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Home My WebLink About12-08-1998 Articles A9101F http:/twvw.uiowa.edu:80/~dlyiowan/issuedv 130Ii 103/stories/A0101F.lltml Police review board comes under city's microscope As the city mulls the board's practices, some say the first proposed change is a step in the wrong direction. By Nathan Hill The Dally Iowan People who file complaints against the Iowa City police could be forced further out of the loop under a new proposal, says Iowa City resident Faith Walker, a recent complainant to the Police Citizens Review Board. "It makes you wonder if (the board) is interacting more with the (involved) officer," said Walker, who is the only person to have her complaint sustained by the board. "For a while, I felt like I had been forgotten about." The ordinance change, which is currently under consideration by the Iowa City City Council, would bar people who bring complaints against police officers from attending name-clearing hearings when thek complaint is reviewed by the board~ ~ ' ' ' ' , ..... The hearings are intended to offer an opportunity for the accused officer to present his or her side of the story during the board's investigation. Currently, the complainant can be present at these hearings and ask the officer questions. Concerned about creating too much of an adversarial atmosphere at the heatings, the council unanimously decided Tuesday night to send the proposal to the board for its consideration. It is likely to be the first of many proposed changes to the board. The reason for the change, which was suggested by the city attorney's office as part of the first annual review of the board, is that holding a heating in which the two conflicting parties are present creates the potential for an "adversarial atmosphere," according to a memorandum written by City Attorney Eleanor Dilkes to the council on Nov. 13. "If you have two people on different sides of an issue, there's potential for some shouting," said Police Chief R.J. Winkelhake. But he added that such a situation is probably unlikely. The council's final action on the proposed change is scheduled to occur on Dec. 15, said Mayor Ernie Lehman. According to Councilor Connie Champion, the proposal is "definitely going to be passed." A veil of secrecy? One of the most common complaints against the board has been that it works, for the most part, behind closed doors. Walker said excluding the complainants would only compound the problem. Walker's hearing came about as a result of her complaint of being treated in a "vicious and racially motivated" manner by police Officer Paul Batcheller during a traffic stop on June 6. The board announced its support of her complaint in an Oct. 16 report. Although Batcheller forfeited his right to appear at the hearing, Walker said the hearing was important to 1 of 3 11/19/98~5a:. 2 .~vl her because it made her feel like she was part of the review process. If that right is taken away from future complainants, she questions the validity of the process. "The complainant should have a way of bringing things out," Walker said. "If not, you don't know what (the board) is doing," Walker said she felt ignored during the board's process; excluding complainants further would make them feel "forgotten," she added. Walker's attorney, Coraiville resident Dave Walker (no relation), said the board is running counter to its purpose by not opening up its proceedings for public review. "A lot of people don't know the board exists," he said. "I thought the purpose of the board is the opposite of that; I would think they'd want to make it as open as possible." The issue is a "balancing act" between public interests and police concerns, Winkelhake said. Because the police department is a public group, many people think everything it does should be public record, he zaid, adding that inter-departmental matters, such as punishing an officer, should be kept private. Balancing those interests might be a moot point, though. Lehman indicated that the way the ordinance is currently structured may be in violation of Iowa law. The reason, Dilkes elaborates in her memo, is because the presence of the complainant creates the risk that confidential information will be discussed in a forum sanctioned by the board. Further, Dilkes states, the nme-cleating provision, as it now stands, is "defective, conflicts with due-process principles and should be amended immediately..." Ending the discussion Excluding complainants from attending heatings would not only make the board more secretive but would also decrease the possibility that the two sides could come to an agreement, argues Dave Walker. One purpose of the hearing is to give the complainant and the officer an opportunity to ask each other questions. By excluding that possibility, Dave Walker said it may prevent the board from completely understanding the incident. However, board members say the ordinance wasn't originally created to offer a fair exchange between complainant and officer; rather, the purpose of the heating is to allow officers a time to defend themselves. "The complainants have other opportunities to tell their side of the story," said board President Leah Cohen. But some argue that the actual face-to-face discussion between officer and complainant is a