HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-09-1998 CommunicationMEMORANDUM
to: Police Citizens Review Board
from: Douglas S. Russell
subject: Miscellaneous issues
date: June 10, 1998 (as revised)
At the meeting of May 20, 1998 the Board asked for information or analysis of the
following:
1 .) The timeliness of a complaint. Section 8-8-3D. Provides "All complaints must
be filed with either the Board or the Iowa City Police Department within sixty (60) days of the
alleged misconduct." The question is whether the day of the alleged misconduct counts as day
one for determination of the sixty day period. Computing of.time in Iowa law is covered by
Section 4.1(34), the Code of Iowa. Nothing in the Iowa City Code contradicts the State Code
which should be used as our guide.
The date of the alleged misconduct should not be counted as a day. Day one
would be the day following the alleged misconduct. Day sixty would be the sixtieth day
following the alleged misconduct. This way the complainant will have the benefit of sixty
twenty-four hour periods and there will be no assertion that complainant did not receive sixty full
days. In addition, if the sixtieth day falls on a Saturday, a Sunday or a specified Monday holiday
during which City offices are closed, the time shalI be extended to include the next day which the
office of the PCRB or clerk is open to receive a complaint.
2.) Procedure for complaints filed after sixty days.
A.) It is my recommendation that a complaint received after sixty days should
be assigned a complaint number by the staff and placed on the next meeting
agenda for discussion. It should be sent to the Police Chief or City Manager at
that time with a cover letter indicating that it appears to be an untimely complaint
and will be reviewed by the Board at its next regular or special meeting. This way
the Chief or City Manager will be able to deal with the allegation promptly,
regardless of the Board's eventual decision about dismissal.
B.) A copy of the apparently untimely complaint should be provided to each
Board member in the next meeting packet. Notice should be given to the
complainant that the complaint will be on the next meeting agenda giving him or
her an opportunity to be heard on the issue of whether the complaint was timely
liled. At the meeting at which the complaint is considered, the Board should by
motion and vote determine whether the complaint will be dismissed under
Section 8-8-3D.
Police Citizens Review Board
Page 2
June 10, 1998
C.) If the Board decides to dismiss the complaint as untimely, the staff should
tbrward a copy of the decision to the Police Chief or the City Manager and also to
the complainant. The copy of the complaint going to the Chief or the City
Manager should state that the complaint has been dismissed as untimely and that
a report to the Board by the Chief or City Manager is not required by Chapter
Eight of the City Code. If the Board requests an investigation to be done anyway,
it may do so but the Chief or City Manager has no obligation to investigate the
matter. The copy of the decision sent to the complainant should include a cover
letter advising that although the complaint as been determined to be untimely and
will not be reviewed by the PCRB, there is a method for the complainant to file a
complaint directly with the Iowa City Police Department that is still available.
should he or she wish to pursue the matter.
D.) If the Board determines that the complaint is timely and should not be
dismissed it should so advise the Police Chief or City Manager so they may
continue their investigation and make their required report to the PCRB.
3.) Language of the PCRB complaint form. The present complaint form includes the
following language in bold print, "The Police Citizen Review Board is a public agency and as
such its records and files, including this complaint form, are or may become public information".
I view that this is an advisory to the complainant that the information placed on the form may
become public intbrmation at some time. The purpose of the language is not to reassure the
complainant that the Board will keep the complaint confidential. Having said this, the by-laws in
Section Vll(1)(a) require the Board to keep complaints and documents relating to investigation of
complaints as closed records.
If the Board wants to change the language on the complaint tbrm, I propose you consider
the tbllowing. ~q'he Police Citizens Review Board is a public agency and as such its records and
files including this complaint form, may become public information. The Board makes every
effort to keep the complaints, reports of investigations, statements and other documents or
records obtained in investigating a complaint as confidential, closed records. Howeven results of
the investigation are iocluded in a public report made to the Iowa City Council. In addition.
certain documents of the Board may become public records because of the actions of others
including a complainant, an officer complained ol; or a party who seeks to obtain our records in
the context of litigation".
: 32. ,State., The word "state'~, v/hen'applled to :., d b. * Arfibberstamp reproduction ofthe name or
the different parts of the United States, includes ' facsimile of th~ actual signature when adopted by
the District of Columbia and the territories, and the person with a disability for all purposes requir*
the words 'United States" may include the said dis- ' lng a signature and then only when affixed by that
trict and territories. ~ .......... ~, ~ 15erson or another upon request and in the pres-
., 33: "Tensefi Words in the present tense incldde ence of the person with a disability. '..
~__.~he future.,: , :~ ~ ~ , ~ .... ,.h , ~ . 40. The word "year" means twelve consecutive
~34.: Time --l~gal holidays..~ In computing ~ months. ' ~, ~ " ' ·
I ~ime, the first day shall be excluded and the last in- I [C5 L §26, 2513; Rg0, §29, 4121, 4123, 4124; C73,
cluded, unless the last falls on Sun'day,.in which §45; C97, §48; C24~ 27, 31; 35; 39; §63; C46, 50,'54,
case the time prescribed shall be extended so as to 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §4.1] ~'
include the whole of the following Monday. How- ' "83 Acts, 'ch'186, §I0002~ 10201;'87 Acts, ch 115,
ever, when by the provisions of a statute or rule §3; 92 Acts,~ ch 1151/§1; 93 Acts, ch 9, §i; 95 Act~,
prescribed under authority of a statute, the last ch 43 §1 96 Act~ ch 1129 §1 96 Act,s ~:h 1153 §1
day for the commencement of an action or pro~eed- ' '
ings, the filing of a pleading or motion in a pending , Tr...iti~ p~.i.~o~. ~o* ~*.~ ,,~,~.,~,.tio. i..,till, n, :h.p~,
action or proceedings, or the perfecting or filing of , .... r .,:.~
an appeal from the decision or award of a court, ., · .. ,. i~ ' ' r' ~.
board, commission, or official falls on a Saturday, ', 4~2 Com~no~'law'rule 'of c~on~truction.il
a Sunday, a day on which the office of the clerk of The rule of the common law, that. statutes in der-
the district court is closed in whole or in part put- ogation thereof are to be strictly construed, has no
suant to the authority of the supreme court, the application to this Code· Its provisions and all pro-
first day of January, the third Monday in JanuS, fy, ceedings under it shall be liberally construed with
the twelfth day of February, the third Monday in a view to promote its objects and assist the parties
Febraary, the last Monday in May, the fourth day in obtaining justice . , ~ ,: ? ,,! ~1, ,:,.
of July, the first Monday in September, the elco- [C51, §2503; R60, §2622; C73, §2528; C97, §3446;
enth day of November, the fourth Thursday in No- C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §64; C46, 50, 54, 5fi, 62, 66, 71,
october, the twenty-fifth day of December, and the 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §4.2] . , ~ : ',
following Monday when any of the foregoing · , , .
