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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-13-2000 Communication May 30, 2000 John Watson Police Citizens Review Board 410 E. Washington Street Iowa City, IA 52240 Dear John, Thank you for your membership in NACOLE and I apologize for taking so long to respond. As an associate member you are eligible to participate in all association activities, but are ineligible to vote or serve as an officer. Your membership number is NA0118. Please refer to this number when corresponding with NACOLE. IfI or any of the Board members can be of assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact me. Sincerely, Clyde B. Davis Treasurer and Membership Director 17.O. Box 1110 · Lanham, Maryland 20703 · (301) 731-5808 · (301) 794-0264 (fax) E-mail: nacole95~,aol.com * Web Page: www.nacole.org HISTORY OF NACOLE In 1993, several members of the US delegation to the IACOLE (International Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement) conference in Cambridge, Massachusetts met to discuss issues of mutual concern relating to civilian oversight within the United States. The focus of the meeting was the creation of a national organization that would address these issues. At the 1994 LA, COLE conference in Orlando, Florida, meetings were held with the US attendees to the conference. Several tele-conferences were held during the year to discuss issues related to the creation ora national organization. In April 1995, a group of individuals met in Landover, Maryland and approved the articles of incorporation and preliminary by-laws. The National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE) was approved as the official name of the organization. NACOLE has been established as a nonprofit, tax exempt, professional organization. NACOLE is endorsed by the International Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (IACOLE). NACOLE recognizes that the majority of law enforcement officers strive, ot~en under dangerous and demanding circumstances, to can3, out their duties in a restrained, lawfifl and professional manner. Tt~ United States, however, continues to have a growing crisis of police misconduct. NACOLE's goal is to be a catalyst in establishing adequate mechanisms to review, provide oversight, and investigate questionable and unacceptable actions of law enforcement officers and to be a resource to existing agencies. NACOLE conducts an annual conference each year that pro'fides citizens, practitioners of dvilian ov .e. oig~ht, and la;v enforcement with the opportunity to dialogue and exchange information on questionable and unacceptable actions of law enforcement personnel. GOALS · To provide for the establishment, development, education, and technical assistance off`for the civilian oversight of law enforcement. · To develop a national forum to provide an informational and educational clearinghouse and a publication resource of educational information for the public and organizations in the field of civilian oversight of law enforcement. · To encourage the highest ethical standards in organizations which oversee law enforcement. · To educate the public by developing mechanisms to enhance police and community relations, educate law enforcement agencies, and encourage law enforcement to respond with sensitivity to citizens' issues and complaints. · To encourage full racial and ethnic representation and participation in this organizatir,n and the agencies overseen by its members. National Association For Civilian Oversight Of Law Enforcement (NACOLE) Sixth Annual Conference September 26-29, 2000 Outrigger Hotel 4331 Kauai Beach Drive Lihue, Hawaii 96766 (808) 245-1955 POCO NACOLE CONFERENCE REOISTRATION [ ] REOULAR MEMBER $250 [ } ORGANIZATIONAL MEMBER $2:50 [ ] STUDENT MEMBER $275 [ ] A~SOCIATE MEMBER $300 [ ] NON-MEMBER $300 NAME DATE TITLE AOENCY/BOARD ADDRESS CiTY STATE ZIP PHONE ( ) Fao( ( ) E-MAIL P. O. Box I I I0 · LANHAM, MARYLAND 20703 (30 I ) 73 I -5808 · (30 I ) 794-0264 FAX · E-fataL: NACOLE95@AOL.COM · Regular members are de£med as those persons: · Who are not sworn law enforcement officers; · Who work for or constitute U.S. agencies which are established by legislative or executive authority to investigate and/or review issues and complaints against law enforcement; or · Who have worked for and/or have constituted U.S. agencies, which are established by legislative or executive authority to investigate and/or review complaints against law enfomement. Regular members are eligible to vote and serve as officers or members of the Board of Directors. · Associate members are defmed as any persons interested in the oversight of law enforcement. Associate members shall be able to participate in all Association activities including serving on committees, but are ineligible to vote or serve as officers or members of the Board of Directors. · Organizational ~;:eh~bers are defined as agencies or boards who provide civilian oversight of law enforcement by legislative or executive mandate. These agencies or boards will receive one transferable regular membership and associate memberships for the remaining members of the Agency or Board. · Sustaining members are de£med as organizations or individuals who wish to make tax deductible contributions to further the goals and principles of NACOLE. · Student members are defined as individuals who are full time students and are interested in the oversight of law enforcement. Student members shall be able to serve on committees but are ineligible to vote or serve as officers. · Lifetime members are defined as individuals who are regular members and have paid dues for this category as established by the Board of Directors. SURVIVAL TIPS FOR CITIZEN REVIEW BOARDS (CRB) PARTICIPATE IN COMMUNITY OUTREACH Stay in touch with the community. Meet with community organizations. Members need to be available to speak to community groups. The community can be a base of support if there are challenges to the existence oftbe CRB or if there are attempts to weaken its powers. "BRIDGE THE DIVIDE" BETWEEN CRB AND POLICE UNIONS Let the unions know that the CRB's goal is to help all citizens who are abused by police, including other police officers. CRBs should seek to "bridge the divide" between themselves and the union's perception of the CRB's role. ESTABLISH LINES OF COMMUNICATION WITH POLICE OFFICIALS Meet periodically with the Police Chief and other top officials oi the Police Department. The purpose of the meetings is to share information, discuss issues pertinent to the community and to offer constructive suggestions for making the department more responsive to those it "protects and serves". FOLLOW-UP QUICKLY ON A! J. INQUIRES Follow-up quickly on all inquires. If an inquiry is not within the CRB's jurisdiction, re-direct the citizen with courtesy and specificity. TRAINING In order to establish and maintain credib'dity, CRB members must be familiar with police terminology, procedures and the reality of"life on the streets". CRB members should participate in various training opportunities offered by the police depa,h,ent, including police ride-alongs. These efforts let the police know you are tx3~ing to understand their job and what they go through. PREPARE AN ANNUAL REPORT Prepare an annual report detailing activities, observations and recommendations. The report should be distributed to the Police Department leadership, elected officials and the community. PARTICIPATE IN COMMUNITY FORUMS Participate in appropriate community forums whenever possible. This keeps the CRB involved with the public, lets the public know what the CRB is doing, and keeps the CRB and its fi~nction before the community. CONDUCT OPEN ME~F~TINGS When allowed by law, CRB meetings should be open to the public to let them see what is going on and to assure the public that discussions are fak and impartial. USE TWE MEDIA - CAREFUI~Y The media can be useful in spreading the w'~rd about the role of the CRB and keeping the public informed. But be careful--The media can distort informa~cn. There s,~,ould be only one CRB spokesperson. The spokesperson must be careful when responding to the media because of the sensitive and sometimes sensational nature of inddents, as well as the legal requkements affecting the parities. JOIN NACOLE NACOLE is a source of information and support for its members. NACOLE can provide statistics and other information about what is happening throughout the United States. NACOLE provides training to its members. NACOLE supports CRBs that are under attack by writing letters of support to the local political establishment and community. NACOLE will send someone to testify on the CRB's behalf when needed. National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE) P.O. Box 1110 · Lanham, Maryland 20703 · 301 731-5808 · 301 794-0264 FAX NACOLE Board Members Reeder, Brian C. Davis, K. Felicia Citizens Police Complaint Office Syracuse Citizen Review Board 148 E. Market Street; Suite 508 201 E. Washington Street; Suite 705 Indianapolis, IN 46204 Syracuse, NY 13202 President Board Member Phone: (317) 327-3429 Phone: (315) 448-8750 Fax: (317) 327-5472 Fax: (315) 448-8768 Monteiro, Maivina G. Johnson, James Police Review & Advisory Board CPRP Legal Counsel 831 Massachusetts Avenue; 1st Floor 801 Plum Street, Room 214 Cambridge, MA 02139 Cincinnati, OH 45202 Vice President Board Member Phone: (617) 349-6155 Phone: (513) 961-8202 Fax: (617) 349-6148 Fax: (513) 352-1515 Spearman, Larna Quinn, Sue Citizens Police Complaint Office (Former) CLERB (Former) 3530 Watson Road 3821 Front Street Indianapolis, IN 46205 San Diego, CA 92103 Secreta~ Board Member Phone: (317) 925-0305 Phone: (619) 293-0614 Fax: (317) 327-5472 Fax: (619) 294-3225 Davis, Clyde B. Sandoval, Joseph Prince George's County Public Safety Review Commission 9911 Breezy Knoll Court 303 West Colfax Avenue, Suite 1600 Lanham, MD 20706 Denver, CO 80204 Treasurer Board Member Phone: (301) 731-5808 Phone: (303) 640-5825 Fax: (301) 794-0264 Fax: (303) 640-4567 Casimere, Don Office of Police Accountability 2915 1 