OMAG's Police Liability Update (February 2025)

OMAG In Action (Volume 12)

Bridging the Gap: Enhancing City Management & Police Collaboration

City managers and police chiefs play a vital role in protecting their cities from legal challenges and ensuring compliance with civil rights laws. Building a strong partnership between city leadership and law enforcement is essential to safeguarding municipalities and reducing risks.

Five key areas can strengthen this collaboration:

• Policy Updates: Regularly updating department policies to align with state and federal laws helps reduce liability and ensure compliance.

• Policy Dissemination: Clear communication and training on updated policies ensure officers understand and implement them effectively.

• Continuous Training: Ongoing education on high-risk areas like use of force and civil rights violations equips officers to navigate complex situations while minimizing risk.

• Compliance Audits: Routine audits ensure policies are not only documented but also followed in practice, catching potential issues before they escalate.

• Litigation Preparedness: Proactively strengthening legal defenses through robust training, record-keeping, and compliance measures prepares cities to handle lawsuits effectively.

City managers can play an active role by fostering collaboration with police leadership, prioritizing resources for training and compliance, and maintaining open communication.

OMAG Insurance Renewals: Simplifying the Process

At OMAG, we are committed to making your insurance experience as seamless as possible. We understand that clear communication is key to keeping our members informed about any important changes, especially when it comes to policy issuance.

A few years ago, OMAG transitioned to a new system for issuing policies and invoices. Since then, our staff has made it a priority to email all renewal policy information and invoices directly to you.

Key Renewal Details:

• Renewal Policy Information: The OMAG Underwriting Department will send your renewal policy information 45 days before the effective date. This email will include your first quarterly invoice, DEC pages, schedules, certificates, ID cards, and any other relevant policy details.

• Important: Since your first quarterly invoice is sent along with your policy details, it's important to know your GLA and PRO policy renewal dates so you can expect to receive this information on time.

What to Do If You Can't Find the Email: If you can't locate your renewal email, don't worry! Simply reach out to the OMAG Underwriting Department, and we’ll be happy to resend the information and confirm the correct email address for future communication.

Renewal Timeline:

• GLA and PRO Policy Issuance (Including 1st Quarter Invoice): Sent 45 days before the effective date via email

• Reminder Invoice: Sent 10 days after the effective date via mail

• Pre-Cancellation Notice: Sent 25 days after the effective date via mail

• Cancellation Notice: Sent 45 days after the effective date via mail

We hope this helps clarify the renewal process! If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact our Underwriting Department.

How Cities & Towns Can Stay Safe in Freezing Weather

Freezing temperatures can cause big problems for cities and towns. Roads get icy, water pipes freeze, and power can go out. Here are some simple steps cities can take to keep people safe and things running smoothly during cold weather: 

Protect Pipes, Roads, and Buildings: 

• Water Pipes: Wrap exposed pipes to keep them from freezing. Check fire hydrants to make sure they work. Remind people to let their faucets drip during very cold weather to stop pipes from freezing. 

• Roads: Have enough salt and sand ready to spread on icy streets. Make sure snowplows are working and fix any cracks in the roads before they get worse from freezing and thawing. 

• Buildings: Check that city buildings are insulated to keep them warm and save energy. 

Prepare for Power Outages: 

• Backup Power: Get generators ready to keep important places, like fire stations and hospitals, running if the power goes out. 

• Warming Shelters: Open safe, warm places where people can go if their homes get too cold. 

Share Winter Safety Tips: 

• Use social media, TV, and other ways to remind people how to stay safe. For example, share tips about driving safely on icy roads and keeping pets indoors. 

• Work with local utility companies to give updates if power or water stops working. 

Practice for Emergencies: 

• Train city workers on what to do during a freeze. For example, practice clearing roads and opening shelters quickly. 

By getting ready before freezing weather hits, cities can keep people safe and help everyone get through winter with fewer problems. 

City Spotlight - McAlester, Oklahoma

The City of McAlester officially took over daily operations of its Water Treatment Plant on July 1, 2024, to regain control over vital infrastructure and mitigate risks of damage to private and public infrastructure. The decision to assume control of the plant’s operations follows an extensive evaluation process and strategic planning effort aimed at enhancing the efficiency and reliability of McAlester’s water treatment services. The City now directly oversees the day-to-day management and maintenance of the facility, leveraging local expertise and resources to deliver optimal performance and safeguard public health.

“We are excited to take this important step in managing our water resources more effectively,” City Manager Dave Andren said. “By bringing the operations of the water treatment plant in-house, we can better oversee the processes and ensure that our community receives the highest quality water. This move will enable us to respond more swiftly to any issues and implement improvements that directly benefit our residents.”

The Water Treatment Plant treats around 3.5-5 million gallons per day to provide drinking water to about 28,000 people in the City of McAlester and five rural water districts (Rural Water Districts 5, 6, 7, 9, & 16).