named legal holidays fall on a Sunday, and any day ' 4.3: References tq other statutes.
appointed or recommended by the governor of Iowa Any statute which adopts by reference the whole
or the president of the United States as a day of or a portion ofanother statute pf this. state shall be
fasting or thanksgiving, the time shall be extended .construed ,to include subs?quant amendments of
to include the next day which the office of the clerk the statut~ or the portion thereof so adopted by ref-
er the court or the office of the board, commission, erence unless a contrary intent is expressed
or official is open to receive the filing of a corn- [C58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77,,79, 81, §4.3] , ,i ,
mencementofanaction, pleadingor,amotionina ~ , ,. , , "
pending action or proceeding, or the perfect, lng or I 4.4 Presumption of ehactment.
filing of an appeal. .' ,.r . ...... ' ~ In enacting a statute, it is presumed that: '
~ 35. "United States' includes all the states77--- 1. Compliance with the Constitutions of the
36. The word ~week" means seven consdcutive state and of the United States is intended. ,
days. , . ~, 1:. ,, ,~ .:2~ , The entire stetute is intended ~o be effective.
, 37. Will. 'The worst "'will' includes codicils., . ,: 13.,~ A just and reasonable result is intended ....
38. Words and phrases..Words and phrases 4. A result feasible of execution is intended.:.
shall be construed according to the context and the 5. Public interest is favored over any private
approved usage of the language; but technical interest.
words and phrases, and such others as may have [C73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §4.4}
acquired a peculiar and appropriate meaning in
law, shall be construed according to such meaning. 4.5 Prospective statutes.
39. Written -- in writing -- signature. The A statute is presumed to be prospective in its op-
words "written" and "in writing" may include any eration unless expressly made retrospective.
mode of representing words or letters in general [C73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §4.5]
use. A signature, when required by law, must be
made by the writing or markings of the person 4.6 Ambiguous statutes-- interpretation.
whose signature is required. If a person is unable Ifa statute is ambiguous, the court, in determin-
due to a physical disability to make a written sig- lng the intention of the leg/slature, may consider
nature or mark, that person may substitute either among other matters:
of the following in lieu of a signature required by 1. The object sought to be attained.
law: '2. The circumstances under which the statute
a. The name of the person with a disability was enacted,
written by anotber upon the request and in the 3. The legislative history.
presence of the person with a disability. 4. The common law or former statutory provi-
MEMORANDUM
POLICE CITIZENS REVIEW BOARD
A Board of the City of Iowa City
410 East Washington Street
Iowa City IA 52240-1826
(319)356-5413
TO: R.J. Winkelhake, Chief of Police
FROM: Sandy Bauer, PCRB
RE: Extension #98-11
DATE: June 26, 1998
In executive session on June 25, 1998, the Police Citizen Review Board
considered your request for extension of//98-11, and has agreed to an
extension not to exceed 30 days.
POLICE CITIZENS REVIEW BOARD
A Board of the City of Iowa City
410 East Washington Street
Iowa City IA 52240-1826
(319)356-5413
The Police Citizens Review Board invites you to attend a Community Forum. The
Forum will solicit comments about policies, procedures, and practices of the Iowa City
Police Department. We want to learn if the Iowa City Police Department's performance
is in keeping with community standards, and we believe we can best do this by listening
to what our citizens have to say.
The PCRB will use suggestions and recommendations from the Forum as we determine
the focus and direction &our work. Issues raised at the Forum may become agenda
items for further public input and discussion at regularly scheduled PCRB monthly
meetings. It will then be the responsibility of the Board to make appropriate
recommendations to the City Council.
WHAT: Community Forum
WHEN: July 14, 1998
TIME: 7:00 P.M. - 9:00 P.M.
WHERE: Iowa City Public Library, Conference Room A
SPEAKERS: Advance sign-up is available for those persons wishing
to address the Board during the first 90 minutes of the
Forum. Please call 356-5041 to register. Sign-up will
also be available at the Forum for the remaining 30
minutes.
Speakers may have the floor for five (5) minutes.
Speakers may receive questions from the Board
members.
NOTE: Any written comments received prior to the Forum will
be forwarded to the Board.
July 7, 1998 ~,~.
Police Citizens Review Board
410 East Washington Street
Iowa City, Iowa 52240° 1826
Dear Review Board,
Allow me to begin by saying thank you to ail of the officers and staffwho try to
keep Iowa City safe. Despite the criticism that sometimes comes their way, these efforts
are appreciated.
Thank you for arranging this forum, and allowing the citizens of Iowa City this
opportunity to express their opinions on the policies, procedures, and practices of the
Iowa City Police Department.
I would like to add a fourth "p" to the discussion, that being priorities. The ICPD,
like any organization, has a mission. In attempting to satisfy this mission, there are
priorities that are set. What are the priorities of the ICPD? Who sets those priorities? Why
are they set as they are? If priorities change, why, and at whose direction?
These are ail questions that deserve public answers. Sometimes, the answers are
obvious. A crime in progress will immediately become a priority. I am talking about the
less-obvious but further-reaching priorities of the ICPD.
Allow me to give an example. Jaywalking is against the law. Yet it occurs
thousands of times every day in Iowa City. The only people who are charged with a
violation are those that cause accidents. I strongly support this style of enforcement of this
particular statute. Jaywalking is not a priority for tile people of Iowa City.
What about the enforcement priorities we currently have? Do these reflect the
"community standards" you speak of in your letter? I believe that the present priorities are
deserving ora review. It can be argued that the enforcement priorities of the ICPD are and
have always been to target University of Iowa students. Politically, this makes a lot of
sense. Students rarely vote; they do not possess the resources to mount much of a defense
against any charges; and they will not be around long enough to pursue most matters.
Continually arresting students on misdemeanor charges fills the City coffers, and produces
high rates of conviction.
This may seem harsh, but the public has never been given any other reasons for the
preponderance of student arrests. Without public acknowledgement and justification, we
as a public are forced to come up with our own reasoning. I sincerely hope that there are
other, better reasons for these priorities, and I hope that the City of Iowa City will make
these reasons public. Only then will the Police Citizen Review Board know whether or not
"community standards" are being upheld.
My concerns do not originate from a deep sympathy for students. My concerns are
related to the methods that the ICPD is currently using. I am a firm believer in the Bill of
Rights. I feel that a number of recent ICPD activities do not reflect these rights,
particularly the Fourth Amendment Right to Freedom from Illegal Search and Seizure.
The tactics that concern me are many:
I. "Safety Checks", which stop every vehicle, with no probable cause.
2. "Bar sweeps", which amount to premises being searched without a probable
cause.
3. The newly-considered "Party Law", which gives the ICPD the right to enter
any residence, no complaint necessary.
I am not going to argue the legality of these procedures~ To the best of my
knowledge, the courts have found such methods to be legal in most cases. (I strongly
disagree with these judgements.) Just because the methods are legal does not mean we
need to use them, however. I would argue that the "community standards" of IoWa City,
Iowa include a strong respect for the Bill of Rights.