valuable tool in ending conflicts with police. Because the two parties would have no opportunity at the hearing to talk with each other, it may rule out such a process of mediation. "Once two people can confront each other and discuss the problem, then things seem to become less adversarial," Dave Walker said, adding that courts have recently found mediation to be a highly 2 of 3 11/19/98 8:52 AM successful method of resolving disputes. But the hearing isn't the only time discussion can occur -- mediation is available at any point during the ,rocess, and that is made very clear to complainants, Cohen said. "If anything, we are encouraging mediation," she said. "We've even had a couple of complaints that have been mediated in the past year." Growing pains This change to the ordinance may be the first of many as the board undergoes its first annual city review. As the only police review board in Iowa, most city officials agree that it may take some time to work out all the kinks. Another problem is that the board is relatively young, formed as it was in August 1997 -- in the wake of the Eric Shaw shooting by Iowa City police Officer Jeffrey Gillaspie. "We're ail learning here," Cohen said. "As time goes on, there will be other changes." The board has recommended to the city some changes in its standard operating procedure. One such change would extend the current 60-day limit for filing a complaint to 90 days; another would give additional time for the board to review cases. - -. The ordinance now states that the board has 30 days to issue a ruling on a complaint; Cohen said she'd like that raised to 45 days. The Walker case took 83 days to complete. All the changes must be approved by the council, which is planning to meet with the board in January 1999, although no specific date has been set. Atter discussing the issue briefly, the council has several questions for the board, including how to increase protection of people filing complaints and questioning if it is overstepping its bounds, Champion said. The council is wondering if the board is "going beyond what it was set out to do," Champion said. "Like any public institution, it can get overzealous and go beyond its function." She added that the council has many changes in mind hut declined to elaborate. D/Metro Editor Nathan Hill can be reached at: nhill~blue.weeg.uiowa.edu 3 of 3 11/19/98 8:52 AM icon, November 12, 1998, page 2-3 Let's party at the Supreme Court On Nov. 11, the Iowa City City Council adopted a new law called the DisorderLy House Ordinance; subsequent readings of the ordinance will follow on Nov. 17 and Dec. 1. Although its current name sounds like some- thing that would make Martha Stewart put Iowa City on her top-10 list, it's really about breaking up rowdy parties (at least ostensi- bly), as its former nicknames, the "keg ordi- nance'' and the "party ordinance" indicate. If the ordinance passes at these three scheduled reatlings, it will allow police to act on their own initiative to "restore order and disperse persons" from gatherings that they judge to be out of hand. Currently, police must wait for a neighbor to summon the police to take action. At a Police Citizens Review Board public forum last week at the Newman Catholic Stu- dent Center on the university campus, several people expressed reservations about the pro- posed ordinance, saying it would grant the police too much power and jeopardize the right to peaceably assemble. Some who argue in favor of the ordinance say they would pre- fer to let the police be the heavy rather than confront noisy neighbors or complain about ~them to the police themselves. (Julie Mickens) · Wed., Nov. 11, 1998 TODAY IOWA ® JOHNSON KEOKUK MUSCATINE POWESHIEK WASHINGTON Iowa City poliCe-dog policies await review Searches, riot control the City Attorney's Ofl~ce and mid-January. Winkelhake said the dog changed into an order as the supervisors at the Police. De- The beard has no authority' would never be used without police Department works to. among issues in partment, also bans using the :'to change any Police Depart- authorization of someone otb- ward meeting the standards dog for crowd control in peace- ment policies, but members er than the oifcers at the for accreditation, Winkelhake department proposals ful demonstrations, have set a goal of reviewing scene and the dog's handler, said. The order states that Police Chief R.J. Wthkelhake each policy and offering sug- The policy also outlines how before an officer enters the By Lynn M. Teff[ presented the policy to the gestions if they believe they're the dog would be used in drug building where an open door oazette Johnson County Burea~ Police Citizens Review Beard warranted, detection and tracking missing is found or a burglary alarm IOWA CITY -- Police offl- at their meeting Tuesday after The canine policy does allow persons, sounded after business hours, cers using a dog to search a the beard asked to see the use of the dog, with approval The beard offered little com- businesses are to be contacted. building would have to an- department's policy on build- of a supervisor or canine hun- ment on the building search Oifcers will secure the build- nounce theft presence more lng searches, dler, during riots or other policy, which Winkelhake said . than once and allow