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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-11&12 ArticlesCitizens' Complaint Board Named http:/Yw.ci.indianapoils.m.usimayonpresw1998Yivwyybrat.L1m.UW1 Monday, May 18, 1998 t„ Members of Citizens Police Complaint Board Named Indianapolis ... The nine members and two non -voting police advisers have been named to the Citizens Police Complaint Board. The four members named by Indianapolis Mayor Stephen Goldsmith are: • Pamela Cole, West District • Waldine Anderson, North District • Cameron Smith, Downtown District • Rebecca Childers, South District Officer Vincent Craig Burke, ex-officio The five members named by the Indianapolis City -County Council are: • Bruce Laetsch, South District • Tina Bussell, East District • Al Polin, North District • William Powers, Downtown District • Leah Orr, Downtown District Officer Wayne Voida, ex-officio All nine members were chosen among the recommendations from the IPD District Task Forces. Each district nominated three district residents for consideration. The Board, the result of a community working group, led by the Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee (GIPC) and co-chaired by Rabbi Dennis Sasso of Beth -El Zedeck and Sam Jones of the Urban League, will consider citizens complaints against the Indianapolis Police Department. The Board must render a decision 120 days after the complaint has been filed. "I want to commend the members of GIPC's Working Group and the IPD District Task Forces for their time and efforts," Indianapolis Mayor Steve Goldsmith said. "The nominees were all very qualified, and we have a good cross-section reflected on the board." Members of the Complaint Board must agree to extensive training, including twenty hours of training in police procedures, plus accompanying on -duty IPD officers four times a year. -30- Questions or Comments about this web page? Visit our feedback forum and let us know! [Indianapolis, Marion County Homel[Features or [Marion County Official sl f City-Coum Council l [Search This Sitel 100 3 VISS1P 1 lffl AM Police Union Cripples Review Board Reform htip://www.igc.org/pnsonsicopwatetvpunvsepya M1,1011J.uuu Police Union Cripples Review Board Reform PUEBLO Fights Back By Cornelius Hall Members of People United for a Better Oakland (PUEBLO) have been negotiating with the City of Oakland to form a new, stronger police review board. The people at PUEBLO, with some input from the ACLU attorney John Crew, sent Oakland negotiators a model of what they felt was a workable, effective review board. The Oakland Peace Officers Association and city negotiators worked out a weaker model. It was announced at PUEBLO's "Juneteenth Celebration" that the police review board proposal would be on the City Council agenda that night, June 25. At this time, no one knew the specifics of the proposal. PUEBLO left the celebration and went to the City Council meeting. Members of the group, lead by Zak Sinclair, Dan HoSang, and John Crew, were each given only one minute to speak. . , .. ... The proposal sent by PUEBLO would have had three full-time investigators, subpoena power, and independence from the Police Department, as its name, "Civilian Police Review Board," indicates. But PUEBLO found a different proposal on the Council agenda. The agreement by city negotiators and police union representatives included hiring one full-time investigator, granting subpoena power, requiring officers to attend meetings, and requiring that findings of the review board be given_a written response by the police chief or city manager. These additions would not be a new board but an ordinance to amend the old Citizens' Police Review Board. Councilmember John Russo was visibly shaken by PUEBLO's negative response to the proposal. Russo made a statement to the effect that a new police review board would require a charter amendment and that he didn't feel that we could get enough signatures to put it on the November ballot. PUEBLO members were skeptical of the terms of a deal negotiated by the police union and city negotiators. Not even Mayor Ehhu Harris had been informed of the agreement, and it was not available for public view prior to the vote. The fact that the police union and city negotiatiors made the agreement prompted Zak Sinclair to comment to the press that, "You can see a conflict of interest in that." Crew's statement to the press was: "Twenty-four hours before this is being put before the council, the public hasn't seen it. Leaving the amount of accountability up to the consent of those who are to be held accountable makes no sense at all." Under the guise of doing the people a favor, the fox is back in the hen house. The old review board's recommendations in cases of police misconduct were weak and most times didn't go anywhere. Police often didn't even show up for the hearing of a complaint against them. The people want a "Citizens' Police Review Board," not a police review board negotiated by the police. To help PUEBLO fight back, call them at (510) 452-2010. Return to Copwatch Report, September 1996 l of 1 16799 10dl AM PRC Defends Cops, Offends Community http://w.igc.org/pnson&copwau:mpuusnuay,-.,i_-.