HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-13-1999 ArticlesP Co lJ I/a$/99
Officer ID system
almost settled
or the past several months, the Iowa
City City Council and the Police Clt-
izems Review Board (PCRB) have
been hashing out various Issues that
wail go Into the board's revised standard Op-
erating Procedures. Those revised procedures
will come up for the city cou ocil s first con.
siddation on at the March 30 formal meek
ing. The procedures reflect changes in the
board's officer Identification system, the
deadlines for various parts of the review pro-
cess and a letter explaining the different
types of complaint forms to the public.
Because most of the issues in the revised
procedures were agreed on by a majority of
the city council at a joint meeting with the
PCRB In February, approval of the changes is
likely. However, on the issue of identifying
officers in complaints, February's informal
agreement was not unanimous. Mayor Ernie
Lehman provided the vote necessary to go
with the PM's preference in that matter.
Until now, the PCRB had been operating
under the guidelines of the ordinance that
established the board In the fall of 1997 and
under procedures that
had been drafted early
on and evolved as the
PCRB went about its
work. "A year and a
half of trial and error,"
PCRB chair Leah Co-
hers explained. "Unless
someone was sitting on
the board and they saw
all of the different
scenados...we as a
board feel that we are
best at deciding them:
with our legal council
andcRystaff." -
Themostcontrover-
slal Issue in the discussions of developing
standard operating procedures for city council
approval was how and when police officers
mentioned in citizen complaints should be
Identified. From the PCRB's Inception, Cohen
related, board members decided that they did
not want to routinely use the names of offic-
ers mentioned In cidzdss'complaints: "The
board felt very strongly that we don't want
names. We do want a numbered tracking sys-
tem."
The PCRB asked the city clerk to review
the filed complaints and substitute each of-
ficer's name with a unique number',, -which
would be used again h there were subsequent
complaints against the same officer. Despite
council interest in weakening this system, It
has survived into the proposal that the city
council will probably consider next week.
Cohen said that about three months ago,
police chief R.1. W Wdehake would not pro
vide unique numbers. Instead, officers
would be Identified generically. "The board
did not agree with that,' Cohen said. "The
board felt very strongly (that] we needed a
monitoring system. The concern of some
council members and others was that multi-
ple complaints could be perceived as a prob-
lem with a particular officer when in fad
they may not be sustained complaints.`
One of those council members was Mike
O'Donnell, who maintained that if unique
numbers were to be used, then the PCRB
should learn those numbers only after the
board had reviewed the complaint and de-
dded whether It should be sustained. 'I'm in
-favor of the PCRB," O'Donnell said. "1 just
want to make sure it's done right.) just have
"We felt the integrity of the
board was at stake with
the community. Without a
tracking system, that was
at stake, We thought the
basic guts of the board
were associated with this.".
— LEAN COVEN
a problem with them knowing the number
before they look at the complaint -
On the other hand, the PCRB held that
having the number upfront allowed them to
fulfill the intent of the ordinance. "First, it
allows the board to track the behavior of par.
ticular officers.... second, It allows the board
to use the Information to assist In Its review
of the thief's (or city manager's) dem mina-
tions regarding the credibility of a particular
officer, where appropriate and relevant to a
pending complaint," Cohen wrote to the
mayor.
In the end, Lehman joined Karen Kubby,
Connie Champion and Dee Norton to throw
his support with the board. He was willing to
go along with their wishes, he wrote in a
memo, because he believed the PCRB to be
trustworthy and that their findings would
ultimately demonstrate the excellence of the
police department. "1 believe we need m take
a more constructive view of this board. In
most cities that have such a board, they end
up being proof positive of the quality of their
police departments."
"We're happy
that they put their
cast In us,- Co-
hen said. "We felt
the integrity of the
board was at stake
with the commu-
nity. Without a
tracking system,
that was at stake.
We thought the
basic $its of the
board were assod-
ated with this."
Although the sys-
tem of wenutying
each officer refer-
enced in the complaints with a unique num-
ber will continue as before, the new standard
operating procedures will contain one change
in officer Identification. Previously, when the
PCRB made Its public report following the in-
vestigation of s complaint, officers' numbers
would be released in place of their names. If
the council approves the revised procedure; as
drafted, PCRB public reports (Including the re-
ports forwarded to the city oc undl) will rou.
tinely use generic descriptors Instead of unique
numbers.
According to city attomey Eleanor Dilkes,
when the PCRB will release the names of of-
ficen who are objects of sustained com-
plaints u not yet resolved. According to the
ordinance that established the PCRB, mleas-
Ing names is the prerogative of the board.
The PCRB retained this right In the standard
operating procedures negotiations. "I think
If a complaint is sustained, the public deft.
rarely has a right to know the name of the of.
ficer" Kubby said. However, she believes that
some council members are against releasing
an officer's name under any circumstances.
"This could be ongoing," she said.
Two less controversial Issues are also ready
for city council approval. The city council and
the PCRB decided to grant time extension for
all stages of the review process, including al.
lowing citizens 90 Instead of 60 days to file a
complaint. Also, the board and city attorney
plan to attach a letter explaining a would-be
complainant's options to the two types of
forms available: the police complaint form,
which is not reviewed by the PCRB, and the
PCRB's complaint forms. a
)ULIE MICKENS