Street, Room 101 Sacramento, CA 95814 Board Member Phone: 916 264-5704 Fax: 916 264-7618 MEMORANDUM POLICE CITIZENS REVIEW BOARD A Board of the CiW of Iowa City TO: PCRB Members FROM: Sandy Bauer RE: PCRB 'Education' DATE: June 9, 2000 It is my recollection of the joint meetings the Board has had with the City Council, that the issue of educating the public about the PCRB is regularly mentioned. I was wondering what the Board feels about the idea of developing a videotape as an educational tool. What I have in mind is exploring the concept of utilizing the City's cable folks to put this together; PCRB would have final say on script and the final product. The video could be shown on the government channel. It could also be used by anyone (board members or staff) at presentations - thereby putting some uniformity to presentations. I'm attaching a rough draft of some questions/answers that might be used. Before I go any further on getting information, I am soliciting your interest level. If interested, then I will check with the Cable people and see if it can be done, the cost, timeframe, etc. What is the PCRB? The Police Citizens Review Board (PCRB) was created by ordinance of the City of iowa City on July 15, 1997. The Board is made up of five volunteer iowa City residents appointed by the City Council. The PCRB conducts public meetings at 7:00 P.M. on the second Tuesday of the month in the Civic Center Lobby Conference Room. The PCRB has its own administrative assistant and legal counsel. Why was the Board established? The Board was established to assure that investigations into claims of police misconduct are conducted in a manner which is fair, thorough, and accurate, and to assist the Police Chief, the City Manager, and the City Council in evaluating the overall performance of the Police Department by reviewing the Police Department's investigations into complaints. What does the PCRB do? · The Board's job is to review the Chief's Report prepared after investigation of complaints about police misconduct. The Board then issues its own written reports that contain detailed findings of fact and conclusions that explain why and the extent to which complaints should be sustained or not sustained. · The PCRB maintains a central registry of complaints against sworn police officers and prepared annual reports to the City Council on the disposition of these complaints. · The PCRB reviews police policies, procedures and practices, and may recommend modifications to them. The PCRB may hold public forums and/or hearings designed to encourage citizens to provide information, recommendations, and opinions about police policies, procedures and practices. · The Board recommends ways for the ICPD to improve community relations and be more responsive to community needs. · Assure the citizens of Iowa City that the ICPD's performance is in keeping with community standards. The Board holds periodic community forums to gather public input and to inform the public. What the Board cannot do? The PCRB cannot review investigations of complaints of other police jurisdictions such as the Sheriff's Office, Highway Patrol, University Security, Coralville Police Department, or police departments of any other neighboring cities. The PCRB cannot impose discipline on police officers for alleged misconduct. The PCRB has only limited civil administrative review powers and has no power of authority over criminal matters. It is not a court of law and is not intended to substitute for any form of legal action against the Police City or the City. A Note to Complainants and Witnesses Some p~ople may be frightened at the prospect of filing a complaint against a police officer. The Police Citizens Review Board and the Chief of Police will not tolerate harassment of and/or retaliation to victims and reportees of police misconduct. The PCRB has an office in Room 207 of the Senior Center, which is staffed by the Board's administrative assistant. Where are PCRB Complaint Forms Available? Forms are available in the PCRB office, the City Clerk's Office in the Civic Center, the Police Department, the lC Library, the Senior Center, and the Iowa Memorial Union. You may also call the Board's office (356-5413) or the City Clerk's office (356-5041) to have e complaint form mailed to you. Who Can File a Complaint? Anyone can file a complaint regarding an Iowa City police officer's conduct or police policies, procedures or practices. A complaint can be filed by the complaining party, a friend, a family member, a witness, or any third party. The PCRB may review only complaints filed on the official PCRB Complaint Form. Complaints must be filed within 90 days of the incident giving rise to the complaint. You do not have to file your complaint at the Iowa City Police Department. You can mail or bring your complaint form to the Police Citizens Review Board's Office (207 Senior Center) or the City Clerk's Office (Civic Center). What Type of Activity is Cause for Complaint? The Police Citizens Review Board has jurisdiction over any allegation of police misconduct, including excessive use of force, discrimination, sexual harassment, improper discharge of firearms, illegal search or seizure, false arrest, false reporting, rude behavior, criminal conduct or misconduct. 'Misconduct" means an alleged improper or illegal act, omission or decision, directly affecting the person or property of an individual. Important Information to Know · Date, time and location of incident giving rise to the complaint. · Name, badge number or description of involved police officer(s) Name, phone number and/or address of any potential witness(es) lnves~gaflon The Chief of Police instructs the Internal Affairs Investigator to conduct an investigation into the complaint. The Internal Affairs Investigator contacts the complainant, police officer(s) and witness(es) involved and gathers evidence for a report. Upon conclusion of the investigation, the Internal Affairs Investigator sends the investigation to the Police Chief. The Police Chief reviews the investigation, and issues his detailed written report that concludes with a finding that the allegation(s) in the complaint is sustained or not sustained. Copies of the Chief's Report are sent to the PCRB and to the complainant, the police officer(s) involved, and the City Manager. The Chief has 90 days from the date of filing to complete his report. PCRB Review The PCRB reviews the Chief's Report and may conduct an additional investigation or request that the Chief do so. Within 45 days of receipt of the Chief's report, the Board issues a written report that contains detailed findings of fact and a conclusion that explains why and the extent to which the allegation(s) in the complaint should be sustained or not sustained. Copies of the PCRB's report on the Chief's investigation are sent to the complainant, the police officer(s) involved, the City Manager and the City Council. The PCRB may recommend that the Chief reverse his findings if it determines that they are unsupported by substantial evidence; are unreasonable, arbitrary or capricious; or are contrary to Police Department police or practice, or any federal, state, or local law. Possible other areas: · Arms-length relationship with PD and City Council · Confidentiality · Forums · ANNUAL REPORT OF THE POLICE CITIZENS REVIEW BOARD October 1, 1998 to June 30, 1999 GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES The Police Citizens Review Board (PCRB) was created by Ordinance No. 97-3792 of the City of Iowa City on July 15, 1997 (amended by Ordinance No. 99-3877 on April 28, 1999). The Board was established to assure that investigations into claims of police misconduct are conducted in a manner which is fair, thorough, and accurate, and to assist the Police Chief, the City Manager, and the City Council in evaluating the overall performance of the Police Department by reviewing the Police Department's investigations into complaints, The Board is also required to maintain a central registry of complaints and to provide an annual report setting forth the numbers, types and disposition of complaints of police misconduct. To achieve these purposes, the Board complies with Chapter 8 of the iowa City Code, the Board's By-Laws and Standard Operating Procedures and Guidelines. PCRB Responsibilities Include: 1. Review all complaints of police misconduct · Review Chief's Report in a manner that is fair, thorough and accurate · Issue public report to City Council 2. Help the Chief, City Manager, and City Council evaluate the overall performance of the Iowa City Police Department (ICPD) · Maintain a monitoring system for tracking complaints · Provide an annual report to the City Council · Review practices, procedures and policies and make recommendations for change · Recommend ways for the ICPD to improve community relations and be more responsive to community needs 3. Assure the citizens of iowa City that the ICPD's performance is in keeping with community standards. · Seek and accept comment, opinion and advice · Hold periodic community forums to gather public input and to inform the public PCRB Annual Repo~ FY '99 - 1 ACTIVITIES AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS FROM 10/1/98 TO 6/3O/99 Meetings The PCRB holds regular meetings on the second Tuesday and special meetings on the fourth Tuesday of the month. To address complaints during the period covered by this report and to handle a variety of administrative tasks and outreach activities, the Board held 30 meetings, each lasting one to three hours in length. Board members assigned to review investigations of complaints and prepare written reports for the City Council spent up to four hours per complaint to complete these tasks. The whole Board also devoted about 16 hours to discussions, preparations, meetings, and presentations related to changes in By-Laws, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), and the City Ordinance. During the period covered by this report, Board members each dedicated at least 84 hours to the work of the PCRB (for a total of 420 