HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-03-1998 ArticlesOpinion
Iowa City Press-Citizen
Page 13A
Monday,
Nov. 2,
1998
Our view
Cameras on
cop cars will
help all of us
Iowa City police are
excited about a $66,000 fed-
eral grant that will pay for
video cameras on ail marked
cruisers.
The community also
should be excited.
Cameras have been long
sought by police as valuable
tools for traffic stops. The
stops can pose great risk for
officers as they are approach-
ing or waiking away from
cars. Cameras, it is believed,
make suspects think twice
before attempting violence.
And if an officer .is
injured, a video of the inci-
dent can help police identify
and catch the suspect.
Videos also have become
routine in courtrooms, clear-
ly demonstrating the actions
of suspects resisting arrest or
attempting field tests for
drunk driving.
All that is good. The cam-
eras are worthwhile for those
reasons alone.
But they have become a
double-edged sword for
police. The videos also can
The issue:
· Federal grant will pay
for video cameras on
Iowa City police cars.
We suggest:
· The goal is to protect
police, but the cameras
also will help protect the
community.
be used to prove that police
acted improperly.
Who can possibly forget
the video -- shot by a civil-
ian-- of Rodney King being
beaten by police?
Or, the cameras can be
used to prove police didn't
do anything wrong. Let's not
forget, that also can be the
Everyone will benefit
police, criminal suspects and
law-abiding residents.
There's no down side to
this. We welcome the grant
with open arms.
Assault charge too
much for using a
laser pointer on cop
A fad, it seems, has seri-
ous consequences.
Laser pointers used to be
the toy of the three-piece-suit
set. Pull out a laser pointer
(at $60 or $70 on the low
end) and use it to direct
attention in your fancy visu-
al-aid presentation. It was a
mark of success.
The price has come down.
Ten bucks, and anyone can
have one. They're sold on
store counters as key chains.
They used to be in cases.
Now they're out where any-
body can shoplift one.
Why are they popular?
Who knows. But schools
don't like them. They're a
distraction.
Police, especiaily, don't
like them. When that little
red dot of light hits you,
there's no way to tell if it's
someone playing with a laser
pointer -- or someone using
a laser sight on a gun.
A local teen-ager found
out recently just how much
police don't like the toys. He
pointed one at the back of a
police officen Another offi-
cer saw it. Cheap laser point-
er or gun sight?
That teen now faces an
assault charge.
When was the last time an
assassin used a laser sight on
a gun to kill a local police
officer? Can't say. Certainly
not in recent memory.
Tmth is, the sights aren't
all that common. They're
expensive. They're illegal for
hunting.
They always have been a
high-tech toy for better-off
gun collectors. They will
remain so for the foreseeable
future.
That is not to say laser
pointers should be aimed at
police or anyone else. The
dot from a laser pointer looks
just like the dot from a laser
sight. As rare a~s an assassin
might be, how would we
have police react?
How should police react
when someone points a real-
istic water pistol at them?
Wait to see if it's real'?
The teen-ager who aimed
the laser pointer at the officer
ought to face serious conse-
quences. To put it bluntly, he
caused the officer to fear for
his life, and the teen himself
risked being shot.
That's serious.
But assault?
Find a charge. Find a
penalty. But make sure it fits
the crime. So far, we haven't
done that.
The Daily Iowan
Students
snub
*police
forum
· Although the' police review
board .mee. ting was targeted
toward.students, only six
attended. · .
By Zack Kucharski
The Daily Iowan
About 30 people attended a Tues-
day night forum designed to open dis:
cussion about police policies -- but~
half of the audience was made up o~
the police themselves.
The forum, called by the Police Citi-
zens Review Board, was targeted
toward students, yet only six showed
up to voice concerns about public intox-
ication arrests and a proposed change
that would extend police power in the
enforcement of ~loud" house parties.
Forum attendees addressed th~
board, and members or police officers
answered their questions. Many speak-
ers said they were uncomfortable with
giving the police any broader discretion.
However, an officer's discretion is
important, said Iowa City police Officer
P,~A. Mebus, though it may be the root of
disputes between residents and officers.
"Every decision I make is second-
guessed seven times, from my super-
Police review board
holds a forum;
students absent
FORUM
Continued from Page lA
visors, attorneys and others. I'm
very aware what's necessary to do
it right,' he said. "If we arrested
everyone that deserved to be
arrested, we would need a jail the
size of six dormitories and have
public transit on duty ready for
people 24 hours a day.'
When applied to the proposed
party ordinance, many residents
feel that broadened discretion --
allowing officers to act as com-
plainants and disperse parties --
would give police too much power.
~I'm a responsible person who can
take care of my property," vol senior
Kevin Burgess said. ~I think that
the'party ordinance would be
abused by officers. They may az well
walk into my backyard and join.'
Speakers at the forum said the
same is true when it comes to the
charge of public intoxication.
