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A new “Coffee with a Cop” program, video recording of police encounters, the opioid crisis and the possible legalization of marijuana in Massachusetts are just some of the topics Chief of Police A. Kevin Kennedy  touched on in a wide-ranging interview with the Lincoln Squirrel.

Staring on September 15, Kennedy will host the Lincoln Police Department’s inaugural Coffee with a Cop program in which police will meet with residents on the third Thursday of every month at Bemis Hall from 1-2 p.m. A different officer will be on hand each month to answer questions in either  small groups or one on one.

“There’s no agenda. People can come in and talk about whatever questions or concerns they have,” Kennedy said. “It’s just a way for us to be more involved with the community and answer question residents may have, when they’re maybe not as comfortable coming into the station.”

Questions and issues that may arise range from traffic concerns, handling disputes with neighbors, difficulties with a child, or concerns about driving by an older adult, said Kennedy, adding that he was open to holding an evening session in there was enough interest.

“We mediate and arbitrate things all the time. We’re more of a community-oriented police department offering social services—how can we help people in crisis? How can we point them [victims, suspects and family members] in the right direction?”

Jail diversion coordinator

Calls involving people with mental health issues are fairly common in police work, and Lincoln has another tool to help in those situations. Eight Middlesex County towns including Lincoln got a three-year grant to fund a clinical coordinator for the Regional Jail Diversion Program.

“We know that assaults, larcenies and property crimes are often committed by those with mental health or substance abuse issues,” Acton Police Chief Francis Widmayer said in a statement when clinical coordinator Alia Toran-Burrell was hired in December. “Our goal when we began this coalition was to put residents into treatment instead of behind bars. With the assistance of our clinical coordinator, who will train officers in all our communities on how best to respond to mental health or substance abuse related incidents, we can reduce crimes and change lives.”

The opioid crisis

While Lincoln is not a hub of drug-dealing activity, some criminal activity such as house break-ins can be traced to the opioid epidemic, Kennedy said. Lincoln fire and police personnel carry Narcan, a drug that can quickly reverse an opioid overdose at the scene; the Fire Department has used Narcan on at least one call in Lincoln, though police have not, he said.

“It’s here, it’s everywhere, and no community is immune from it,” Kennedy said.

Video recording of police encounters

Millions of people in recent months have seen the videos of police shootings recorded on bystanders’ cell phones. It’s perfectly legal to film a police encounter as long as it doesn’t interfere with officers’ work, and since cell phones are everywhere, “police are always under the assumption that they’re being filmed,” Kennedy said. At the police station, interrogations and bookings in police stations are also recorded on audio and video.

Some have suggested that police wear body cameras to record encounters, something that could protect both police and civilians when a situation turns violent or the facts are in dispute. But there are legal and privacy concerns as well as possible reluctance on the part of victims and others to speak candidly to police if they know they’re being filmed, Kennedy said. Still, “it’s something we’re definitely looking into… There’s a balance there somewhere, and law enforcement is trying to work out that balance now.”

In the end, police training and preparation are the biggest factors in keeping situations from getting out of control. “You never know who you’re going to be in contact with, or their prior experiences with law enforcement, or whether they have a mental health issue, so officers rely on their training,” Kennedy said. “I can’t emphasize enough the amount of training we’ve done.”

Asked about his take on some of the recent well-publicized shootings involving police officers, Kennedy, replied, “Being on the sidelines without knowing about everything is not fair to make a comment on. Only grand juries hear all the evidence; not everything is released to the public. The public wants [a judgment] immediately, but they have to maintain the integrity of the investigation.

“It all reverts back to officer training, their involvement in the community, and officers treating people with respect and dignity no matter who they are, whether they’re victims of a crime or a suspect,” Kennedy continued.

RESIST training

RESIST, Lincoln’s self-defense class for women, has been very successful since its inception in 2013. The program, which is coordinated by Lincoln resident Jena Salon, was developed by Lincoln police officers who have undergone the more comprehensive 40-hour RAD (Rape Aggression Defense) program, and one of the officers is also a former defensive tactics police instructor. The program teaches situational awareness, confidence-building and escape from attackers rather than fighting back.

RESIST has been so successful that the Domestic Violence Services Network (DVSN) has applied for a grant to offer it, and Lincoln police have trained officers in other communities how to teach it as well. “We’ve had nothing but tremendous feedback,” Kennedy said.

Marijuana

Massachusetts is one of five states that will have a ballot question in November asking voters whether to legalize recreational marijuana (the Commonwealth has allowed medical use of the drug since 2012). But marijuana laws have been evolving for years, Kennedy noted. The drug was decriminalized in 2008, meaning that possession of less than one ounce does not result in arrest but incurs only a civil fine of $100.

“Case law has really dictated over the last couple of years what cops can or can’t do when they come in contact” with the drug, either visually or by smelling burnt or raw marijuana, Kennedy said. Odor alone does not entitle police to perform a search, and if an officer sees the drug, “it has to be immediately apparent to you that’s a criminal amount of marijuana” with an intent to distribute before they can take action, he said.

Police concerns over legalization of recreational marijuana revolve around possible increases in use by juveniles and traffic accidents resulting from driving while impaired, Kennedy said. Right now there is no legal limit for the amount of THC (marijuana’s active ingredient) in the bloodstream for driving and no quick test anyway, so officers have to rely on drug recognition training. If an officer believes a driver is impaired by a drug but is not driving to endanger, they can take the keys away but can’t make an arrest or issue a ticket, Kennedy said.

Security is already an issue for medical dispensaries because marijuana distribution is “a cash-and-carry business,” Kennedy noted. Because marijuana is still illegal at the federal level where interstate financial transactions occur, dispensaries can’t accept credit cards or checks.

“It’s very challenging for law enforcement… but we’ll enforce the law whatever it is, and whatever changes in our policies and procedures are needed, we will cert comply and get trained.”