hours). Administration Bylaws. Standard Operating Procedures, City Ordinance Changes During the year, the Board worked with City staff and the Council to make minor revisions to its By-Laws and to obtain formal approval for the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) the Board originally implemented in September 1998. In addition, the City revised the Ordinance under which the Board was established and operates. During this lengthy process, the full Board and individual members met a number of times with City staff and the City Council, and the full Board made a formal presentation to the Council expressing concerns related to proposed SOP and ordinance revisions. One of the Board's major concerns was that it continue to have access to information with which to track patterns in complaints against officers, though not necessarily information that would identify individual officers. Satisfactory resolution of this issue and other matters were ultimately reached and are reflected in the ordinance amendment passed on April 28, 1999 and on July 13, 1999, and in the changes approved for the SOPs. Complaint Procedures To streamline the complaint process for complainants, the Board redesigned and simplified the complaint form to collect only essential information. It also initiated development of a simple message to accompany both the PCRB form and the Police Department complaint form. This message was designed to help complainants choose which form to complete and, thereby, to designate the process by which their complaints will be handled. The Board also developed form letters and procedures for addressing untimely filed complaints and standardized the content of routine board correspondence. Ordinance 99-3877 extends the time complainants have for filing complaints from 60 to 90 days of the alleged misconduct. T-line Required to Complete the Complaint Review Process To complete the Board's review and reporting on complaints in the reporting period covered by this report, both the Board and the Police Department consistently found it necessary to request extensions of the time limits specified in the ordinance establishing the Board. Both groups requested that these limits be extended. Ordinance No. 99-3877 specifies that the Chief's Report to the Board must be completed within 90 calendar days after a complaint is filed, and that the Board's report to the City Council must be completed within 45 calendar days of receipt of the Chief's Report. Community Forums The PCRB held two public forums during the reporting period covered by this report. Approximately 60 people, including a number of Iowa City police officers, attended the forum at the Newman Center on December 1, 1998. Discussion and comments focused mainly on concerns of university students. The Police Chief made a presentation at the forum held at the Broadway Neighborhood Center on April 28, 1999. The Board heard comments from neighborhood young people, landlords, and other citizens, mainly about neighborhood concerns. Issues raised at community forums help determine the direction of Board activities and are addressed in its long-term goals. pCRB A~nual Report FY '99 - ~ To provide more flexibility in options for future forums, the Board modified its By-Laws to permit forums to be held in non-City buildings. Complaints NumlJer and Type of Allegations The Board received thirteen complaints in the reporting period covered by this report, nine in calendar year 1998 and four to date in calendar year1999. Nine public reports have been issued by the Board; one was dismissed as not timely filed; three are now under review. The following data is based on the twenty-eight allegations in the nine complaints reported on. All nine complaints contained more than one allegation. Allegations Excessive force 5 Rude behavior or "attitude" 4 Racial discrimination/racially motivated behavior 3 Unreasonable search 3 Disagreement with officer assessment of the situation 3 Unprofessional conduct 2 Unwarranted charged filed 2 No probable cause 1 Arrest for intoxication on private property 1 Complainant not informed of outstanding warrant Complainant not permitted to take medication 1 Unnecessary administration of breath test 1 Profanity used 1 Level of Review Selected for Complaints Covered in this Report The Board decided, by simple majority vote, the level of review to give each report submitted by the Chief or the City Manager, selecting one or more of the six levels specified in the City Code: 10/1/98 to 6/30/99 Level a On the record with no additional investigation Level b Interview or meet with complainant 0 Level c Interview or meet with named officer 0 Level d Request additional investigation by Chief or 5 City Manager, or request police assistance in the Board's own investigation Level e Board performs its own additional investigation 4 Level f Hire independent investigators 0 PCRB Annual R~port l:Y '99 - 4 Complaint Resolutions Complaints of misconduct of police officers are investigated by the Police Department. The Police Chief summarizes the results of these investigations and indicates in a report (the Chief's Report) to the PCRB whether allegations are sustained or not sustained. (If complaints are made against the Chief, the City Manager conducts the investigation and prepares and submits the reports.) The Board reviews both the citizen's complaint and the Chief's Report and decides whether the allegations should be sustained or not sustained. The Board prepares a report for the City Council, with copies to the Chief, the officers involved, the City Manager, and the complainant. Of the twenty-eight allegations listed in the nine complaints for which Board reports have been released, twenty-six were not sustained and two were sustained. Comments and/or recommendations for improvement in police policy, procedures, or conduct were made in four of the Board's reports. The following is a synopsis of the Board's comments and recommendations: · An officer was summoned to a situation that was complicated by cultural and language differences. The Board recommended that officers receive further training in awareness of cultural differences, and suggested that officers exercise more flexibility when responding to clearly 'non-standard" situations. · The Board questioned the appropriateness of using plainclothes police officers in unmarked vehicles for traffic stops. · The Board suggested that the Chief make it clear that the use of profanity by officers while acting in an official capacity is unprofessional conduct; that the Chief enhance training in methods to de-escalate situations and to prevent escalation, and; that the Chief reinforce efforts to insure racial and cultural neutrality in all policies, practices, and procedures. · The Board concurred with the Chief's plan to provide formal counseling on public contact and demeanor for an officer. Name Clearing Hearings The ordinance requires the Board not issue a report critical of the conduct of a sworn officer until after a name clearing hearing has been held. During the period covered in this report, the Board scheduled two name- clearing hearings; in both cases, the officers waived their right to the hearing and did not attend. Mediation Officers and complainants are notified by mail that formal mediation is available to them at any stage in the complaint process before the Board adopts its public report. All parties involved must consent to request for mediation. The Board received no requests for mediation during the reporting period covered by this report. Complaint Histories of Officers City ordinance requires that the annual report of the PCRB must not include the names of complainants or officers involved in unsustained complaints and must be in a form that protects the confidentiality of information about all parties while providing the public with information on the overall performance of the Police Department. In addition, at one of its first meetings, the Board independently agreed that it did not wish to use the names of officers or complainants in cases in which complaints are sustained. The Board and the Police Chief agreed to use only the unique code numbers the department has assigned to each Iowa City police officer. During the reporting period covered by this report, there was a great deal of debate over a proposal to discontinue the use of these individual unique identifiers and replace them with a numbering system that would not have permitted the Board to identify (by identifying number only) patterns in complaints against officers. After lengthy deliberations that included several presentations by the Board, the City Council agreed not to change the ordinance but to retain the current practice of preserving officer identity through use of individual unique identifying numbers assigned by the department. Complaint Histo~fes- 10/1/98 to 6/30/99 Of the ten complaints this report addresses, eleven officers were named. One officer was cited in four of these complaints, and one officer was cited in two. The remaining officers were each cited once. ICPD Internal Investigations Logs - 1/1/98 to 6/2/99 The Board reviewed the ICPD Internal Investigation Log dated June 22, 1999, provided by the Chief of Police. I~RB Annual Rcpott FY '99 6 DEMOGRAPHICS OF COMPLAINANTS The following demographic information provides information from the 10 complaints for which the Board has submitted its report to the City Council. Because demographic information is provided voluntarily, the Board has incomplete information to report. Of the ten complaints, eight complainants provided some demographic information. Age: Under 21 - I complainant Over 21 - 6 complainants Unknown - 3 complainants Color: White - 4 complainants Black - 2 complainants Unknown - 4 complainants National Origin: US - 1 African - 1 Irish - 1 German - 1 Unknown - 6 Gender Identtty; Male - 4 Female - 2 Unknown- 4 Sex: Male 4 Female - 4 Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual - 3 Unknown - 7 Marital Status: Married - 3 Unknown - 7 Mental Disabiflty; No - 4 Unknown - 6 Physical Disability: No - 4 Unknown - 6 PCP~ Annual Repo~ FY' '99 + 7 Religion: Agnostic - 1 Catholic - 2 Unknown - 7 Race: Caucasian - 4 Black - 2 Unknown - 4 Some demographic information not provided on the sheet attached to the complaint form was taken from the first page of the complaint form. BOARD CONCERNS, ISSUES The Board concerns and issues include: 1. Continuing to monitor and address issues related to race-based traffic stops and other race-based (profiling) issues in policing. Closely monitoring the results of the Iowa City Police Department's new policy on collection of information on race for all traffic stops. 