BART Independent Police Auditor presents Positive Outcome Award to Officer William Baker

BART’s Independent Police Auditor presented this year’s Positive Outcome Award to BART Police Department (BPD) Officer William Baker after reviewing body-worn camera video of a contact on a train.  The Office of the Independent Police Auditor (OIPA) is tasked with reviewing BPD officer contacts with riders and community members at and near BART stations.  This includes reviewing body-worn camera video recordings and assessing BPD’s commitment to the progressive de-escalation training program known as Integrating Communications, Assessment, and Tactics (ICAT). 

In 2021, Officer Baker was dispatched to a scene where the subject was experiencing a severe crisis. Officer Baker applied his ICAT training to engage the person in a lengthy discussion about their history of trauma in lieu of using a punitive approach or by responding with a use of force.  Officer Baker treated the subject with such humanity and care that the subject ultimately voluntarily complied with the offboarding effort and agreed to receive mental health treatment.  

Independent Police Auditor, Russell Bloom, said, “I believe that Officer Baker’s approach represents the future of progressive policing and should be a model for other officers who are so frequently asked to engage with members of our community who are experiencing situational or mental health crises.”

ICAT is designed to respond to subjects armed with a weapon other than a firearm and has been demonstrated to reduce use of force and injuries to community members and officers in a recent study.  ICAT training is also applicable in other areas of policing and incorporates developing empathy, effectively communicating, listening, and humanizing people who are experiencing a mental health or situational crisis.  Notably, the same study reported a shift in departmental culture resulting in increased trust of police who use the skills, training, and de-escalation encouraged by ICAT training.  These concepts are universally applicable and, as OIPA saw while reviewing Officer Baker’s work, this approach can prevent the use of force even on unarmed subjects and supports the Department's commitment to progressive policing concepts by centering the humanity of the people served by BART. “I look forward to seeing many more good examples of progressive policing and successful de-escalation in 2022,” said Bloom.