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February 22, 2025 A busy week on the road in Florida and New York
PERF members, The PERF staff had a busy week of travel on both coasts of Florida and New York City. ICAT conference On Tuesday and Wednesday, we hosted our third annual National ICAT Conference in Clearwater, Florida. At this conference, ICAT trainers hear about updates to the training curriculum and discuss lessons they’ve learned as they’ve implemented the training program in their agencies. More than 140 agencies in 36 states, the District of Columbia, and Canada have implemented ICAT, and this was our largest ICAT conference to date.
The PERF team registers attendees for the third annual National ICAT Conference.
The opening of the conference.
Deputy Director of ICAT Dan Alioto. The most significant update this year was the addition of the PERF’s recent guidance on reducing the risk of restraint-related death, which fits neatly into the ICAT training program. Four panelists spoke about how this guidance can be incorporated into training: Jennifer Sommers, PERF’s deputy director of management and technical assistance; Sgt. John Flynn, NYPD Emergency Service Unit; Eric Jaeger, an emergency medical services educator, attorney, and paramedic; and Dr. Matt Bivens, an emergency medical physician.
Jennifer Sommers, Dr. Matt Bivens, Sgt. John Flynn, and Eric Jaeger. After watching body-worn camera video of a 2022 restraint death at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, attendees had a lengthy conversation about the incident. Sgt. Flynn said that although these cases are rare, they are among the most challenging for law enforcement. This video sparked a discussion about when an individual is considered a patient and when they are considered a suspect. Dr. Bivens noted that cases like this one frequently occur in hospitals, pointing to investigative reporting by USA Today that found there were 14,300 restraint or seclusion–related deaths in hospital settings from 2020 to 2023. We later returned to this discussion to talk about the coordination challenges that can occur when both police officers and medical personnel are on scene. When should medical teams take over from police? What planning and coordination needs to occur before an incident? Jaeger told the conference that these questions should be asked and answered collaboratively in advance, possibly avoiding some of the ambiguities that occurred during the UT Southwestern Medical Center incident. And the panelists and others were concerned that both the police officers and medical professionals who responded to this incident did not appear to notice that the individual had gone still. In cases involving medical and behavioral emergencies, “sudden tranquility”—when someone abruptly stops moving—is often misinterpreted as compliance. In reality, it is a sign of the body shutting down. Another panel discussion featured three chiefs who have implemented ICAT in their agencies: Elgin (Illinois) Chief Ana Lalley, St. Joseph (Missouri) Chief Paul Luster, and Tampa (Florida) Chief Lee Bercaw. The chiefs spoke about challenges they’ve faced in identifying the right people to teach ICAT, how they’ve confronted resistance and worked to gain acceptance for ICAT in their agencies, and successes they’ve experienced since implementing the training program.
Chief Lee Bercaw, Chuck Wexler, Chief Ana Lalley, and Chief Paul Luster. Ukrainian visitors While in Florida, we were joined by guests from the Ukraine National Police. Since the Russian invasion in early 2022, I’ve been amazed by the heroism Ukrainian police have exhibited under unthinkable circumstances, and PERF has sought out opportunities to show its support for the men and women policing that country. In October 2022, we were honored to have Ukrainian police officials present at our Town Hall Meeting in Dallas. And I made two trips to the country in early 2023 to facilitate donations from philanthropists Howard G. Buffett and Mitzi Perdue. So I jumped at the chance to facilitate a U.S. visit for two Ukrainian police leaders: General Andrii Nebytov, deputy head of the Ukraine National Police, and Colonel Serhii Bolvinov, head of the investigative department in the agency’s Kharkiv region. The trip was funded by Howard Buffett, who is a strong supporter of both PERF and Ukraine. Buffett has made 17 trips to Ukraine since the Russian invasion and provided substantial support to the police and humanitarian relief efforts. The Ukrainians began their trip at PERF’s National ICAT Training Center in Decatur, Illinois, last weekend. Then they flew to join us at our conference in Clearwater, where they presented on their experiences policing during wartime.
General Andrii Nebytov.
Colonel Serhii Bolvinov.
General Nebytov presents Wexler with the Ukrainian coat of arms. Following the conference, a couple PERF staffers and I drove them across Florida to visit the Volusia Sheriff’s Office (VSO). Sheriff Mike Chitwood and his staff showed us their training academy and the equipment used by their specialized units. General Nebytov and Colonel Bolvinov shared their experiences and exchanged photos and memorabilia with the VSO deputies and staff.
Colonel Bolvinov, General Nebytov, Wexler, and Sheriff Mike Chitwood.
Sheriff Chitwood and General Nebytov. We then flew up to New York City and met with NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch yesterday morning. General Nebytov and Colonel Bolvinov briefed Commissioner Tisch on the significant challenges Ukrainian police investigators face in identifying bodies and investigating war crimes. Commissioner Tisch told the visitors that this was one of the most compelling briefings she has received in her three months on the job. The group is staying in New York with a couple of PERF staff members over the weekend to meet with additional NYPD personnel and exchange knowledge about forensics, cold cases, and emerging technologies before returning to Ukraine.
Commissioner Tisch meets with General Nebytov, Colonel Bolvinov, and their interpreter (far left).
NYPD Deputy Chief Matt Galvin (left) discusses the events of 9/11 with Colonel Bolvinov, General Nebytov, and their interpreter. Thanks to my staff who made this busy week happen, particularly Dan Alioto, Caleb Regen, Tom Wilson, Jennifer Sommers, Jason Cheney, Dustin Waters, Chad Larner, and Soline Simenauer. I’m also grateful to the NYPD and the Volusia Sheriff’s Office for sharing their time and expertise with our Ukrainian guests and to the Clearwater Police Department and Tampa Police Department for assisting with the ICAT conference. And we would not have been able to do any of this without the Howard G. Buffet Foundation’s generous support for this work.
Colonel Bolvinov and Howard Buffett converse in Kharkiv as the city experiences enemy shelling. Best, Chuck |
