Subcommittee on crime, terrorism Homeland Security investigations will come to a order. C withoutt objection the chair is authorized to declare recesses at any time. We welcomeng everyone to today hearing on the challenges facing Law Enforcement in the 21st centuryy and i will recognize myself for an opening statement. Just a matter of quick personal indulgence, i would please everyone to remember our friend colleague thom tillis from north carolina. I want to thank everyone for being here and chairman good lat for this hearing. This week we celebrate National Police week and thats important to all the members of the Sub Committee that we have aaw hearg to honor our Law Enforcement officers. I want to extend a special thank you to the witnesses for being here. We have chuck canterbury, National President of fraternal order of police, my chief and director of publicc safety, Alonzo Thompson from South Carolina, whichever jim mcdonald chief art esoveto. Is that close . Li forgive me. Im from South Carolina. I may get it wrong before i get it right again from the great city of houston, texas. Each of you here today and all of our Law Enforcement officers acrosspt the nation dedicate yo lives and their lives to the precrept that undergirds the country and that is respect for and adherence to the rule of law and i know every member not only the subcommittee but every member offi congress would have their own personal story of how officers impacted their lives anden would have their own personal testimony to the respect they have for men and women of lawar enforcement. I know as i was preparing for this hearing, my mind went to an officer in greenville, South Carolina, by the name of allen jacobs. Allen, about this time last year, maybe a little bit more than a year ago, learned that he was going to be a father again. But thisd time, it was going t bead different. He had two boys. And this time, he was going to be a father of a little girl. And life had prepared very well to be a udfather. He was an outstanding student. He was a great athlete in greenville, South Carolina. He put the athlete schism and intelligence to work for the army. He was deployed to iraq for 15 months and even volunteered to live in the and a neighborhoods baghdad because he understood that all people want to live in peaceful, secure environment. After iraq, allen was deployed the haiti to help the people in the aftermath of the tragic earthquake but the tug of fatherhood is strong and its so strong that allen decided to return to the upstate of South Carolina but his desire to serve and w protect remained. So he left the uniform of the United States army and put on thee uniform of the Greenville City Police department and he pursued that calling with the same vigor andperf strength and professionalism that epitomized every other facet of his wife, s. W. A. T. Team, patrol officer, for schools or for gang resistance team, allen would stop his patrol car from time to time, carried a basketball in the trunk. Just to get out and shoot kids that with the could use a father figure like the one he was providing to his own boys and would provide to his daughter. I learned all of this about allen in a telephone call that i had with his mother two days before his funeral. This mannd that survived iraq a haiti andhe boot camp and polic officer training could not and did not survive an encounter with a teenage gang member who had just been ncreleased from jail. Never even had a chance to unholster his service weapon. Serve, defend, protect. He was ambushed. Hisn funeral gave all of us in South Carolina an opportunity to reflect not only on his life but thompson, the life of jason harris. We just lost in your own department. Responding to a callr up for ba. From one of his fellow officers. A russ sorrow or kevin carter or Eric Nicholson or any of the overer officers in the upstate South Carolina. Who gave the most precious thing they had to protect the most precious thing we have. Which is life. Law enforcement officers are willing to do what most of us are not willing to do and willing to interact with people most ofli us are not and miss things in life most of us are not willing to miss. So today we are not only here to honor you but listen and were here in part to memorialize those officers who lost their lives in thehe line of duty but also toho respect and pay honoro those that are still with us. So. I want to thank you for beig here and i am most interested in how we can help you do your jobs. There are s challenges in our criminal Justice System. A system that is not only respected but worthy of respect. And theres not a system we have in our country that cant be improved and i i am more than willing to hear ideas on how to improvela it. But there is Something Different about Law Enforcement officers. And if we lose that sight of that as a society that not only do they wear a uniform and a badge, but l they serve symbolicallyd as a line to a l and order and those folks that are not of good conscience. If we ever lose sight of that, were in trouble as a republic. So thank the witnesses. I would