�­,,, PRC Defends Cops, Offends Community 3y Sam Davis BPD Officer Fedulof admits it was a "mistake, obviously" when he and fellow officers pulled their guns on an innocent Jeffrey Hall, to say nothing of cuffing him and forcing him to lie face down on the floor. But instead of apologizing, the officers and their sergeant returned to terrorize him and his son even further. And instead of apologizing for the city, the Police Review Commission (PRC) defended the officers and shocked commission chair Jacqueline Debose, who strongly dissented. Here's Mr. Hall's story, in his own words. "I, Jeffrey Hall, am a licensed contractor hired to do a job at [address withheld] in Berkeley, CA. The date was November 21, 1994, at 3:30 PM, when I heard a knock at the door... I opened the door, and there were four police officers with their guns aimed right at my head. "I freaked out, I never knew I could talk so fast in my life. I yelled what's happening here D My name is Jeff Hall, I am a licensed contractor. I told them, that is my truck in the driveway, I'm here to do a heating job, I have the keys to the house. At this time I am still telling the officers, please get the guns off me... "The officers asked me, was anyone in the house. I said yes, my son is here with me. So I yelled for my son to come out of the house. I thought I was going to die: the officers did my son the same way that they were doing me. I was begging, Please, take the guns off my son." Officers Davis, Cooke, Jackson, and Feduloff were responding to a reported break-in. And although the dispatcher reassured the caller that "maybe [your neighbor] is having somebody fix some things up while she's gone," the police missed strong clues that this was the case. According to Commissioner Debose's dissenting opinion: "All officers in this case claimed that they did not remember seeing a bright red truck [with 'Hail's Refrigeration' written on the side] which would be very hard to miss, parked in the driveway... "The complainant was wearing... a typical work jumpsuit with "Hall's Refrigeration Company" on the back and his name on the front... It should also be noted that there were no items on the driveway, on the porch, on the lawn, or in the truck, that would have appeared to have been taken from a private home." None of these facts are in dispute, but the PRC dismissed all of the Halls' allegations of wrongdoing, saying the officers' actions had been necessary "to subdue a resistant individual." The police don't claim, however, that the Halls were threatening or refused to comply with police commands, and Feduloff said in his PRC testimony, "It was a mistake, obviously, and I was embarrassed about it." If an officer acknowledges the error, why won't the PRC? In testimony, Officer Davis said that once back at the station, he told Sgt. Fleming (S-24), "I think we probably will have a lawsuit on our hands." It was then that Sgt. Fleming and the four officers returned tc question Mr. Hall, claiming they had forgotten to get his name N a name printed on the front of his work suit. According to Mr. Hall: "Approximately 30 minutes later, a lady police officer drove up, by the name of Sergeant Stephanie Fleming. She said she wanted to talk to me. She asked me who I was. I said, You should have asked me that 30 minutes ago, and I showed her who I am. I said to her, No offense to you but I am very hurt and upset. I'm disappointed too, so right now I don't feel like talking at this moment. Maybe I will talk to you tomorrow... I of 2 116; 5" 10:J.1 AM PRC Defends Cops, offends Community http://w .tgc.org,pnsonscop wuww puuswny 7�,i.. ..... .i.tt.ua "The lady officer said if I do not talk, she was going to take me to jail. I said, For what? Officer Davis said, For refusing to talk to a police officer." Commissioner Debose comments as follows on this second incident: "There was no real indication of why Sergeant Fleming and Officer Davis even returned to the scene 30 minutes later since there was no allegation that any laws had been broken at that time. The fact that the police had made a mistake and, therefore, anticipated there might be a future lawsuit does not give