Proposed revision would allow police officers to expel repeat offenders from designated areas 

By Morgan Rothborne, Ashland.news 

City Council considered but came to little consensus concerning four proposed changes to the city’s Enhanced Law Enforcement Area and criminal code during a Wednesday evening study session called to make up for a snowed-out scheduled session Feb. 3. 

Ashland Police Chief Tighe O’Meara presented four proposed changes: 

• Modifying the ELEA ordinance to give officers the power to issue an expulsion order rather than such orders coming from the city’s municipal court.
• Crimes resulting in charges within the ELEA area could lead to an expulsion charge. 
• An expansion of the footprint of the downtown ELEA. 
• A change in city code to “elevate” the charge of reckless burning from a municipal ordinance violation to municipal court misdemeanor.

Council could pursue all proposals, consider some and not others or direct staff to drop them all, O’Meara said. But the changes came with the intent to give officers the best possible tools to achieve the higher goal of public safety, he said. 

The limitations of the ELEA’s effectiveness and resulting frustration for Ashland Police officers are loopholes and “bulky” procedures in the way the ordinance is structured. 

As it is now written, an individual charged with three or more qualifying violations can be issued an expulsion charge, at which point reentering the ELEA constitutes the crime of trespassing. However the court and the city’s legal office do not always notice that an individual has crossed the threshold leading to a potential delay in filing the expulsion order with the court, said Deputy City Attorney Carmel Zahran. 

An additional loophole exists because when an individual is charged with a crime this involves a potential deprivation of their civil liberties in the form of time in a jail cell. A criminal charge therefore comes with corresponding constitutional rights such as choosing a trial rather than accepting the charges, Zahran said. 

If an individual doesn’t show up for their court date, they are charged with Failure to Appear, a subsequent court date is scheduled and no sentencing can be delivered on the original charge. In an email containing recent data from the city’s new municipal judge, Zahran said she was struck that 50% of cases resulted in a failure to appear. 

The city of Medford has an ordinance similar to Ashland’s ELEA but Medford’s gives police officers the right to issue an expulsion order based on their assessment if the individual’s behavior and criminal record qualifies, O’Meara said.

This “streamlined” process includes the ability of the individual to appeal to a judge within 10 days of the expulsion order and would thereby preserve the civil liberties of offenders while freeing officers from the frustration of watching the same individuals repeat the same behavior without the right tool to respond, O’Meara said. 

Officers already have vested power to curtail someone’s freedom. Through a precedent set by a previous parks director, Ashland officers can expel people from parks for a period of time and those who return during that time are charged with trespassing. This power has been with APD prior to O’Meara’s 15 years with the department, he said, and there have been no formal complaints of discrimination or abuse of power. 

“Ashland police officers have demonstrated for many many years that they can take that power that rests with them. … and apply it effectively and equitably,” he said. 

Council would be free to reconsider the qualifying charges for an ELEA restructured with these legal powers vested in officers. Expanding the footprint of the ELEA downtown would include the exterior area of the library, a change library management support, O’Meara said. 

Changes to the way reckless burning charges are processed was inspired by incidents such as the “careless cooker” causing a fire near Interstate 5, O’Meara said. Council came to general approval for this proposal and City Manager Sabrina Cotta stated she would schedule a study session to continue discussion of this proposal. Council was unable to come to consensus on proposed changes to the ELEA. 

Councilor Bob Kaplan stated he was dissatisfied with the timing and volume of information available in the staff report, that he was uncomfortable with the proposals themselves and did not believe the data made a convincing case for the efficacy of the ELEA overall. 

Councilor Dylan Bloom expressed strong support for the ELEA including modifications and expansion of its footprint or to include additional charges such as discharge of a weapon would be “covering our bases and keeping people safe, which is the purpose of this.” 

Councilors Jeff Dahle and Eric Hansen were absent from the meeting while Councilors Gina DuQuenne and Doug Knauer expressed tepid support for the ELEA and a desire for further conversation. Mayor Tonya Graham requested staff to consider restructuring the ordinance to allow the municipal court to issue an expulsion order automatically at the third qualifying violation rather than giving officers the power to issue the order. 

Homelessness advocate Debbie Niesewander offered public comment echoing Kaplan’s complaint that meeting materials were not issued soon enough to allow time for review and without enough information to know what she was commenting on. Niesewander also reminded council many moving through the municipal court are dealing with poverty, mental illness and addiction. They may be relying on a court appointed defender who doesn’t meet with them prior to their court date. 

Staff was directed to return with an additional study session date to consider the ELEA changes. Cotta stated that due to the upcoming budget season it would be difficult to return to the topic until May. Graham stated the two could look at the city’s schedule to attempt to find a way to expedite the issue. 

Email Ashland.news reporter Morgan Rothborne at [email protected].