July 18, 2024 Public Meeting Summary: Approval of minutes from June 20, 2024; Executive Director Report: conclusion of the Bridge Academy; certification update; disciplinary records update; Finance & Administrative update; Legal Update: Agency Certification Stakeholder Outreach
Certification Subcommittee Public Meeting #5
July 25, 2024 meeting summary: Approval of minutes from May 23, 2024; draft plan for recertification; criteria for recertification; officer physical and psychological fitness, public comment.
August 15, 2024 meeting summary: Executive Director report; Election of Commission Treasurer and Secretary; Legal Update: a. 555 CMR 12.00: Maintenance, Reporting, and Audits of Law Enforcement Records and Information b. Agency Certification Initiative c. Policy on the Use of Force; Policy Discussion – a. Policy Prohibiting Unauthorized Possession of Weapons in Commission Offices and Designated Facilities b. Policy for Appointment of Hearing Officers c. Policy for Appointment of Single Commissioner.
Public Hearing Comments on CMR 12:00: Maintenance, Reporting, and Audits of Law Enforcement Records and Information (PDF)
Comments on Law Enforcement Agency Certification Standards (PDF)
September 10, 2024 meeting summary: Approval of minutes from July 25, 2024 meeting; Draft Plan for Recertification; Review of Presentations and Proposals Provided to the Subcommittee; Good Moral Character and Fitness for Employment in Law Enforcement; Public comment.
September 19, 2024 meeting summary: Approval of minutes from August 15, 2024 meeting; Executive Director report; Finance and Administrative update; Legal update: 555 CMR 12.00: Maintenance, Reporting, and Audits of Law Enforcement Records and Information, revised version; Agency Certification Initiative; Use of Force; Use of Force Reporting; Code of Conduct.
September 24, 2024 meeting summary: Call to order; open session; Executive session.
October 1, 2024 meeting summary: Approval of minutes from September 10, 2024 meeting; Draft Plan for Recertification; Good Moral Character and Fitness for Employment in Law Enforcement Plan for Recertification; Public comment.
October 17, 2024 Meeting summary: Call to order; Approval of minutes from September 19 and 24 meetings; Executive Director report; Finance and Administrative update; Legal update, Vote on revised version of 555 CRM 12.00 regulations; Recommendations of the Subcommittee on Certification Policy; Discussion of draft standard on Use of Force Reporting and Discussion of draft standard on an Officer Code of Conduct; Matters not anticipated by the Chair at the time of posting; Executive Session.
NOTICE OF MEETING AND AGENDA
Public Meeting #56 October 17, 2024 8:30 a.m.
Remote Participation via Zoom Meeting ID: 985 7276 3319
1) Call to Order
2) Approval of minutes
a. September 19, 2024
b. September 24, 2024
3) Executive Director Report – Enrique A. Zuniga
4) Finance & Administrative Update – Eric Rebello-Pradas
5) Division of Standards Semi-annual Report – Matthew P. Landry
6) Legal Update – Randall E. Ravitz, Pauline Nguyen, Elizabeth B. Smith, and Annie E. Lee
a. 555 CMR 12.00: Maintenance, Reporting, and Audits of Law Enforcement Records and Information
i) Vote on a revised version
b. Recommendations of the Subcommittee on Certification Policy
i) Overview of a draft, revised version of 555 CMR 7.00: Recertification
ii) Issues related to the certification requirement of being of good moral character and fit for employment in law enforcement
iii) Collection and analysis of information relevant to the certification requirement concerning physical and psychological fitness
c. Agency Certification Initiative
i) Discussion of draft standard on Use of Force Reporting
ii) Discussion of draft standard on an Officer Code of Conduct
7) Matters not anticipated by the Chair at the time of posting
8) Executive Session in accordance with the following:
• M.G.L. c. 30A, § 21(a)(1), to discuss “the discipline or dismissal of, or complaints or charges brought against, a public officer, employee, . . . or individual”;
• M.G.L. c. 30A, § 21(a)(5), to discuss the investigation of charges of criminal misconduct;