them the right to return and then appear, in essence, to harass and intimidate a person." Commissioners Powell and Matt, who were appointed by Mayor Dean and conservative City Councilmember Betty Olds, ask in their finding, "When the officers left the scene after convincing themselves of the innocent nature of the complainants' activity, did they have lawful grounds by which to compel complainant"s further cooperation?" Strangely, the commissioners answer with a resounding Yes. "Given the hostile response of the complainant...," they say, "we believed that the threat of arrest... was used simply to control an escalating situation." If the situation was escalating, who escalated it? Certainly not the Halls, who laid face down on the floor and allowed themselves to be handcuffed despite their obvious innocence. It was the BPD who drew guns, missed evidence, refused to identify themselves, worried about a lawsuit, and threatened Mr. Hall with arrest when he asserted his right to silence. If Mr. Hall was "resistant," what must one do to be compliant?! We hear all too often of innocent people being shot by police when the "situation escalated." How close were we to such a tragedy here in Berkeley? How long will it be before such a tragedy takes place, if the PRC refuses to sustain clear complaints like this one, and if Officer Davis and thb BPD continue this brand of "community policing?" Mr. Hall intends to sue the City of Berkeley and the Berkeley Police Department for emotional and physical damages stemming from the incident. , 30[2 llfii:`' ' : J3 AM W ashingtonpost.com: Man Holding Knives Killed by D.C. Police http:/hvww.washmgtonpost.convw-p-si vnoceouauyjmi/ die! Whistles, P;23'Ff:e::?7 ide'iSgcFG�Js`.Cotxi .......................................... $tiEaan!.ca,�a usceae8 lrstrrrei r�a:da GET A £E sat;; :> .�a.::z e�•.li:.x�s, "[BABY Si ER" Man Holding Knives Killed by D.C. Police By Maria Elena Fernandez Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, January 6, 1999; Page B] A Washington couple's pleas for help with a drunk, unruly son ended tragically early yesterday when three D.C. police officers shot and killed him after he lunged at the officers with knives from the doorway of his parents' Northwest home, police said. Joseph Robert Durant Jr., 40, was shot eight times about 30 minutes after D.C. police were called to the house in the 1200 block of Hamilton Street NW. A preliminary police investigation determined that the officers used appropriate force, but a next -door neighbor who watched the incident from his living room window said the younger Durant never left the front doorway of the house. Joseph Durant Sr. stands by a Christmas bow smeared with blood of his son at the doorway to his Northwest Washington home. (carol Guzy — The Washington Post) The dead man's father, Joseph Robert Durant Sr., also said the lack of bullet holes in the front door and an outer security door showed that his son was standing in the doorway — and not posing a direct threat to the officers — when he was shot because the security door will close unless it is held open. Four to six bullets pierced the inside of the Durants' home in the living room, dining room and kitchen. The younger Durant fell on the porch and was transported to Howard University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. A bloody Christmas bow lay on top of a frozen pool of Durant's blood on the porch yesterday afternoon. .. "I would have never called them if I knew they were going to use deadly force," said the elder Durant, 73, who wept as he looked down at his son's blood. "They have so many ways and techniques they could have used to subdue him. They killed him like he was an animal." The officers did, in fact, try to pacify Durant by other means, said Fourth District Cmdr. Melvin Scott. They repeatedly asked him to leave and he refused. Several times, when he left the doorway and I of 3 W ashingtonpost.com: Man Holding Knives Killed by D.C. Police http://w .washingtonpost.wm wp- rv/io t/aaayPli t , approached the officers on the porch, they sprayed him with Mace, "but it had no effect," Scott said. Although the department's new system of tracking police -involved shootings is not fully in place yet, investigators were able to complete their preliminary inquiry by the close of the business day. In past shooting cases, that process has taken months or years. Alice Durant cries as she speaks of But last month following a series of her son with the elder Durant in the background. (carolouzy—The stories on police shootings in The Washington Post) Washington Post, the department created a new system for tracking incidents in which officers use