HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-09-2000 ArticlesIOWA TODAY
Council
about, ~11~ ~ condu~':%~as
w-'~"n-e~gmg ~o=~ ~er the dea~ of Eric ' From page lB
Shaw; a police o~cer ~y so f~ ~ 20~, he said.
shot Shaw in Shaw's ~uth Watson sh~ conce~s about ~e poUce ~ion
fate of te~g ~ membors to not,p~[eipato ~ modia-
~st 100~ while investigating flon or nm~cle~g he~gs or mle~e ~-
an open door at the shop. scripts of theR ~te~iews wl~ ~tem~
I e board
council membor8 had
~ ~ presse~ a desire to continue 'Tm ~ncemed about ~e bl~et prohibition
the bo~ ~ Steve K~er of mention," Watson said. "It shoffid b~
Residents' comfo~ anO Ross Wflb~. ~e other ~dividu~ officer's dec.ion."
five said more ~omation Council member Ross
factors in ~ture of woma be needed before a d. bo~d has ~e tools it ne~s to do i~ job.
c~slon wo~d be made. Wagon s~ it does. but
police review bo~d~ut ~ ~ab, who baa more cooperatlon ~om officers.
sa~d prev~omly that he w~ "As long ~ ~t is ~ ~d~vidu~ dec~i6n, I ~ess
~ lohn 8~n~on loaning against renewal, we c~ llve with it,' hp s~d.
G~e~e ataff wrl~or s~med to have c~g~ ~M- Watson asked co~cfl members what criteria
IOWA CITY -- For Mayor tton MonOay. prong ~o ~ey wffi use to Oecide whe~er to eont~ue
Ernie ~hm~, a factor in h~s bo~d'~ effo~. : bo~d. Lehm~ said ~e
v~te on the fut~e of the city's "I sup~ w~t gO~'re ~o-' cus~d ~ose criteria, but shoffid do so soon.
Police Cit~en's Review Bo~d ~g.' ~ab said, eit~g pmb- Co.cfi member D~ V~derhoef said her mm
w~ be the level of comfo~ in lores wi~ polico ~ other c~t- criteria wffi be much l~e ~'s: to
the community brought about ~es as ovidenc~ ~at ~o sm~ tempe how the public perceives ~e ~d.
by the bond's existence, co~d hap~n bore.
"~ether it woffid be d~erent wi~out you,
"~e level of comfo~ ~s "It rolieves the press~o on ~at is ~e question.'
better, I think, in just know- a press~e cooker re~tion-
ing the board is here." ~h- ship."
man smd Monday at a meet- Boa~ cha~ ~ohn Wat-
ing of the City Go~cfl and son sh~ed deta~s about tho
the ~a~. bond's actions since i~ ~-
~e two ~oups met at the ception. Thirty-~ght eom-
request of the bo~d, whos~ pla[n~ haw been ho~d, but
m~mbers wero looking for a the number h~ decre~e~
re~o~ c~0 fr~ the council, each ye~, with o~y on~ ~ed
The council wffi vote before
Au~st 2001 on the board's I lure to 5~:
future; a sunset clause in tho .
board's fomat~on 2~ goats
ago goes ~to effect Aug. 1
next ye~.
Page 3A
Tuesday,
May 2,
Iowq! City press-Citizen 2000
The council will ~tecide in She said on the majority
August 2001 whether the, of cases the board
Review groupshouldevencontinue, plies with Winkelhake's
and members of both bodies advice. But if it doesn't, it
said there should be some makes another repor~ to be
board for deciding . sen. t to the council
the effectiveness of the rewew. ~ ~
board. The 5t~ffC~ W~d have,
The board reviews com-, the opportunity' to come to
ing policemisconduct, i before it goes to the court-
Board member Eeah 'cil, but the police umon rec-
Cohen said having the board i onunends that officers not
council the community feel ~,go.
better. . Watson said the board
~l~c~ere is a perception ,would like to have more
with the b~ard setting there '~ public forums.
(that) the police department ', There was some criti-
Group's future ~d of ~liees i~e~: she
discussed ~d. Co~.~.o~ Steve Kanner
Bo~.rd chairman John '~ said the board should "take
Watson said there have.ia more proactive role" in
been 38 complaints since getting minority representa-
mee~.no the board was started in tion.
1997, 10 of which came Councilor Connie
By Fred huca$ from the same person in the Champion said the board
Imva C{t~l Press-Citize~ first year. ! was "distant" from the
When a. complaint is :police department and the
~ The Iowa City Police filed, the board asks for a council
Department's credibility is reportfrompOliceChiefR~.
gre~ter because of the Winkelhake as well as all
Police Citizens Review additional information on
~oard, Mayor EroieLehman the topic, such as video
said. tapes or manuscripts of
This was the sentiment interviews.
