Outside agency provides 64 high level recommendations for Tacoma Police Department

TACOMA, Wash. - An outside consulting group provided the city of Tacoma a ten-page document with more than 60 recommendations for policing.

Since the summer, the city of Tacoma has worked toward rebuilding the relationship between its police department and the folks who live in the city.

However, that relationship continues to be strained, specifically after an incident less than two weeks ago.

On January 23, a Tacoma Police officer drove through a crowd of people, running one person over and sending a total of two people to the hospital. Police officials say the officer feared for his life after a crowd of people began banging on his car.

During Tuesday’s meeting, the city council addressed a petition demanding immediate disciplinary action regarding the incident.

The council took no action during the meeting regarding the petition. But the city is working toward change.

The city recently released information regarding a third-party consulting group that studied the Tacoma Police Department.

The consulting group, 21CP Solutions, provided a multi-page document which includes 64 preliminary recommendations for the Tacoma Police Department.

The recommendations include topics like training, handling complaints, accountability, and use of force.

Use of force makes up about 36% of the total recommendations, which is more than any other area. 

Tacoma Interim Police Chief Mike Ake addressed the recommendations in a statement.

"While the 21st century policing solutions report is a high-level preliminary look at their findings, there is a lot of good feedback that I’m excited to be able to review. To get ready while we wait for the comprehensive report, we will begin working with the city manager to prioritize and develop the recommendations into a work plan."

City officials say the final report is expected to be completed by March 15.