their weapons. The Post series showed that District officers have shot and killed more people per resident in the 1990s than has any other large city police force in the United States. In the future, the department will dispatch a "shooting team" to oversee and coordinate criminal investigations and determine whether discipline is warranted against the officer. The shooting team should be ready to go in a few weeks, Executive Assistant Police Chief Terrance W. Gainer said. Yesterday's incident began at 2:15 a.m., when the Durants were awakened by the youngest of their six children. Alice Durant said she went downstairs and looked out a window. She could tell her son had been drinking, so she decided not to let him inside. Joseph Durant Jr. continued to knock on the door for a while and then gave up. He got inside his parents' car, triggering the alarm, and started honking the horn, his mother said. "That's when I called 911 and I told them there was somebody out there blowing the horn, disturbing the neighborhood," said Alice Durant, 69. "I didn't tell them it was my son. I just wanted them to tell him to move along." Eventually, the son returned to the house with a screwdriver, which he used to break in through a living room window. Joseph Durant Sr. called the police again. Within minutes, there were police cars all over Hamilton Street. Durant's parents locked themselves inside their second -floor bedroom, but the father climbed out a window to talk to the police from the roof. He tossed them his keys so they could enter his house. The parents could hear their son and the officers talking but could not make out what they said. 2 or 3 lit" :1 1) 13 AM Washingtonpost.eom: Man Holding Knives Killed by D.C. Police http://www.washmgtonpos�.w�w wp-�..� n�w�.....�r.p...- Next door, 23-year-old Mike Cook stopped playing video games to see what was wrong with his friend, "Joe." From his living room window, he could see the Durants' front porch and could hear Durant slamming the front door and yelling to the officers, "I'm not coming outside. You're gonna have to kill me." Cook also heard his friend tell police he had a gun, but Durant's father yelled to the officers who were standing on the grass and on the sidewalk that nobody in the house had a gun. One officer yelled, "He's coming!" The rest of the officers backed up and the shooting began. "Joe never got outside the door," Cook said. "I just want to know why he came outside. I can't figure out why did they have to do that to him." Three officers have been placed on routine administrative leave with pay while an internal investigation is completed: nine-year department member Edward Schymansky, 39; Abraham Lazarus, 28, who was hired in 1992; and Dwonn Anderson, 25, who joined the department in 1990. "I'm not going to second-guess the officers or make quick judgments," said Scott, the officers' supervisor. "This was a very heated and continuous exchange in which the person told the police that they were going to have to do what happened. It's unfortunate that it could not have ended another way. At what point do you start to believe if he in fact had a gun? I don't know if at 3 a.m., if he's rushing at you, if you can tell if he has a knife or a gun." (D Copyright 1999 The Washington Post Company Back to the top 9 00 1VSK) :0'A AM police review board adopts rules http:/,' w .post-gazette.mm/mgiomtate/1998 406i,l, ,;unsp .... V Pennsylvania*s Now Electric Utility Me"tPIMM Police review board adopts rules Wednesday, April 08, 1998 By Johnna A. Pro and Caroline Abels, Post -Gazette Staff Writers Members of Pittsburgh's Citizen Police Review Board adopted their rules and operating procedures last night, putting the board one step closer to hearing complaints about police misconduct. In a unanimous vote, the board approved the 25-page document, which has been the subject of public discussion since January. "It was a reasonable process," board Chairman John Burkoff said of the many weeks it took to agree on the rules. "Everything's been taking longer than expected." Burkoff said the board might start hearing its first cases in two months. The final set of rules incorporated several changes not initially considered by members, including one that requires the board to make public its recommendations about specific cases of police misconduct. Earlier versions of the rules had stipulated that the board's findings would be confidential, but that plan met with opposition from several groups. Pittsburgh Post -Gazette attorney Perry Napolitano filed a written opinion with the board to lobby for more public access to the board's rulings and other documents. According to the version of the