, SO I, I'D LIKE TO UNDERSTAND A LITTLE BIT, AND, AND I'M NOT SURE IF YOU'LL BE ABLE TO ANSWER TODAY, HOW MANY TIMES HAVE WE USED TASERS, UH, VERSUS FIREARMS IN INTERACTIONS WITH, WITH INDIVIDUALS? UH, AND THEN I, I'D LIKE TO KNOW A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT WHAT'S THAT, WHAT'S THE GUIDANCE THAT'S GIVEN TO POLICE OFFICERS AND, AND WHAT'S THE EXPECTATION ABOUT HOW THEY CHOOSE ONE OVER THE OTHER? AND THEN, JUST TO MAKE SURE I DON'T RUN OUTTA TIME, I'M GONNA THROW THE LAST ONE AT YOU. IS, UH, ARE WE LOOKING AT OTHER NON-LETHAL TOOLS THAT WE CAN PROVIDE OUR OFFICERS WITH SO THAT THEY DON'T HAVE TO COME INTO SUCH A CLOSE RANGE WITH AN INDIVIDUAL WHO MAY HAVE A WEAPON SUCH AS, UH, BEAN BAGS OR, OR RUBBER BULLETS? AND I WOULDN'T SAY THAT THESE ARE ENTIRELY NOT LETHAL, BUT I BELIEVE THEY, THEY MAY BE LESS LETHAL. SO, UM, THOSE ARE MY THREE QUESTIONS. THANK YOU, COUNCIL, COUNCIL MEMBER. LET ME TAKE, LET ME TAKE THE LAST ONE, AND I'M GONNA FLIP IT OVER TO JUAN HONDO, UH, TO ANSWER THE FIRST COUPLE QUESTIONS. SO WE ALREADY USE BEANBAGS. UM, WE ALREADY, UH, THE, THE, THAT'S ABOUT THE, THE, SORRY, CHIEF, CHIEF, UM, SO ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT EVERY POLICE OFFICER HAS THE ABILITY TO USE A BEANBAG FOR EVERY CALL? NO, THAT'S NOT CORRECT. OKAY. SO, OKAY. SO THAT'S, THAT'S MY QUESTION. THAT'S MY QUESTION. OKAY. SO THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION IS, IS THAT AN OPTION VERSUS A VERSUS, UH, A WEAPON? SORRY, VERSUS A FIREARM VERSUS A TASER VERSUS A BEANBAG VERSUS RUBBER BULLETS? DOES EVERY OFFICER HAVE THAT OPTION? THE EVERY OFFICER DOES NOT, BUT IT IS AN OPTION IF WE HAVE TIME, EXCUSE ME, IF WE HAVE TIME TO DEPLOY THAT. AND TYPICALLY THESE DAYS AS WE, UH, GET BETTER AND BETTER AT DEESCALATION, WE TYPICALLY WILL HAVE THAT TIME. UH, JUAN, DO YOU WANT TO ANSWER THE QUESTION ABOUT THE, THE FOOTAGE? YES, SIR. UH, CURRENTLY ON OUR CURRENT TASER, THE X TWO SIX, THE MAXIMUM RANGE IS 21 FEET. 21 FEET IS THE MAXIMUM RANGE OF OUR CURRENT CARTRIDGE. UH, HOWEVER, THAT IS A DIFFICULT SHOT BECAUSE YOU ARE DEALING WITH TWO PROJECTILES THAT ARE TRYING TO MAKE CONTACT WITH THE INDIVIDUAL. SO WE DO PREFER THE PREFERRED DISTANCE OF, UH, 12 TO 15 FEET. YES, THAT DOES PUT US [00:30:01] A LITTLE CLOSER TO THE INDIVIDUAL, BUT THAT GREATLY INCREASES THE CHANCES OF, UH, ENGAGING BOTH PROS INTO THE SUSPECT AND CAUSING N M I. SO THAT'S THAT GIVE AND TAKE, YES, WE DO HAVE A MAXIMUM RANGE, BUT IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO, TO MAKE, UH, GOOD HITS AT THAT DISTANCE. YEAH. AND IF I CAN ADD TO THAT, UH, THE TASER SEVEN, WHAT WE FOUND IS MOST INSTANCES, MOST INCIDENCES DO HAPPEN WITHIN ABOUT A 10 TO EIGHT FOOT RANGE, WHICH STARTS TO GET US DANGEROUSLY CLOSE TO TOO CLOSE, BECAUSE WHAT WE NEED IS ENOUGH DISTANCE TO CREATE SPREAD, YOU NEED AT LEAST ABOUT, AT LEAST 12 INCHES BETWEEN THE TWO DARTS, THE POSITIVE AND THE NEGATIVE. SO WE REDESIGNED IT SO THAT WHEN THINGS ARE DYNAMIC, THEY HAPPEN FAST, AND AN OFFICER HAS TO PULL THEIR TASER DEVICE, THEY CAN GET THAT FULL FOOT, THAT FULL 12 INCH SPREAD FROM AS LITTLE AS FOUR FEET AWAY. AND WHEN THEY HAVE TIME, DISTANCE, AND COVER, UH, IT IS PRETTY EASY TO SWAP OUT CARTRIDGES TO A STANDOFF CARTRIDGE, WHICH WILL GIVE YOU A 25 FOOT RANGE. WOW. OKAY. UH, THANK YOU. AND THEN THE, THE OTHER QUESTION I HAD WAS, HOW DOES THE USE OF TASERS COMPARE TO THE USE OF FIREARMS IN OUR, UM, IN OUR FORCE BY OUR POLICE OFFICERS CHIEF? YES, SIR. UM, WE, WE DO HAVE STATS, MA'AM. UM, I DON'T HAVE THE 2020 NUMBERS, BUT AS OF 2019, WE HAD A, WE HAD A THREE YEAR AVERAGE, AND IT BROKE DOWN ROUGHLY TO THIS. WE USED OUR TASER AT THAT TIME, OVER A THREE YEAR PERIOD, ABOUT 225 TIMES A YEAR. UM, AGAIN, I, I'M, I DON'T HAVE NUMBERS IN FRONT OF ME, BUT, UH, THE BATON WAS SOMETHING AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF 38 TIMES A YEAR, UH, PEPPER SPRAY WITHIN THE 25 RANGE AND FIREARMS WAS ABOUT 11 TIMES A YEAR. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. UH, JUAN, THANK YOU, CHIEF, YOU COUNCILWOMAN, UH, SANDOVAL. UM, WITH NO FURTHER QUESTIONS, I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION AND SECOND TO APPROVE THE ADVANCEMENT OF ITEM TWO TO FULL COUNSEL FOR APPROVAL AT THE SOONEST POSSIBLE DATE. SO MOVED SECOND. OKAY. WITH A MOTION AND A SECOND. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? I'M SORRY, CHAIR, JUST TO, JUST TO COMMENT, I, I'D WANNA ENSURE THAT WE GET THE ANSWER TO THE OUTSTANDING QUESTION BEFORE WE APPROVE, UH, AT, AT COUNCIL. I THINK IT'S OKAY TO MOVE FORWARD. I, I WOULD SUPPORT MOVING FORWARD NOW WITH THAT CONDITION. THANK YOU. OKAY. UM, I THINK WE, MARIA, CHIEF, UM, PAT, WE CAN GET THE ANSWERS TO THOSE QUESTIONS BEFORE FULL COUNSEL. OKAY. WELL, LET'S, UH, LET'S TAKE A VOTE AGAIN THEN. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION PASSES. SO ITEM THREE, UH, FOR ANYONE WATCHING, WE ARE ACTUALLY AT THE FIRE ACADEMY TODAY, THE FIRE TRAINING ACADEMY HERE TODAY IN DISTRICT SIX. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU FOR CHIEF HOOD. THANK YOU TO CHIEF HOOD AND THE SAN ANTONIO FIRE DEPARTMENT FOR HOSTING US TODAY. UM, THEY DO A LOT OF INCREDIBLE WORK OUT HERE AND, UM, THIS IS WHERE IT ALL THE MAGIC HAPPENS, RIGHT? WHERE ALL OUR FIREFIGHTERS GET TRAINED AND GO OUT AND SERVE OUR CITY EVERY DAY. UM, SO THE NEXT ITEM IN OUR AGENDA IS AN OVERVIEW OF THE SAN ANTONIO FIRE DEPARTMENT TO INCLUDE THE FIRE TRAINING ACADEMY. GO AHEAD. OKAY. THANK YOU CHAIRWOMAN. AND YES, WE'RE EXCITED TO HAVE THE COMMITTEE HERE AT THE FIRE TRAINING ACADEMY. WE ARE GOING TO START WITH A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE, CAN YOU HEAR ME? CAN YOU HEAR ME? I CAN HEAR YOU, YES. UM, SO WE ARE, WE'RE EXCITED TO HAVE YOU HERE AT THE FIRE TRAINING ACADEMY, AND, UH, WE ARE GONNA START THE PRESENTATION WITH, UH, CHIEF HOOD PROVIDING AN OVERVIEW OF THE DEPARTMENT, UH, AND PROVIDING, PROVIDING WITH SOME STATISTICS. SO WITH THAT CHIEF HOOD, UH, GOOD AFTERNOON AND MEMBERS OF PUBLIC SAFETY, I'D LIKE TO WELCOME YOU OUT HERE. UM, THIS IS THE, UM, HEARTBEAT OF EVERYTHING THAT WE DO AS FAR AS PROVIDING TRAINING TO OUR CIVILIANS THAT ARE COMING INTO THE FIRE SERVICE, AND THEN THE