A team of experienced professionals is now tasked with maintaining the plant’s operations in compliance with state and federal regulations while also seeking opportunities to enhance efficiency and sustainability. The City is working with Infrastructure Solutions Group and Public Service Co. of Oklahoma to convert the plant to an electrical system that will be a huge step in a plan to improve efficiency at the plant, save on electric usage, resolve issues with replacement part availability, allow control throughout the system, and other issues identified after a water emergency in 2023.

Progress also continues on a major waterline replacement project funded through the $32.5 million Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Fund (DWSRF) waterline improvements that city voters approved in 2019. These waterline improvements are vital in updating City infrastructure and are the first of many steps in the process of growing toward the future with upgrades to infrastructure including the sewer system and our roads.

The ABLE Project

Years of academic research and on-the-ground experience has shown that effective, active bystandership can be taught. The Center for Innovations in Community Safety, partnering with global law firm Sheppard Mullin, has created ABLE* (Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement) to prepare officers to successfully intervene to prevent harm and to create a law enforcement culture that supports peer intervention. ABLE training provides practical, scenario based training for police agencies in the strategies and tactics of police peer intervention.

ABLE is a national hub for training, technical assistance, and research, all with the aim of creating a police culture in which officers routinely intervene—and accept interventions—as necessary to:

• Prevent misconduct,

• Avoid police mistakes, and

• Promote officer health and wellness.

Are you interested in ABLE training? If so, please contact OMAG Law Enforcement Specialist Kevin Katz and visit www.omag.org/able to learn more!

*ABLE Project, Project ABLE, ABLE, and Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement are trademarks of the President and Directors of Georgetown College.

CLEET Corner

As a reminder to all Full-Time and Reserve Certified Peace Officers, it is getting close to the end of the calendar year, and your annual continuing education hours will be due by December 31st, 2024. CLEET understands that meeting these requirements can be challenging, but CLEET is here to support you. Annual hours must consist of a minimum of the following: twenty-five (25) hours of CLEET cataloged hours, including two (2) hours of mental health, one (1) hour of missing persons, one (1) hour of sexual assault, and a firearms qualification. Certified reserve officers must complete a minimum of eight (8) hours of CLEET cataloged continuing education with one (1) hour being mental health, one (1) hour of sexual assault, one (1) hour of missing persons and a firearms qualification. CLEET has partnered with the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health to provide sexual assault and missing persons training, which is linked on the homepage of their website and will also include your mental health hours. The training provided on the website is just an option for sexual assault and missing persons, but it's a valuable one. Sexual assault and missing persons is currently an annual training, as required by statute. www.ok.gov/cleet/

OMAG's Police Liability Update (November 2024)

Law Enforcement Value Added Services

OMAG is committed to being the go-to resource for our member law enforcement agencies to mitigate law enforcement claims and lawsuits. In recent times, law enforcement related claims and lawsuits have increased dramatically. To mitigate law enforcement liability, OMAG offers many Value Added Services (VAS) to its members. Some of these include:

• Lexipol Police Policy Manual: Lexipol provides Oklahoma-specific, customizable Police Policy Manuals, along with timely updates, based on federal and state law, regulations, and best practices.

• Lexipol Daily Training Bulletins (DTBs): These are short, scenario-based training modules, modeled after your Department’s Policy Manual, which are designed to provide training specific to your Department’s Policy Manual.

• ABLE Oklahoma: ABLE is a national hub for training, technical assistance, and research, all with the aim of creating a police culture in which officers routinely intervene and accept interventions, as necessary, to prevent misconduct, avoid police mistakes, and promote officer health and wellness. OMAG strongly encourages all OMAG law enforcement agencies to become an ABLE certified agency and will assist your agency to become ABLE certified.

• OMAG LELA Training Series: This is an intensive training series on law enforcement liability for select law enforcement personnel around the State. The OMAG LELA Training Series is typically held twice a year and each series consists of three training sessions, each consisting of traditional classroom training and roundtable discussions, utilizing case law, body cam, and other materials from real-life incidents.

• Online training through LocalGovU: Courses are available for public safety and law enforcement employees, many of which offer CLEET credit.

• Police Officer/Dispatcher Background Investigation Forms: Background investigations are vital to ensure that a Police Department is hiring qualified, competent, honest, and capable officers. OMAG has put together some sample forms, letters, checklists, questionnaires, etc. to make the background investigation easier for our members.

• Onsite training: Our law enforcement training is specifically tailored to the needs of police departments.

For all your law enforcement needs or questions, contact Kevin J. Katz, Law Enforcement Specialist, at kkatz@omag.org or (405) 657-1400 or Ambre C. Gooch, Associate General Counsel, at agooch@omag.org or (405)657-1447.