rules adopted last night, the board will make public its recommendations on cases, unless it finds "a compelling reason" to impose confidentiality. The board's new executive director, Indira Raichoudhury, said a "compelling" reason would be if a complainant faced "great embarrassment or fear" if the recommendations were released. Late Monday, city Solicitor Jacqueline Morrow notified board attorney Megan A. Messner of Titus & McConomy -- the author of the rules -- about concerns she had over the proposed document. Morrow said she would like to see some issues regarding the language in l of 111 ,?I Police rcview board adopts rules http://www.post-ga tte.wndregionstate/ 1999041.1F 1..I "I' the rules resolved outside of a courtroom. For example, the city maintains that the board can compel an officer to appear at a hearing, but that officer can't be forced to make a statement. "They can compel his appearance, they can't compel his statement," Morrow said. The board did not amend that portion of the rules last night, but agreed with Morrow's suggestion that if a city official does not comply with board requests for information, that official should not be deemed to be engaging in an act of misconduct, as a police officer would if he or she did not provide information. The board also agreed to look into what sanctions should be imposed on a board member or staff member who breached confidentiality rules. Burkoff said the regulations could be amended later to address that issue. In a related matter, lawyer John H. Bingler Jr. was sworn in as a member of the board. Bingler, 60, of Park Place, has a two-year appointment to the board. He replaced Robert Kroner, who resigned for health reasons. The board's next meeting will be May 14. PG Online Home Car® us * Sf%fhans Nllp PG N!w C0404 r CopydgM Q M7. 1$$i PG PU4$shhrg. AS rig�rts raservc8. 2 of 2 la,"?8 1 1.7, PM Policing the Police Review Board http://www.slugwim.org/wmkly/arcnlvew96Jam:,: p 11,+:.n1111 Policing the Police Review Board Police review boards are most effective when they iron out discrepancies in testimony, hold police accountable for their actions, and act as a general liaison between police and the community. Unfortunately, when they simply serve as a rubber stamp for the police force's own investigations, they fail to do their jobs. This was the case a week ago, when the Citizens' Police Review Board (CPRB) concurred with police accounts of the downtown shooting of John Dine, a mentally ill Santa Cruz resident, and failed to order any further investigation. We are not necessarily pointing guilty fingers at the police. The disturbing matter is not the conclusion of the CPRB, but the way it reached that conclusion. By first delaying an investigation, and then failing to conduct one at all, the board demonstrated that it acts as little more than a political figurehead designed to shield police officers from the citizens they protect. The CPRB has never conducted an independent investigation, a fact that makes the committee's role as a simple buffer between the community and police all the more clear. The CPRB's actions, or lack thereof, are even more incredulous, because the accounts of several witnesses (up to nine by some reports) conflict with the police version of the shooting. Several of these witnesses claim Dine had no toy gun in his hand when he was shot twice by Officer Conor Carey on the night of Nov. 12. The purpose of a police review board is to allow the community to look at all the facts and make a judgment as to whether an unethical act was committed. However, when a review board fails to schedule a public hearing, conduct an independent investigation, and research past complaints on an officer, it is not serving its purpose. The CPRB was guilty of all the above. Members of Santa Cruzans for Full Disclosure (SCfFD) and Stop Police Abuse Now (SPAN) were enraged by the ruling, and rightfully so. While these groups occasionally take police monitoring to a level that hinders the effectiveness of law enforcement agencies, they also oversee civilian review boards to insure some justice is served. In this case, they were the first to point out to the committee that it had acted nothing like a review board and more like a collaboration board. As citizens, we have a vested interest in an active, independent review board. We need to voice our displeasure over the way the CPRB handled the investigation of a controversial police shooting. The board must make time for all witnesses to be heard equally. Flood City Hall with demands for a public hearing and attend City Council Meetings. While there is no way, at this time, to know whether or not the shooting was