INCUMBENT TRAINING THAT WE DO, UM, TO MAKE SURE OUR MEMBERS ARE SAFE. UM, THIS DATE TODAY IS THE DAY WE LOST SCOTT DEAN. SO, UH, IT, IT, IT RIPS OPEN A SCAB FOR OUR DEPARTMENT. THIS HAPPENED FOUR YEARS AGO, UM, ON A, ON A DAY, LIKE THIS IS A STORMY DAY. AND, UH, WE ENDED UP LOSING SCOTT. SO AGAIN, WE WANNA REMEMBER EVERYTHING THAT WE DO, UH, BY PROVIDING SERVICE AND TRAINING IN SCOTT'S HONOR. SO WE'LL GO AHEAD AND, UH, RUN A [00:35:01] VIDEO FOR YOU GUYS RIGHT NOW. HEY, JOE, SOME TECHNICAL GUY OVER HERE. CAN YOU GUYS HEAR ME? YES, NOW WE CAN. OKAY. IS THE VIDEO OVER? BECAUSE I'VE LOST THE VIDEO. SO, UM, LET'S SEE IF WE FINISHED. PUT THE POWER. LET'S SEE IF WE CAN PUT THE POWERPOINT UP. NOW. WHAT IT'S, I CAN'T SEE IT THOUGH. OKAY. IS THE POWERPOINT UP? NO, SIR. OKAY. AUDIO'S ON. OKAY. BUT I, I, THE POWERPOINT IS UP NOW. OKAY, STANDBY. I'VE GOTTA MOVE TO ANOTHER OFFICE 'CAUSE I CAN'T SEE IT. OKAY. OKAY. SORRY. WE ARE BACK. AND I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THAT QUICK VIDEO. UM, WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND START THE PRESENTATION. SO YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE. SO, AS WE MENTIONED, THIS IS OUR TRAINING ACADEMY. A LOT OF ACTIVITY GOING ON. FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT ARE HERE TODAY, WE'RE DOING AN ACCREDITATION CLASS. WE HAVE 34 CADETS THAT ARE GOING THROUGH TODAY. UH, AND SO THERE'S A LOT OF ACTIVITY OUT HERE AND WE HAVE A LOT OF THINGS TO, TO SHOW YOU. SO WE'LL JUST DO A QUICK OVERVIEW AND GET YOU OUT ON THE, UH, GRINDER. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO, OUR CADET TRAINING ACADEMY PROVIDES EDUCATION, UM, TO ANY NEW CIVILIAN AND SO THE TEXAS COMMISSION ON FIRE PROTECTION, STRUCTURAL FIREFIGHTING, AND E M T BASICS. SO WE ARE TRAINING, UH, OUR, OUR CIVILIANS THAT COME IN TO BE CERTIFIED FIREFIGHTERS AND TO BE EMERGENCY TECHNICIANS. UM, THE TRAINING LASTS 27 WEEKS, IS A HUNDRED PERCENT, UH, PASS, UH, RATE, SO INCLUDING RETEST. SO AGAIN, THE ACADEMICS ARE VERY STRE STRENUOUS HERE. UH, INCUMBENT TRAINING IS WHAT WE DO FOR ALL OF OUR FIREFIGHTERS, PARAMEDICS, OFFICERS. UM, WE COME OUT HERE AND DO CONTINUING EDUCATION, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, LEADERSHIP CLASSES, THINGS LIKE THAT. UH, WE DID OVER 250,000 HOURS OF TRAINING IN 2020 DURING THE COVID. SO A LOT OF ACTIVITY, UH, A LOT OF ACTIVITY, UM, INCLUDES COURSES FROM BLUE CARD, FROM THE NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY, UNITED STATES FIRE ADMINISTRATION, AND, UH, INTERNAL CURRICULUM. NEXT SLIDE. SO WE ARE ALL HAZARDS DEPARTMENT, AND I THINK EACH OF YOU HAVE SEEN THAT, UH, OVER THE COURSE OF 2020, WHETHER IT WAS GIVING VACCINATIONS, FIGHTING WILDLAND FIRES IN CALIFORNIA, DEALING WITH THE LOSS OF POWER, UH, DURING THE STORM, DELIVERING OXYGEN, UH, WORKING ON THE COAST OR IN OTHER AREAS OF THE COUNTRY DURING FLOODING EVENTS. UM, AND, AND GIVING WHOLE BLOOD. SO YOUR BATTERY JUST WENT DEAD. SO, UM, A LOT OF, UH, A LOT OF ACTIVITY GOING ON. YOUR BATTERY'S DEAD. [00:40:06] WE, WE WERE ABLE TO HEAR YOU, CHIEF. OKAY, SO NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. I DON'T KNOW WHY. OKAY, SO, UM, RESOURCES IN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT TODAY, WE HAVE 1700 AND, UH, 66 UNIFORM, UM, 32 AT THE AIRPORT, AND 123 CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES WHO ARE OUR MOST IMPORTANT, UM, MEMBERS OF THIS ORGANIZATION. 'CAUSE WE CAN'T GET ANYTHING DONE WITHOUT OUR CIVILIANS. WE RUN OUT OF 54 FIRE STATIONS, 54 ENGINES, 21 LADDER TRUCKS, TWO HAZMAT TEAMS. ONE IS LOCATED, UH, DOWNTOWN STATION ONE, THE OTHER IS OUT BY U T S A OFF OF 1604 STATION 34, 2 TECHNICAL RESCUE TEAMS, ONE OUT ON I 10 WEST, UH, ON BECKWORTH. AND THEN THE OTHER IS DOWNTOWN ON REO. WE HAVE AN AIRPORT CRASH RESCUE TEAM, AND WE RUN 43, UH, E M S UNITS. 35 OF THOSE ARE FULL-TIME WITH EIGHT PEAKS. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. STATION LOCATIONS. I'M SURE YOU'RE ALL FAMILIAR WITH THOSE LOCATIONS. WE DID NOT PUT ANY DISTRICT, UH, LINES UP BECAUSE AGAIN, THESE ARE ALL YOUR PIECES OF EQUIPMENT. AND SO OUR FIRE GO ALL OVER THE CITY IN RESPONSES. SO AGAIN, THIS IS WHAT OUR, UM, SYSTEM LOOKS LIKE. WE'RE DOING AN ACCREDITATION CLASS OUT HERE TODAY. WE HAVE PEOPLE AS FAR AS FROM JACKSONVILLE AND WASHINGTON STATE, JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA, THAT ARE OUT HERE LEARNING TO BE ASSESSORS, UH, PEER SUPPORTERS TO COME OUT AND, UM, DO THE ACCREDITATION. SO WHEN ACCREDITATION COMES IN, THERE ARE 255, UH, CORE CURRICULUM THAT A DEPARTMENT HAS TO PASS. 85 OF THOSE ARE, UH, BASICALLY IF YOU DON'T HAVE THOSE, YOU, AND MOST OF YOU KNOW, WE ARE ONE OF THE FOUR DEPARTMENTS IN THE NATION THAT IT'S AN ACCREDITED CLASS ONE FIRE DEPARTMENT. SO WHEN WE LOOK AT LADDER COVERAGE, WE LOOK AT ENGINE COVERAGE. UH, EVERYTHING IS INCORPORATED IN THE MAP AND MEETS, UH, NATIONAL STANDARDS. SO THERE'S WHERE YOUR LOW UNITS ARE, OUR DEMOGRAPHICS, IF WE LOOK AT THE ETHNICITY OF THE DEPARTMENT, UH, YOU CAN SEE ON THE PIE SLICES IT IS, IT IS OUR BELIEF THAT, UM, A FIRETRUCK OUT A MIRROR, THE COMMUNITY THAT IS RESPONDING TO. SO, UH, WE CONTINUE TO TRY TO BUILD, UM, A VERY DIVERSE FIRE DEPARTMENT. IF YOU LOOK AT THE GENDER AND DIVERSITY WITH THE, UH, METRICS OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS, UH, OUR INCREASES OF, UH, AFRICAN AMERICANS AND FEMALE IN THOSE CATEGORIES, AS FAR AS THEM SHOWING UP, TAKING THE TEST HAS INCREASED, UH, 104% AND 98% RESPECTIVELY. UH, 25%. UH, HIRING DECREASED IN OUR CAUCASIAN CATEGORIES. SO THE NOTAL NOTABLE EQUITY BASE RECRUITMENT PROGRAMS THAT HAVE REALLY CONTRIBUTED AS HERO LIKE HER CAMPAIGN. UM, AT THIS TIME WE HAVE 220, UH, FEMALES THAT ARE BEING MENTORED. AND, UH, WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED, IT TAKES FIREFIGHTERS OR CIVILIANS SOMETIMES SEVERAL YEARS TO GET ON THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. SO WE HAVE CONNECTED THEM WITH MENTORS. WE HAD A FEMALE GRADUATE, UH, A COUPLE WEEKS AGO AGO, AND A COUPLE OF YOU COUNSEL PEOPLE WERE OUT HERE. UM, THE ONE FEMALE, SHE TRIED 11 TIMES. AND SO WE REALLY WANT TO ENSURE SUCCESS BY MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE MENTORS AVAILABLE. SO WE ARE HAVING A HERO, LIKE HER CLASSES THAT ARE GONNA BE SCHEDULED IN JULY. AND, UH, WE'LL GET THAT INFORMATION OUT TO YOU. SINCE COVID HAS FINALLY, UM, KIND OF BROKEN FOR US, THIS WILL ALLOW US TO START HAVING A HERO LIKE HER ACADEMIES AND ALSO, UH, WORKING WITH EDGEWOOD, I, SS D UM, TO DO SOME SUMMER PROGRAMS. SO, UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. AND I THINK WE WENT RIGHT OVER THE GENDER DIVERSITY. SO WE'RE GONNA GO TO THE HERO, LIKE HER SLIDE, WHICH, UM, WE JUST KIND OF TALKED ABOUT THAT. SO OUR RESPONSE IS AT A GLANCE 2020, UM, OUR CALL VOLUME WAS PROBABLY DOWN IN SOME WAYS, UM, BUT TOTAL INCIDENTS OR TWO 7,000 4 43, THAT IS EVERYTHING FROM A DUMPSTER FIRE TO A HEART ATTACK. OUR TOTAL UNIT RESPONSES 98,850. SO WE ARE NEARING 400,000 UNIT RESPONSES. AND THOSE ARE THE TYPES OF CALLS THAT REQUIRE MORE UNITS. SO AGAIN, THE INCIDENT NUMBER IS GOING TO ALMOST BE DOUBLED MOST OF THE TIME BECAUSE OF THE LEVEL OF RESPONSE THAT WE ARE GOING TO SEND ON THESE TYPES OF INCIDENTS. SO YOU CAN SEE SOME OF THE, UH, TOP INCIDENTS FOR, UH, THE YEAR AS FAR AS, UH, FIRE ALARMS, UH, MEDICAL CALLS, ALL OF THOSE THINGS THAT YOU CAN SEE [00:45:01] RIGHT THERE FOR EACH OF YOUR DISTRICTS. THOSE CALLS, UM, TEND TO CHANGE AS FAR AS WHETHER IT'S AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENTS ARE NUMBER ONE OR SICK PEOPLE. SICK PERSONS ARE THE NUMBER ONE CALL. SO VERY BUSY DEPARTMENT. AND THESE ARE SOME OF THE STATS THAT MOST OF YOU HAVE SEEN IN THE PAST. AND, UH, WE'RE GONNA BE HIGHLIGHTING THEM AGAIN THROUGH OUR BUDGET PROCESS. SO, OKAY, SO I'M GETTING HELP FROM MARIA. SO WE'RE, WE'RE DEALING WITH A PHONE AND, AND, AND TWO BAD IPADS. SO, UH, AND NOW WE'RE TALKING ABOUT INNOVATION IN THE INDUSTRY. SO, UM, OUR WHOLE BLOOD PROGRAM, AND WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THAT BEFORE. WE ARE TAKING BLOOD TO THE PEOPLE IN THE STREETS OF SAN ANTONIO THAT NEEDED IT. THIS BLOOD IS LIFESAVING AND WE WERE ONE OF THE FIRST METRO DEPARTMENTS IN THE NATION TO, UH, START, UM, TRANSPORTING BLOOD AND THEN UTILIZING BLOOD THROUGH DISPATCH, SENDING IT ON THE APPROPRIATE TYPES OF RESOURCES. OUR MOBILE INTEGRATED HEALTHCARE PROGRAM. UH, COUNCILMAN MAGILLA GRAND, I, I'M SO SORRY TO SEE YOU LEAVE IN, IN SO MANY WAYS BECAUSE YOU WERE, UH, THE PIONEER COUNCIL PERSON AS FAR AS THIS PILOT. WHEN THIS PILOT CAME ABOUT, UH, YOU WERE HERE TO SUPPORT IT, UH, IN YOUR ROLE ON PUBLIC SAFETY. UM, I CAN'T THANK OUR MEMBERS OF OUR M I H TEAM. THEY HAVE BEEN FRONT AND CENTER THROUGH THE PANDEMIC AS FAR AS GETTING OUT, DOING VACCINATIONS ON OUR HOME BOUND, TAKING CARE OF OUR MEMBERS AND OTHER CITY EMPLOYEES. SO, UH, AGAIN, I CAN'T THANK THEM ENOUGH. OUR QUARTERMASTER PROGRAM IS ANOTHER STATE-OF-THE-ART PROGRAM WHERE WE TAKE, UM, TURNOUT GEAR TO OUR FIREFIGHTERS AND, AND WE'VE TALKED A LOT ABOUT OUR CANCER INNOVATIONS, THE THINGS THAT WE NEEDED TO DO TO PROTECT OUR FIREFIGHTERS. AND ONE OF THEM WAS HAVING TWO SETS OF GEAR. A LOT OF DEPARTMENTS HAVE GONE TO TWO SETS, BUT HOW DO YOU DISTRIBUTE IT? SO WE HAVE FOUND THE MOST EFFICIENT WAY TO DO THAT BY TAKING A COUPLE OF OUR SALVAGED AMBULANCES AND PUTTING A QUARTERMASTER OR FIREFIGHTERS ON THOSE UNITS TO BE ABLE TO RESPOND AND TAKE THE GEAR THAT IS NEEDED TO THOSE FIREFIGHTERS ON THE SCENE. SO THERE'S AN EXCHANGE WHERE DIRTY GEAR IS BAGGED, UH, MARKED AND TAKEN BY THE QUARTERMASTER TO A GEAR CLEANING SPECIALIST WHERE THEY WILL CLEAN IT AND INSPECT IT. AT THE SAME TIME THEY'RE DELIVERING CLEAN GEAR THAT FITS THE SIZES OF OUR VARIOUS FIREFIGHTERS, AND THEY'RE EXCHANGING THAT IN THE FIELD. SO WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THAT. NOW, THE LAST THING I WANT TO TALK ABOUT, UM, I'VE BEEN HERE FOR 14 YEARS. WE HAVE DONE SO MANY INNOVATIONS SINCE I'VE BEEN HERE. THIS IS PROBABLY THE MOST, UM, THIS IS PROBABLY THE GREATEST INNOVATION I THINK THE FIRE SERVICE HAS SEEN. AND SO WE'RE VERY FORTUNATE THAT WE ARE ONE OF THE FIRST FIRE DEPARTMENTS TO BE ABLE TO, UM, USE THIS. AND IT'S CALLED THE GOOD SAM APPLICATION. SO I GAVE YOU A PIECE OF PAPER, UM, THAT YOU HAVE IN FRONT OF YOU, AND THIS IS FROM OCTOBER 10TH, 2020 TO CURRENT. AND, UM, THE GOOD SAM WAS USED 4,009 TIMES, UH, 2,880 TIMES. IT SAVED US RESOURCES. THE AVERAGE OF OUR BUSIEST E M SS UNITS IN THE CITY IS ABOUT 3000 RUNS. SO WE ARE SAVING, UH, UNITS FROM BEING DISPATCHED AND GOING TO SCENES. I WAS A PARAMEDIC FOR 17 YEARS AND I FLEW FOR AID. AND I'VE BEEN PART OF E M S SINCE 1984. WE HAVE NEVER HAD AN INNOVATION SUCH AS THIS AND, UH, NO OTHER MAJOR DEPARTMENT IS DOING THIS AS AN APPLICATION OUT OF, UH, ENGLAND. UH, AND SO WE ARE WORKING WITH THIS. AND SO THE AVERAGE TIME ON A GOOD SAM APP CALL IS 16 MINUTES AND 41 SECONDS, WHICH, UM, WE'RE PUTTING A CLINICAL DISPATCHER ON THE PHONE TO EVALUATE, UH, CERTAIN TYPES OF CALLS. UM, THE 811 THAT YOU SEE ARE THE TIMES THAT WE DID NOT HAVE A CLINICAL DISPATCHER AVAILABLE. SO WE'RE GOING TO BE WORKING WITH CITY MANAGER OFFICE AND THROUGH BUDGET TO TRY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN ADD RESOURCES GOING DOWN THE ROAD BECAUSE THOSE WERE 811 TIMES THAT OUR DISPATCHERS WERE EITHER WORKING, UH, STRUCTURE FIRES OR OTHER STORM EVENTS WERE GOING ON, AND WE HAD TO TAKE THAT CLINICAL, UM, DISPATCH AWAY. SO WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT THE PERSON WOULD CALL AND WE'RE JUST GONNA SEND RESOURCES. UM, IF YOU LOOK AT THE NEXT CATEGORY, THE 1129, THESE ARE THE TIMES WHERE THE PERSON'S CALLED AND THE INFORMATION THAT THEY'VE GIVEN US PLUS THE VIDEO, UH, WE HAVE SENT RESOURCES. SO, UH, AGAIN, WE'RE SAVING MORE RESOURCES, BUT WE'RE SENDING RESOURCES MORE [00:50:01] EFFICIENTLY. THE, UM, GOOD SAM AVERAGE PER DAY IS 19. THERE'S OUR BUSIEST UNITS IN THE CITY ARE, ARE PROBABLY RUNNING JUST UNDER THAT. SO WE ARE SAVING, UM, THE, UH, WE'RE SAVING OUR FIREFIGHTERS FROM EXPOSURE. WE'RE SAVING OUR CITIZENS FROM BEING EXPOSED TO EMERGENCY VEHICLES. AND SO WE'RE SAVING LIVES IN SO MANY WAYS. AND SO THE AVERAGE UNIT, UH, RESOURCES EVERY SINGLE DAY IS 14, WHICH, UH, AGAIN, IF WE HAVE THE ADDITIONAL DISPATCHERS, WE WOULD PROBABLY BRING THAT UP. YOU CAN SEE THE TYPES OF CALLS, YOU CAN SEE THE, UH, TIMES OF DAY