On Tuesday, the Carlsbad City Council appointed five residents to serve on the city’s new Community-Police Engagement Commission. The goal of the commission is to help strengthen and maintain an excellent relationship between the Carlsbad Police Department and the community.

Twenty-one people applied to serve on the commission. City Council members and the Mayor each recommended two finalists and then voted at Tuesday’s meeting to make their final appointments:

Patrick Connolly, District 1 (Mayor’s appointment)
Dan Frazee, District 4
Terri Novak, District 3
Taffy Cannon, District 2
Michael Zepeda, District 1

The commission will meet quarterly, at a minimum, and work collaboratively with the Police Chief to provide recommendations relating to police policies and programs.

Commission members will serve four-year terms, staggered to coincide with the Mayor or City Council member who appointed them. Because the commission is brand new, the initial terms will be modified to align with City Council terms.

March 2023 to December 2026.
Patrick Connolly
Michael Zepeda
Terri Novak

March 2023 to December 2024
Taffy Cannon
Dan Frazee

How the commission was created
The idea for the commission arose after a series of public meetings in 2020 and 2021 exploring ways to ensure a high level of trust between law enforcement and community members.  

• A leading consultant in police practices developed recommendations based in the public’s input.
• Based on those recommendations, in June 2022 the City Council directed staff to develop an ordinance to create a police-engagement commission and provided guidelines for how the commission would be structured.
• The ordinance establishing the commission was approved by the City Council in December.

Role of the commission
The commission will:

• Promote productive communication between the Carlsbad Police Department and the community.
• Provide a forum where police leadership can talk about police initiatives, challenges, public safety data and high-interest incidents in the community.
• Educate the community and get feedback about policing standards and expectations.
• Create more community access to public safety information.
• Recommend changes or improvements to Carlsbad Police Department policies, procedures or training.
• Review new or proposed police programs to evaluate how they might impact disenfranchised and marginalized communities

Next steps
Now that members have been appointed, the City Clerk’s Office will coordinate the oath of office and complete necessary paperwork. The new commission members will receive training on:

• The authority and responsibilities associated with their role as a commission member
• City policies and legal requirements governing commission meetings
• Carlsbad Police Department policies, procedures, and practices

As soon as possible, they’ll also attend or observe:

• Police officer use of force training, including defensive tactics and scenario-based training
• Police officer implicit bias training
• Police officer training related to interaction with people in mental health crisis
• At least two ride-alongs with the Carlsbad Police Department, one of which should be with the Homeless Outreach Team
• A presentation from the city’s Homeless Services Coordinator

Commission meetings, scheduled to start this summer, will be livestreamed and open to the public. Sign up to be notified of the commission meeting schedule.

More information:
Staff report on commission appointments
Staff report on establishing the commission