~I feel very safe in Iowa City, but
I have difficulty with public intox,"
UI freshman Gwen Cazsidy said. wi
understand something like a fight,
but I don't feel that walking
crooked merits intoxication.'
There is no alcohol level required
to bo charged with public intoxica-
tion, which is a state law, said
police Sgt. Sid Jackson, adding
that persons charged with public
intoxication demonstrated real or
simulated intoxication. The charge
is expunged from the person's
record ai'mr two years.
The issue is deeper than walking
crooked, Mebus said. It's about pre-
venting other alcohol-related
offenses such az assault and theft.
~Chances are in order to get public
intoxication, you do something prst-
ty dumb," he said. ~You may bo walk-
ing down the street, and you're beat-
ing up newepaper boxes or bouncing
off wails, but we have the obligation
to protect the owners of these
The police are doing the beet
they can with what they are deMt,
Iowa City resident Anna Buss said.
'Anyone who was downtown this
past weekend saw what officers
have to deal with each day,' she
said. "They have a very tough job.
We have a good police departmen.t
that has taken a lot of bad PR.'
pi repoRer za,e liuel~l/can be reached et:
zk~chars@blue.weeg.ui0wa.ed u
See FORUM, Page 4A
'/he Gazette, Wednesday, October 28, 1998, 1B
Police handling of laws
on drinking questioned
By Lynn M. Tefft
Gazette Johnson County Bureau
IOWA CITY - Amanda
Coyne said she couldn't be-
lieve it when a friend told
her police had arrested him
for public intoxication while
he was waiting for a cab
downtown.
"Just waiting for a cab?"
Coyne told members of the
Police Citizens Review Board
IOWA CITY
at a forum last night, urging
the board to review how po-
lice ofl~lcers enforce the law.
Coyne's sentiments were
echoed by several who ad-
dressed the board at the fo-
rum, which was attended by
about 50 people. About half
were officers, who defended
the department's actions.
"If someone gets too drunk
to care for themselves, this
gives me a methodology to
take care of them," said offi-
cer R.A. Mebus.
Some University of Iowa
students asserted that en-
forcement of the law is exces-
sive and unwarranted, espe-
cially when it comes to
students.
Officers explained they on-
ly arrest people who are
drawing attention to them-
selves by doing something
that places themselves or oth-
ers at risk.
Some came to the forum to
contest the so-called party or-
dinance under consideration
by the City Council, which
would give police the ability
to disperse parties that
threaten "injury to persons
or property" without first re-
ceiving a complaint from the
neighbors.
"The ordinance won't be
used to take care of parties
better than they are already
taken care of - it will be used
and abused," said Richard
Twohy, urging the board to
offer input to the council.
Others showed their sup-
port for the Police Depart-
ment. Local property manag-
er Anna Buss said there was
an exodus from her proper-
ties in the Broadway/Taylor
neighborhood after a shoot-
ing there earlier this year,
but people's faith has been
restored thanks to enforce-
ment efforts.
Broadway resident Heather
McAdam, however, said she
opposes such enforcement.
Her minority friends are be-
ing unfairly labeled as crimi-
nals, she said, and are power-
less to fight back because
they don't know their rights.
Enforcement efforfs are not
racially motivated, Sgt. Sid
Jackson said.
"It's criminal activity start-
ed by narcotics," he said. "If
it didn't exist, we wouldn't
have to be there. People are
asking for our help."
Iowa City Press Citizen, Wednesday, October 28, 1998, Front Page
City, police discuss
alcohol arrests
By Larissa Ulstad
The Press-Citizen
Drinking charges and the
party ordinance soon to go
before City Council were two
topics Tuesday night at a Police
Citizens Review Board's com-
munity forum.
Mom than 40 people -- half
of whom were officers
attended the second community
forum and shared wide-ranging
concerns about the police
department and the community.
The PCRB was formed in
1997 to review reports prepared
by the police chief after investi-
gation of police misconduct,
maintain a registry of com-
plaints and provide the informa-
tion to the City Council. The
board has no authority over
police matters, but reviews poli-
cies and procedures and can
make recommendations for
changes.
Amanda Coyne, a graduate
student at the University of
Iowa, expressed concerns about
police charging people with
public intoxication even if they
are walking home.
"It's becoming a city where
it's safer to drive than walk," she
said.
Iowa City Police Sgt. Sid
Jackson said binge drinking is a
problem that community lead-
ers are trying to address in a
variety of ways.
"It's our responsibility and
obligation to take responsibility
for their actions," he said,
adding that most people arrest-
ed for public intoxication draw
attention to themselves by their
conduct.
Iowa City Police Capt.
Patrick Hamey said that state
and federal codes dictate alco-
hol-related crh'nes, often pro-
viding funding and directives
for enforcement. He said the
city can be held accountable.
John Watson, PCRB board
member, said the issues cen-
tered on perception and dis-
cretion. He said the PCRB
can't change perceptions, but
police discretion could be
looked at.
Paul Horley of the PCRB
said the community forums are
a learning experience for the
board as they listen to citizens
and police officers.