2. Completing the information 'card" to be distributed with complaint forms (both ICPD and PCRB) and specifying uniform procedures for its distribution. 3. Continuing to address concerns with limits on the authority of the PCRB and with the deferential standard of review in the complaint process. 4. Continuing to work on specific areas of concern with respect to department policies, procedures, and practices - for example, interview techniques. 5. Continuing to address concerns about limits on Board access to information needed to do a thorough review of the Chief's reports. Exploring alternative ways of obtaining the information we need to execute fair and balanced reviews. PCRB GOALS FOR YEAR 2000 I. Mission A. Revisw complaints of police misconduct B. Help ensure that police department is responsive to community needs II. Goals A. Board Education PCRB Annual Report FY '99 - 8 · Hold forums (minimum of two a year} · Continue to streamline Board procedures · Decide whether to affiliate with national boards and associations · Establish a baseline of information to analyze different types of reports · New Board member briefings · Visit Police Academy at Camp Dodge B. Community Education · Hold forums · Provide information aimed at improving officers' understanding of the Board's function and educating the public about the PCRB C. Policy/Practice/Procedure (PPP) Review · Review general police policies, procedures and practices, to include the use of force · Address the perception of discriminatory enforcement · Community relations COMMISSION MEMBERS Leah Cohen, Chair John Watson, Vice Chair Patricia Farrant Paul Hoffey Margaret Raymond - resigned, effective June 1, 1999 John Stratton - appointed June 29, 1999 POL1'CE CI'TTZENS REVZEW BOARD GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES The Police Citizens Review Board (PCRB) was created by Ordinance No. 97-3792 of the City of Iowa City on July 15, 1997 (amended by Ordinance No 99-3877 on April 28, 1999 and by Ordinance No. 99-3891 on July 13, 1999). The Board was established to assure that investigations into claims of police misconduct are conducted in a manner which is fair, thorough and accurate, and to assist the Police Chief, the City Manager, and the City Council in evaluating the overall performance of the Police Department by reviewing the Police Department's investigations into complaints and issuing a public report of each investigation to the City Council. The Board periodically reviews the Iowa City Police Department (ICPD) policies, procedures and practices and makes recommendations for change; it also recommends ways for the ICPD to improve community relations and be more responsive to community needs. The Board is also required to maintain a central registry of complaints and to provide an annual report setting forth the numbers, types and disposition of complaints of police misconduct. The Board has a responsibility to assure the citizens of Iowa City that the ICPD's performance is in keeping with community standards by seeking and accepting comment, opinion and advice, and holding periodic community forums to gather public input and to inform the public. To achieve these purposes, the Board complies with Chapter 8 of the Iowa City Code, the Board's By-Laws and its Standard Operating Procedures and Guidelines. COMPLAINTS The Board received thirteen complaints in the reporting period covered by this report, nine in calendar year 1998 and four to date in calendar year 1999. Public reports were issued on nine of these complaints, one was dismissed as not timely filed, and three are now under review. Of the nine complaints for which the Board completed its review, 28 allegations were listed on the citizen Complaint forms. All nine complaints contained more than one allegation. Of the 28 allegations listed in the nine complaints for which Board reports have been released, 26 were not sustained and two were sustained. Comments and/or recommendations for improvement in police policy, procedure or conduct were made in four of the Board's reports. The following is a synopsis of the Board's comments and recommendations: An officer was summoned to a situation that was complicated by cultural and language differences. The Board recommended that officers receive further training in awareness of cultural differences, and suggested that officers exercise more flexibility when responding to clearly ~non-standard" situations. · The Board questioned the appropriateness of using plainclothes police officers in unmarked vehicles for traffic stops. e The Board suggested that the Chief make it clear that the use of profanity by officers while acting in an official capacity is unprofessional conduct; that the Chief enhance training in methods to de-escalate situations and to prevent escalation; and that the Chief reinforce efforts to insure racial and cultural neutrality in all policies, practices and procedures. · The Board concurred with the Chief's plan to provide formal counseling on public contact and demeanor for an officer. During the period covered in this report, the Board scheduled two name-clearing hearings, In both cases, the officers waived their right to the hearing and did not attend. The Board received no requests for mediation during the reporting period covered by this report. Of the ten complaints this report addresses, eleven officers were named. One officer was cited in four of these complaints; one officer was cited in two; the remaining officers were each cited once. OTHER ACCOMPLISHMENTS FROM 10/1/98 TO 6/30/99 · Worked with City staff and the City Council to make a revision to the PCRB By-Laws, allowing community forums to be held in non~City buildings. · Board members mede a formal presentation to the City Council expressing concerns related to its proposed Standard Operating Procedures {SOPs) and ordinance revisions. One of the Board's major concerns was that it continue to have access to information with which to track patterns in complaints against officers, though not necessarily information that would identify individual officers. Satisfactory resolution of this issue and other matters were ultimately reached and are reflected in the ordinance amendments passed on April 28, 1999 and July 13, 1999, and in the changes approved for the SOPs. · Redesigned and simplified the complaint form to collect only essential information. · Initiated development of an information "card" to accompany both the PCRB complaint form and the Police Department complaint form. This card should help complainants choose which form to complete and, thereby, to designate the process by which their complaints will be handled. · Developed form letters and procedures for addressing untimely filed complaints. · Standardized the content of routine Board correspondence. · Held two community forums during the reporting period covered by this report: 1. Approximately 60 people, including a number of Iowa City police officers, attended the forum at the Newman Center on December 1, 1998. Discussion and comments focused on concerns of university students. 2. The Police Chief made a presentation at the forum held at the Broadway neighborhood Center on April 28, 1999. The Board heard comments from neighborhood young people, landlords, and other citizens, mainly about neighborhood concerns. Issues raised at community forums help determine the direction of Board activities and are addressed in its long-term goals. · Upon the resignation of the Board's legal counsel, hired new independent counsel to furnish legal advice and guidance. · Ordinance 99-3877 amended three sections of the City Code: 1. 8-8-3 D & E extends the time complainants have for filing PCRB complaints from 60 to 90 days of the alleged misconduct. 2. 8-8-6 E extends the time that the Chief's Report to the Board must be completed from 30 days to 90 calendar days after a complaint is filed. 3. 8-8-9 B.6 extends the time for the Board to submit its report to the City Council from 30 days to 45 days of receipt of the Chief's Report. BOARD CONCERNS, ISSUES The Board concerns and issues include: · Continuing to monitor and address issues related to race-based traffic stops and other race-baaed (profiling) issues in policing. Closely monitoring the results of the Iowa City Police Department's new policy on collection of information on race for all traffic stops. · Completing the information 'card" to be distributed with complaint forms (both ICPD and PCRB} and specifying uniform procedures for its distribution. · Continuing to address concerns with limits on the authority of the PCRB and with the deferential standard of review in the complaint process. · Continuing to work on specific areas of concern with respect to department policies, procedures, and practices - for example, interview techniques. · Continuing to address concerns about limits on Board access to information needed to do a thorough review of the Chief's reports. Exploring alternative ways of obtaining the information we need to execute fair and balanced reviews. PCRB GOALS FOR YEAR 2000 · Continue to investigate complaints and issue public reports to the City Council · Continue systematic review of Police Department policies, procedures and practices, to include the use of force · Continue to hold community forums · Continue to streamline board procedures · Decide whether to affiliate with national boards and associations · Establish a baseline of information to analyze