• M.G.L. c. 30A, § 21(a)(7), combined with M.G.L. c. 6E, § 8(c)(2), and to the extent they may be applicable, M.G.L. c. 6, §§ 168 and 178, to discuss the initiation of preliminary inquiries and initial staff review related to the same, and regarding certain criminal offender record information; and
• M.G.L. c. 30A, § 21(a)(7), combined with M.G.L. c. 30A, §§ 22(f) and (g), to discuss and approve the minutes of prior Executive Sessions
a. Reports of Preliminary Inquiry in the following cases:
i) PI-2024-009
ii) PI-2024-026
b. Division of Standards request to enter into voluntary decertification or suspension agreement in the following cases:
i) PI-2023-11-16-003
ii) PI-2023-10-24-005
c. Division of Standards request for approval to conduct Preliminary Inquiries in the following cases:
i) PI-2024-061
ii) PI-2024-062
iii) PI-2024-063
iv) PI-2024-064
v) PI-2024-065
vi) PI-2024-066
vii) PI-2024-067
viii) PI-2024-068
d. Approval of the minutes of the Executive Session of September 24, 2024
Note that M.G.L. c. 66, § 6A(d) provides that “[a]n electronically produced document submitted to an agency . . . for use in deliberations by a public body shall be provided in an electronic format at the time of submission.”
Join the POST Commission on Friday, October 18, 2024 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon for an engaging panel discussion on law enforcement physical fitness training and testing. Our panel of six nationally and internationally recognized experts brings decades of experience and research in the area of tactical training and testing. Attendees will get the opportunity to engage directly with our panel during an interactive Q&A session. This event is free and open to the public. Do not miss the chance to learn about how organizations and agencies can enhance fitness within the law enforcement sector. The event is free and registration is required.
Panelists:
Melissa Metzke TSAC-F, is a highly knowledgeable professional in the field of first responder fitness, wellness, and injury prevention. She currently serves as the Director of Officer Health and Performance for the Massachusetts Municipal Police Training Committee. In this role, she oversees the fitness testing standards, Physical Training Instructor certification, and recruit wellness curriculum development and training programs in academies throughout the Commonwealth. Melissa previously spent six years as the lead strength and conditioning specialist for recruit and officer fitness and wellness with the Washington DC Metropolitan Police Department. During her time there, she prioritized injury prevention while developing effective fitness training and testing programs for recruits. Additionally, Melissa owned a successful strength and conditioning facility in Newport Beach, CA for ten years prior to relocating to the DC area.
Brianna Britt is the Deputy Director of the Civil Service Unit for the MA Human Resources Division. Brianna has a master’s degree in industrial/organizational psychology. Brianna has focused in the area of pre-employment and promotional testing in unionized environments for over 12 years. Brianna oversees all aspects of job analysis, revalidation, exam creation for all Civil Service Public Safety job titles. This includes testing for Police Officers and Firefighters, Correction Officers, through Principal Fire Alarm Operators and Fire Chiefs. A range of testing styles are utilized from physical ability tests, technical knowledge tests, personality tests, to situational judgment tests.
Joe Dulla has over 40 years of experience in first responder roles, including emergency medical technician, lifeguard, mountain rescue, and law enforcement. He served for 31 years with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) in various sworn ranks & positions including academy director overseeing the training of over 5,550 recruits and an annual training budget of $80+million dollars. Joe’s expertise includes physical fitness, wellness, and human performance optimization for public safety personnel across numerous domains. He managed the LASD’s “Fast Track Injury Care” program that used cutting-edge sports medicine approaches to rapidly return injured personnel safely back to duty. Joe was a member and served as chairman of the California POST Physical Abilities and Training Program SME Group; Los Angeles County Human Performance Workgroup; Job Task Analysis and Return to Work committees.