Again, I want to ask- who set these priorities? Why? How can we change them?
Finally, why not make these priorities public knowledge7 1 would imagine that, in light of
the Shaw incident, the ICPD would want to pay particular attention to Fourth Amendment
issues. I would also imagine that the citizens of Iowa City fully expect them to do so.
Additionally, the recent violence in the Broadway Street neighborhood should probably
cause us all to reevaluate the priorities of the ICPD. Do we want to be protected from
students at a party, or people brandishing weapons?
I thank you again for the opportunity to make my concerns known. I truly hope
that the Police Citizens Review Board will see fit to find answers to my questions, and
make those answers public.
Sincerely,
Rod Sullivan
1733 Wilson Street
Iowa City, Iowa 52245
cc: Hawkeye Council- Iowa Civil Liberties Union
Subj: Re: JCNEWS: Penn State riots (long)
Date: 98-07-14 11:58:40 EDT
From: jroberts~lNAV. NET (john robertson)
Sender: jcnews~yosemite.leepfrog, co m
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I donl know anything about the Penn State riots that are aleged to have
occurred recently, but lhe various themes that have arisen in this group
around that topic raise a number of interesting issues. Apparently, many of us
have refrained the underlying problem as one of drunkenness and bad behavior by
students.
I'm still interested In any good data showing the drinking behavior of young ,
people now as contrasted with what it has been over the last 30 or 40 years. I _
question whether the behavior is truly worse now than then.
Please be aware that what wa cai drunkenness now, for purposes of driving
while into=dcated charges and pubic intoxication charges is quite different -- ~' r"'
than itwas in the past. Nowadays, one is guilty of drunk driving alter
imbibing rather minimal amounts of liquor, and one is guilty of pubac Z._rn
intoxication if he or she is merely "acting" drunk but hasn't imbibed anything .,=:
at all. In the driving instance, the vast majority of persons now arrested for
the offense demonstrate no significant driving impairment whatsoewer. Indeed,
after the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that law enforcement can detain a driver
for any infraction, even a pre textual one (e.g., license plate buiU burned
out, failure to clean the snow off 100% of the rear window, "routine" drivars
license checks) even though the real reason for the stop is to conduct an
alcohol check, police have utilized millions of dollars in grant money for DUI
interdiction meant to arrest those drivars whose driving itself is not a
',)biem. The net effect of this is that law enforcement now utilizes its
sources to attack not the drivers who are obviously and seriously drunk, but
those drivers who have consumed minimal and moderate amounts of alcohol, who
hava not been in accider~, and whose driving is not demonstratively
problematic. That effort has also expanded to bar sweeps and arrests of non
drivars who elect to walk home because they know they shouUn't drive. Most
alarming, much of that police behavior is now targeted at persons in the
community that law enforcement doesn't approve of: young people whose dress
and behavior is not illegal but is non conforming, Black and other minorities,
and working class people who don't fit the cor~-,~nitJes' idea of what their
town ought to be.
Readers should also be sensitive that the bar sweeps and check law
enforcement now engages in focus on establishments that do not engage in
wholesale underage senAng, but instead are merely less than 100% zealous in
carding any young person. (For instance, I recently obser~d a young couple
enter a local establishment that does routinely card people. Bnth looked
young. The woman clearly did not appear 21 when she ordered a 7-up. The man,
who did appear of age, and wore a wedding ring, ordered a beer. The bartender,
seeing the woman not seek alcohol, seeing a wedding ring, and seeing the
ostensibly 21 year old man order a beer, made the following assumptions: 1. it
was not busy and nobody was in the establishment "partying". 2. carding
customers tends to be harmful to business. 3. the couple seemed to know what
they were doing and did not appear to be trying to get ovar on anyone. 4. the
bar isnl a typical party bar that caters to students and as a general rule
doesnt have a lot of underage people attemptJng to get alcohol Turns out,
~e whole affair was a sting operation by local law enforcement, which
d mined that more sophisticated efforts were needed to secure violations
b~vduse local bars had indeed modified their behavior to catch the vast
majority of the underage drinkers)
Now all these activities are definitionally legal Its ok for law enforcement
to pul people o~r for pre textual reasons. Its ok for law enforcement to
trick bar owners into committing violations. Its ok for police to arrest based
on the officer's subjective belief that the suspect is merely acting drank.
The more important question is whether these activities comport with what you
and I beieve is proper in a free and dynamic society. Although I am not
arguing for carte blanche wild partying by 19 year olds, I'm not nai~ enough
to think that a strong and aggressi,~ police presence will successfuly
function to eiminate that behavior. I also think that such an approach not
only harms the community in ways that are far more significant than the
ostensible benefits such actJvities engender, but such efforts also - quite
simply - do not work. Many 18, 19 and 20 year olds have a desire to drink. ~:~'c~
Many are inexperienced in such activities and do not ddnk well. Many also
have a desire to get wild and crazy and drunk and see what that's like. Al
the grant money in the world isn't going to change thaL All the staff power ~ -~: -~- r'"
and squad cars and road blocks and cdn~nal charges and reduced standards for
conviction aren~ going to to change that either. Indeed, if Iowa City's focus ~_.r~ -.~
in these areas HAS to be on merely o~erpowering the problem through arrests, ~.~. .-7
increased penaltJes, increased policing, and other power struggle tactics,
then the most it wil accornpiish is to mo~ the behavior w~ say we disapprove '~'
of from the bars into other lecations that cannot be regulated like dorm moms
and private homes (which may be exactly why the city council thinks we now
need a private home ordinance to control parties and social events)
Such activities by law enforcement do accomplish certain non-intentional
goals: First, they create a non helpful power struggle between the poice and
the rnembers of the community that are the focus of the police. 'Ittis in turn
builds potentialy dangerous tension and hcstJlity beth on the part of the
-qeted con~unity towards the police and on the part of the police towerds
~ targeted community. Second, these activities engender a cynical view of
law enforcement by the targets of such activities, who are in general not any
different than the rest of us. (Indeed, for us baby boomers who went to
co~ege in the 60s and 7Os, imagine how our livas wouU ha~ been then were we
the subject of a zealous and wa!l funded zero tolerance policy regarding our
de~iant behavior?.) Third, they also teach young people that the issue isnl
drinking and partying, the issue is how not to get caught. Fourth, they divide
the community artificially and not based upon behavior, but based upon status
(i.e,, out of town college students varsus local non college students).