recognize the gentle lady ofth texas. Mr. Chairman, thank you for your courtesies and to the witnesses, thank you for your courtesy, as well. I was in a Leadership Meeting and i thank you for recognizing or at least accepting my apologies for my delay. This is ama very important hearing, i and as the chairman s indicated, it is important that we try to help each other. Law enforcement and community. And i want to acknowledge sheriff jim mcdonald, chief alonzozo thompson, mr. Chuck canterbury and chief art asivado for your presence here today and to say to you that we acknowledge in this week those who livese and those who have fallen. And we need to ensure that those who live recognizeny that we ner want to see anymore tragedies and families not seeing their home. One come in particular, i want to acknowledge assistant deputy chief clinton greenwood, Constable Office who was executed and do i haved on 4 3 17. Died on 5 18 15. Deputy sheriff Harris County sheriff goforth, 8 28 15. Detective walker of little elm Police Department died in january 17. And then five aufrts officers among others who died july 2016, brent thompson, Sergeant Michael smith, senior corporal lauren aarons, patrick zamaro and michael control. I went to that memorial and stood with those family members and we will never forget. It is important in todays hearing to explore the challenges and seek strategies for modernizing our Law Enforcement practices and policies to p increase police safety,al nationwide and preven the use of lethal force against unarmed citizens and selfless Law Enforcement officers. We want to make sure that we look at both sides of the issue and particularly we want to hear from you about Building Trust and respect. We want to understand what has been used by many, police militarization, or how we can balance the protection that the communityas needs with the varis assetsts that you utilize. The need for responsible and comprehensive data, i believe that data is a science of police work. And then, of course, to be able to deal with the question of lethal force andve protecting yr lives and those of the community. As judge hans said, if we keep our democracy, there must be one commandment, thou shalt not ration justice. And so, today, i look forward to hearing from you, as well. And in keeping with this idea of justice, just a want to make a point. Mr. Chairman, i have made before. And that is, that this full committee and we are the subcommittee on crime as the judiciaryd committee in the Senate Subcommittee led by our esteemed senator, senator lindsey graham, we must have a fullof investigation and demandn investigation of the president , the attorney general and Top White House aides,s democrats the oversight and the Judiciary Committee are asking for all memorandum that deals with the ending of the tenure of director comey and as well the allegation that the president asked directorin comey to end the fly investigation and certainly the release of classified informationid recognizing that e president can release classified information but what jeopardy have they put assets and Intelligence Community members in and, of course, our allies. I read into the record we are concerned that the continuede failure of House Republicans to take action in the face of this onslaught of allegations will cause significant damage to the faith that the American People haveof in the credibility and integrity of our committees and the house of representatives. S we have a solemn obligation under the constitution to act as a checkre on the executive bran and to hold the President Trump accountable. Again, notican as democrats and republicans, but as americans. It is time that we Work Together to be able to find the truth and, obviously, the truth will be our guide. I thank all of you for your service and your commitment to law and order and to the constitution. And for the service that we will never be able to thank you for as youu o protect the American People. I thank you so very much. Ill yield back. Gentle lady yields back. We have a distinguished panel today. Ill begin byd swearing in our witnesses. He if you would, please rise and raisee your right hapds. Do you swear the testimonyru yo will give isru the truth, the whole truth and nothing but so god . You you can sityo down. Illid introduce and then recognize you individually for your opening statement. Ill tell you on the front end all of the members have access to the Opening Statements. All of theiz members have acces to thehe Opening Statements so i could f get you to summarize within the fiveminute time period that would allow more time for questions. Our first witness is sheriff jim mcdonald, sheriff mcdonald is of los angeles, california, Los Angeles County, california. Welcome, sheriff. Our second witness is chief Alonzo Thompson. He is o not just the chief, to the director of public safety. And the district i represent in spartanburg, South Carolina. Well respected and well regarded in my hometown. Ourne third witness is mr. Chuc canterbury,du the president of e National Fraternal order of the police. Well, our