After LASD, he served as Interim Associate Dean of Fire Technology at Santa Ana College serving the fire academy and wellness needs of over 30 member departments across five Southern California counties. He holds TSAC-F certification, has presented internationally, and authored or co-authored over 30 articles on law enforcement physical demands, wellness, injury, and human performance. Joe currently serves as affiliate faculty with Georgia Southern University’s Tactical Athlete Program providing services to first responders across the Southeastern United States. He also works with agencies via the Department of Justice/IACP CRI-TAC program in the areas of wellness, physical fitness, recruitment and retention. Joe is a PhD student at Bond University, researching recruit attrition, success factors, physical abilities, injuries, costs, and human performance optimization.
Dr. Rob Orr, Director of Tactical Research Unit at Bond University. Professor Rob Orr joined the Australian Army in 1989 as an infantry soldier before transferring to the Australian Defence Force Physical Training Instructor (PTI) stream. Serving for 10 years in this stream, Rob designed, developed, instructed and audited physical training programs and physical education and rehabilitation courses for military personnel and fellow PTIs from both Australian and foreign defence forces. Rob subsequently transferred to the physiotherapy stream where his role included the clinical rehabilitation of defence members and project management of physical conditioning optimisation reviews. Serving as the Human Performance Officer for Special Operations before joining the team at Bond University in 2012, Rob continues to serve in the Army Reserve.
Professor Orr is the Director of the Tactical Research Unit, a faculty research centre at Bond University with international collaborations designed to provide research, consultancy and education services to tactical professions around the globe. Rob’s fields of research, consultancy, and education provision spans physical conditioning, reconditioning, rehabilitation and injury prevention for military, law enforcement and protective services across their occupational lifespan (initial trainee to specialist). Generally focusing on the tactical population, Rob is actively involved in research with the Australian and foreign defence forces, an extensive list of law enforcement departments (both national and international), and firefighters / first responders.
Professor Orr served as the editor for the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) TSAC Technical Report (2015-2020) and on the organising committee for the 4th and 5th International Congress on Soldiers’ Physical Performance and on the scientific committees for the occupational branch of the Australian Physiotherapy Association and 2019 and 2021 World Physical Therapy Organisation conferences. Dr. Orr is also Chair of the organising committee for the 4th Physical Employment Standards Conference to be held in 2023 at Bond University, Australia. Winning awards for research outcomes, publications, presentations, and teaching, Dr. Orr has presented keynote presentations at internationally renowned research facilities and congresses. With over 280 peer reviewed published papers, 300 presentations, and 60 technical reports, Professor Orr has been awarded the NSCA TSAC Professional of the year, a Queensland Young Tall Poppy Science Award, Australian Physiotherapy Association Best Clinical Papper award, an Australian Award for University Teaching, and numerous other military, academic, and education awards.
Dr. Robert Lockie is an Associate Professor of Strength and Conditioning at California State University Fullerton and has been a sports and tactical researcher for more than 20 years. He has conducted numerous research projects with law enforcement, fire, military, and sports organizations.
Dr. Lockie has authored or co-authored over 140 manuscripts and 110 presentations on the topics of law enforcement, firefighter, and military fitness, testing, and tactical performance. He has presented his research findings locally, nationally, and internationally. In October of 2023, Dr. Lockie was recognized by Elsevier & Stanford University as one of the top 2% most-cited scientists in the world.* In 2024, Dr. Lockie was awarded the National Strength and Conditioning Association’s Tactical Strength and Conditioning Professional of the Year.
Dr. Jay Dawes is a Professor of Applied Exercise Science in the Department of Kinesiology, Health and Recreation at Oklahoma State University. Dr. Dawes has worked as a university athletic performance coordinator, strength/performance coach, personal trainer, and educator for over 25 years. Additionally, he also worked as the Director of Education for the NSCA from 2007–2010 and served on the NSCA Board of Directors’ Executive Council from 2016–2019 as both Vice President and Secretary/Treasurer. While he still conducts research in the area of sports performance, his primary research interests are focused on improving the health, fitness and human performance for tactical athletes/first responders. In 2021, Dr. Dawes was recognized by the NSCA as the Tactical Strength and Conditioning Professional of the Year for his contributions in this area.