Fourth, such activities chill the energy of the con~'nunity such that what
started out as a legitJrnate concern abeut dangerous behavior rapidly tums
into an ilegitimete concern about indh~iduaity, free exl~ession, and the
generally accepted qualifies of a liberal society. Fifth, such activities
divert funds from programs and policy implementation that can work and will
address the true needs of a communit3/and into ~ograms and policy initiatives
that quite simply cannot succeed. ~43ain, although there is a consensus that we
will not tolerate drunk driers, once arrest policy shifted to attack social
and experimental drinkers (i.e., undergraduates) who may not evan own cars,
and once those efforts wore turned towards the businesses and activities that
are associated wilh such conduct, and once the focus of law enforcement turned
towards whole classes of people (students, workiug class, those who look
different) what started out es a legitimate and generaly approved goal now
appears to be something much more insidious.
There are plenty of ways to deal with the real issues here. Towards students
id the young, prevantJon and alternative programming works wonders. Diverting
., r 3ity and sorority eYents, as well as general undergraduate activities,
fr(,, Jrinking towards other endeavors achie~s great results. Running the
busses at bar closing time and allowing o~ernight parking downtown provides
alternatives to driving. Teaching police how to tell the difference between a
drinker who has had enough and needs a helping hand home and one who needs
spend the night in the drunk tank diffuses the power struggle while
accomplishing the proper goals. Utilizing the courts and the prosecutor's
office to dived minor offenders into prevention programs engenders respect
for the justice system, teaches people the ~alues of their personal behavior,
and diminishes dysfunctional drinking. Providing more activities that truly
interest colege students but do not involve ex;essive alcohol (like the Jazz
lest, River lest, etc.) meets the need for fun and e~iternent without the need
for harsh measures.
Fina~y, without such alternative efforts, and with continued and increasing
power approaches directed at punishment and control, what we face is not less
drinking and acting out but more. It becomes a game between the police and
their targets. Eventualy, that game escalates to the point where dots and
other clearly dangerous and non peaceful conduct not only might occur but wil
occur. Pretty soon, Iowa City may join Penn State in the nev,spapers too.
....... Headers .............
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From: john robertson <jroberts~lNAV.NET>
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Subject: Re: JCNEWS: Penn State riots (long)
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Robert G. Dostal
326 Douglass St.
Iowa City, IA 52246
June 3, 1998
Dear Mr. Holly:
Thankyou for your June 1, 1998 letter which announces the PCRB
forum on June 29 at 7 PM. Unfortunately, I will not be able
to attend.
In your letter, you atate that "In addition to reviewing investi-
gations of complaints about police, the Board is also directed
to review police tactics, proceedures, and written policies."
These activities are for naught if the Board does not have the
authority to settle claims against the police, redress citizen
grievances, and order changes in the way police operate. Please
apprise me of the board's authority.
Have police tactics changed since the string of uncomely incidents
that climaxed with the death of Eric Shaw?
Awaiting your reply, I remain:
Very truly yours,
Robert G. DoStal
~OWA CITY [] CEDAR RAPIDS [] CORALVILLE [] DUBUQUE
Police Citizens Review Board
410 East Washington Street
Iowa City, IA 52240
Dear Board Members:
I would like to thank all of you for being willing to serve on the Police Citizens Review
Board. This can be a very difficult job and it requires a great deal of personal
commitment of time and energy. You are to be commended.
My primary police policy concerns the downtown area of Iowa City, specifically the
Pedestrian Mall. I have a business on the Pedestrian Mall and have been active with the
Downtown Association for many years. We have in the summertime an on going problem
with the behavior of some of your younger citizens in the downtown area. Very clearly
they have every right to be downtown and every right to dress and appear as they choose.
I don't object to that at all. As a matter of fact, until the flowers bloom, some of the green
and blue hair is the only color we get.
The occasional behavior of a few of our youth is a problem, however. Their sometimes
rude and often vulgar behavior has driven away customers from many of the professional
and retail business.
The Pedestrian Mall is also one center in the community for drug dealing. The police
department has made an effort to step up police presence downtown, but there are a few
changes I would like to see put into place.
The first change would be training of all the officers who police downtown in the concept
of community policing. While I am not an expert in law enforcement it seems clear to me
that community policing requires a regular presence and relationship building with the
people downtown. The goal is a presence, which prevents illegal behavior and activity.
The efforts of some of the police officers is that of apprehension for illegal behavior not
the prevention of it. Community policy is a radically opposite approach. So training for
the second shift officers would seem to be very much in order.
Plaza Centre One 711 Center Point Road NE 1703 Second Street 821 Central Ave,
LO. Box 1846 Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52402 Highway 6 West Dubuque, Iowa 52001
Iowa City, Iowa 52244 319-364-7010 Coralville, Iowa 52241 319-556-3030
319-354-5950 800-779-0094 319-338-6274 800-598-8b04
800-779-0093 FAX 319-364-7133 FAX 319-338-77B8 FAX 319-556-I 525
FAX 319-338-2797
Secondly, I would recommend a change in the patrol hours for the downtown officers and
would suggest a 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. shit't. This would result in one set of officers covering
downtown during the entire business day and who will be aware of problems, which
mainly occur in the late afternoon. I realize this requires an approval by the labor union,
but I believe that shift changes like this have been approved in the past.
I would have appeared at your community forum except for a time conflict. I believe
these two steps can go a long way toward improving the safety downtown.
Sincerely,/Q?
/
JAG/sak
Fax to City Clerk, City of Iowa City, June 22, 1998 356-5009
To: Police Citizens Review Board
From: James Clayton, The Soap Op~a, 119 E. College St. Iowa City, IA 52240
I am unable to attend your furum but I am interested Jo providing some input about cunent
practices of our Police Degattmeat as they relate to the Police Citizens Review Board.
ha, you .are.? .ttyoym'.une. i .e.to? .pr?.b.. I ,na
eing expo-qence~ In soum sloe reside~..fial .ar.?s. ~ his sttuatton nas gro~oen us
another opportunity to evaluate our police~itizen ratio here in I.o~. City. We have about
1.03 officers per thousand citizens. The cities ia Iowa ~ m raze to Iowa City have
about 1.5 officers per tho, nan~cL The FBI recommends about 2.0 police po- thousand.
Any opportunity our co.m~.unity had to eapedment with non-violent, police polici .e~ rubber
bullets and conflict reaolutton probably fell by the wayside five or a~x years ago when gang
activitie~ first surfaced. We are already on the slippery slope of reactive, crisis based police
activity. 'l'nia ia the old 911 model where you pick up the phone, dial and thru hope
someone gets to the problem Jn time.
Adequate staff enables our force to begin lo move from this reactive model to a lauactivc,
prevention model lf we are to have succ_es~_ _~Jrul ndghborheod policing we need to heable
to get our force out of their cats and on to our ~treets. They need to be visible and familiar
throughout our city, not ju.~t ia cunent trouble spots. If we continue to try and move them
from one problem area to another it is inevitable that we wiU have trouble ia mor~ than one
place at one time and thee the officer will need to decide which problem is most important.
Then you will inve~igate and try and place rcsponaibitity.
The failure of our city government to place a higher priority on public safety has left our
los'ce unable to cope with their duties without resorting Io extensive overtime. Such
overtime will eventually produce a situation where the cffectivene.~ ~judgment of an
individual officer ia impaired to the extent he or she makes a costly mislake. Then you will
investigate and try and place responsibility.