fourth witness is no stranger to Law Enforcement. Were delighted with his service in the city of houston. He is a chief art accevedo. Active member in Law Enforcement issues andnd everybodied from california to texas. Most o recently in city of aust and now serveses a a chief of police in houston, texas. Ab i would only offer to say that we have a very collaborative effort on Law Enforcement and im very pleased to say that the chief worksal with all of our l enforcement agencies from federal toe local to ensure the travels of safe houstonians and those who come toou visit our great city and delighted to welcome great chief art acevedo. And if family members are here, i want to acknowledge them, as well, becausean theyre so very important to our Law Enforcement officers. I yield back, mr. Chairman. Welcome, chief. And acknowledge the Ranking Member who is come, mr. Conyers. Thank you. Sheriff mcdonald, you are recognized for your opening statement. Thank you for inviting me to testify this morning. As sheriff and a peace officer more than 355 years it is an honor to represent the sheriffs sworn to protect more than 100 Million People across our great nation. Policing in america has never been more complex because we are the First Responders to some of americas greatest social challenges,io growing opioid epidemic, cyber terrorism, home grown extremism and Mental Illnessst across our nation, the are the 21st century challenges we should and must meet together. Ive submitted written testimony that expands on what i can shar here due to time. I will be able to touch briefly on a number of critical topics. Lastac fridays cyber attack to strike 150 countries should make it Crystal Clear how vulnerable we are and the potential scale of such an attack can have. These areth complex threats tha often lurk just beneath the surface of todays news headlines. Often theyre known only after the threat of a pending attack is made or worse after the assault itself. These are o threats that challee our government and bureaucratic institutions to be adaptive in the solutions and in our collective response. There isnt a Sheriffs Department inne this nations immune to the impact of Mental Illness and drug addiction having on the jail systems. The t deinstitutionalization of the mental ill in the 60s and 70s turned the jails and prisons into defacto Mental Health hospitals. My jail system in Los Angeles County is nationsto largest mentalln health intuition. 70 of the cell matds have a Mental Illness. Some sort of serious mental issue. Upwards of 5,000 inmates need treatment for their illness. That population is forecasted to double over the next ten years. In n l. A. County we need to invt more than 2. 2 billion infa a n consolidated Treatment Facility that can provide thehi Mental Health and medical services for this population which has nowhere else to go. Los angeles county jail along with reichers island complex in new york city and the Cook County Jail in chicago are the top three n largest mental heal carere providers in the nation. This is a failure of our criminal Justice System nationwide. Are there times when jail is most appropriate option . Yes. But its ourio experience that jail isic frequently not the be solution. As a dnation, we have a critica need andon a moral obligation t build capacity for Treatment Options in our communities. We have the ability to support Strategic Partnerships with our Mental Health and social Service Agencies foror treatments to stabilize the individuals and keep them out of our jail system. We have a ace professional obligation to provide training for our officers of whom too much is expected. Too often our deputies arrive at a caller for service, always facing the unknown and frequently facing a situation where theyre asked to take on the roleun of a Mental Health professional. In Los Angeles County alone in areass policed by the Sheriffs Department, 911 calls of people of Mental Illness grown 55 since just 2010. We need toio fund and provide crisis intervention training to all firstel responders both Law Enforcement and fire personnel. Let us Work Together toward a nationwide expansion of highly Successful Program ofsi teamingp Mental Health professionals with Law Enforcementam officers who work as an intercept first responder. In the Los Angeleses county, fo instance, we have had the teams since 1990s. Otheris citys have a variation this program which are also highly successful but seriously overworked and understaffed. Most cities and counties operate such a program cannot provide the serviceme 24 7 and many plas it becomes very difficult to respond in a timely manner. However, in our experience, when a team such as this is called to a scene, we have the ability to divert the individual away from the criminal Justice System and into proper Mental HealthTreatment Facilities in 99 of the inencounters. The i third step is diversion. Id like to thank congress for passing the national stepping up initiative which provides counties andta cities of fundin to divert those dealing with illness away from our county jails and look at c dedicated