three minutes for anyone in the "The canine will have an unauthorized gatherings, is essentia]ly a re-write of a lng and wait [or the business building to respond, according important part in building Board member Paul Hoffey department memorandum that person's arrival. searches in the future," he cautioned against overzealous off~cers have relied on for If the contact person cannoi to a proposed pelicy, said, adding that he hopes to use of the dog in these situa- guidance for the past year. The policy, under review by have the canine in service by tions. The memorandum is being · Turn to 38: ~og policies Dog policies · From page lB be reached, oifcers are to enter ouly ff there is physical evi- dence, such as a broken w~ndow or pry marks, that indicates a burglary. A police supervisor is to be notified and the oifcers need the supervisor's approval before going inside. If there is no phyalcal evi- dence of a burglary other than an open door or window, the officer would secure the build- ing to the extent possible, then an extra watch would be initiat- ed unt 1 the contact person is reached. Members of the Iowa City Police Department's Special Response Team leave a building at 620 Riverside Dr., Iowa CRy, where police were told Tuesday morning they might find murder suspect James Lack. However, Lack, 19, was not there. He is wanted In connection with the death of Frank Lee Boyd. Police questioned three acquaintances of Lack following the search of an apartment in the building. Five other people face various charges In the death of Boyd, whose burned body was found In a Johnson County ditch Aug. 7. Report Calls for Stronger police Review Board By MICHAEL COOPER four-year period. /~xl"t' ~t,/'-~.q thorough enough. With police brutality lawsuits That number is almost sure to Yesterday Mr. Safir dismissed costing New York City $96.8 mil- rise, the report noted. In recent the report as "an old report with a lion over the last four years -- years, more and more people newcover"inawrittenstatement have filed notices of claim -- the in which he said that "data cited nearly 10 cents of every dollar that the city paid in 1997 in person- first step toward filing lawsuits -- in the report is at best selective." alleging police misconduct or bru- "The report fails to note that al injury cases -- the city has a tality. Whereas 1,759 notices of while the police force has in- big financial incentive to strength- en the independent agency that claim in police suits were filed in creased by over 7,500 members 1994, the report said, 2,266 such the number of complaints filed monitors and investigates allega- claims were filed in 1997. with the C.C.R.B. has risen by less tions of police misconduct, ac- Norman Siegel, the executive than 500," he wrote. cording to a new report, director of the Civil Liberties The report recommended tak- The report, released yesterday Union, who helped draft the legis- lng the power to discipline officers by the New York Civil Liberties latian to create the review beard, away from the Police Department Union, found that five years after said that without an effective by creating a separate legal unit the Civilian ComPlaint Review board more and more people within the review board to pros- Board took the responsibility for would go to court. "And if police ecute misconduct cases. It also investigating allegations of police officers believe, deep down in called for amending the City misconduct out of the hands of the their hearts, that'there is no effec- Charter to give beard members Police Department, the all-civil- tire mechanism to get account- the power to choose their own ian review beard has yet to live up ability and discipline them," he chairman rather than the Mayor. to its potential, said, "the misconduct will cantin- The Mayor appoints the 13-mere- The report criticizes the board ue." her board: he selects five mere- for substantiating only 5 percent The review beard investigates bets, the City Council selects five of the allegations it has received allegations of police misconduct and the Police Commissioner se- and criticizes Police C :nmissian- and passes its findings and rec- lects three. er Howard Safir for fai~ing to act ommendatians along to the Police The report praised the review in many cases in which the review Commissioner, who has the power board for fully investigating more board found credible evidence to discipline officers, cases in recent years and for that misconduct had occurred. Echoing criticism that the re- nearly doubling the number of In addition to the human toll view board made in September in eases it substantiated in 1997 to 93 taken by police misconduct, the its twice-a-year status report, the percent. But the report questioned report pointed to the financial toll report criticized Commissioner why the number of substantiated misconduct takes on the city. Cit- Safir as being slow to impose dis- cases dropped again to 4.8 perEant lng figures provided by City cipline in cases when the agency during the first half of 1998. Comptroller Alan G. Hevesi, the finds reason to beIieve that an Sherman Jackson, a beard report found that New York City officer is guilty. In the past, Mr. spokesman, did not respond in de- paid $96.8 million in settlements Safir has often said that he must tail to the report but said, "We are and judgments in police miscon- re-investigate the cases forward- pleased tIjat Mr. Siegel gave us duct cases from 1994 to 1997, a 59 ed to him because the review credit for some of the good things percent increase over the prior board's investigations are not we've done in the last year." UI Professor Says Supreme Court Will Side With Monroe, Iowa, Man nttp;.www.utowa.