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HomeMy WebLinkAbout22-04COMMUNITY POLICE REVIEW BOARD A Board of the City of Iowa City 410 East Washington Street Iowa City, IA 52240-1826 (319) 356-5041 April 8, 2022 To: City Council Complainant City Manager Equity Director Chief of Police Officer(s) involved in complaint From: Community Police Review Board Re: Investigation of CPRB Complaint #22-04 This is the Report of the Community Police Review Board's (the "Board") review of the investigation of Complaint CPRB #22-04 (the "Complaint"). BOARD'S RESPONSIBILITY Under the City Code of the City of Iowa City, the Board's responsibilities are as follows: 1. The Board forwards all complaints to the Police Chief, who completes an investigation. (Iowa City Code Section 8-8-7(A).) 2. When the Board receives the Police Chiefs report, the Board must select one or more of the following levels of review, in accordance with Iowa City Code Section 8-8-7(B)(1): a. On the record with no additional investigation. b. Interview /meet with complainant. c. Interview /meet with named officer(s) and other officers. d. Request additional investigation by the police chief, or request police assistance in the board's own investigation. e. Perform its own investigation with the authority to subpoena witnesses. f. Hire independent investigators. 3. In reviewing the Police Chiefs report, the Board must apply a "reasonable basis" standard of review. This means that the Board must give deference to the Police Chiefs report, because of'the Police Chiefs professional expertise. (Iowa City Code Section 8-8-7(B)(2).) 4. According to Iowa City Code Section 8-8-7(B)(2), the Board can recommend that the Police Chief reverse or modify the Chiefs findings only if: a. The findings are not supported by substantial evidence; or b. The findings are unreasonable, arbitrary, or capricious; or c. The findings are contrary to a police department policy or practice, or any federal, state, or local law. 5. When the Board has completed its review of the Police Chiefs report, the Board issues a public report to the city council. The public report must include: (1) detailed findings of fact; and (2) a clearly articulated conclusion explaining why and the extent to which the complaint is either "sustained" or "not sustained ". (Iowa City Code Section 8-8-7(13)(5).) 6. Even if the Board finds that the complaint is sustained, the Board has no authority to discipline the officer involved. BOARD'S PROCEDURE The Complaint was initiated by the Complainant on January 25, 2022. As required by Section 8-8-5(B) of the City Code, the Complaint was referred to the Chief of Police for investigation. The Chiefs Report was filed with the City Clerk on January 31, 2022. As per Iowa City Code Section 8- 8-6(D), the Complainant was given the opportunity to respond to the Chiefs report, no response was received. The Board voted on March 8, 2022 to apply the following Level of Review to the Chiefs Report on the record with no additional investigation, pursuant to Iowa City Code Section 8-8-7(13)(1)(a). The Board met to consider the Report on March 8, 2022 and April 12, 2022. Prior to the April 12, 2022 meeting, the Board reviewed the complaint and the Chiefs report. Since the complainant was not stopped there was no in -car camera or body cam available. In -car camera is turned on when the lights are activated, body cam is activated by the officer when making a stop. FINDINGS OF FACT On January 25, 2022, the following online CPRB Complaint was received. The individual submitting the complaint stated that he was not speeding and did not receive either a citation or warning and neither was he pulled over. However, the officer decided to ride his bumper and follow him around for about 2 miles. The individual filing the complaint stated that he assumed the officer focused on him to see if he would make a mistake, or to run his plate for outstanding warrants. The person filing the report stated that he wasn't quite sure if the officer followed him was having to do with his race or the type of vehicle he was driving. The individual filing the complaint stated that he has lived in the Iowa City area for more than 40 years and this type of behavior doesn't instill confidence in the, Police Department. _. ALLEGATION 1 — Bias -Based Policing It is the policy of the Iowa City Police Department to patrol in a proactive man ner,'to'investigate suspicious persons and circumstances, and to actively enforce the laws, while insisting that members of the public will only be detained when there exists reasonable suspicion (i.e., artieulable`,,objective facts) to believe they have committed, are committing, are about to commit an infraction cif the law, or there is a valid articulable reason for contact. Officers are prohibited from using bias -based policing in all aspects of work including but not limited to traffic contacts, field contacts, asset seizures and asset forfeitures. It seems that officers of the ICCPD had been directed to conduct proactive traffic enforcement in the area of Park Road and Foster Road in response to numerous traffic complaints of speeders from residents of the area. Unfortunately, the complainant felt that the Officer was too aggressive while performing his duty. The board affirmed the opinion set forth in the report of the police chief and/or city manager. Based on the information provided, the officer's actions were justified, lawful, and proper. No policy violations were noted. Chief's Conclusion - Not sustained Board's Conclusion - Not sustained COMMENTS It should be noted that Board Members requested to view the video from the Officer's body camera and the video from the squad car's dashboard camera. We were informed that no videos were available. The Board Members feel that the absence of video camera material makes the process/system unfair to the citizen filing the complaint.