different types of reports · Conduct new Board member briefings · Visit the Police Academy et Camp Dodge · Provide information aimed at improving officers understanding of the Board's function and educating the public about the PCRB · Address the perception of discriminatory enforcement · Community relations BOARD MEMBERS Leah Cohen, Chair John Watson, Vice Chair Patricia Farrant Paul Hoffey Margaret Raymond - resigned, effective June 1, 1999 John Stretton - appointed June 29, 1999 (A more detailed report was submitted to tha City Council on July 27, 1999.) May 1, 2000 Council Work Session Page 1 May 1, 2000 Council Work Session 6:30 PM Council: Lehman, Champion, O'Dormell, Vanderhoef, Karmer, Wilburn (Pfab 6:35) Staff.' Atkins, Helling, Kart, Dilkes, Franklin, Davidson, Fosse, Winkelhake, Mollenhaner, Bower Tapes: 00-52 Both Sides', 00-53 Side 1 Joint Meeting with PCRB Lehman/OK first of all this meeting from now to 7:00 is going to be discussing issues with the PCRB, I'm going to have John lead us, I think you got a copy of the agenda in a packet so go ahead. John Watson/OK, thanks, thanks for agreeing to meet, we know it was a busy spring. We want to start by introducing our board members that are at least here. She is here, she is our immediate past chair, Pat Farrant is our current vice chair, Paul Hoffey is with the first chair, he's on vacation but he is with service the first year and a little bit more than that I guess as our first chair. John Stratton is our newest member, he replaced Margaret Raymond who you may remember moved to India, out of reach for us to continue, and I'm John Watson the current chair, I'd also like to introduce Sandy Bauer who is our Administrative Assistant and Catherine Pugh who is our Counsel and as you may recall she replaced Doug Russell who's now a Cimuit Court Judge. The agenda that we had set out was kind of general, I'm just going to go through it very briefly and we want to leave time for you to ask questions about whatever you'd like to we'll make time so. Just a very brief overview of our responsibilities, the first one of course is to review often complaints of police misconduct that come to us. We try to do that as thoroughly and as objectively as we can, and you see the products of that in the report, you get a copy of all of our reports. Another duty that's spelled out in the ordinance has to do with overall performance of the police department to support your efforts and the City Manager's and the chief's efforts to evaluate performance, we really haven't done a whole lot in that area at this point, it's something that we would be interested in helping you to do with if you are interested in that but we don't have any specific tools to do that at this point. We also, part of the ordinances to ensure, assure the citizen's of the city that the department performances in keeping community standards. One of the things that we try to do is to determine what those community standards are and we tell some forms to This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City council meeting of May 1, 2000. WS050100 May 1, 2000 Council Work Session Page 2 do that, we are looking at, we have been offered opportunities by the chief to review policies and we've done that and we've specially looking at use of force and traffic stop policies because it seems like a lot of our complaints are centered around those issues. A bit of a progress report we're approaching the end of our third year of existence, and as I indicated four of the original appointees are still on the board. John began last fall, he's learned very quickly, there are two terms due to expire this year in a few months and that is John's because he filled an unfulfilled term and Pat Farrant. In the first two years we spent a great deal of time and thought, and your staff spent a great deal of time and thought on processes, we really started from scratch, we had to develop forms and processes, we're still refining and improving those but it's most of that work is SOP's and all that business is mostly behind us. And we're not having to spend as much time and I think the City Attorney and others are not having to spend as much time on processes. Complaint trend, just a brief overview, in a few minutes you'll get a copy of our annual fiscal report so you'll have to ignore but to date since we've been informed we've received 38 complaints. In recent, in the recent months perhaps years complaint activity has slowed down, we have not been receiving as the first two years. Ten of the 38 complaints involved allegations of excessive force, 6 of the 38 involved allegations of a racial motivation or discrimination, there were 27 complainants, you remember even though there were 38 complaints there were 27 complainants, you may remember that in the first year we had 12 from one complainant so I, that's one person, so we have 27 complainants. Of those 13 or 48 percent were white, 7 or 26 percent were black, one Hispanic, one Asian, one unknown or not reported. Again we'll give a complete breakdown of that at the end of the fiscal year and you'll get that as part of the annual report. In the area communication, it has been very helpful to have an officer in attendance at our meetings, I think it's been an officer at the rank of lieutenant or higher for the most part, but that's been very helpful. It's open communication often it's the chief, often one of his captains or lieutenants. One of the things that we're looking at or going to be looking at closely is the traffic stop data that's being compiled by the department, we feel it's very important to have a full year of data to work with and that's really just going to give us a baseline and it's going to take two or more years to really understand I think what's, to have enough data to really understand what's going on and if there are any trends in that. It will take a careful analysis and we haven't decided this but I'm going to suggest perhaps we hire some professional consultant to help with the analysis that I think there may, unless there may be some people that are chief's that are in this field that understand that but it's very difficult to draw conclusions from a small base of information especially from just a short period of time so I think we have to be very careful in looking at it before we draw too many conclusions but we'll be doing that oh later in the Summer I think starting to look at that. Attached to our agenda that we sent you was several kind of a narrative of several issues and This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City council meeting of May 1, 2000. WS050100 May 1, 2000 Council Work Session Page 3 concerns that the board has. One is kind of our request for kind of a, a report card, we worked long and hard and would like some feedback from you either as a body or as individuals on how you perceived our work and the products of our work. The second issue was the Sunset cause, we the board by the ordinance will cease to exist as of August 1 of 2001 unless you decide it will continue before then. Some of you have a position on that as we have that the PCRB should not Sunset, it should not die, although more than a year away we believe now is a good time to begin discussion of the criteria that you will use to determine whether the PCRB will continue. Cost, in the last, about this time last year, well last time we met I guess there was some discussion by some Council members about cost. Just, as far as our budget is concerned we're about 35 percent below budget year to date, mostly that's in the area of attorney fees, we believe that there's also been, probably been a significant reduction of time devoted by the City Attorney and the Police Department staff in the last year as our process work would decrease then actually as complaints have decreased. And lastly about the participation of officers in some of our process, and I want to, Catherine pointed out it's not the Fourth Amendment, I'm not a lawyer or a constitutional expert, it's not the Fourth Amendment but the Fifth Amendment that officers exercise when they decide not to release the transfer, sorry about that, in case some of you caught that. Anyway that is an issue, we're not, we're kind of stumped about what to do with that, we'd appreciate any suggestions or support you can give us. I think that kind of wraps up the formal part of the presentation, I'd invite though any Council Members, not Council Members, Board Members that want to add to that at this point before we go on and open it up for any questions or comments you want to. Pfab/You're not a board member, wait a minute, let me ask the Board Members first. Watson/I have a question. Farrant/No I think you covered it briefly. Watson/John OK good, Irvin go ahead. Pfab/In this, what you know that we as City Council Members don't know and take the climate, the political climate, the law enforcement climate there is now, would you start one if there wasn't one. If you didn't exist. Watson/Would I? Pfab/And sitting on the City Council would you start it? Would you initiate one? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City council meeting of May 1, 2000. WS050100 May 1, 2000 Council Work Session Page 4 Watson/I don't think it would have occurred to me, I mean I can't think, I don't think we can deny that it was born in the aftermath of the Eric Shaw incident and tragedy. I mean I can't put that myself in that, I mean that's so large, I can't put myself in a position of not thinking, I don't think it occurred to any of us in the community that I'm aware of until that happened. But that's not to say it's not a good thing, other communities have it and have had it, but I think most of them were probably created of some incident, but they still do good work, it doesn't mean that they're not important. That's my reaction to it. Pfab/Just what I asked. Watson/OK. Champion/Because you have kind of a, I don't want to say a distant relationship from the City Council. Lehman/No that's the right word. Champion/I mean you should. Lehman/That's correct. Champion/And off the police department and even the City Manager, tell me what the police officers presence, how does that help you? Watson/The presence at our meeting? Champion/Yes. Watson/I think we, feel free to differ with me Board Members but I think we feel it's helped with communications between us and the department. It's not an extremely formal meeting, of course when we deliberate about complaints we're in executive session, there's nobody in the room but us and our staff so nobody is there but us and the staff, and that's by law, there's no choice about that, we have to. Champion/Well I think you're a commission that I think more people in town are aware of just like the Planning & Zoning than any other commissions that we have. And I have to frankly tell you that I've never heard a complaint so I think people perceive (can't hear) what they want you doing. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City council meeting of May 1, 2000. WS050100 May 1, 2000 Council Work Session Page 5 Cohen/I think part of that Connie is I do feel that since the police board was set up there's a lot of functions in accordance with the ordinance that they do but I also do think that there's a different feeling perception on someone (can't hear) and I do, I know I certainly hear quite often, I do feel that the community in a way many members of the community feel with the Police Board there that things are kind of being taken care of, that if you know with an oversight of some sort, I think there's good confidence in the police department and I do think that has something to do with that. I think that you know from what I hear from citizens I think that there's also the you know the perception that with the Board sitting there the police department kind of police's themselves knowing that that Board sits all over town. To get back to your question on officers being at meetings, I can honestly say I think initially it was a little uncomfortable for the board and maybe little more reserved, I think we've become comfortable with that now and feel a little better about communicating back and forth with a member of the department that was there. Champion/That's good. Is it usually a different police officer all the time or? Cohen/Most the time. Watson/Captain Widmer more than anybody else but we've had Lieutenant Johnson and Lieutenant Wyss is that his name and the chief and so it, but those are the ones that come the most. Stratton/Having an officer there allows us if we have questions to get instant feedback on those questions rather than debating what might be and what having to wait for another two weeks before we get an answer (can't hear). Lehman/I've got a couple questions, first I know that for example Human Rights Commission, the director obviously takes complaints and is able on many occasions to take care of the complaints without lots of research and whatever and just say yea this is one we should pursue or I don't think we have anything here. When you get a complaint, how soon do you reach the conclusion that the complaint has merit, I mean how much work do you go through? Do you go through the same process on all of them? Watson/No. Lehman/I mean is it possible, because I know you spend an awful lot of time and I'm sure I speak for the Council we appreciate that amount of time. But is there a point in the process where it becomes apparent that this is really something that This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City council meeting of May 1, 2000. WS050100 May 1, 2000 Council Work Session Page 6 needs to be dug into very deeply or this one is kind of superficial and it should be dismissed? Watson/Well we have different levels, the ordinance allows us different levels of review for a complaint and one is just on a record, that's the simpler, we just take the chief's report and we discuss it and we write a report based on that and our. But we feel that. Lehman/OK but then you do. Watson/Other information. Then we can. Lehman/Those you agree with the chief's report and you move onto the next complaint. So you don't have to go through the process of every single complaint of? Watson/Well we have our process but. Lehman/Well I, OK, but not. Watson/But we don't have to do our investigation, we don't have to request additional materials, we just take what the chief submits to us and if we feel that's adequate for that particular complaint then that's it, we won't, we can move fairly quickly on that. It still takes a couple of meetings, two or three meetings between to assign a team to draft a report, we do the draft that goes back and then we look at it one final time, it has to go through our Counsel, which we review by our Counsel to (can't hear). I'd say there is some but, let me answer the question another way, there isn't a way to kind of summarily dismiss a complaint on because we think it's frivolous, we can't, we can't consider any complaint on it's face frivolous and just say heck with it. Lehman/But after getting the chief's report you can at that point decide yes we'll pursue this one or. Watson/ Yes. Lehman/ OK, now the second question, in the agenda that you gave us tonight, the first item is review complaints and the second and third are to help the chief and the City Council evaluate overall performance and assure the citizens of Iowa City that the performance is in keeping with community standards. How much does one number one, reviewing the complaints tell us about two and three? Watson/Oh boy. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City council meeting of May 1, 2000. WS050100 May 1, 2000 Council Work Session Page 7 Farrant/That's a hard one, I think. Lehman/No, no, it is a hard one. Farrant/You know I think it reveals on an issue, a case by case basis, certain approaches that are taken to certain complaints. I think they are all taken seriously but I think we have discovered that there are different ways that complaints are approached in the investigation complaints are approached. I don't know how much you can derive in terms of patterns. One of the things that I think maybe could get at what your ifI heard what your asking is that in the beginning we were concerned that there were going to be two kinds complaints for us, two parallel streams of complaints and I think maybe having that in retrospect now has perhaps made it easy to not dismiss but to handle expeditiously the complaints that don't merit our level of review and I think they kind of treat (can't hear) when they come in to pick up which form they're interested in they're interested in in pursuing. So I mean I think maybe we don't get too many where this is clearly just a disgruntled citizen who going take out his frustration on the police department, I don't think we getting any at all. We are very careful not to be make a big issue out of the small issue in terms of investigation. Lehman/And don't you think that maybe the public maybe a lot more reluctant to file a frivolous complaint that this is going to you and they might be if they were just going to complain to the police department? I mean I'd think long and hard before I filed a complaint and had a Board look at it. I probably wouldn't think quite as long in complaining to a sergeant or the chief that. (cant hear). Lehman/That's one thing but if I'm going to do that and write it down and go to the Board. Fan'ant/We're not catharsis, catharsis is you go and complain to the desk, if you take it one step further you can still withdraw it, they can withdraw a complaint whenever they want I think. Cohen/(can't hear) nobody ever has. Watson/Nobody has yea. Farrant/I think there's, yea but I don't think we get too many of just cranky annoyed. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City council meeting of May 1, 2000. WS050100 May 1, 2000 Council Work Session Page 8 Watson/Other than the first year. Vanderhoef/Well that first year yes. Lehman/Well I think that's new untried waters, people are testing the water, we all are testing the waters, you know you folks, the Council, everybody. But it just seems to me that the overall evaluation of the police department is mirrored somewhat by the resolution of complaints. Watson/You know I think it's a little dangerous to draw too many conclusions from the fact that most of the allegations that we found are not sustained or the number of complaints are going down. Some of the allegations are serious, some of them by our process we almost have to say they are not sustained, in some cases though we suspect that not that we would sustain them but there was some other things going on that might have been preventable. Wilburn/You mentioned that you were troubled by officers not taking advantage of the mediation. I was curious as to what are your hopes to come out of such a mediation and I mean you can't go into a specific case but can you perhaps color in how that how it might have influenced something that you were looking at? Watson/Well I don't think it's influenced us at all, I mean it's pretty much routine, it's all for both parties, and both parties have to agree to it and we don't always know, often the complainant doesn't want to do it too I think I mean informal mediation is always available to a complainant and that is not necessarily with an officer or the subject of the complainant, it can be just one, the chief or one of the chief's staff that, or the supervisor of the officer that, that's always available and I don't know how else, we don't have information about how often that's used. The formal mediation process is done through a third party contracted by us to do the mediation, professional mediation. I think it's only been tried only once or twice. Fan'ant/It's a very low rate. Watson/And the one that was there was not successful. I guess, and I can understand why an officer in a particular situation would not want to go into mediation with a particular complainant and vice versa. What we're concerned about is just kind of the blanket coalition of mediation that, an officers being told amongst themselves or by the union or