Raleigh police will spend time in first quarter 2021 making changes in response to riots that followed George Floyd's death

The Raleigh Police Department will implement dozens of changes over the next couple of months, ideas the came out of an external review of policies, procedures and protocols that followed the downtown protests and riots in May and June.

Posted 8:39 p.m. Dec 14, 2020 — Updated 10:28 p.m. Dec 14, 2020

The Raleigh Police Department will implement dozens of changes over the next couple of months, ideas the came out of an external review of policies, procedures and protocols that followed the downtown protests and riots in May and June.

The city contracted with 21CP Solutions to review the police response to a series of protests that followed the death of George Floyd in Minnesota. The company returned 39 suggestions that the police department will implement in the coming months.

A report published Monday by the City of Raleigh outlines the recommendations, how RPD plans to respond and puts each on a timeline, with several already in the works or complete.

Raleigh police spent $1.4M responding to riots in wake of Floyd's death

Specific recommendations call for a better understanding of how to respond to mass events, including "more specific policy guidance on the use of force in crowd contexts;" an agreement among police, city leaders and community representatives on the circumstances under which tear gas would be used; and development of "a standalone Mass Detention and Arrest policy."

There are several recommendations about the type of gear – "chemical munitions," closed-circuit and other video surveillance, small utility vehicles and amplification devices to make announcements more audible – that should be available for police use, how to maintain it and make sure it is response ready.

Another cluster of recommendations outlines how the Raleigh Police Department should plan for anticipated mass gatherings, including action plans and post-event debriefing.

Each of the 39 recommendations is assigned a status, with some already complete and others intermediate or long-term. Even the long-term recommendations are expected to be implemented by April 1, according to the report.

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