~-pressed by almost all After reviewing the evi-
Iowa City Council members dence, the board decides
at a joint whethertoacceptordiscard
~O~ City meeting with the complaint, said. board
the review member P~t Farrant.
board
Monday night, where they
discussed the board, its
future and its role in the
community.
Gazette, Monday, May 1, 2000, 5B
Council holds future of police board
By Adam Lowenstein board's authority.
Gazette staff writer
IOWA CITY -- The future of the Police Mayor Ernie Lehman and council
Citizens Review Board will be on the members Connie Champion, Mike
table when the board and City Council O'Donnell and Dee Vanderhoef have
praised the group's accomplishments but
meet at 6:30 tonight, said they need to do more research
When the board was formed 2'5 years before making a decision.
ago after the Eric Shaw shooting, a
"sunset clause" was included, requiring Irvin Pfab has said he needs to gather
the council to vote by next August on more information but his inclination is
whether to continue the group, to discontinue the board.
A police officer fatally shot Shaw in
Shaw's South Gilbert Street art shop late Also to be discussed are cost issues
on the night of Aug. 30, 1996, while associated with the board and the partic-
ipation and cooperation of Iowa City
investigating an open door at the shop. police.
An informal survey of council mem-
bers in February indicated that Steven The meeting will take place at the
Kanner and Ross Wilburn already have council chambers at the Iowa City Civic
decided they will vote to renew the Center, 410 E. Washington St.
Tuesday, April 25, 2000
Page 0
The costs of racial Profiling
Racial profiling palces minorities in the cross hairs of police officers, with far greater consequences than
the temporary discomfort of increased police scrutiny or harassment.
Racial profiling is responsible for the deaths of black men such as Amadou Diallo, whose body was
riddled with 19 bullets for reaching for his wallet, and Patrick Dorismond, also of New York. Dorismond
was trying to hail a cab in New York City when dndemover police agents attempted to entrap him in a
drug deal. Dorismond wanted no part of the deal, was angered at the suggestion, had no idea he was
dealing with undercover policemen, and wound up dead.
Racial profiling has other victims. The Justice Department is investigating allegations of racial profiling in
Connecticut, Florida, Maryland and New Jersey. A series of lawsuits in Mount Prospect, Ill., alleged that
Latinos were targeted for traffic stops. Mount Prospect denies it did anything wrong, but there was a
$900,000 settlement. In the meantime, Mount Prospect began tracking the stops of minority drivers,
recruited several Latino police officers, eliminated ticket quotas, and instituted a new policy selectively
enforcing the law.
Black women have also been targeted. The Government Accounting Office reports that black women
traveling on international flights are more likely to be strip-searched than any other demographic group,
despite the fact that the searches are less likely to uncover contraband than searches of other people. The
FBI admitted that racial profiling of Asians led to the investigation and arrest of Wen Ho Lee on
questionable espionage charges.
Disproportionate incarceration rates in the United States for minorities are another consequence of racial
profiling. Blacks are 54 percent of the 1.7 million Americans who are incarcerated, but represent only 13
percent of the general population. Iowa mirrors the national trend. Blacks make up 24 percent of Iowa's
state prison population but only 2 percent of the state's general population. In Minnesota, blacks make up
8 percent of the state's general population, but account for 48 percent of the state's prison population. In
1981, two white people went to prison in Minnesota for every non-white person; today, it is 1-1.
The combination of racial profiling and the war on drugs is to blame, not an increased rate of crime
an~ong minorities. Charles Shaw, a federal judge, reported in an editorial in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
that the United States has 5 percent of the world's population but 25 percent of the world's population
that is behind bars. Two million Americans sit in America's prisons and jails; I million are imprisoned for
non-violent offenses. One-quarter of the people in jail are incarcerated for possession or low-level
dealing. Blacks account for an estimated 14 pement of the nation's drug users but make up 35 percent of
the number of people arrested for drug possession, 55 percent of the number of drug-possession
convictions and 74 percent of the number of people sentenced to serve time.
Randall Kennedy, a Harvard law professor, describes racial profiling as a special tax on all young, black
men. Kennedy states that conviction and arrest statistics may be skewed by racial profiling itself "If
people believe that young, black men are more likely to commit crime and thus pay special attention to
young black men, it should come as no surprise that police will nab larger percentages of young, black
lawbreakers," Kennedy said. "People tend to find, after ail, what they are already looking for."