AND, UH, WHAT THEY ARE. SO WHAT I'M GONNA DO NOW IS SHOW YOU A QUICK VIDEO AND WE HAVE THE, UM, THE, THE, UH, GOODFAM APP IS GOING TO BE APPLIED, UM, AND THE DISPATCHER IS GOING TO, UM, TAKE THE CALL, THE FAMILY THAT CALLS AND THEY SIGN A RELEASE. THEY DON'T THINK THAT THEIR LOVED ONE NEEDS C P R, SO YOU'RE GONNA SEE WHAT THE AVERAGE LAY PERSON SEES, AND THEY MAY NOT WANT TO DO C P R BECAUSE THEY DON'T THINK THE PERSON NEEDS IT. SO WE'RE GONNA SHOW YOU A VIDEO OF A CARDIAC ARREST, A STROKE, AND, AND A FIRE CALL. SO WE'LL GO AHEAD AND RUN THAT VIDEO. SAN ANTONIO FIRE DEPARTMENT. THIS IS FIRE. ANY EVENT I CAN HELP? UH, YES. MY HUSBAND FELL DOWN AND HE CAUGHT ME TALKING TO ME. IS HE BREATHING? IS HE BREATHING? NOTHING. OKAY. WHAT I NEED YOU TO DO IS I NEED YOU TO GET BY HIM. I'M GONNA SEND YOU, UH, A LINK AND I WANT YOU TO TRY TO POINT IT AT HIM. I'M GONNA HELP YOU WALK, I'M GONNA HELP WALK YOU THROUGH THIS, OKAY? ALRIGHT. ARE YOU READY? HELLO? YES. HELLO? YES, SIR. WE'RE ON THE WAY OVER THERE. I'M GONNA SEND YOU A LINK AND I WANT YOU TO, UH, IS THIS YOUR CELL PHONE? IS IT WORKING CELL PHONE? IT'S A CELL PHONE. IT'S A WORKING CELL PHONE. OKAY. SO I'M GONNA SEND YOU A LINK AND I WANT TO SEE WHAT YOU SEE AND WE'RE GONNA START SOME, UH, SOME C P R. OKAY. PUT HIM ON HIS BACK FOR ME. PLACE HIM ON HIS BACK, OKAY? OKAY. WHAT I WANT YOU TO DO, LISTEN TO ME. NO, I WANT YOU TO KNEEL BESIDE HIM RIGHT NOW. LISTEN TO ME, BUT TURN, GET SIDEWAYS. SIDEWAYS. YOU NEED TO HURRY UP RIGHT THERE. AND THE OTHER HAND ON TOP OF THAT, GIVE SOMEBODY ELSE THE PHONE. MOVE YOUR, MOVE YOUR HAND UP A LITTLE BIT. POINT IT AT HIM. POINT IT AT HIM. I NEED TO SEE HIM. ALRIGHT, LISTEN TO ME NOW. PUSH STRAIGHT DOWN HARD AND FAST. PUSH STRAIGHT DOWN. YOU HAVE TO PUSH HARDER, HARD RIGHT IN THE CENTER. DOWN, UP, DOWN, UP, DOWN, UP. PUSH HARD PUSH. OKAY, I'M CALLING BECAUSE I THINK MY MOM HAD A STROKE, AND SO I JUST WANT SOMEONE TO COME CHECK ON HER. HAS SHE EVER HAD A STROKE BEFORE? NO. OKAY. AND WHAT'S SHE DOING? UM, RIGHT NOW WE HAVE HER IN A WHEELCHAIR, BUT HER LEFT SIDE OF HER FACE IS SHE, WHEN SHE'S TALKING, IT'S LIKE, UM, LIKE DROOPY, I GUESS. AND SHE CAN'T MOVE HER LEFT ARM OR, OR HER LEG. YES. ARE YOU ON A SMARTPHONE? DO YOU MIND IF WE DO A STROKE TEST? YEAH, I'M ON A SMARTPHONE. OKAY. AND, AND JUST WANNA LET YOU KNOW, WE DO HAVE UNITS ON THE WAY WHILE WE DO THIS TEST, OKAY? OKAY. OKAY. THEY COME THROUGH THERE, RIGHT? YES. OKAY. CAN YOU ASK HER TO SMILE REAL BIG? MOM, CAN YOU SMILE? SMILE. OKAY. THAT LEFT SIDE'S A LITTLE LOW. AND CAN YOU ASK HER TO RAISE BOTH ARMS? CAN YOU RAISE BOTH ARMS? YOU CAN'T RAISE THE LEFT ARM. CAN'T RAISE THE LAST ONE AT ALL. OKAY. WHAT'RE GONNA DO IS HAVE TAKEN YOUR WAY. WE CAN JUST GATHER HER BELONGINGS. YOU WANNA GO PRETTY QUICK? THE GRILL AT LEON SPRINGS IS ON FIRE BURNING THROUGH THIS, THE ROOF AS WELL. OKAY. I'M GONNA SEND YOU THIS, UH, VIDEO REQUEST TO YOUR PHONE. IF YOU COULD JUST, UH, HIT OKAY TO THOSE PERMISSIONS, UH, AND THEN, UH, THAT WAY WE CAN TAKE A LOOK AT THE SCENE WHILE YOU'RE, WHILE YOU'RE THERE, NOT TOO CLOSE. SO I DON'T WANT YOU TO GET, UH, INJURED OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, BUT JUST SO WE CAN SEE WHAT THE SCENE LOOKS LIKE. CHIMNEY'S COLLAPSED NOW. OKAY. CHI CHIMNEY DID COLLAPSE. OKAY. YEAH, SIR, I BELIEVE, YEAH. OKAY. YEAH, IT LOOKS LIKE THEY GOT A, IT'S GOT A PRETTY GOOD FIRE GOING ON THERE. SO I AM SO EXCITED AND EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU SHOULD BE ALSO TO BE A PART OF THIS GROUNDBREAKING TECHNOLOGY BECAUSE I'VE HAD FIRE CHIEFS FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY CALL US AND ASK US HOW DO THEY DO THIS? AND FIRST OF ALL, I WANT TO THANK MY, UH, MEDICAL DIRECTORS, UM, DR. DAVID MI MONTEZ, DR. CJ WINKLER. THEY WERE PARAMEDICS IN THE BACK OF AMBULANCES BEFORE THEY CAME, BECAME DOCTORS. [00:55:01] AND SO WE FOUND THIS APP FROM A COMPANY IN ENGLAND. THEY HAVE CHANGED THEIR BUSINESS, UM, MODEL BECAUSE OF WHAT WE ARE DOING HERE WITH THIS APPLICATION. SO THE GENTLEMAN THAT YOU SAW THAT WE'RE DOING C P R ON, THE AVERAGE PERSON WOULD LOOK AT HIM AND SAY HE'S BREATHING. WHAT HE WAS DOING WAS AGONAL RESPIRATIONS. AND THOSE RESPIRATIONS WOULD NOT SUSTAIN LIGHT. YOU SAW IN THE BOX WHERE IT SAID ZERO ZERO RESPIRATIONS. SO BY US BEING ABLE TO USE THIS APPLICATION TO, UH, STOP BLEEDING, TO FIGURE OUT WHAT UNITS WE NEED TO RESPOND ON, UM, THE OTHER DAY WE HAD A GENTLEMAN CALL US FOR A CUTTING. AND IT CAME IN AS A CUTTING. SO A CUTTING COULD BE YOU CUT YOUR FINGER AND I SENT ENGINE SEVEN. A CUTTING COULD BE THAT YOU CUT YOUR ARM OFF AND I'M SENDING WHOLE BLOOD. SO THIS ALLOWS US TO SEND RESOURCES QUICKER WITH THE STROKE, UH, PATIENT THAT YOU SAW WE'RE ABLE TO ALREADY CALL A STROKE CENTER TO GET HER TRANSPORTED TO THE MOST APPROPRIATE LOCATION TO DEAL WITH THAT STROKE. UM, INSTEAD OF US HAVING TO GET THERE AND, UM, ASCERTAIN EXACTLY WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THE PATIENT, WE HAVE A TRAINED PARAMEDIC THAT CAN LOOK AT THAT AND GIVE US INFORMATION WITH A FIRE CALL, WHICH WAS THE GRILL THE OTHER NIGHT. WE JUST HAPPENED TO HAVE SOMEONE CALL UP. WE, WE TOLD 'EM, TURN YOUR PHONE, UH, AND, AND LET US LOOK AND SEE WHAT'S GOING ON. SO IT'S GONNA GIVE US BETTER SITUATIONAL AWARENESS. WE WERE ABLE TO USE THIS DURING, UH, SNOW BID AND WE WERE ABLE TO DO TELEMEDICINE ON CITIZENS THAT CALLED US. AND WE COULD LOOK AT THEM AND, AND, AND, AND BE ABLE TO ASCERTAIN THEIR VITALS, WHETHER THEY TRULY NEEDED AN E M S UNIT OR WHETHER WE COULD DO TELEMEDICINE, REFER 'EM TO A DOCTOR, SEND 'EM A VIRTUAL CAB, UH, VOUCHER. UM, AND SO WE ARE SO, SO EXCITED, UH, UH, ABOUT THIS NEW, UM, TOOL IN THE BOX THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE. WE'RE ALSO DOWN THE ROAD GONNA BE ABLE TO WORK WITH OUR BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SPECIALISTS AND LOOK AT, UM, A SCENE AND BE ABLE TO, UM, GET GOOD INFORMATION AS FAR AS WHAT'S GOING ON IN THAT SITUATION. SO AGAIN, WE'RE GONNA BE LOOKING FOR YOUR SUPPORT DOWN THE ROAD WITH THIS. WE'RE GOING TO BE GIVING MORE INFORMATION. THIS IS AS PUBLIC AS, UM, WE HAVE PRESENTED THIS VIDEO, UH, TO YOU TODAY. SO THIS IS COMPLETELY NEW INFORMATION FOR US AND WE'RE