justified, we do know justice must still be served. I of 2 12(2a d!' 18 PM MetroActive News & Issues Civilieu Police Review Boards http://Mct"ctivc.wmipapcma mwut.lz-v6" :w.,­­111 uuu.. 1 Sonoma County Independent MetroActive Central Archives Deadly Force Mad u Hell: Copwatch organizer Jeff Ott is calling for an independent probe into 8 recent polico-involved killings in the county —an unprecedented number. But a civil rights panel formed after the shooting last year of Kuan Kao, pictured on the right. by a RohneR Park police officer will review only desAy-force policies. Forum on police -involved deaths sparks hot emotions By Paula Harris T HERE'S DEFINITELY a lack of mutual communication and respect," says community activist and Copwatch organizer Jeff Ott when asked to sum up the state of relations between local law -enforcement officials and social justice groups in the county. At this point, that strained relationship has become even more awkward as the much -anticipated public hearing by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights --which has been reviewing eight local police -involved deaths in I of 7 12129 A a 25 PM MetroActive News & Issues Civilian Police Review Boards http://mctmetive.com/papers/sonoma/02.12.98/nev .`b.ntull the past two years --approaches on a swirl of allegations from those on both sides of the issue. That hearing was prompted by the April 29 shooting of Kuan Chung Kao, 33, by Rohnert Park Police Officer Jack Shields in a late -night incident that drew national media attention and sparked charges by community activists that the killing was racially motivated. No one knows quite what to expect from the upcoming hearing, but it's drawing mixed feelings. By all accounts, the Feb. 20 hearing will be a vastly toned -down version of what the commission had originally conceived. Instead of a joint forum convened equally by state and federal officials, 11 of the commission's 16-member State Advisory Committee will preside over the meeting, with the feds announcing last week that they will take a diminished role. In addition, the commission has reversed its decision to subpoena witnesses after objections from law enforcement officials led to a letter of protest from Santa Rosa Police Chief Mike Dunbaugh. Dunbaugh asked the commission to reconsider its involvement because of the concerns of officers who had already been cleared of any wrongdoing in the cases. "Some people have gone through multiple layers of review and have been exonerated and vindicated," he says. "They've been wondering the whole time if they are going to have to go through this again." He and other officials will attend voluntarily, Dunbaugh says, adding that he has not yet been informed about the meeting's agenda or format. 2 of 7 12@al'," !SW. MetroActive News & Issues Civilise Police Review Boards http://metroactive.com/papers/wnomwut. I6.98tnev .:.: ( :'.emu Tom Pilla, a civil rights analyst for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, says the forum will include an open session at which individuals can discuss law enforcement policies, practices, and procedures. Within several months, the committee will distribute a report and make recommendations to the U.S. Justice Department. The White House also gets a copy. "This is going to be a starting point," says Victor Hwang, a civil rights attorney with the Asian Law Caucus who has been critical of the handling of the Kao case. "We're not going to solve community issues without open dialogue. The good thing [about the forum] is the recognition of how serious a problem this is. After the forum, it will be up to local folks and law enforcement to work together to build some long-term solutions." Mary Frances Berry, chairperson of the U.S. Commission of Civil Rights, has emphasized that the hearing will not focus on individual cases of alleged police brutality. That is upsetting to some victims' families who say they want impartial, independent investigations. The cases already have gone through internal affairs investigations and, in some instances, through a review by the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office. All the officers involved in the incidents have been cleared. It appears that the only outside review of the cases most likely will take place in the civil courts, where there are several wrbngful-death lawsuits pending over the police -involved deaths, including a $50 million suit filed last week by Kao's widow, Ayling Wu, against Rohnert Park officials. 