If you missed the recent Town Hall event, watch the recording on YouTube.com/AlbanyKALB .

In light of the senseless death of George Floyd we have understandably received inquiries regarding the department’s policies and procedures, so I wanted to provide a response to these inquiries and help our community know where our police department stands. First off, I would like to point out that the force used on George Floyd is not something officers are trained to do, nor is the lack of compassion the officers involved showed towards Mr. Floyd. I hope you will see we have very current policies, training, and supervision in place to help carry out our duties in a way that protects all. On top of these, I believe the most important part of any organization is the culture they foster within the department. Our culture is one that believes you should treat all people with respect, compassion and dignity.

Our department policies are developed by Lexipol, which is the leading provider for public safety policy and training solutions. Lexipol ensures our department has up-to-date policies that allow us to carry out our Mission, to provide the highest quality police services through efficient and professional policing. These policies are based on nationwide standards, best practices incorporating state/federal laws and regulations where appropriate; researched and written by subject matter experts and vetted by attorneys. Some of our policies are customized to meet our department’s needs and culture since I believe “one size does not fit all.” Policies are updated when changes in federal or state law occur, new equipment is purchased, new best practices are identified, and even when a typographical error is located. When a policy is updated, the police department staff must review the policy and acknowledge their review. We additionally subscribe to Lexipol’s daily training bulletin program, which ensures our personnel are consistently exposed to our policies and tested on them on a regular basis.

We have developed a Policies, Procedures and Training FAQ that we hope will answer any additional questions.

John Geissberger - Chief of Police