EXCITED. SO THIS CONCLUDES MY, UM, UM, DEMONSTRA, WHAT THIS CONCLUDES, THIS CONCLUDES WHAT WE WERE TRYING TO DO HERE. I I'M TRAVELLED BETWEEN PHONES AND IPADS, BUT WE'RE REALLY EXCITED TO GET YOU GUYS OUT ON THE GRINDER AND I'LL ENTERTAIN ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE RIGHT NOW. THANK YOU, CHIEF. UH, AS YOU MENTIONED, COUNCILWOMAN GERRAN, ROCHA GARCIA AND I WERE GREATLY BLESSED TO ATTEND THE FIRE DEPARTMENT GRADUATION RECENTLY, WHERE THE RECENT GRADUATES HELD A A DEMONSTRATION OF THEIR WORK. AND IT WAS IMPRESSIVE, UM, RIGHT DOWN TO, YOU KNOW, A A POTENTIAL OIL TANKER THAT THAT SPILLS AND START AND CATCHES FIRE. IT WAS VERY IMPRESSIVE. BUT THE, UH, REMOTE VIDEO TECHNOLOGY IS VERY EXCITING, UM, THAT, THAT WE SAW TODAY AND AS WE SAW IT COULD, YOU KNOW, SAVE LIVES. SO THAT'S THE MOST EXCITING AND THE MOST IMPRESSIVE THING OF ALL. UM, I DO HAVE ONE QUICK QUESTION. WITH REGARD TO DEPART THE DEPARTMENT'S DEMOGRAPHIC COMPOSITION, DO YOU HAVE AN OPINION ON WHAT MAY HAVE CONTRIBUTED MOST OR WAY WHAT MAY BE CONTRIBUTING MOST TO IMPROVEMENTS IN THE AREA OF, OF PERSONNEL AND DIVERSITY? WELL, YOU KNOW, WE, UM, SEVERAL YEARS AGO WE HIRED A, UM, RECRUITING CHIEF AND HIS MAIN, UH, OBJECTIVE IS TO, UM, IMPROVE OUR DIVERSITY. BUT WE HAD TO START WITH, UM, GETTING OUR MINORITIES, OUR, OUR FEMALES TO SHOW UP AND TAKE THE TEST. AND THEN WE'VE IDENTIFIED THAT SHOWING UP AND TAKING THE TEST IS JUST NOT ENOUGH. WE HAVE TO CONNECT WITH THEM AND BE COMMITTED TO FORM A RELATIONSHIP WITH THEM AND GIVE THEM OPPORTUNITIES, WHETHER IT'S C P A, UM, TRAINING OUT HERE, WHICH IS FREE TO BUILD UP THEIR STRENGTH OR WHETHER IT IS CLASSES AT CAFE COLLEGE. SO WE TUTOR THEM, UM, SO THEY CAN BE BETTER PREPARED TO TAKE THE TEST. WE HAD 1900 FOLKS, UH, SIGNED UP FOR THE TEST THE OTHER DAY. UH, AND, AND SO AGAIN, VERY DIVERSE GROUP, BUT THE NUMBERS THAT WE ARE TARGETING, UM, HAVE BEEN IMPROVING OVER THE YEARS. AND SO SOMETHING ELSE THAT WE DO, AND COVID WILL HOPEFULLY, UM, LACK OF COVID WILL HELP US GET BACK IN THE SCHOOLS BECAUSE WE WANNA IDENTIFY THIRD GRADERS, FOURTH GRADERS. WE WANT TO GET THEM, UH, EXCITED ABOUT BEING FIREFIGHTERS TO BE THAT LITTLE KID AND THEN STAY CONNECTED WITH 'EM, WHETHER IT'S GOING TO LUNCH WITH 'EM, TEACH 'EM HOW TO READ. UH, SO WE WANT TO GET OUR CHILDREN AS EARLY AS WE CAN. AND SO WE'RE STARTING TO RECRUIT BASICALLY FROM THE GRASSROOTS UP. AND SO I THINK THOSE ARE A FEW OF THE [01:00:01] THINGS THAT HAVE, HAVE GOTTEN OUR NUMBERS BETTER. UH, WE'RE NEVER GONNA BE SATISFIED. WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO, BUT WE DO HAVE SOME PROGRAMS IN PLACE AND IT'LL BE VERY INTERESTING TO SEE WHAT, UM, THIS NEW NORMAL IS AFTER COVID AS FAR AS RECRUITING AND DOING CLASSES FOR, FOR THOSE GROUPS OF FOLKS. THANK YOU, CHIEF. WE'LL MOVE ON TO COUNCILWOMAN ANDREW SULLIVAN. UM, THANK YOU CHIEF. THANK YOU SO MUCH, MADAM CHAIR. UH, THIS IS A GREAT PRESENTATION. UM, SOME OF THE QUESTIONS I HAVE, CHIEF IS HAVING A COMMUNITY CONVERSATION. A LOT OF OUR COMMUNITY SAYS THAT WHEN YOU CALL INTO THE NINE ONE ONE SYSTEM, YOU CAN GET POLICE FIRE E M S, BUT ONE THING THEY WERE WONDERING IS ABOUT A DIRECTIONAL FOR MENTAL HEALTH. AND IF THAT WOULD HELP US WITH SOME OF THE CALLS THAT ARE COMING IN, UM, THAT COULD POSSIBLY GO TO A SOCIAL WORKER OR POSSIBLY GO TO AN OUTREACH WORKER, UM, TO HELP YOU GUYS FACILITATE THE CALLS THAT ARE COMING IN. SO I JUST WANT TO SEE IF YOU HAD MAYBE ANY THOUGHT PROCESS ABOUT THAT AS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WHAT WE'RE SEEING WITH THE GOOD SAM TODAY. WELL, YOU KNOW, THE OTHER DAY I HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO, UM, SHOW THIS TO MARIA. I WAS IN HER OFFICE AND CHIEF MCMANUS WAS THERE. AND AGAIN, HE HADN'T SEEN THAT. SO I THINK THE LIGHT BULB WENT ON FOR HIM. ALSO, THIS IS A WAY TO WHERE, UH, DO THEY NEED FIRE? IS SOMETHING BURNING? ARE THEY HAVING A HEART ATTACK? UM, IS SOMETHING, IS SOMEBODY ROBBING SOMEONE RIGHT NOW OR IS THIS SOME PERSON THAT WE DON'T KNOW WHAT'S WRONG WITH THEM? AND SO THIS IS WHERE THE GOOD SAM APP ALREADY HELPS US RIGHT NOW, BECAUSE THOSE ARE THE TYPES OF CALLS THAT WE'RE GOING TO PUT A CLINICAL DISPATCHER ON RIGHT AWAY. IF YOU CALL NINE ONE AND SAY ONE, ONE NINE ONE ONE AND SAY, WE HAVE NO ELECTROCUTION, WE HAVE A CAR WRECK, WE ALREADY KNOW WE'RE GONNA SEND RESOURCES. BUT IN A SITUATION LIKE THIS WHERE THEY CALL UP, THEY DON'T REALLY HAVE A CHIEF COMPLAINT. THE ONLY THING THAT WE HAD TO DO IN THE PAST WAS TO SEND A FIRETRUCK, SEND AN AMBULANCE, SEND PD THAT MIGHT NOT BE THE REST, THE BEST RESOURCE FOR THEM AT THE TIME. SO, UM, WE'RE LOOKING AS FAR AS THE CITY AND WITH THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, AGAIN, WE'RE ALL HAZARDS. AND SO WE GO ON A LOT OF MENTALLY ILL PEOPLE. AND SO HOW CAN WE BETTER SERVE THAT POPULATION IN THE FUTURE? I HAVE NO DOUBT THAT THIS TECHNOLOGY IS GOING TO, TO HELP US FIGURE THAT OUT. THANK YOU CHIEF. UM, MANY OF OUR FAITH-BASED LEADERS ARE ASKING ABOUT STOP THE BLEED, AND IF THERE'S A TRAINING THAT CAN BE OFFERED TO OUR FAITH-BASED, UH, LEADERS FOR THE STOP, THE STOP THE BLEED, UM, YOU KNOW WHAT WE ARE. AND I WENT TO A COMMUNITY EVENT WITH YOU. AND SO, UM, ANY TYPE OF TRAINING THAT THE, UM, THAT THE CHURCHES NEED, WE'RE ABLE TO PROVIDE THAT FOR THEM. I MEAN, UH, YOU KNOW, I I THINK THAT EACH, EACH CONGREGATION OUGHT TO BE TRAINED. AND SO HOW WE DO THAT, WHETHER IT'S US DOING IT OR US GETTING TOGETHER WITH THE CHURCHES, WE CAN DO THAT. THE OTHER BEAUTY OF THIS GOOD SAM APP, ONCE WE GET PLACES REGISTERED THAT HAVE AUTOMATIC EXTERNAL DEFIBRILLATORS THAT HAVE STOP THE BLEED KITS IN THEIR BUILDING, WE WILL BE ABLE TO TELL SOMEONE THERE'S A EXTERNAL, AUTOMATIC EXTERNAL DEFIBRILLATOR 200 FEET FROM YOU IF YOU GO DOWN AND TURN A CORNER. SO, UH, AGAIN, THAT IS GOING TO HELP US, UM, GET C P R AND EARLY DEFIBRILLATION TO OUR CITIZENS, WHICH IS GOING TO AGAIN, HELP THE OUTCOME BECAUSE WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO SAVE THE BRAIN AND A PERSON'S BRAIN STARTS DYING AFTER FOUR MINUTES. I, I'VE HAD FAR TOO MANY RUNS AND SO HAVE EVERYONE IN THIS BUILDING WHERE WE GET THERE AND WE RESUSCITATE A HEART. THE HEART'S VERY RESILIENT. WE CAN RESUSCITATE