The PCRB was formed to oversee th~ polici~, procedures and practices of the ICPD. You
should not ignore the dep!orabie sho~ge of offices and the effect this sheltage will
!nevitably have on our cqrlzma Can you expect a shiR oftwdve officers to do an adequate
job when t.w. o~ of them are on a day off or vacation, two are in the station as supenri~ors, 2
are n~. awulable for calla because they stein eou~ ~c filing reports and the oth~' six are
coveting an entire city?.
Two years ago a group of downtown business people suggested to the City Council that
we needed 20 additional officers. In order to me~t the standards sugg~tcd by the FBI our
for~. would ne~d to double in size. To btiag ua up to 'average' here ia Iowa would
~equ .tr~. more tha9 the 20 o. fficers we requited. I respectfully request that you become
proactive rather than reactwe and make the same suggestion to council, we need mo~
Sincerdy,
James Clayton -<
June 20, 1998
Police Citizens' Review Board
410 E. Washington Street
Iowa City, IA 52240
Dear Members of the PCRB,
As a member of a strong Neighborhood Association and a participant
in the Neighborhood Watch program I have been in contact with the Iowa
City Police Department (ICPD) fairly regularly over the years.
I spoke to several neighbors about what to write in this letter. Most
pointed out recent positive interactions with the police in their homes, on
the streets, or in the schools. The consensus was that the ICPD has
worked to improve its image and its services. A specific example would
be a 1985 incident in which a neighbor's dog was hit by a car. The
responding officer was arrogant, rude, and aggressive to those neighbors
who tried to help. This same officer (now a detective) visited a neighbor's
home this year to investigate a missing teen. The family reported that
she was polite and professional. The change was attributed to better
training and increased conscientiousness on the part of the department,
and greater maturity on the part of the officer.
My own experiences with the ICPD have been positive. Participation
in Neighborhood Watch has been a good thing for all involved. The
department and Officer Kevin Berg have done a great job of promoting and
supporting this program. I am also a graduate of the Citizens Police
Academy. I loved it, and wish more people in Iowa City could participate.
I would eventually like to see the Academy offered twice a year.
I strongly believe in community policing. Bicycle and foot patrols,
and officers assigned to neighborhoods are excellent ideas. Hopefully the
ICPD will continue moving in this direction.
Thank you for your attention, and thank you for all of the time and
effort you are giving to this endeavor.
Sincerely,
Alfrieta Parks Monagan
[)car I'(RJ~,
I am ~riting requesting a re,~im~ of the public intoxication ordinance and its
implementation
-\ s a do~ nlo~ n restaurant o~ ncr. not bar. I am concerned about the practices of the
police during the implementation ofthe public intoxication ordinance An ordinance tha~
~ould appear to be in place to <,~p d~nken, disorderly conduct is being used to eliminate
alcoholcon~timptiondo~nto~n This ordinance has become aggressively entbrced in the
last six months during the ~ell-publicized "drinking raids" Police s~op people randomly
on the street, test them (in an undefined manner), and arrest them. The fear of being
~rrested do~ ntown has driven customers away The effect of these practices has been
yeU delrimental ~o the entire do~ntown, not just bar owners
These actRi~ies during the last six months have caused our business to lose 40% of our
e~ening night business Let me s~ate, we do not make any money ~Yom alcohol sales:
customers are ~ust ~?aid to come downtown I know other restaurant o~ners feel
samepres,ures, andman~ ofthem may be shutting their doors This willha~ean
on exerx business do~nto~n, not just the tbod and beverage businesses
['hc act m, ~t'thc police can ~er'., easiR be described as mndon~ -F[~ere ~ppear< to he a
"hLmt"goingone,.cning~eekends The people arrested, inmany cases, ha~edone
nothing wrong, nothing to be noticed, no sta~uerinm no xandalism- are not exen
underage l'h% are doing no harm to anyone As citizens oFan enlightened city. x~e
>tumid hax o t}qe right to walk de~n the street xdthout being harassed by the police
l kno~ mx motixe is an economic one, and thus my concerns can be easily dismissed
But. 1 hax e obserx ed this closely enough to know that the average citizen ~ould not stand
~br tbi~ if he or she kne~ ~hat x~as going on Please look into it careFulN The police
lbrce ha~ done a goodjob oFtYaming this as an underage drinking i<sue: it is not i
tmderst,md t%t there is no defined ;hreshold tR>r public intoxication; it is ~rong to lea~ e it
up to thc offScer's .judgment I also Feel that the ordinance is not being used as intended
but as a delerrem to alcohol consumption. It has become a well-discussed belief the
poiice three i> being used bx the university to make sure the "drunken student" image
m,c~ axt a~ Our police force should not be a tool used to complete someone else's
agenda
There are man5 arguments to be made against this ordinance that haxe nothingto do ~ith
economic issues (Il is still legal to drink in this to~n, and ~e should be able to ~alk
manx ~q'u~ Xlanvot'usha~e~,~rkedtt~rvearstode~elopprofitablehu~inesse~-~e',,e
dc,, ,~led :~ll ~i'our re~ource~ to rhN. and noxx our ti~elihood our homes, and our ]it'o's
,a'. m~ arc bcin~ placed at risk
t~Ilhaxea?eatefl~ctondox~nto~nbusinesses We don't need the police to muhiplx
thisdamaze There could not hate been a worse time to t~' and implement this anti-
drinking, anti-student agenda h is not time to antagonize our only remaining captive
audience
I ~ish to remain anonymous in this complaint to avoid retribution. I apologize, but the
stakes for me are way too high to disclose my name or business.
Sincerely,
Anonymous Restaurant Owner
Iowa City
Police Citizen's Review Board
July 14, 1998
David Baldus
Mr. Chairman and members of the board. I appreciate the opportunity to appear
here this evening.
I am a 29 year resident of Iowa city who closely followed the evolution of the
Police Citizens' Review Board in city council in 1996 and 1997. It was with great
interest, therefore, that I recently reviewed the public file on the board's activities that is
maintained by the city clerk.
What you have accomplished is very impressive. I commend you for the
substantial amount of time you have contributed and your systematic approach. I was
particularly impressed with the reports you issue on each case you hear -- rich in detail
and clearly presented and documented. I was also impressed with the detail in the Use of
Fome Reports and the summaries of internal investigations that are prepared by the police
department and are now a regular part of your materials.
A. Enhanced public awareness of police department policies in general
What struck me in reading the file is the large pementage of the complaints filed
over the years with the police department that are dismissed by the police chief on the
ground that the police practices complained of are in fact consistent with city policing
policy. These cases appear to account for about one half of all of the complaints over the
last seven years. Of course only a handful of these cases have come before this board
which was appointed less than a year ago.