I o1'2 4/25:00 2:13
President Clinton and Attorney General Janet Reno have responded weakly to complaints of racial
profiling by encouraging local police departments to gather data on the racial makeup of people who are
stopped. Approximately 200 police agencies across the country are collecting data on the race of drivers
who are stopped, including Iowa City. Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack has created a task force to study the
minority prison population. Chuck Samuelson of the Minnesota Civil Liberties Union believes that if
police check the race of drivers, they will be deterred from stopping motorists because of the color of
their skin. But racial-profiling studies are not permanent -~ and even if reporting deters racial profiling,
once the studies are over, the disincentives for targeting minority drivers will be gone. Police will also be
encouraged to discontinue racial profiling during a study, but it will be business as usual when the study
ends.
More permanent remedies are needed but are hard to find. Last week, the Oklahoma House of
Representatives passed a measure to the state Senate that allows people who believe they were stopped
merely because of their race to file a compliant with the state Human Rights Commission or the district
attorney. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled this month that law officers cannot stop someone
because of ethnicity unless there is other very specific information that identifies the suspect.
More remedies of this sort are needed because driving while black or brown should not be a crime. The
police have a duty to keep an eye out for criminal activity by persons of all races. Effective crime control
should not unfairly target minorities.
Eric Richard is a DI columnist and editorial wrilcr.
I_km~c I ,";care3 [ Fronl I Mctro & Iowa I Nation & World l_Vicwpoints I Sports ] Arts [ 80 110urs[ UnivcrsiW Editionl l'rcGamc]
' t~l'2 ¥25/00 2:13 PM
By ELIZABETH BENJAMIN, Staff writer
First published; Friday, April 28, 2000
Albany Law at heart of
police oversight plan
Albany -- City officials say involvement of
school would ensure board would act
impartially
Responding to criticism that a proposed Citizens'
Police Review Board will not be independent
enough, supporters Thursday said oversight by
Albany Law School would ensure thorough and
impartial investigations into police misconduct.
Critics are concerned because the new board would
continue to rely on the Albany Police Department's
Office of Professional Standards to conduct the initial
investigation into complaints. During public bearings
over the past several months, questioned the ability
of police to effectively police themselves.
Setting up a wholly independent revie~v board with
its own investigators would be too expensive, city
officials told the Times Union editorial board
Thursday. And removing the right to investigate
complaints against officers would undercut the police
chiefs ability to discipline his employees, they said.
"By letting the chief take care of what he needs to do
first, we are not undermining his authority," said City
Treasurer Betty Bamette, who was a member of the
mayor's task force on civilian police review.
Deputy Mayor Philip Calderone on Thursday said the
law school's Government Law Center will oversee
eve~7 step of the process -- fi-om training review
board members and drafting the body's bylaws to
recommending outside investigators il' the board has
exhausted all other options.
Under the proposed Citizens' Police Review Board
~lan, the Government Law Center will also run a
mediation program as an option for residents who
I o1'3 4:2~1/00 I I 5q AM
choose to work out their problems with an officer
without initiating a full investigation.
It will help design "user-friendly" complaint forms
that will be available at yet-to-be-determined
locations throughout the city so residents who don't
want to file a complaint in person with the board or
at the Police Department can do so in a "safe" and
familiar environment like a community center.
"Albany Law School is an institution of undisputed
integrity and renown, and it's involvement should
assure the community of the integrity of the process,"
said Calderone, adding that the relationship between
school and review board would be "unique and highly
progressive" compared to other boards nationwide.
Albany Law will contract with the University at
Albany's School of Criminal Justice to collect data
about the review board, conduct surveys of residents'
satisfaction with the process and issue quarterly
reports, Calderone said. If the school's research
indicates people are dissatisfied with the board,
officials will consider changing it.
S. Neal Currie, co-chair of the Capital Region Justice
for Diallo Committee, on Wednesday questioned if
Albany Law is equipped to handle the job. Law
school officials, though, say the Government Law
Center has seven full-time employees ~hd a mediation
program with a lawyer and would likely hire an
additional employee for the board.
Officials estimated the review board will cost at least
$150,000 in its first year. The law school will pay
mediators and investigators and the city will
reimburse it.
And Mayor Jerry Jennings pledged "the city will find
the money necessary to make it work" even if the
cost increases.
The proposed Citizens' Police Review Board was
unanimously approved Wednesday by a nine-member
mayor-appointed task force. Jennings said he will
most likely send the legislation with few changes to
the Common Council for an eventual vote.
The legislation calls for a review board with tbur
members appointed by the council and three by the
2 o1'3 4/28/00 11:55 AM
mayor. The board would review investigations by the
Office of Professional Standards and have the ability
to request further inquiry by both the police chief and
the mayor.
If the board is unsatisfied with the mayor's findings, it
will be able to ask the Common Council for authority
to begin an outside investigation. The board could
use the subpoena power afforded the council by the
City Charter.
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