IT, BUT AGAIN, IF, IF THERE'S NO BRAIN FUNCTION, IT'S GONNA BE A, A, A BAD OUTCOME. SO, UM, AGAIN, COUNCILWOMAN, ANYTHING THAT WE CAN DO TO HELP THE CHURCHES PROVIDE TRAINING, UH, JUST LET US KNOW. THANK YOU, CHIEF. AND THEN MY LAST QUESTION THAT I'LL ASK IS, AS FAR AS LOOKING AT THE CLINICAL DISPATCHERS, IS THERE A WAY THAT WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO RETAIN THOSE RETIRED PHYSICIANS OR NURSE PRACTITIONERS? NO, MA'AM. UM, IF YOU HEARD THE CALMNESS OF MY PARAMEDICS VOICES, I DON'T WANT TO PUT THAT ON A RETIRED PHYSICIAN. I DON'T WANT TO PUT THAT ON ANYBODY ELSE BUT OUR FOLKS. UH, BECAUSE PART OF THE SUCCESS IS THAT SETS US APART FROM OTHER AGENCIES IS WE HAVE EXPERIENCED PARAMEDICS. MOST OF 'EM HAVE BEEN IN THE FIELD OVER 10 YEARS, AND SO THEY'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO TALK TO THAT PATIENT, THEY'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO GET ON THAT RADIO AND TELL THOSE RESPONDENT UNITS WHAT THEY HAVE. SO AGAIN, THIS IS A, A FIRE DEPARTMENT, [01:05:01] UH, PROGRAM. AND SO I THINK WE'RE IN THE BEST POSITION TO PROVIDE, UM, THE ENHANCEMENT THAT WE SEE HERE TODAY. AND SO, UM, JUST ONE QUICK FOLLOW UP TO THAT. FOR THOSE WHO ARE GOING THROUGH E M SS TRAINING OR E M S SCHOOLING, WOULD THIS BE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THEM TO HAVE SOME EXTERNSHIP ON THIS PARTICULAR PROGRAM IF THEY'RE LOOKING TO COME IN, UH, THE SAN ANTONIO FIRE DEPARTMENT? SO, AND THAT'S A REALLY GOOD QUESTION. SO YOU'RE GONNA SEE OUR CADETS OUT HERE TODAY. EVERYONE THAT COMES IN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT HAS TO BE AN EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIAN, PLUS THEY HAVE TO BE A FIREFIGHTER. SO THEN YOU'RE GONNA WORK FOR ABOUT THREE YEARS AND PROMOTE THE ENGINEER, AND THEN YOU GO TO PARAMEDIC SCHOOL. SO IT IS A LONG PROCESS TO, TO GET YOU TO A POSITION TO WHERE THIS IS WHAT YOU WANT TO DO. WHEN WE LOOK AT RECRUITING PEOPLE, THERE'S SO MANY DIFFERENT AVENUES THAT YOU CAN GO INTO IN THE FIRE SERVICE, WHETHER IT'S ARSON, INVESTIGATION, UH, FIRE PREVENTION, UH, TRAINING ACADEMY, E M S, OR DISPATCH. THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT AVENUES THAT ARE VERY ATTRACTIVE FOR PEOPLE. BUT IF YOU'RE COMING IN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AND YOU'RE GONNA WEAR OUR UNIFORM, YOU HAVE TO COME OUT HERE ON THIS GRINDER AND DO 27 WEEKS. OH, OKAY. WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH CHIEF, AND THANK YOU FOR CONTINUING TO BRING THE GOOD SAM, UM, UP TO DATE HERE IN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO. IT HAS BEEN A VERY, UH, LIFE-CHANGING SYSTEM FOR A LOT OF OUR RESIDENTS. AND SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING THOUGHT FOR FORWARD THINKING AS WE'RE DOING THIS. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH. THOSE ARE ALL THE QUESTIONS THAT I HAVE. MADAM CHAIR, THANK YOU FOR YOUR KIND WORDS. THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN ANDREW SULLIVAN. DOESN'T LOOK LIKE WE HAVE ANY MORE QUESTIONS FROM ANY OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS. UH, I DO. I'M SORRY. I'M SORRY. OH, OKAY. COUNCILWOMAN SANDOVAL, GO AHEAD. YEAH, THANK YOU. UM, UH, APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION. CHIEF, I HAD A SIMILAR QUESTION TO COUNCILWOMAN ANDREW SULLIVAN REGARDING PEOPLE EXPERIENCING, UH, MENTAL HEALTH DIFFICULTIES AND HOW A LOT OF THAT BURDEN FALLS ON YOU. AND SOME OF IT ALSO FALLS ON, UH, OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT. COULD YOU SPEAK A LITTLE BIT TO HOW YOU TWO WORK TOGETHER ON THOSE CALLS? WHAT, WHAT DOES A CALL LIKE THAT LOOK LIKE? I, I'M SURE NO TWO CALLS ARE THE SAME, BUT, UM, WHO GOES OUT FIRST? I GUESS IT, IT, IT WOULD DEPEND ON HOW THE CALL IS PRESENTED. WHEN THEY CALL 9 1 1, YOU COULD SAY, OKAY, THE GUY HAD A SEIZURE. MAYBE HE DID HAVE A SEIZURE. MAYBE HIS SEIZURE WAS ATTRIBUTED TO ALCOHOLISM OR DRUG ABUSE. AND THEN ONCE WE GET THERE AND WE FIGURE OUT, OKAY, IT, IT, IT IS NOT, IT IS A MENTAL HEALTH ISSUE. SO A LOT OF TIMES WE HAVE TO GET ON THE SCENE. UH, IF, IF PD IS DISPATCHED PRIOR TO US, IT COULD BE A VIOLENT INCIDENT TO WHERE THEY NEED US, AND WE'RE GONNA STAGE UNTIL PD HAS CONTROL OF THAT SITUATION. BUT UNFORTUNATELY, THERE ARE A LOT OF TIMES WHERE MY FIRE COMPANIES OR E M S UNITS, THEY'RE RESPONDING BLINDLY TO A CALL. THAT SOUNDS MINOR IN NATURE, BUT IT COULD BE A BEHAVIORAL ISSUE. UM, I, I'VE BEEN TO TOO MANY HOUSES AND DEALT WITH THESE THINGS SINCE 1984. THIS WILL ALLOW US ON THESE, UH, LOW LEVEL ACUITY TYPE OF CALLS TO PUT A CAMERA ON THAT PERSON AND, AND LOOK AT THE SURROUNDINGS THAT THEY'RE IN. AND TO BE ABLE TO MAYBE AFTER PAIN A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON. WE LOOK AT THEIR RESPIRATORY RATE, WE LOOK AT THEIR SKIN COLOR, WE LOOK AT THEIR PULSE RATE, ALL OF THOSE THINGS. AND MAYBE THEY'RE ELEVATED. MAYBE WE SEE SOMETHING IN THE BACKGROUND THAT DOESN'T MATCH WITH THE INFORMATION THAT WE GET. SO THEN AGAIN, THAT WOULD BE A DIFFERENT TYPE OF RESPONSE BECAUSE WE HAVE CONCERNS. WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH PD AND OUR MOBILE INTEGRATED HEALTHCARE FOLKS, UH, DEALING WITH A HOMELESS, DEALING WITH OPIOID RESPONSES. SO I HAVE NO DOUBT THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO, UM, STOP SOME OF THE RESPONSES THAT, THAT BOTH DEPARTMENTS GO ON AND MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN GET, UH, OUR CITIZENS IN THE, IN, IN THE HANDS OF THE RIGHT RESOURCES IN THE FUTURE. COUNCILWOMAN, AND IF I MAY, THIS IS, UM, MARIA VIE GOMEZ, YOU KNOW, THE, THE WORK THAT THE MEADOWS FOUNDATION IS CURRENTLY DOING. AND, UM, WE ARE GONNA BRING A DRAFT OF THEIR WORK TO THE COMMUNITY HEALTH AND EQUITY COMMITTEE IN EARLY JUNE. IS IS GONNA DEAL WITH THAT, IS THE, THE WORK THEY'RE DOING IS A STUDYING OF RESPONSE FROM THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, AND THE GOAL IS TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS ON HOW WE CAN IMPROVE SPECIFICALLY MENTAL HEALTH GOALS. SO I'M VERY HOPEFUL THAT THE WORK THAT WE ARE GONNA BE PRESENTING TO YOU IN EARLY JUNE IS GONNA ADDRESS SOME OF THOSE QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE TODAY. THANK YOU. AND THEN, UH, A COUPLE OF COMMENTS, UH, REGARDING, UH, FEMALE RECRUITMENT AND, AND FEMALE, UH, PARTICIPATION IN, IN THE DEPARTMENT. UM, VERY GLAD TO SEE [01:10:01] A NEAR DOUBLING IN THE FEMALES THAT WERE HIRED. FROM 2010 TO, TO 2019, YOU WERE AT 4% HIRED, AND THEN YOU WENT UP TO 7.9% HIRED. UM, CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT HOW MANY, HOW MANY FIREFIGHTERS ARE HIRED IN A GIVEN YEAR? UM, YOU KNOW, COUNCILWOMAN, IT REALLY DEPENDS ON HOW MANY PEOPLE RETIRED. UH, AND SO YEARS AGO, WE WERE AVERAGING ABOUT 80 MEMBERS RETIRE. SO WE COULD KIND OF BASE ON THAT. IT ALSO DEPENDS ON WHETHER I'M, I'M ADDING A NEW RESOURCE, A NEW FIRETRUCK, AN AMBULANCE. WE ARE HOPEFULLY GONNA ADD SOME DISPATCHERS, UM, IN THIS BUDGET. SO THAT'S GONNA BE MORE FIREFIGHTERS. SO IT, IT, IT DEPENDS ON THE NEED. UH, YOU KNOW, AND SO WE HAVE 34 THAT ARE GOING THROUGH RIGHT NOW. WE HAD ABOUT 34, UH, GRADUATE A COUPLE WEEKS AGO WHEN WE WERE OUT HERE. BUT REALLY DEPENDS ON, UM, THE NEED. WE ARE ANTICIPATING, PROBABLY MORE RETIREMENTS THAN USUAL. SO THE PLAN IS TO HOPEFULLY HAVE A CHARLIE CLASS, UH, THIS YEAR, BUT IT, IT REALLY DEPENDS. WE'VE HAD YEARS IN THE PAST WHEN THE, THE ECONOMY'S DOWN, NO ONE'S RETIRING, AND WE MAY ONLY HAVE ONE CLASS. SO IT REALLY DEPENDS ON THE, THE CAPACITY THAT WE NEED TO FILL. OKAY. SO I, I'LL SAY, LOOKING AT THAT NUMBER, AND BASED ON WHAT YOU JUST TOLD ME RIGHT NOW, THAT 4% TO 7.9%, IT LOOKS TO ME LIKE IT MAY BE DECADES BEFORE OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT LOOKS LIKE THE COMMUNITY IT SERVES IN TERMS OF A GENDER BALANCE AT, AT THIS RATE, DECADES. UM, I'D HAVE TO KNOW A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE NUMBERS. UH, BUT, BUT RIGHT NOW, IF GENDER'S AT 5.1%, SORRY IF FEMALES ARE AT 5.1%, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY WERE ABOUT 10 YEARS AGO, MAYBE THAT WAS A, A 3%. SO I, UH, AND I ASKED THIS SAME QUESTION WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT THIS, UM, I THINK IT WAS LAST YEAR, EARLY ON IN, IN THE PANDEMIC. WHEN WOULD WE GET TO, AT THIS RATE? WHEN WOULD WE GET TO PARODY? I DON'T SEE THAT OCCURRING CERTAINLY ON MY TENURE ON COUNCIL OR IN THE NEXT FEW DECADES. SO I'M GOING TO MAKE SOME SUGGESTIONS, AND I REALLY DO HOPE, MARIA, THAT YOU'LL TAKE THESE TO HEART. UM, YOU HAVE A NEW RECRUITMENT CHIEF, UH, UH, AND IS THAT, UH, HE'S BEEN WITH, HE'S BEEN WITH US THE LAST FEW YEARS. YES, MA'AM. AND THAT IS A MAN. YES, MA'AM. UM, YOU, YOUR RECRUITMENT TEAM, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? UH, OUR RECRUITMENT TEAM IS ALL, UH, ALL GENDER. UH, WE HAVE NUMEROUS FEMALES THAT ARE PART OF THAT, UH, FROM THE RANK OF BATTALION CHIEF ALL THE WAY DOWN. UH, AND THEN, UM, MINORITIES. SO, AND WHAT YOU JUST SAID ABOUT, UM, PARODY, I'M A BLACK MAN, I WILL DIE BEFORE THERE'S PARODY OF AFRICAN AMERICANS ON THIS DEPARTMENT, AND I WILL NOT BE A MEMBER OF THIS DEPARTMENT. UH, WHEN WE GET PARODY, WE TRY EVERY SINGLE DAY, BUT WE HAVE TO GET PEOPLE TO TAKE THE STEPS. WE HAVE TO, UM, ENCOURAGE THEM TO COME BACK AND TAKE IT AGAIN IF THEY'RE NOT SUCCESSFUL. SO IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE TRY EVERY SINGLE DAY, BUT THERE'S NOT A FIRE CHIEF IN THIS NATION THAT IS HAPPY WITH THE WAY THINGS GO. UM, WE HAD AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IN THE SEVENTIES, AND SO ALL THE AFRICAN AMERICAN FIREFIGHTERS, WHEN IT WAS TIME FOR THEM TO LEAVE, WE HAD A HUGE VOID TO WHERE WE COULDN'T REPLACE THEM. SO THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE REALLY WANT TO BUILD PARODY WITH IN THIS ORGANIZATION. WE'RE TRYING EVERYTHING THAT, THAT WE CAN DO. UM, WE HAVE TWO FEMALES THAT ARE BATTALION CHIEFS OUT IN THE FIELD, AND, UH, WE HAVE ANOTHER, UH, ASSISTANT CHIEF WHO'S OUR DEPUTY FIRE MARSHAL. AND SO IF WE GET THE OPPORTUNITY TO MOVE A FEMALE IN THERE, UH, WE WOULD, BUT WE HAVE SEVERAL FEMALES THAT ARE PART OF OUR RECRUITING TEAM. AND WHEN WE DO A HERO, LIKE HER CLASS, EVERY, UM, RANK, UH, WHETHER IT'S ENGINEER, LIEUTENANT, CAPTAIN, EVERY DISCIPLINE, WHETHER IT'S HAZMAT TECHNICAL RESCUE, OR E M S, ALL OF THESE CLASSES ARE GIVEN BY FEMALES. AND SO WE'RE REALLY PROUD OF THE NUMBERS THAT WE HAVE, AND WE WILL DO EVERYTHING WE CAN IN OUR POWER TO, UH, TO IMPROVE THAT. BUT AGAIN, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING REALLY, REALLY HARD. AND, AND I UNDERSTAND YOUR FRUSTRATION. THANK YOU. I, YOU CHIEF, SAME. THANK, THANK YOU, CHIEF. THANK YOU, CHIEF. I CANNOT SPEAK TO YOUR EXPERIENCE AS A BLACK MAN. I CAN SPEAK TO MY EXPERIENCE AS A WOMAN. I WILL TELL YOU THAT YOU WILL GET, I BELIEVE YOU WILL GET DIFFERENT RESULTS IF THAT RECRUITMENT TEAM IS ALL WOMEN THAN IF THAT RECRUITMENT TEAM HAS A FEW WOMEN ON IT. UH, THE OTHER THING THAT, THAT I WANNA MENTION IS YOU TALKED ABOUT MENTORING WOMEN. [01:15:01] I THINK THAT'S GREAT TO PROVIDE THAT SERVICE, BUT WHEN YOU'VE GOT 94%, NINE MEN IN A DEPARTMENT, I THINK YOU GOTTA BE MENTORING THOSE MEN TOO, SO THAT WHEN THOSE WOMEN COME IN, THEY ARE TREATED, UH, LIKE, LIKE EQUALS AND THEY DON'T FACE SOME OF THOSE CHALLENGES THAT YOU NEED TO MENTOR THEM ON LATER. SO, UM, THAT IS SOME OF MY FEEDBACK. AS SOMEONE WHO ALSO WENT THROUGH AN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROCESS GETTING INTO THE UNIVERSITY, I HAVE PLENTY OF IDEAS FOR HOW WE CAN, IM, UH, UH, MAKE SURE WE'RE AT THE PLACES WHERE WOMEN ARE SO THAT WE CAN ENTICE THEM TO, TO JOIN. AND I'M WITH YOU. I, I KNOW YOU, YOU THINK ABOUT THERE'S A WHOLE LOT MORE THAN I DO. IT IS YOUR JOB. UM, BUT I DO BELIEVE, UH, AS A WOMAN, I CAN ADD SOME PERSPECTIVE THAT YOU MAY NOT HAVE CHIEF. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MARIA. THANK YOU, MA'AM. LOOK FORWARD TO IT. THANK YOU. COUNCILWOMAN SANDOVAL. COUNCILWOMAN . THANK YOU. CAN YOU HEAR ME? THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF AN ECHO, BUT WE CAN HEAR YOU. YEAH, I THINK I HAVE TO. THAT'S BETTER. OKAY. I HAVE AN ECHO ON MY SIDE. UM, YOU'RE, YOU SOUND CLEAR TO US. CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES. OKAY, GREAT. ALL RIGHT. IT WORKS NOW. THANK YOU. UM, , UH, THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENT. UH, COUNCIL MEMBER, UM, SANDOVAL, I, I WOULD AGREE WITH THEM. UH, I AGREE WITH THEM AND MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE A, UM, THE RECRUITMENT TEAM THAT FOCUSES AND BRINGS THE PERSPECTIVE THERE BECAUSE OF THE, UM, 94.9%, UH, OF OUR, OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT IS, IS MALE. AND I THINK THAT WOULD BRING A NEW PERSPECTIVE, AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE ABOUT. UM, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE'RE TRYING TO RECRUIT PEOPLE OF COLOR TO COME ON BOARD TO OUR, UM, TO OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT. SO IT REFLECTS, JUST LIKE YOU ALL MENTIONED, THAT WE HAVE THAT JUST LIKE YOU MENTIONED CHIEF, THAT WE HAVE A FIRE DEPARTMENT THAT REFLECTS THE COMMUNITY IN WHICH WE SERVE. UM, ABSOLUTELY. AND WE KNOW THAT THE COMMUNITY IN WHICH WE SERVE IS ALSO 50% MORE THAN 50% FEMALE. SO WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT IS, IT RESONATES. ONE OF THE THINGS I'VE ASKED, UM, THE CITY MANAGER TWO, THREE YEARS AGO, UM, MULTIPLE YEARS AGO, WAS THAT OUR MOST PUBLIC FACING DEPARTMENTS, LIKE THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND THE FIRE DEPARTMENT ARE SOME OF THE FIRST THAT GO THROUGH OUR EQUITY TRAINING AND OUR EQUITY BUDGET TRAINING. AND I THINK THAT'S EXTREMELY IMPORTANT, UM, FOR OUR ENTIRE CITY AND OUR COMMUNITY. UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I THINK IT WOULD ALSO BE HELPFUL WITH, ESPECIALLY IF THIS GROUP CAN COME FORWARD AND WORK WITH OUR EQUITY TEAM, BECAUSE YOUR, OUR PARAMEDICS ARE FIREFIGHTERS. OUR POLICE OFFICERS GO TO EVERY AND ANY SITUATION AND YOU PULL UP AND YOU COME INTO EITHER A, A HOUSE THAT YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE, AN ALLEYWAY OR ANYTHING LIKE THIS. YOU PULL UP AND YOU SEE, UM, INEQUITIES OR DIFFERENT SITUATIONS EVERY SINGLE DAY. AND I THINK THAT WOULD HELP ENHANCE OUR CONVERSATION WHEN IT COMES TO OUR OFFICE OF EQUITY, BUT OUR ALSO THE NEED FOR DIVERSITY OF INCLUSION IN THE WHOLE CONVERSATION. UM, I, I DID WANT TO ASK, I DID GET THE, THE DATA SHEET FOR THE, THE GOOD SAM APP, AND I THINK IT WAS, IT WAS VERY, IT WAS A VERY INTENSE VIDEO WATCHING, UM, WITH THAT FOR THE 1129, GOOD SAM ESCALATED TO SEND FIRE E M SS. SO, UM, YOU KNOW HOW MUCH, 'CAUSE WE HAD GOODS, SAM WAS USED 4,000, UH, AND NINE TIMES. AND THEN WE HAD THE ESCALATED TO SEND THE FIRE. I MEAN, JUST WHEN IT COMES TO THE ECONOMICS OF IT, 'CAUSE YOU HAVE UNITS RESOURCES SAVED A DAY 14, HOW MUCH IS THAT DOLLAR WISE THAT YOU JUST FOR THE UNIT SAVED? CAN YOU SPEAK TO THAT? WELL, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY AN E M SS UNIT, UH, COSTS ABOUT $1.8 MILLION. THE AVERAGE E M S RUNS PER UNIT RIGHT NOW IS PROBABLY A LITTLE UNDER 2,800. OUR REALLY BUSIEST E M S UNITS ARE, ARE UP ABOVE 3000. SO IT, IT IS A MONEY SAVER. UH, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, WE'RE, WE'RE GETTING THE, THE PATIENTS THE RIGHT TYPE OF OF CARE. AND IF WE GO BACK TO THE 1,129, THIS PERSON CALLED IN [01:20:01] AND FOR WHATEVER REASON THAT THAT INFORMATION THAT THEY GAVE US DID NOT GIVE US REASON TO SEND RESOURCES. BUT ONCE WE WERE ABLE TO PUT THEM ON THE SCREEN AND LOOK AT THEM AND ASK THEM A FEW QUESTIONS, THEN WE WERE ABLE TO SEND THOSE RESOURCES THAT WERE NEEDED AND THE MOST APPROPRIATE RESOURCE. AND SO THE APPROPRIATE RESOURCE MIGHT'VE BEEN A FIRETRUCK TO HELP GET THEM BACK IN BED. UH, THE MOST IMPORTANT RESOURCE MIGHT HAVE BEEN A FIRE UNIT AND A MEDIC UNIT BECAUSE THIS PERSON IS REALLY IN DISTRESS. SO, UM, AS YOU SAW IN THAT VIDEO, THE FAMILY WITH THE FIRST GENTLEMAN, THEY DIDN'T SEE THE NEED TO DO C P R. AND SO A LOT OF OUR CITIZENS REALLY DON'T KNOW WHAT A TRUE EMERGENCY IS FOR THEM. SO THIS ALLOWS US TO BETTER SEE AND, AND BETTER SEND THE MOST, UH, APPROPRIATE RESOURCES. SO AGAIN, WE'RE GONNA GET SOME THAT WE NEED TO BUMP UP. WE'RE GONNA GET SOME WITH THE LADY WITH A STROKE. I CAN HAVE THEM GO INTO A STROKE CENTER AS SOON AS WE PICK THEM UP. SO, UH, YEAH, WE'D LOVE THE ADVANTAGES THAT, THAT THIS IS GIVING US. I THINK IT'S A, IT'S A GREAT ADVANTAGE HERE AND IT HELPS, UM, REALLY TARGET THE SITUATION. AND I'M SO GLAD WE HAVE DONE THIS. I'M SO GLAD WE'RE MOVING FORWARD WITH IT. AND I THINK IT'S GOING TO CONTINUE TO BRING ENHANCEMENTS, UH, TO OUR COMMUNITY. SO, UM, KUDOS ON THAT. AND IT'S ANOTHER CREATIVE AND, UM, LIKE ANOTHER CREATIVE WAY THAT SAN ANTONIO IS LEADING THE WAY, ESPECIALLY IN OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT. UM, CHIEF 'CAUSE THIS MIGHT BE MY LAST PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING WITH YOU. UH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR WORKING WITH ME WITH MY OFFICE. THANK YOU FOR LISTENING TO THE TEAM MEMBERS AND REALLY COMING FORWARD WITH CREATIVE, UM, IDEAS TO SAVE OUR, OUR RESIDENTS WITH THE MOBILE INTEGRATED HEALTH WITH, UM, THE ASTHMA AND, AND REACHING OUT AND TAKING CARE OF OUR KIDS WITH THE, UM, THIS, WITH THE WHOLE BLOOD, ALL OF THIS, IT IS EVERY ONE OF US COMING TOGETHER AND WORKING TO BRING CREATIVE SOLUTIONS TO OUR FAMILIES. SO THANK YOU, CHIEF, THANK YOU FOR YOUR TEAM. IT HAS BEEN, UH, A PLEASURE AND AN HONOR SERVING WITH YOU. SO THANK YOU. THANK YOU. YOU KNOW WHAT, UM, I, I'VE BEEN THROUGH, WE WERE COUNTING THE, THE COUNCIL AND MAYORS I'VE BEEN THROUGH AND, AND IT'S PROBABLY UP AROUND 62, NOT COUNTING THE NEW FOLKS COMING IN. AND YOU'VE BEEN A JOY TO WORK WITH WHEN YOU WERE ON PUBLIC SAFETY WAY BACK WHEN WE BROUGHT TO YOU THIS PILOT PROGRAM THAT HAS BEEN, UM, THE TOP OF THE NATION. SO AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT. UH, LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU OUTSIDE A FEW MINUTES. THANK YOU, CHIEF. UH, I THINK THOSE ARE ALL THE QUESTIONS THAT WE HAVE. UM, AND THERE'S, THIS IS NOT AN, AN ACTION ITEM. UM, MARIA, DO WE NEED TO GO INTO EXEC FOR THE TRAINING OR, UH, NO. COUNCILWOMAN, IT IS JUST THE TOUR OF THE FACILITY AND WE WON'T HAVE A QUORUM AS WE GO THROUGH THE, TO THE TOUR. SO, SO WE'RE GOOD. OKAY. THEN, UH, CAN I ADJOURN OR DO I NEED TO KEEP IT OPEN FOR NO, WE CAN ADJOURN. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. THEN I WILL ADJOURN. THANK YOU. THANK YOU EVERYBODY. ALL. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.