~uu~ ~,-,- CONTACT: MELVIN O. SHAW 100 Old Public Library Iowa City IA 52242 (319) 384-0010; fax (319) 384-0024 E-mail: melvin-$h aw~,,uiow a. edu Release: Immediate UI law professor says U.S. Supreme Court will side with Monroe, Iowa man IOWA CITY, Iowa -- A University of Iowa law professor who filed a friend of the court brief supporting a Monroe, Iowa man's claim that he was unreasonably searched by a Newton police officer in 1996, says the U.S. Supreme Court will likely rule in the man's favor. UI College of Law professor James Tomkovicz filed the amicus curiae brief in the case argued before the Court on Nov. 3 and is listed as the attomey of record for the case. Tomkovicz, who specializes in criminal law and criminal procedure, says the Fourth Amendment guards against invasive and offensive searches. Tomkovicz agrees with Patrick Knowles, who claims the police officer who stopped him for speeding had no right to search his car simply because he had been issued a traffic citation for speeding. The officer found marijuana and a pipe in Knowles' car. A state trial judge later sentenced Knowles to 90 days in jail. The brief was written at the request of the American Civil Liberties Union and the Iowa Civil Liberties Union, which have sided with Knowles. Although an Iowa statute authorizes officers to search motorists and the insides of their vehicles whenever they issue a traffic citation, the Fourth Amendment requires searches to be "reasonable." "Full searches of the body are pretty imrusive. At a minimum, there needs to be probable cause or a lawful custodial arrest. In Mr. Knowles' case, there was no probable cause to search for contraband or a weapon, and the officer had decided not to arrest him. Consequemly, there was no reason to assume that Mr. Knowles would destroy evidence, threaten the officer's safety, or pose any other kind of danger. It's a painfully simple case," Tomkovicz says. The brief makes three arguments against the constitutionality of"searches incident to traffic citations." It malmalns that there is no common law authority for such searches, that Supreme Court precedents require a "custodial" arrest and that the government's interests in searching traffic offenders do not outweigh the costs to personal privacy imposed by such searches. "The Fourth Amendment extends constitutional protection to the privacy of our persons and our vehicles. That privacy cannot be violated unless the government demonstrates superior interests. In Knowles' case, and in the case of other Iowa motorists cited for minor traffic offenses, there are no demonstrated government interests that justify the intrusive searches permitted I of 2 11/9/98 3:40 PM by the Iowa statute," Tomkovicz says. Should the Court rule in the government's favor in the Knowles case, other states could see the ruling as an invitation to conduct similar searches. If the Court instead concludes that the Iowa law is unconstitutional, as Tomkovicz predicts, the ruling will inform the states that traffic citations do not provide an adequate reason for searching motorists. Iowa, and a few other states that authorize such seamhes, would have to change their laws to conform to the ruling, Tomkovicz says. It is not certain when the Court will issue its ruling in the case, but Tomkovicz says he would not be surprised to see an opinion handed down before January. While the ruling may not have a dramatic effect on most routine traffic stops, it could at least restrain officers from to stopping and searching motorists based on inappropriate variables, such as race, Tomkovicz says. 11/9/98 ~Releases a~K=J 2 of 2 11/9/98 3:40 PM Year later, board findS police officer at fault Faith Walker case w~,,,, ,~, ~oy ,,~ ~w~,, ~t~,.,, ,ook hold of his arm and tried to prell him from provoked attention at first, but now what? thing more suspi-. 'q think there's some According to Walk- The story's front- apprehension [ar~on~ sault cha~ge has not sured that both the officers]. This group didn't county attorney, cerned members of come out of something fence. Wouldtememberthe warm and fuzzy, [it Although Walk- caseRselfandthein- originated with] a thtak that race pces..ow,.,,, .o contentious group that incident' (Faith olficia[ community doesn't trust the police" Walker and theboys the same papets that -- ~:OT. ~ 1~1['~;~Il vlewboarddc~snot can with the tools they have." neighbor's complainO: "Whenever you get Davidson added, "1 have no doubt that away from having a victim," he said, there is the individuals on this board want to make it a potenfial foe a misuse ot power. · - as vital as possible. The question is, does the The board, which was formed just last council support that?" )~ear, has spent most of its first y~ar getting' Another quesfion might be, do the police set up and establishing procedure. Since its officers support that? For many, the answer inception, it has received 