In any event, the disposition of so many cases on the ground that they fail to state
a claim indicates that many Iowa City citizens are unaware of police department policies.
This in turn means that such citizens do not know what to expect in their interactions with
the police. We clearly need to increase public awareness of existing police policies. In
that regard, a useful service of the board could be to make available to the public brief
scenarios, of the type that are reported in the Use of Force reports. Each scenario would
present examples of typical interactions that citizens have with the police. And each
scenario would involve police conduct that is acceptable under city policy.
The importance of such a policy review by this board is suggested by the recent
experience in a California city where police department policy authorized a neck lock that
was dangerous and in fact caused some serious injuries. On careful examination by the
city government, the practice was ultimately deemed unnecessary. Also, it is my
understanding that the policies of our own police department that precipitated the tragic
death of Eric Shaw in 1996 have since been modified to reduce the risk of injury and
death.
In conclusion, Iowa City's ordinance gives this board advisory jurisdiction over
individual complaints and overall police department policy. When you turn to your
policy review function, I urge you to address first the policies that authorize the use of
force.
3
A MESSAGE TO POLICE REVIEW/ BOARD MEMBERS AND TO THIS COMMUNITY
i'm going co begin Dy reminding all of you why you are here. On August
30 1996 at li:30 at night our son sat talking on the phone in his shop of
over [2 years where he hag created hundreds of sculptures and manufactured
thousands of futon frames - this shop was as much his home as any space on
this earth - one second he was talking innocently about his friend's
business problems and the next second he was looking at the barrel of a gun
comming through his door. in violation of the law and their own training at
the police accademy and in violation of the trust we place in them two Iowa
City cops tllegaqliy entered our son's shop and shot him dead - they had no
warrant an~ not even the flimsiest of reasons to enter without one- they
became illegal intuders the moment they shoved open ihs door. an~ they
became murderers the moment they intentionally pulled the trigger - a
willful act that violates our two most basic rights on earth, our right to
privacy and our right to life can not be called a accident. NONE OF THE
EXCUSES THAT PEOPLE HAVE MADE FOR THESE COPS HAVE ANY POWER TO EXCUSE THIS
MURDER BECAUSE THESE OFFICERS HAD NO MORE JUSTIFICATION TO ENTER ERIC'S SHOP
WITH GUNS DRAWN THAN BURGLARS - THEY WERE iLLEGAL iNTRUDERS AND THEY DID NOT
EVEN HAVE THE LEGAL RIGHT TO DEFEND THEMSELVES - IF A BURGLAR BREAKS IN TO
YOUR HOUSE HE CAN NOT CLAIM SELF DEFENSE IF HE KILLS YOU WHEN YOU STARTLE
HIM - these cops were tn fact worse than burglars, because most burglars do
not carry guns. If anyone besides cops had done this to our son society
would have called It murder without hesitation. But this society wants to
~ive coos the leqai riaht to murder. Hy wife and I reJect this as an
ABSOLUTE EVIL of the same ilk as any of our past societies' legalizations of
murder.
This city's cops murdered our son, and County Attorney White made the
murDer legal - if you fail to orosecute ~ klllin=, you make it leQal, and a
very very large majority of people of this city and this state found it
obscenely easy to accept both the murder and the injustice of Patrick
Wh[te-s cowardly refusal to prosecute. At first I thought it was because
people did not Know the truth of what had happened, but as lie after lie
after lie told Dy these officers and by White were exposed, and the people
of this city and this state showed not the slightest disgust with either the
murder or the lies told to avoid mur=er charges, I began to know the full
extent of our com~unity's betrayal of our son and of us - while our son's
bogy lay cotQ In his grave and his life began to slide out of everyones
mind. the cops who murdered him were recievlng support and even approval of
their actions from people all over the state. PEOPLE WERE PERFECTLY WILLING
TO CALL OUR SON~S MURDER JUST ONE OF THOSE ACCIDENTS THAT WE HAVE TO ALLOW
COPS TO HAVE NOW AND THEN. WE WERE BLAMED IN THE MEDIA AND IN PEOPLE'S
HEARTS FOR NOT GIVING POLICE THE RIGHT TO MURDER OUR SON. I have received
more crtt~ci~lil for my tnststance on justice and for pushing a police chief
who lied to my face about the policy that set up the killing of my son than
these cops did for murdering my son or chief Winkelhake did for allowing
horridly dangerous practices to invade his police force. VARIATIONS OF THIS
BLAME THE VICTIM APPROACH SEEMS TO HAVE iNFESTED THIS CITY AND EVEN THE
ENTIRE STATE - WE ARE JUDGED BECAUSE WE EXPRESSED OUR HORROR AND OUR RAGE AT
WHAT THESE MEN DID TO OUR SON AND WHAT THIS CITY IS DOING TO OUR LIVES.
Perhaps a short list of the evils we have had to deal with will help you see
how wrong it is to blame us - police Chief Wlnkeihake allowed and approved
UNWRITTEN procedures and policies In police operations that put citizens at
grave risk/' police officers Kelsay and Glllasple illegally entered our son"s
shop and killed him as he sat innocently talking on the phone and then tied
2
about cr~tlcai aspects of the ~illlng/ Kelsay tampered with evidence/ Police
Chief Wlnkelhake made statements that are so obviously not true that one is
left with no choice but to call him a ilar/ County Attorney White ignored
lies from police and ignored the' murder and almost certainly made a sleazy
if not illega~ ~eai with Glllasple's lawyer not to prosecute and then told
lies about his reasons for not prosecuting/' a large majority of the people
of this city accepted our son's murder and the obstruction of justice that
followed without even raising a voice in protest/ one horror after another
was visited upon us by the system and by the media and by numerous
ln~lviduals, and WE ARE BEING JUDGED ON HOW WELL WE BEHAVED - lsn'~t
something a little askew here?
So that you can get some idea how much evil has been done to us by the
people of this city, I'm going to give you a few samples of the horrors
people adde~ to the horror of our son"s murder. A few days after the murder
a neighbor came to our door and said to my wife, how terrible that we lost
our son. but isn't it good that we will now get a better police force. I
hear~ many different versions of this cruelty and the newspapers also spewed
it out like It was a wonderful thing that should make us ail proud- this ts
an unforgivab~e obscenity because our son did not have to die to teach the
police a lesson that was learned centuries ago and was detailed with
absolute clarity In their own training manuals. And how ~lspicable this
seems In view of the fact that Kelsay and Wlnkelhake, who have
responsibility ana culpa~illty for our son's ~eath, are still carrying guns
in our son's city. MY WIFE AND [ FIND IT OBSCENE THAT THIS CITY CAN ACCEPT
THESE TWO MEN WALKING AROUND WITH GUNS STRAPPED TO THEIR HIPS.
