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Home My WebLink About05-11-1999 Communication Mr. Bruce Nestor, Attorney at Law 311 Iowa State Bank Building 102 S. Clinton Street Iowa City, IA 52240 Dear Mr. Nostor: CITY OF I0 WA CITY This will respond to your April 29 letter where you offered comments concerning the public forums sponsored by the Iowa City Police Citizen Review Board (PCRB). This forum as others have been undertaken by the PCRB at their direction and with the knowledge of the City Council, With respect to your comments concerning the Chief' s apparent absence for a portion of the forum. To the best of my knowledge the Chief fulfilled his obligation as directed by the PCRB. In letters dated March 11 and March 21 to the Chief it confirmed the structure of the April 28 meeting and the expected participation by representatives of the Iowa City Police. As to what you were told by PCRB members, I cannot comment as to "who said what to whom." However, the correspondence appears to be clear and the forum was to hear comments 'to the board."Of course I am sure the Board could have asked the Chief and/or others to remain, appear for further questions, etc. The letters are, in my judgment, specific and explain the Board s desires for that evening's forum. I will quote from the March 11 letter from PCRB Chair Cohen that states, 'Because of the nature of your presentation, we expect a question and answer session will follow. However, I want to limit your participation to 30 minutes so that the remainder of the time will be available for comments to the Board."ln the March 21 letter which was also signed by the chair of the PCRB she states 'Our understanding is that your presentation and question and answer portion that follows will be 30 minutes so that the remainder of the time will be available for comments to the Board." With respect to the 'hational debate" and other issues such 'racial profiling", the Police Executor Research Forum (PERF) is conducting research on this and other matters. It is their desire to develop policy guidelines which I would assume would be directed to the International Association of Chiefs of Police and thereby to our country's police departments. The Iowa City Police Chief is a member of PERF and will be participating in those discussions. The PERF is substantially directed at larger communities, something we have learned over time, and we do our best to encourage that this type of national debate also be directed at smaller police departments such as ours. We will wait the research and their recommendations. Sincerely, cc: City Council Chief of Police PCRB Press-Citizen Gazette Broadway Neighborhood Center tpS-2sa.doc 410 EAST WASHINGTON STREET · IOWA CITY, IOWA 52240-[826 · (319) 356-5000 · FAX (319) 356-5009 I~2RB }4~di~tio~fl~tt. 1, to Comphin~t ~fl~r con~ht is filed - 5/11/99 Name Address City, State, Zip Dear : · The Police Citizens Review Board acknowledges receipt of your recent Complaint. In addition to the Iowa City Police Department's investigation and the subsequent PCRB's review, another option available to you is formal mediation. This would occur when all parties agree to meet with a mutually acceptable third-party mediator (non-City staff) in an attempt to reach a resolution of your complaint. This mediator would be a neutral party who is specially trained in mediation. This is offered at no expense to the parties. You may also meet informally with the police officer who is the subject of your complaint and the department supervisor of the police officer if you wish to do this in an effort to resolve your complaint informally. If you would like to proceed with an informal meeting, please call the Chief of Police, R.J. Winkelhake at (319)356-5270. Either alternative is available to you at any point during the investigation process. If you are interested in pursuing formal mediation, please contact Sandy Bauer at 356-5413 or Marian Karr at 356-5041. Sincerely, Leah Cohen, Chair Police Citizens Review Board cc: R.J. Winkelhake, Chief of Police PCRB PCRB M. ed~,~fLtr. 1(~ )- to (~i~with 1 (b) - 5/11 D9 Date Dear Chief Winkelhake: The Police Citizens Review Board has received Complaint # . filed on Formal mediation is available at any time during the Police Department's investigation and the PCRB's review upon written consent of the complainant and the police officer(s) involved in this complaint. A letter has been sent to the complainant offering this formal mediation. Would you please present the enclosed letter to the appropriate officer(s) named in the above-mentioned complaint. If he/she expresses an interest in formal mediation, would you please contact the City Clerk's Office, and we will then provide the officer(s) with the mediation packet. Thank you for your assistance in this matter. Sincerely, Paul Hoffey, Chair Police Citizens Review Board (Enclosures) cc: PCRB PCRB Mediation/Ltr. l(b) - enclosure with l{a) - 5/11/99 Date; Dear Officer : The Police Citizens Review Board recently received Complaint In addition to the Iowa City Police Department's investigation and the subsequent PCRB's review, another option available to you is formal mediation. This would occur when all parties agree to meet with a mutually acceptable third-party mediator (non-City staff) in an attempt to reach a resolution of your complaint. This mediator would be a neutral party who is specially trained in mediation. This is offered at no expense to the parties. You may also meet informally with the complainant if you wish to do this in an effort to resolve this complaint informally. If you would like to meet with the complainant informally, please contact Chief of Police, R.J. Winkelhake. Either alternative method is available to you at any point during the investigation process. If you are interested in pursuing formal mediation, please advise Chief Winkelhake who, in turn, will contact Sandy Bauer at 356-5413 or Marian Karr at 356-5041. Sincerely, Leah Cohen, Chair Police Citizens Review Board cc: PCRB A'rTOKNEYS AT LAW ~.~,.~.~- ,~,,.~,,.~ FOR YOUR iNFORMATION IOWA CITY, IOWA 52244 April 29, 1999 Eleanor Dilkes City Attorney 410 E Washington Street Iowa City, IA 52240 RE: Proposed Amendment to Section 8.8-8-7 (B)(3) Dear Eleanor: Thank you for your correspondence of April 16, 1999, concerning the proposed amendment to the PCRB Ordinance. The ordinance was reviewed at the Board's April 27th meeting and the Board is largely in agreement with the language you have proposed~ One typographical error was noted in line 9 in which I believe the third word is intended to be public." (Spellcheck doesn't catch those things). The Board raised two issues with regard to possible additions to the amendment. These issues are: (1) whether the notification to the named complainant and/or police officer, city attorney and police chief (or city manager) should be defined as a confidential correspondence and (2) whether the ordinance should specify the manner in which the notification prior to disclosure will be made, be it by regular mail, certified mail, etc. Otherwise I believe the proposed language gives appropriate guidance to the Board for how the balancing test should be implemented. Thank you for your assistance in this matter. Yours truly, STEIN & PUGH, L.L.P. Catherine A. Pugh CAP.kkj cc: t.eah Cohen Marian Karr, City Cler~ (for inclusion in PCRB information Packet) C:~SItP~PCR B\DILKES A29 (r-, 1. What are your reasons for applying for this position? 2. Have you thought about what issues are likely to arise from work with the PCRB? What is your expertise in dealing with these issues? Open meetings and Open Records Law Civil Service system - criminal defense and privilege - hiring and firing - conflict of interest 3. What would you do if the Board is not responsive to your advice? 4. If there were a breach of confidentiality by a Board member, what would you do as counsel? 5. What do you see as your role and time commitment for this position? Spouses and relatives of City Council Members and members of comparable County Boards and Commissions are not eligible for appointment to City Boards and Commissions. This includes: spouse, child, mother, father, mother- in- law, father- in- law, brother, sister, brother- in- law, sister- in- law, step-father, step-mother, step-child, aunt, or uncle. (Resolution 85-354) Males: 2 Females: 2 May 18, 1999 POLICE CITIZENS' REVIEW BOARD One Vacancy - Unexpired Term May 18, 1999 - September 1, 2000 NO APPLICATIONS AS OF 4:00 P.M. MAY 6,1999. [] Denotes applicant completed the Confidential page of the application.