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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-22-2000 Articles IOWA CITY IOWA CI~, IOWA VOL, 117 NO. 36 50 CENTS PCRB looks to future I.C. council Will decide this year whether ~,yor l~rnte lehman and mera- bets Connie Champion. Mike to continue police review board, which O'Donnell and Oee Vanderhoef praised file group's accomplish- formed after the Eric Shaw was s.oo.n~ merits but satd they need to do IOWA CITY -- Members of · 8te~e~ Km~et m~l ~om~ length of time for the board to cfi to s~i-t thinking now about ~oard Issued ~n eflnual report) · Im~n P~b -- Inclinecl to vote to said Vanderhoef, the lone coua- councL1 will not vote for anoth- Omelyt~eother thmeweresti~l..- · ~aal~o~Emlel.ehmanan4 clause. "Now I'1] wait for the Board: Receives complaints arid'reviews chief's decisions · From page lA artist Eric Shaw by an Iowa enough people out there to keep "This board has worked long Kanner, who campaigned last City police officer, the board an eye on us." Dreckman said. hours and shown a willingness year for more public input was touted as an impartial He added that officers feel per- to take on tough issues and talk throughout city government, watchdog organization, The secured by the board. "Let the to the city council," said Iowa said a board that lakes corn- board receives complaints, for- sun set on them." City resident Osha Gray David- ment about the Police Depart- wards them to the Police De- Winhelhake reserved com- son. "It would send a disturbing merit is particularly important. partment for internal affairs in. ment on whether the board message if the city allows it to vestigations and reviews Police should continue, saying the cease to exist. The (board) helps "1 expect that the Police De- Chid R.J. Winkethake's deci- council has not solicited his relations with the public and partment will continue to do a sions whether to discipline oll]- opinion, lie noted, however, helps the police do their jobs." good job but it's only human cers after those investigations, that some complaints going Former council member Ka- that there will be abuses and The board is to ensure that through the long board process ten Kubby, also an ardent sup- oversights," Kanner said. "It's WinkeLhake did not act unrea- could be resolved easily if the porter of the board, said she especially key to have some sort sonably, arbitrarily or capri- complainant simply met with a would like the council to in- of citizens review beard that ciously, police supervisor.~ crease board powers. Even if it people feel they can go to in Watson said the group has "I don't care what kind of doesn'L it shouldn't eliminate confidence and have their corn- full'filed this mission, not only review process we have, the the board, she said, "(The plainis reviewed in a manner by fairly reviewing complaints first thing to do is to go to the board) gives the community an- that has guidelines and rules." but also by encouraging more immediate supervisor," Winkel- other place to go to complain communication between the hake said. "You could have an about police, to make their ob- ~- co~ ~ yn Te~t ~t Is~sl public and police through com- answer in a couple of days." servations," Kubby said. munity forums. The board also has studied some questions FOR COMPLAINTS received posed by the public, including by the review board, city ordi- the prevalence of rare-besed nance gives the police chief 90 trall]c stops, he said. days to investigate a complaint However, Watson said, the and the board 45 days to review board continues to face chal- the chiefs decision. lenges that it wants to discuss Lehman said, however, that with the council. Chief among the board's value may lie in them is board access to infor- (bat it is not an arm of the matlan, he said. Police Department. "If this board makes the public more BOARD MEMBERS are con- comfortable with the police de- cerned, Watson said, that offi. partment, that may be ceason cers against whom complaints enough (to keep the board)," he are filed will not participate in said. mediation or name-clearing O'Donnell and Vanderhoef hearings or release transcripts agreed but said they are con- of their interviews with inter- corned about how much the hal affairs investigators, group ccsts the city. Including When reviewing Winkel- projected expenses for fmc. al hake*s decisions, the board is 2000, the Police Citizens Review empowered to conduct its own Board will have spent about investigations of alleged mis- $103,500 since its formation in conduct. Board members know September 1997, according to the councU cannot compel offi- city recor6s. cers to participate, Watson said, A $42,132 budget is slated for but want councU members to fiscal 2001, with 3 percent th* know what kind of challenges creases the next two years i~ the the board faces, board cantthues. Most of the "Our concern is that officers budget pays the salary of the are being told (by the union) board's administrative assis- never to do it," Watson said. He tam, Sandy Bauer, and legal maintained that officer partici* fees for outside attorneys it parian would make the board*s must hire to remain indepon, reviews more complete, dent of the city altorney's office, Dan Dreckman, president of Watson acknowledged the the Police Labor Relations Or- money conceHls btlt s~id c0un- gmlization of Iowa city. eon- cB members need to consider cedes that union members have volunteer time given to the el. been instructed not to comply fort. The board's five members with the police review board, estimated they each spent about Furthermore, he said. the union 84 hours in fiscal 1999 serving ~ will ask the council to vote the board. against renewing the board next Meantime, those who lobbied year, the council to form the board "It's not like there aren't continue to support it. ~ Navigation: Headlines: Local Government: Report What d~ you wafit to leaefl~ eLocats. Police review boards debated · Sections · A new advisory board is formed in · Headlines W.D.M.; other cities move toward some · News Extras sort of civilian input. · Forums · Columnists · Weather By DANIEL P. FINNEY Register Staff Writer · Duffy 02/21/2000 · Other News · Sports West Des Moiues, la. - Frank Perez Jr. remembers · Entertainment being a little scared of police when he was a boy. O ·arketplaces Perez grew up in the 1960s in Valley Junction and Il Cars · Employment caused little trouble. Yet, when he saw officers · Real Estate walking beats, they made him nervous. · Apartments · Shoppinq "They seemed kind of cold and distant," Perez said. · Classifieds "When we would see them on the streets, we would say, 'Look, it's the cops.' We got quiet. They were kind of scary." Nearly four decades later, Perez finds himself giving advice to police. Perez is a member of West Des Moines Police Chief Jack O'Donnell's advisory committee. O'Donnell gathered 16 West Des Moines community leaders to improve communication between police and residents of Iowa's fastest-growing city. The group, selected by O'Donnell from officers' and city officials' suggestions, will meet quarterly and discuss law enforcement issues, such as community needs and policy. "It will serve as a two-way channel," O"Donnell said. "The citizens will be able to ask us questions and give us ideas and we will be able to run ideas past them on policies and future projects." Public Comments West Des Moines joins police departments throughout Iowa and nationwide in inviting more regular public comment from ordinary citizens. Most communities, including West Des Moines, stop short of giving the citizen boards any policy-making or disciplinary powers. Police across the United States, however, are attempting to be more friendly to citizens who, like Perez, grew up wary of police. "It used to be one-size-fits-all mentality," said Ankeny Police Chief Paul Scranton. "Now, 1 think we're doing a better job of recognizing that we're dealing with people. When you know that, then no, it's really not one-size-fits-all." Yet how much police departments are willing to stretch to meet the demands of an increasingly inquisitive public varies considerably. Most police departments oppose stronger measures that give ordinary citizens the power to censure, discipline and even fire renegade police officers. About 60 cities nationwide have a civilian review board. These panels, unlike the informal measure in West Des Moines, are defined in city code. Members are appointed to specific terms and often have real policy-making power. Boards Debated Police generally oppose civilian review boa[ds. Officers argue that civilians don't understand what it's like to be a police officer. They worry that the boards will build second-guessing into the system and ultimately harm police effectiveness. "The city hires administration to supervise police actions," said Des Moines Police Chief William Moulder, whose department has fought installation ora civilian review board for years. "If l'm not doing that, I should be fired." Civilian oversight supporters don't buy the notion that ordinary people are unable to understand the perils of being a police officer. "Other professions, doctors, lawyers, have laype0ple who oversee their actions," said Ben Stone, executive director of the Iowa Civil Liberties Union. "Yet we're supposed to believe that police are somehow different." Calls for civilian oversight usually arise after police beat or kill a suspect. Iowa City, which has the only 2 o1' [ 2/2 I ;00 I !l~ PM civilian review board in the state, started civilian oversight of police after an officer shot and killed a man who was talking on the telephone in his father's business in 1996. The board lacks any disciplinary or policy-making power. The five-person board, created by city ordinance, receives complaints from the public. The board turns those complaints over to the Iowa City police chie£ The chiefs office has 90 days to make a report to the board. The board can then choose to agree or disagree with the chiefs findings. The names of officers being investigated are not made public. Some Concern The Iowa City board can interview complainants and witnesses, but no one can be forced to appear before the board. Officers being questioned have been advised by union representatives not to appear. "I'm a little concerned about always having to defer to the chief"s findings," said John Watson, the chairman of the Iowa City review board. "We can't really form our own findings." Iowa City Police ChiefR.J. Winkelhake said the board hasn't really changed his department since it was formed four years ago. "We spend a lot of time in internal affairs investigations that could probably be answered in a few minutes if the complaints came straight to the supervisor," he said. Police departments prefer to invite citizen input through advisory boards, such as West Des Moines' panel. The groups are usually informal, seldom defined in city code and can be dissolved at any time by the police chie£ Police argue these boards are much more useful to the public. "When you're talking about civilian review boards, you're talking about use of force and complaints only," Scranton said. "In advisory boards, you're talking about how police can improve services, neighborhood needs and things we can do to improve the quality of life. That's a lot more relevant to people." o1'4 721:00 1:05 PM No one tracks the number of informal advisory boards in Iowa. JeffCaylor, president of the lowa Police Executive Forum, estimates there are only a handful in the state. Only 30 of Iowa"s 950 cities have populations of more than 10,000 Caylor said police are more accessible in smaller communities. "Everybody sees their local police officers at Little League games or at church," said Caylor, who is police chief in Carroll. "You don't really need advisory committees there. People just approach their neighbor." It's Necessary Others argue that civilian oversight is usually necessary. "Police have a lot of power and sometimes they abuse that power," Stone said. "People with power will do things to protect that power and it will go on as long as people are willing to let it go on." As for the West Des Moines committee, Stone said he was encouraged that O"Donnell started the group without a major incident causing citizens to demand more input. Stone said, however, residents [hould . watch the board with caution. "It shouldn't become another mouthpiece for the police department," Stone said. "lfit"s the first step to something else, then it's a good move." Perez believes in any effort by police to be more in touch with the people they protect. "When I was a boy, I saw a police officer and said, 'It's a cop,'" Perez said. "When my children see police, they say, 'Look, it's Officer So-and-so' and they go up and talk to them, To my children, police are real buman beings. That'S the way it should be." · Navigation: Headlines: Local Government: Report Copyright © 2000, The Des Moines Register. Use of this site signifies your agreement to the Terms of Service (updated 2/23/98).