On the day after the funeral the Press Citizen ran a large headline
accross the top of the front page blaring that "FATHER CAN NOT FORGIVE
KILLERS" - one of their reporters attended the funeral and took one co~nent
of mine out of context and made a headline out of it that cast me as a
villain - THIS WAS AN OBSCENE CRUELTY FOR WHICH THE PRESS CITIZEN S H O OLD BE
TOTALLY ~ BUT FOR WHICH THEY COULD NOT EVEN BRING ~ TO SAY
THEY WERE SORRY. [ believe that It would be possible for me to forgive the
man who pulled the trigger if he stops lying and accepts the punishment that
is aue him, but I will not ever forgive the men an~ women of the Press
Citizen who ma~e that headline, because for this to happen they would have
run one week of abject appologtes in Bold headlines on the front page of
their paper with continuing articles approved by me detailing the evils that
they did to my family and my son with their biased coverage of his murder.
and there is more c~ance that Gillaspie will reecant his lies than there is
that the press citizen will do even one small thing to right the wrongs they
dig to my family. I assume that the tv stations did their ugly evils too,
out we had to protect ourselves from them by not watching or knowing of
anything they put out.
Obscene letters were sent to the Press Citizen an~ the Gazette an~ the
Icon and many bt them were published - I have lost track of the number of
obscene an~ inhumanly cruel letters an~ phone calls we received - MANY IN
THIS CITY REACTED WITH C~UELTY TO OUR INSISTANCE THAT OUR SON'S MURDERERS BE
PUNISHED. LARGE NUMBERS OF PEOPLE INSANTLY FORGAVE OUR SON'S KILLERS AND
SAID NO PROBLEM AND NO PUNISHMENT, MY GOD. THE SICKNESS AND CRUELTY AND
UGLINESS WHICH HAS BEEN DIRECTED AT US AND WHICH WE HAVE HAD TO IGNORE WOULD
DRIVE MOST OF YOU STARK RAVING INSANE. YET I AM BLAMED FOR A FEW OUTBURSTS
OF EMOTION IN RESPONSE TO THE CRUELTIES DONE TO US AND TO OUR SON.
3
We are blameo for not going on, Dui In fact we dim go on, we dim face the
tact that our son was murQerd BY his-home town cops. and we are attempting
to live with that fact ano to bring at least enough justice ~nto this world
so that we can stand to live In 'it. Xt Is the people who deny our son's
murder who nave not gone on. who have stayed in the past where cops do not
murder, where cops do not lie and conspire with prosecutors to avol~ murder
charges, where police chiefs do not lie to the father of a son his officers
have ~llleo. Most of the people of this community have stayed in their
comfortable past and forced us to enter this horrible future alone, a future
where our son can be murdered by cops and no one is prosecuted and no one
cares enough to do anything about it. a future winere we see these cops for
what they are. and everyone else still sees them as heroes.
I want to force this image into your minds of our son bleeding to death
on the floor and Kelsay coldly and calculatlngly ignoring Eric's friend's
screams coming out of the phone begging to be told 'what happenen~, what
happene~~ and instead concerning himself with what Glllaspie was saying to
dispatch, and yelling at Gillaspie to shut up as Glllaspie begins to tell
~lspatch that he has shot a person, and taking over the call and carefully
avoiding even a hint that a cop has just fired a bullet center mass into an
innocent victim. AS KELSAY WATCHED OUR SON DIE HE WAS CALCULATING WHAT LIES
HE COULD GET AWAY WITH TO AVOID MURDER CHARGES. THIS MAN'S DERELICTIONS AND
RECKLESSNESS SET UP THIS KILLING. YET KELSAY HAD NO CONCERN FOR OUR DYING
SON. AND HE HAD NO CONCERN FOR US WHEN WHEN WE ARRIVED ON THE SCENE A SHORT
TIME LATER. WHEN MY WIFE FELL TO THE STREET AND BEGAN CRAWLING AN INCH AT A
TIME TOWARD HER DEAD SON ALL THIS MAN COULD THINK TO SAY TO HER WAS. 'STOP
LAYING IN THE DIRT' - MY WiFE HEARD HIS WORDS AS "STOP PLAYING IN THE DIRT"
- the sight of our suffering made Kelsay uncomfortable - he told another
officer. "we should not have to see this. meaning our horror and suffering
at the scene of the murder. AND THAT WAS JUST THE FIRST OF KELSAY'S MANY
CROEL AND HEARTLESS COMMENTS. THE FACT THAT KELSAY AND HIS BOSS WINKELHAKE
ARE STILL ON THE IOWA CITY POLICE FORCE SHOULD CAUSE EVERYONE IN THIS CITY
UNENDING SHAME!
If you ~o not take a stand for the prosecution of the cops who murdered
our son then you have told us that you accept our son's murder by these
cops. Everyone has his favorite rattonlatlon for catiing it by another name
than murder, but tf it had been your son who these cops murdered, then these
rationlizatlons would slice up your soul and leave you enraged at those who
coul~ allow such lies to justify the murder of your son. When someone ~lc~s
open your door as you sit talking on the telephone in your home and alms a
gun at your chest and tears open your body with a hollow point bullet
causing you to scream out In pain and horror and fall to the floor and
convulse and struggle for breath AND COVER THE WOUND IN YOUR CHEST WITH YOUR
HANDS TO TRY TO STOP THE FLOW OF BLOOD OUT OF YOUR BODY. IT IS MURDER. NO
MATTER WHO DOES THE KILLING!
For most people the fact that our son's murderers were police is the
single fact that makes it possible to them to accept this murder, but the
fact that our son's murderers were police should make it more ~ificult- it
is not unlike having your own father or mother kill you - someone who Is
supposed to protect you, even risk his own life to protect your life.
instead kll~s you - this killing was a horrible betrayal.
Many people have reacted to this killing as though it were a death like
any other, but murder is a stealing of life that is rightfully yours - these
cops stole trom our son the only life ne ~ad. they stole from nlm the
experiences of a lifetime, they stole from him the joys of creation and
marriage and cnl~aren. They even st61e from our son a proper death at a
proper t~me - being shot to Geat~ by cops while talking on your phone in
Your home IS NOT AN ACCEPTABLE WAY TO DIE - MURDER I$ NOT ACCEPTABLE. I
REFUSE TO ACCEPT IT - ANY PERSON WHO ACCEPTS PATRICK WHXTE'S FAILURE TO
PROSECUTE THE TWO OFFICERS WHO MURDERED OUR SON IS AN EMEMY OF OUR FAMILY
AND AN ENEMY OF JUSTICE. Not one of my business associates or my friends or
our neighbors ever expressed one word of support publicly or privately for
prosecution of these o~ficers - not one ~astor In this ~~
any su~ort for .lustlg~ - very few people were willing to be counted
puDiiciy amoung the numbers who believed these men should be prosecuted for
this killing- only one council member even saw the need to hold these men
accountable. BUT SUPPORT FOR OUR SON'S MURDERERS POURED OUT OF THIS
COMMUNITY AND THIS SI'ATE - THIS SOCIETY WANTS TO SEE IT COPS AS HEROES EVEN
iF THEY ARE ARE MURDERERS - THE PRESS CITIZEN GAVE KELSY A FRONT PAGE SPREAD
THAT MADE HIM LOOK LIKE THE BEST COP IN THE WORLD, NEVER EVF.~I MENTIONING HIS
RECKLESSNESS THAT SET UP THE KILLING AND HIS CRUELTY AND LIES IN THE
AFTERMATH. WHAT TWISTED THINKING IS IT TEAT WOULD ALLOW AN ENTIRE COMMUNITY
TO CONCERN THEMSELVES WITH MURDERERS WHILE IGNORING THE MURDER VICTIM -
THERE lS ONLY ONE INTERPRETATION THAT I CAN PLACE ON ALL OF THIS, AND THAT
IS SIMPLY THAT LARGE NUMBERS OF PEOPLE IN THIS STATE HAVE GRANTED THE COPS
THE LEGAL RIGHT TO MURDER MY SON. AND THli"f COULD CARE LESS WHAT HAPPENS TO
US.