3of7 I?tee ""' MetroActive News & Issues Civilian Police Review Boards http://metrmctive.o nvpapers/sonomWO2.12.96/news- cl. b.utmi "We're stuck with the court process, which should be the last resort, but in Sonoma County it seems to be the only resort for these sorts of questions," says John Crew, director of the Police Practices Project for the ACLU of Northern California. Still, he believes the upcoming forum will provide "a powerful outside analysis" of the deadly -force policies of the police in the county. "We've had too much secrecy about police policies, practices, and procedures in Sonoma County," he says. "If flaws are identified, the forum can encourage reform. If there are no flaws but some misunderstandings, the forum can help correct or explain them." Under Review: Santa Rosa Police Chief Mike Dunbaugh says he is willing to consider civilian police review boards —if they're handled correctly. NOT EVERYONE AGREES. Some critics charge that local police have engaged in cover-ups, and fear that law enforcement officials are holding themselves above the law. "These people are playing judge, jury, and executioner," laments Darlene Grainger, the twin sister of Dale Robbins, 40, a local man who was shot dead in the lobby of the Santa Rosa Police Department in January 1996 after allegedly wielding a metal steering -wheel club 4 oC 9 2 i 12f29,-- 5PM MctroActive News & Issues Civilian Police Review Boards hnp://metroacuve.wm/papers/wnomau[. t[.vismew i > oUo.uum lock at officers. A federal judge subsequently cleared the officer involved in the shooting, but a Sonoma County grand jury report criticized the department's own internal investigation of the case. Dunbaugh says the countywide protocol of investigations is currently being rewritten. Grainger alleges, however, that questions surrounding the circumstances of her brother's death have never been answered. The string of officer -involved deaths of eight men in a two-year period began just days after the March 29, 1995, execution -style shotgun slaying of popular Sonoma County Sheriffs Deputy Frank Trejo, 58, by state parolee Robert Scully, 38. Trejo was the first officer killed in the line of duty in the county in 20 years, and his murder caused some to speculate about police now having a "payback" motive. "I don't think there is a pattern --it would be a mistake to make that allegation," responds Dunbaugh. "What needs to be looked at is that officers are confronted more often in dangerous situations, so if there's an increase of those situations, then there's an increase in the use of force to counteract this. The job is much more complicated and riskier. Officers are confronted weekly with people who want to hurt them." The Santa Rosa Police Department hires just one out of every 100 candidates tested, he says. "We do a good job of screening people who want to do this job for the wrong reasons." A Sept. 17-23 edition of the SF Weekly noted that statistics show that "police in bucolic Santa Rosa kill more citizens per capita than 5 of 7 12,,190p 6 15 PM MetroActive News & Issues Civilian Police Review Boards http://metroactive.wm/papers/ sonomaiO2.12.98/new:,-9 S (A html cops in crime -ridden cities like San Francisco and New York." But Dunbaugh says the stats don't support the notion that there are more officer -involved shootings of late. "In the last five years in Santa Rosa, there were seven shootings, but there were 11 the five years before that," he observes. As for the criticism, Dunbaugh contends that most of the public support the police. He insists that such local activists as the Purple Berets and Copwatch--which have been highly critical of local law enforcement's actions --are trying to alter that perception. "[These groups] have every right to have a point of view and be involved in social issues," he says, "but there are some misrepresentations and what appears to be a strong political agenda overriding senses of good judgment and honesty." DURING THE FALL, a coalition of law enforcement officials and local community groups met to iron out their differences. Talks broke down in November after two surprise announcements by law enforcement officials: a county grand jury would design a new review policy to examine all future officer -involved deaths, and plans were under way to create a new civilian police review panel to study police procedures, but not specific cases. Activists, who had been pushing throughout the year for county and municipal civilian police review boards, felt betrayed by the announcements because the new policies were formed without their involvement. Law enforcement officials countered that the groups had the mistaken impression that the proposed review panel would include representatives from police agencies. 