24 complaints, 19 seems to be no. Based on the remarks of the of which it had reviewed when its annual re- officers who attended the board's latest pub- port was issued Sept. 30. Twelve of the com- lic forum Oct. 27 and interviews with Set- plaints were filed by a single individual. No geant Sid Jackson and Officer Dan Dreck- worffiwhile demographic conclusions can be man, president of the Police Labor Relations drawn about the complainants because only Organization, there seems to be some wari- eight complainants from the already stafisti- ness on the part of police officers, perhaps cally small pool provided demographic in. also a feeling that people just don't under- formation. stand how hard the job is. The volunteer members have been ex- Jackson explained: "I think there's some tremely busy, according to its annual report, apprehension [among officers]. This group meeting 43 times in the past year, for about didn't come out of something warm and two, or three hours each time, not including fuzzy, [it originated with] a contentious 12 evenings devoted to the citizens' police group that doesn't trust the police." When academy. asked if he thought officers felt that parts of The board has not begun a formal review the community were out to get them, Jack- of police policy but has suggested improve- son responded, "That's the impression offic- ments in the course of considering com- ers are getting--that they're looking for plaints. They have questioned the desirability something and won't be satisfied until they of having plainclothes officers make routine find it." traffic stops (in the Faith Walker complaint Dreckman said, "In general. I don't think case), suggested guidelines to clarify policy on people are so much against the thought of when it is appropriate to videotape, recom- the thing," referring to the proposal that the mended further clarification of public intoxi- board evaluate police policy and procedures, cation procedures and urged the depamnent However, in studying theconduct of individ- to make sure that persons placed in the ual officers, "They're not really a review Johnson County~ail are ~eated appropriately. board anymore; it's more like a citizens' in- Now entering its second year, the board quisifion." seeks to make time to tackle a review Of po- Dreckman also said he had strong reserva- -lice policy and als6 plans a third public fo- tions about the board perhaps deciding to mm for early December at the Broadway also investigate anonymous .complaints Neighborhood Center. As for the final ira- against officers for the same reason he ques- pact of this Iowa City experiment and quasi- tions the wisdom of the proposed Disorderly governmental body, it will have to be as House Ordinance (the so-called "party ordi- Davidson said at the board's last public fo- nance," which would give the police power rmn: "The proof is in the puddingd% to disperse a par~ without first receiving a JuLI£ MIc~£~s IowaCity Press-Citizen, Monday, Nov. 9, 1998, Opinion page Letters Grateful for PCRB I wanW. xi to express my grat- itude for the work of the Police Citizens' Review Board in the case of Faith Walker and Officer Paul Batchellan ~l~nough my own encounters with members of the Iowa City police force have all been suc- cessful, I have felt -- ever since Eric Shaw's death -- that our police department has not been fully under control, and that "standard procedures" vary remarkably on the force. The fact that Officer Batcheller did not walt for backup -- a stan- dard police procedure in cases in which the possibility of phys- ical violence appears high -- suggests continued training problems on the force. This is so even though -- again, following Eric Shaw's killing -- we are all assured that the chief of pohce, the city man- ager, and City Council members were reviewing police perfor- mance down to the nth degree. Jay Shaw's letter, which appeared in the same issue of the Press-Citizen as the report on the PCRB ruling, reminds civil rights lawsuit against the light in some of the darker me of how mysterious lowa Iowa City police force, the city places of Iowa City. City has been to me since I itselfmay finally face the day of TomSimmons moved here six years ago from reckoning it has long deserved; Associate Professor Massachusetts. I was astonished the complacency and poor lead- Univemity of Iowa athowunwillinglowaCitiansin ership that have plagued this general were to object to Eric place wilI finally come under Shaw's killing, how complacent severe scrutiny; the good offi- they were in the face of clear cers on our force will have thek violations of Eric Shaw's civil loyalty rewarded with the train- rights, and how they acted on lng and supervision they the whole as if nothing much deserve; and we may actually had occurred. When I leave look like a community with lowa~City, I will carry the story some sense of civic responsibil- with me as evidence of some ity. real sickness in tiffs place. My best wishes go again to However, the creation of the the family of Eric Shaw, and to PCRB is one small but impor- Faith Walker and her family, rant good thing to come from whose complaint against Officer that terrible event. If the PCRB Batcheller may finally, with the can create an opportunity for a help of the PCRB, shed some