Everyone of you has a critical aGvantage over us - you have been able to
protect yourselves from the totality of the horror of our son~s murder,
either by keeping it out of your minds, or by acceptlng the lies of the
police aha reGeflning the muroer as an accident. But we can not keep the
horror out of our mings, anG truth is too powerful to ail ow us to accept
i~es - we nave no defenses against the horror of our son's murder, and there
are people who will do anything they can to aGO to that horror.
A few Gays ago a horror of sadistic proportions was done to us by a
person who used our son's death and our grief to rape our souls. I was on
the first leg of a three day bicycle trip to visit my daughter when my wife
caiieG me on my mobile phone and cried out that her grief and pain hag
become more than she could stand. When the phone rang I was stopped in the
middle of a country road with my head bent down on the handlebars crying
~ecause I too coulo no longer stand the horror and pain of our son's murder.
We talked about the our son and about our grief and about the small
"miracle" of our being overcome at the exact same instant so many miles
apart anG in such different circumstances. About 15 minutes into the call I
nearo a clicking souna ano a woman's voice came on the line an~ sai~ "this
is an AT&T operator, I have been asked to interrupt this call by Eric Shaw~.
When I screameO out in shock, she said again, this is an AT&T operator, I
have been aske~ to interrupt this call by Eric Shaw...
Both my wife and I felt a terrible need to believe that our son's spirit
was trying to contact us, but our son would not have anything to do with a
action that could so easily be mistaken for criminal sadism. There is no
escaping the conclusion that someone was listening to our conversation and
pretended to be our dead son to an AT&T operator and used our grief and our
son's name to commit a Glspicable cruelty. This one has come very close to
killing us - my wife suffered a complete breakdown - we have reached the
limit of what we can stanG - those who want to give cops the right to murder
our son have won - I have c~me to expect nothing but cruelty from the worst
of human beings, and indifference and inaction from the rest. and nothing
but injustice from our judicial system. All I can hope is that some day a
few people will realize that a v. ictory against Justice Is a victory of evil
and a defeat of human decency.
When you tell me tha~ the ~olice ~ ~ ~ ~ kill ~ ~on, ~lch
~ you tell ~ ~en ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~, you
~ ~ ~ ~lnO ~ ~vlth ~- ~ WIFE AND I CAN NO
LONG~ ~D TO BE IN THE CO~ OF PEOPLE WHO BELI~E T~T IT
ACC~ABLE FOR COPS TO MURD~ ~D N~ BE PROSB~ED - THIS ~S I~TED US
A~O~ COOL.ELY ~OM THE LIVES WE ~D BEFORE T~T HO~IBLE NIG~ - THOSE
WHO HAVE FOUND A WAY TO ACC~ THIS KILLING ~D THE ~V~ OF ~ICE T~T
FOLL~ED ~VE TO KN~ T~T TH~ ~VE ADDED I~BLY TO THE ~D~
HAVE TO BE~ BY B~YING US - If y~ have trouble understanding my rage,
reme~er h~ much anger can c~e fr~ just one per~n's betrayal - then try
to imagine that y~r entire c~nlty and ?~r nei~rs aha y~r frlen~
have betrayed y~. THIS CI~ ~S BKI'~D US, ~D IH THE PROC~S
MURD~ED ~ HONE ~ THIS
Now to my co~xnenCs directed specifically at the Police Review Board. (I
am about aone. don't fret).
First a personal plea - please don"t make the cruel mistake of forgetting
that it was the murder of our son by Iowa City police officers which
provided Just enough em~arassment to force a police biased city council to
Oring this Police Review Board into existence. And don't make the equally
cruel mistake of believing that this review board in some way makes up for
what ~his city did to Eric and what this city did to us In the aftermath -
my wife was the first to suffer this inhuman cruelty when she invited Pastor
Dick Watklns of the First United Methodist Church to Eric's vigil and he
said. "they've established a police review board. Isn't that enough" - the
false notion that the Police Review board somehow makes up for the lack of
justice and accountability in the killing of our son is made all the more
obscene by the fact that the THE REVIEW BOARD'S CHARTER SPECIFICALLY FORBIDS
YOU FROM TAKING UP THE MATTER OF OUR SON'S KILLING- without this condition
at least five of the seven council members would not have voted you Into
existence- whatever excuse council members have made for their refusal to
allow the review board to look into our son's killing, the truth Is that
council did not want the truth about this killing because the truth would
bring them shame!
There are two critical facts that members and citizens have to keep in
mind about their Police Review Board:
First is that the primary purpose of the review board is to protect
citizens from abuse anO death at the han~g of police. AND TO PROVIDE AT
L~ASE A TOKEN OF R~DR~SS WHEN THE FOLIC~ DO ABUSE CITIZENS- I have outlined
the reasons for this need for protection in a letter titled "We need
protection from our police" submitted earlier to the board. Boarcl~
.Io~ Is not ~o~rotect the oolite from citizens or ~o~rovide the ~oliee ~
~ forum to _lustlfv their actions to the oubllc, and you should ouar~aoalnst
~ the board t O be u~edi~v oolite ~ubllc ~ o~an to
further their own aaenda. The police have quite enough spin capabilities as
CAN BE LOST (Wlnkelha~e demonstrated that). WE HAVE HF_~%RD FROM PEOPLE ALL
OVER THIS COUNTRY WNOSE LOVED ONES HAVE BEEN KILLED WITHOUT JUSTIFICATION BY
POLICE IN A MULTITUDE OF CIRCUMSTANCES- EACH SITUATION WAS DIFFERENT BUT
EACH KILLING HAPPENED BECAUSE POLICE PUT THEIR OWN AGENDA AND THEIR OWN
LIVES AHFAD OF CITIZENS THEY WERE 5¥ORN TO PROTECT, AND NOT ONE OF THE
OFFICERS WAS PROSECUTED.
Jay Shaw. ~ather of Eric Shaw