Our Vision
The Eau Claire Police Department strives to be a trusted police organization that ensures a safe and engaged community with an exceptional quality of life. This vision provides department members practical guidance on who we want to be as an organization.
Our values are Integrity, Dignity, Transparency, Compassion, Commitment, and Professionalism.
These values represent how we are going to achieve these goals, shape our organizational culture and demonstrate what is important to us.
We want to make certain our officers view their role as members of the community who are invested in making this a better place. The officer’s role is that of a community partner and guardian of peace and freedom.
Our Staffing
- 105 sworn employees
- 16 administrative/clerical employees
- 26 Communication Center employees
- 5 Community Service Officers
- 5 temporary part-time employees
- 4 non-sworn volunteers
Our Budget
During fiscal year 2023, our budget was set at $21,639,300. This budget includes wages and benefits for employees, contractual services, supplies, fixed charges, and utilities. Contractual services included are annual computer software fees, building and vehicle rental fees, and training. Some of the supplies included are office supplies, uniforms, medical supplies, repair parts for equipment, and evidence packaging materials. Fixed charges included are vehicle and liability insurance.
Our Hiring Process
The Eau Claire Police Department’s police officer hiring practices are overseen by the Eau Claire Police and Fire Commission (PFC), our civilian oversight board. We stress high standards and strong scrutiny during our hiring processes. Under the direction of the PFC, we search for police officer candidates who are community-minded and share our department’s values. We prioritize communication and problem-solving skills in officer candidates over tactical aptitude or procedural knowledge. We can teach tactical aptitude and procedural knowledge. It is more important to find a candidate who cares about the community and can solve problems by working with others. By maintaining these high standards, we are ensuring people who are brought into our organization have the right motivation.
Hiring Stages
- Apply
- Written exam & physical agility test
- Police & Fire Commission interview
- Chief interview
- Background investigation
- Further testing: polygraph, psychological exam, occupational physical exam and/or chemical testing
Each officer hired with ECPD must successfully complete each stage prior to moving onto the next stage in the hiring process.
Training
Impartial Policing - New officers, who complete Law Enforcement Academy Training through Chippewa Valley Technical College, receive nearly 40 hours of training specifically on fair and impartial policing practices, bias, ethics, and cultural competency. Once hired, the Eau Claire Police Department provides additional annual in-service training to all officers on implicit bias, fair and impartial policing, and community-oriented policing practices.
De-escalation - The Eau Claire Police Department was first introduced to Crisis Intervention Team training (CIT) in 2012 and have continued training officers and telecommunicators in CIT since that time. CIT focuses on communication principles, including de-escalation and active listening. In 2016, several of our officers became Certified CIT Coordinators through the International Crisis Intervention Team Course. Our training has been validated and supported by strong partnerships with Wisconsin National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), NAMI – Chippewa Valley, Mayo Clinic Health System’s Behavioral Health staff, Department of Human Services staff, UWEC – Psychology Department staff, and local support groups such as the Wellness Shack and Positive Avenues.
Policy – The Eau Claire Police Department utilizes Lexipol, the nation’s leading provider of policy for law enforcement. Our policy manual is based on nationwide standards and best practices while also incorporating state and federal laws and regulations. The Eau Claire Police Department has achieved the Gold Level through Lexipol for consistently and effectively disseminating policies to officers, issuing timely policy updates and ensuring officers receive comprehensive training on policies.
Use of Force
The Eau Claire Police Department complies both with internal policies (see Department Policy tab under Public Information for full policy manual) and Defensive Tactics curriculum developed by Wisconsin Department of Justice Law Enforcement Standards Bureau.
Eau Claire Police Department Policy 300 is specific to the use-of-force and states: “Officers shall use only that amount of force that reasonably appears necessary given the facts and circumstances perceived by the officer at the time of the event to accomplish a legitimate law enforcement purpose.”
Five categories of intervention options are taught to our police officers: presence, dialogue, control alternatives, protective alternatives, and deadly force. The use of verbalization is strongly emphasized as the most preferable option to de-escalate or gain control of a situation rather than using physical force. Unfortunately, verbalization does not resolve every situation. Deadly force is always a last resort. Before officers can use deadly force, he/she must reasonably believe that all other options have been exhausted or would be ineffective.
With any use-of-force by a member of this department, there are policies in place that mandate prompt documentation of the use-of-force. In this documentation, the officer must articulate the factors he/she perceived and why he/she believed the use-of-force was reasonable under the circumstances. Our policies also require use-of-force reviews. When an officer utilizes deadly force, an outside agency conducts the criminal investigation and an additional internal comprehensive policy compliance review is completed. These completed reviews are then released to the public.
Police Body Worn Cameras
In 2021, the Eau Claire Police Department and Eau Claire County Sheriff’s Office received a pledged donation of over $949,000 from PESI, Inc., a local non-profit continuing education organization. The donation funded the purchase and implementation of Axon body-worn cameras.
A police body camera can be a crucial part of training, allowing both the probationary officer and their superiors to observe events after the fact and break down what went right and what went wrong. In this way, the police body camera becomes an invaluable tool in the officer’s training. Even after an officer has left the probationary period, there are benefits to using a police body camera to debrief difficult incidents after the fact and review an officer’s performance.
Police body cameras can help to provide community members with better transparency into police actions. Police body cameras can also allay citizen concerns by providing clear documentation of encounters. Footage can provide valuable examples of proper policing, boosting force morale and reinforcing proper practices, often protecting against false accusations.
Another benefit of police body worn cameras is the criminal evidence they provide. Footage captured by body-worn cameras can be used as evidence for arrests and prosecutions, potentially enhancing the chances of a successful prosecution.
Filing Complaints and Commending an Officer
Members of the public may make officer complaints in writing, by email, by web form, in person, or by telephone. Complaint forms will be made readily available upon request. When a resident makes a complaint, Eau Claire Police Department policy requires that we contact the complainant, listen to their concerns, and complete an investigation. Once the investigation is completed it will be labeled as substantiated, unsubstantiated, unfounded, exonerated, or that there was a failure in our department policy. If the complaint is found to be substantiated, a determination is made by the Chief of Police on the level of discipline. All resident complaint investigations are retained in the officer’s personnel file. The release of the record and complaint information is subject to state and federal law on public employee records.
Members of the public are also able to commend an officer(s) they feel are worthy of recognition. Online commendation can be completed in web form on the Eau Claire Police Department page, in person, or by telephone.
Notable Case Log
The Notable Case Log includes cases from the ECPD briefing notes. These notes are selected by the Commanding Officer of the shift. The information in these notes are based on preliminary information from the officers on scene and details may change based on how the case progresses. Cases may be assigned back to a patrol officer, detective, or the patrol investigator for further follow up.
The Notable Case Log is posted twice a week on our website and on social media. The purpose of sharing this information is to promote transparency with the public and highlight the demands for service.
Demands for Service In 2023, ECPD assisted and responded to 49,563 demands for service.