6 of 7 1128,11" 4 15 PM MetroActive News & Issues Civilian Police Review Boards http://metrmctive.wm/papemwnomwuz. �t.roniew.,-:�ow.uuw They argued that the grand jury is a randomly selected group of voters and could serve as a model for the panel. But Nancy Wang of the Redwood Empire Chinese Association and others complained that this is a poor example, since the grand jury is controlled by the district attorney and holds closed -door meetings. Dunbaugh says that press reports claiming he was against a citizen's police review board are inaccurate. He now says he is willing to consider it, but adds, "What I've experienced so far has been false information, emotion, political agendas, no concern for money or the people it will impact, and an interest in kangaroo courts by a small group of vocal individuals with significant special interests." The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights public hearing will be held on Friday, Feb. 20, from 8.30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Room 410 of the State Office Building, 50 D St., Santa Rosa. [ Sonoma Coup MetroActive Central Archives From the February 12-18, 1998 issue of the Sonoma County Independent. Copyright ® Metro Publishing Inc. Maintained by Boulevards New Media. 7 of 7 12/29r 115 PM Dallas Cdizens/Policc Review Board : Recommendations httP:uwww.mAahas.oc.usresacpnv I: ,,c"'.lull Dallas Citizens/Police Review Board SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS • Continue timely administrative review of police -related shooting investigations involving a fatality or serious bodily injury to citizens. • Continue receiving timely response from the City Manager regarding recommendations and requests involving police department policies and procedures. • Implement monthly summary report to the Board on complaints filed and investigated by Internal Affairs Division. The summary will also include the number of appeal requests to the Board from citizens who are dissatisfied with Internal Affairs investigation results. • Continue providing lunch for board members since they are volunteers who atterd meetings during normal business hours. • Continue providing training classes on a monthly basis. • Continue providing metal detectors and armed guards due to a substantial increase in the number of openly hostile complainants and witnesses and the recent passage of the handgun legislation. • Provide the members of the Board with identification badges for security purposes. • The Chair of the Board shall meet on a semi-annual basis to ensure that the Board's objectives and purposes are carried out timely and effectively. • Codify the Board's Policies and Procedures. Mission Statement Objective Programs Success Indicators 1 0r2 112t 1, 12 PEA Dallas Gitizens/Police Review Board : Mission Statement http://webstecct.aahas.t .Us csatp[a ...... _:......0 DALLAS CITIZENS/POLICE REVIEW BOARD Mission Statement To improve the sense of public safety and confidence in the Dallas Police Department within the community by providing: ■ a means for citizens to communicate their concerns regarding alleged inappropriate police behavior; ■ an avenue for the public to obtain some remedial action regarding the Internal Affairs Division investigation in circumstances in which the Board deems same appropriate and as provided for in the Board's enabling ordinance; ■ a vehicle (the Board) for making impartial recommendations for changes or improvements in the operation of the Dallas Police Department; ■ an advisory body to the City Council with regard to the operations and policies of the Dallas Police Department, its policies, operations and practices, as well as the public's perception of same. Mission Statement Objective Programs Success Indicators Annual Summary Future Plans Recommendations Schedule Organizational Chart I of 1 12{29A. 4:13 PM Dallas Citizens/Police Review hoard : Objective uup.0 woww�.w.uw.......n.�y......,..p.....,..�.,,............ Objective The Dallas Citizens/Police Review Board meets once a month, the second Tuesday, in order to give citizens who have made complaints against police department employees an opportunity to voice dissatisfaction with the results of the Police Department Internal Affairs Division investigation and to develop recommendations to the Dallas Police Department through the Office of the City Manager for changes or improvements in the operations of the Dallas Police Department, as well as to perform its advisory function to the City Councel with regard to the operations and policis of the Dallas Police Department, as we as the public's perception of the same. Mission Statement Objective Programs Success Indicators Annual Summary Future Plans Recommendations Schedule Organizational Chart loft 12/29%1fl a;.l4 PM