HomeMy WebLinkAboutApril 2022 (FY22)Page 1
COMMUNITY POLICE REVIEW BOARD (CPRB) COMMUNITY FORUM: SUMMARY
Wednesday, April 20, 2022 – 6:00 PM
Electronic Zoom Meeting Platform
CPRB Members Present: Ricky Downing, Melissa Jensen, Jerri MacConnell, Saul Mekies
Amanda Nichols, Orville Townsend, Stuart Vander Vegte.
Staff Present: Kellie Fruehling, Tammy Neumann
Others present: Patrick Ford, Legal Counsel, Laura Bergus, City Council Liaison,
Dustin Liston, ICPD Police Chief
The Iowa City Community Police Review Board (CPRB) held the annual Community Forum on
Wednesday, April 20, 2022 at 6 p.m.
Board member Melissa Jensen called the meeting to order.
Board members were asked to introduce themselves.
No correspondence was received pertaining to this forum.
Orville Townsend conveyed the thrust of the role of the CPRB communication noting that Iowa
City is one of the few cities in the country with such a Board. Essentially, the Board hears and
reviews complaints by the public, noting that the CPRB also has an opportunity to give input to
the City Council.
Jensen asked for a clarification on the use of the words “sustain” and “not sustain” when the
Board considers complaints. Ford (legal counsel) gave the following explanation: “sustained
complaints mean we agree with the complainant, the citizen, who has made a complaint of
wrongful conduct by an officer, and not sustained means the opposite.” In other words, “not
sustained” means the Board does not agree with the complainant.” Townsend added that the
Board thrives for fairness by looking at the evidence presented in the complaint, video clips, and
the difficult situations that officers encounter.
In lieu of lack of public participation in this forum, Nichols discussed recommendations by
CPRB to the City Council that have been implemented, namely the following:
• Expansion of the board from five to seven members
• Change to allow a complainant a chance to respond to the chief’s report; in the past the
CPRB would only receive complaints directly from the public but now also receives
complaints filed with the Iowa City Police Department
• CPRB now receives valuable additional data on a quarterly basis
• The statute of limitations to file a complaint has been lengthened from 90 days to 180
days
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Addressing the Board through a chat sent to the Board, a member of the public (Redmond Jones
II) asked Board members their view of recent events surrounding “a greater number of police
shootings, excessive force, and other issues that has driven a wedge between the police
department and the community,” and steps taken to “build trust between the police department
and the community outside.”
Nichols and Townsend responded by asserting that one of the CPRB’s goals is to facilitate the
kind of communication that encourages the public to communicate with the Board. Nichols
added that past recommendations to the City Council that have not been implemented will be
brought up again. MacConnell added that the Police Dept. now has a “non-police” liaison able to
address mental health issues and other social issues. Nichols added that the equity director also
receives a copy of the complaint.
In answer to a question (Martha Shaw) about the percentage of “sustained,” vs. “non-sustained”
complaints, Fruehling indicated that the information is included in the annual report to the City
Council. Nichols asked for more clarification/accessibility on that data.
Seeing no other input from the public or other Board members, Nichols called for an
adjournment.
The community forum adjourned at 6:48 p.m.