whatever don't mediate, that's what we're concerned about. It should be the individual officers decision to do that we believe, the same thing with attending a name cleating hearing. If it looks like we're going to be critical of an officer we're required to hold a name cleating hearing so the officer can This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City council meeting of May 1, 2000. WS050100 May 1, 2000 Council Work Session Page 9 appear to us and give his or her side of the sto~y. Apparently had been told to not attend those. Lehman/RJ would you respond to that officers not appearing at name clearing or for mediation because I think and I think your right John what I read they've been, I believe this is correct encouraged by their union not to participate. Watson/We've got correspondence that indicates that. Lehman/OK. Winkelhake/Early on I think there was one name cleating, where in fact the officer decided not to go, I spoke with him and he went and I think that probably changed the. Watson/Yep, it changed our. Winkelhake/What the decision was. Since that time we have received correspondence, I have from the union say they do not want to do that, they are not going to do that, and I've received from the union president and I believe from their attorney as well that they choose not to take part in it period. Champion/Are all the officers members of the union? Winkelhake/I can't tell you who is and who isn't, I've been told. Karr/Yea, RJ would you use the mic on the podium please. Winkelhake/Okay. I can not tell you who is or who isn't, but I have been told that not all of the officers are members but who is and who isn't I don't know. Pfab/I have a question. You have access to the video tapes, the audio transmissions, radio so you have that without the officer being there? Watson/Yea we can request any part of the case file, unless it was, if it's a transcript of the officer or any material that was obtained from the officer because of an investigation, we're not entitled to that if the officer says no. But it should be the officer's decision to not release it, not, I mean it's the officer's 5th Amendment right not to release it, it's not the union's 5th Amendment right or the departments 5th Amendment right. Lehman/I think we're going to get an opinion on that. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City council meeting of May 1, 2000. WS050100 May 1, 2000 Council Work Session Page 10 Dilkes/I just want to clarify though, I agree that we have received correspondence from the union and it does appear to be a union position but we do in each individual case require that the officer sign a statement either releasing or choosing not to release their statement. So we do not rely on a the union's position to make that decision in each case as to whether we're going to release the statement. We require the individual officer to make that decision. Pfab/But you were saying that all the data that's collected by the police department in the daily, in the process of ongoing either with videotape or audio, radio transmission and radio traffic that that's available to you, other than if somebody sits down with the officer and said I I'm putting you down in an investigative interview, that you don't have any access to? Watson/The product of that interview fight I don't have access to, anything. Pfab/So you really don't go into those things naked either do you? I mean that you have the public opinion. Watson/Neither literally or figuratively. Lehman/That's a relief. Pfab/Bad choice of words. Wilburn/Do you have the tools you need to do this? Watson/Yes except we would like, you know often, it's just like in a name clearing hearing, when we heard what the officer had to say in that particular hearing we understood the situation a whole lot more, we understood the guidelines that he was operating under and we did not sustain that complaint whereas before we were leaning towards sustaining the complaint. It's helpful for us to see the whole picture, and part of that whole picture is to see the transcripts of intereiews including of the officer. We feel hampered by not having that, understanding that if the officer if he feels that there's something in there that is not in his best interest he has the fight or she has the fight to say no I don't want them to see that. That's OK, but as long as it's an individual decision I guess we can live with that. O'Donnell/John can you recall offhand how many complaints you had the first year? Watson/Well I had that data right here, I didn't include it, it was, we have a calendar year and a fiscal year, so I'm, Sandy do you have that also? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City council meeting of May 1, 2000. WS050100 May 1, 2000 Council Work Session Page 11 Bauer/Calendar year (can't hear). Lehman/You need to speak in the microphone. Watson/Oh I remember it, it was 7, we were started in September of 97, we had 7 by the end of that year, in 1998 we had 20, in 1999 1 think it was down to about 10, and we've had one this year so far, calendar year. O'Donnell/So you've had one complaint this year. Watson/One complaint so far this year. O'Donnell/In the past you've done some neighborhood forums. When was the last time you've done that? Watson/About, it was at the neighborhood center I believe about a year ago. O'Donnell/So that last one that I attended. Do you, do you see any good that came out of this neighborhood forum over there, did you, did we have anything positive on that John? Watson/I think we have different opinions about that amongst the Board. I, that particular one was not real constructive but we've had some that I think were really helpful to us. O'Donnell/Because that was my assessment of that forum there. Watson/No that one had it's problems. Vanderhoef/What do you gain fi:om some of those? What do you think you have gained from some of your forums? Watson/Well an understanding of what the community believes what the police conduct should be, what some of those standards that we're suppose to understand are. We're not sure how to get that information except go out and ask people for it. So that's really just, part of what we felt was our role is to try to ascertain what the commtmity standards for police conduct were. Vanderhoef/And were you surprised by anything? Watson/Oh yea, lots of things. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City council meeting of May 1, 2000. WS050100 May 1, 2000 Council Work Session Page 12 Champion/That's hard to establish because I really like policeman unless they did something wrong then I might not like them. Lehman/File a complaint. Steven. Watson/We understand like you do first of all that people that come to those have something to say one way or another, and that we're not getting you know, it's not a poll of the whole community, we understand that. Kanner/On mediation, I've got a couple things. Mediation it's between an individual and a police officer were in affect where it might be needed in essence a mediation between the individual and the police depamnent policy and it seems the way we deal with that is evaluation of the overall performances and so it, we haven't seen that and so I would ask you to comment on that and it appears that we need more tools out there to do that, to make sure that it's not the policy that are out there versus the individuals. And then I also wanted to ask, again it seems that the greatest interaction between police and citizens of Iowa City is perhaps those arrested for underage drinking and college student ages and I'm wondering if we have enough output into that community to let people know about the Police Citizen Review Board and perhaps other targeted communities within Iowa City, that we have to make more of an effort a proactive effort to get the word out, I think the community forum was probably one way to do that, maybe we need to look at other tools to make sure that those people feel that they can come to the board. And the other question and concern is we try to look at our boards in terms of male and female and sometimes in terms of ethnic and racial makeup and are we doing that enough for the Police Citizen Review Board? That especially if we have it seems like over 25 percent of the complaints are from minority population, do we have minority representation on the Police Citizen Review Board. Is that something that we can be more proactive in? So I throw those things out to you. Lehman/We did, when we applied the initial Board, we appointed a person of color and found out and after the appointment was made the person did not live in the city of Iowa City and that was a, and that was one of the concerns. I think they had 40, 44 or 45 people apply for that first Board and it probably got more scrutiny than any appointments we've ever made. I think that's a valid point but as your well aware, appointments can only be made from those people who apply. Kanner/Well maybe the City along with the Board as part of their charter has to be proactive in going out into those neighborhoods and say we want folks to serve on the board, look at serving on the board and applying for it. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City council meeting of May I, 2000. WS050100 May 1, 2000 Council Work Session Page 13 Lehman/That can. Vanderhoef/We're just reaching that time now where some of those terms are starting to turn over and so we haven't had that opportunity really except this one replacement that was an unexpired term. And here again we did not have a person of color apply. Watson/And there was some effort on the part of Board Members and some Council Members to try to encourage minority applications. Vanderhoef/Yes, I know I worked at it. Farrant/I think it's becoming known too that this is a very labor intensive undertaking and a lot of my colleagues of color are people who are sought after to do lots of things because we have minority minority in this town and. Wilburn/There's only a few of us. Farrant/Truly it's very hard, I mean I've drummed up the trade among people where I work and they've come to know this is going to be a lot of work and to be honest you know, you have to make your choices. So I don't disagree with at all I just think it's a challenge. Kanner/Well maybe we have to look at things like child care if that would help or other tools that might be of help to encourage people. There are tools that we can look into. Farrant/Something for you to look at. Watson/IfI could address the first two parts of your question. One had to do with policy, we do have copies of the general orders that constitute a policy under which the department operates and we do refer to those sometimes and have made comments about policies, I don't know, I don't think mediation on a policy really probably, we comment about policy if we have a thought about it if it should be changed, that's not been too often, but we have done that. Outreach to students, we did hold one of our forums at the Newman Center and really targeted students with our flyers and our press releases and advertisements I think and had very few students attend that. Pfab/What is your policy as you look out into the future, of having forums? Watson/ Well we're planning one this year. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City council meeting of May 1, 2000. WS050100 May 1, 2000 Council Work Session Page 14 Pfab/So one a year is what your? Watson/I think so. You know we haven't been in a great hurry, we had three in fairly quick succession, I think they had mixed reviews, I think you know, I think we want to figure out how we want to do the next one and where and when and so on. Pfab/But what I'm asking is just because you had a flop so to speak or kind of one against the grain that doesn't both discourage you from doing anymore? Watson/No I don't think so, I think we intend to have another. We haven't scheduled one but it's in our plan to hold one. Vanderhoeff Are you going to try and target a subject matter for the forum so that there's an education piece that goes along with public time for them to give you input? Watson/We've talked about doing that but we haven't really discussed the format yet for the next forum so we have talked about the possibility of doing that. Lehman/You know it seems to me that the more the PCRB is able to work with the police department and obviously the indication since an officer is there at meetings, it's best because you can ask questions and get immediate answers. To me the PCRB and the police department really need, they need to kind of be hand in glove if they're going to be, you could provide some real help to those folks I think, you've got suggestive ideas but in order to do that there has to be that relationship like your talking about at the meeting where you have an officer there. And I'm not sure that, you can talk to the chief, but I'm not so sure that they couldn't be of some help in forums too. Watson/Well we had the chief at the last one, as a matter of fact he was the speaker at the last one. Lehman/And I think that's, well, I think that's great PR for the police department and for the board. Kanner/I have a question for Eleanor. Eleanor in chapter 8 it talks about how there are certain things you can't compel police officers to do before the commission because of the constitutional law but it also, it says there are certain things you can do as an employee that I would assume that would have to be negotiated, settlement between the City and the union. Are there ways to legally, if we were to negotiate in a union contract to compel police officer's to take part of the process or suffer some sort of employment setback some way? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City council meeting of May 1, 2000. WS050100 May 1, 2000 Council Work Session Page 15 Dilkes/The police chief has the authority to compel an officer to talk to him under threat of termination or other discipline because the police chief has the right by state code to meet out discipline. And that state code, the civil service chapter of the code pretty much occupies the field when it comes to hiring and firing of police officers so the short answer is no. Kanner/Could there be a scenario where the commission perhaps does not discipline an officer but could recommend to the police chief as part of their report possible discipline because of officers not appearing? Watson/We can't according to the code. Dilkes/No. Watson/We can not recommend discipline. Kanner/OK because when I saw in here it said, chief is in charge of discipline under state code but I didn't see where it said about recommendations. Champion/Well the officer. Dilkes/Well certainly if you're suggesting a recommendation that would somehow affect their employment if it's not, I mean that's, no, that's not a possibility. But I think the problem you've got is with state law and we're going to have, I think if we enter that area at all we're going to have some big preemption issues. Pfab/I'll make a statement and in very much support of what you're doing and that's on a global basis after you watch the news of what's going on presently in Illinois with the prison terms and California, those, it's possible for human beings that are police officers to do wrong and I think this is a good way to help them realize that immediately there is a way to do that and it also allows the public a chance to say you know I'm wrong, I, there is a way for me to go and it's, it relieves the pressure on, pressure cooker relationship so that's, it's you, it looks like your doing a good job in at least attempting to do a good in providing that service and I commend you. Watson/Thank you. Lehman/Other Council comments. As far as the sunset clause is concerned, that is obviously a decision that has to be made this September, I don't, or a year from this September. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City council meeting of May 1, 2000. WS050100 May 1, 2000 Council Work Session Page 16 Watson/Well before August 1 of next year. Champion/A year from now though. Watson/We would like to know how your going to make your decision. How your going to make your decision. What your going to base your decision on. What criteria? Lehman/Well we haven't talked about that, we've never talked about the criteria. Pfab/We should be. O'Donnell/That would be a good thing to put on a future work session. Lehman/You know you've got to be really careful because that's a really really good question. How do you determine, obviously I would assume the thoroughness of your investigations, I don't think anybody can fault those, you've done I think a very good job. There certainly has been no dereliction of duty when it comes to putting in the hours. I guess personally I would I'd be interested in the cooperation between the police department and the PCRB. I think you hit it on the head in your note that there's a certain, I don't like to use the word sensitive, there's a certain feeling between the Council and the PCRB which I think is as it should be because we would like you folks to be autonomous as you can possibly be and not take direction from anybody sitting around here. If you do you lose your effectiveness, we were very careful in selecting that group of folks to start with. That is something I suppose that we would, yea there needs to he some criteria. Obviously, I shouldn't say obviously, it's obvious to me, probably the most important criteria is the level of comfort within the community knowing that there is a board that reinforces the, our own, we happen to feel we have a very good police department, I think you feel the same way and based on the complaints has really proven that we've got a wonderful police department and very professional folks. And I think there's a group in the community just, a level of comfort with the police is just better knowing that someone is there to verify what the chief has found, and in most cases that's what's exactly what happened so, to me that would probably be the biggest criteria in evaluating whether or not the PCRB continues is that level of comfort within the community. What it does for our police department and I think it does a great deal for us, ! think you guys have. If you want to look at the complaints, the police department has come out very good. Watson/Are you suggesting we're the cause of that? I don't think (all talking.., laughing) This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City council meeting of May 1, 2000. WS050100 May 1, 2000 Council Work Session Page 17 Lehman/No, no, no, I don't, I don't think your the cause of that but I do believe that credibility is there because your there, we have, and those of us who are closer to the police or whatever, I don't think I've ever dealt, doubted the credibility, there are people in the public who do. They doubt us. Watson/And they doubt us too. I mean we have negative (can't hear). Champion/Right. (All talking) Wilbum/The part that your not referring to though is it's also not only to affirm what law enforcement is doing well but in instances and hopefully rare where there is something wrong because that's a local comfort for us the public too because I mean don't look at law enfomement any different from the general public, there's, nor any other business, there's people doing what they're suppose to do and there's people who may not in any, you know we're people, we're human beings and that's the safety net that it provides I think. Farrant/And we really want that level of attention to be there or we're not doing our work, I mean this is not a cheerleading group for any faction in the community, on the other hand I think as Ernie has said it does review that problems are solvable, at least the ones that have come to our attention, but I think the attention is (can't hear). Lehman/Healthy. Farrant/(can't hear). Vanderhoef/The number of complaints is one of the things, the seriousness of the complaints that are sustained will be something else to look at. Looking to see where the complaints are as a group of complaints, whether they're all excessive use of force or what those are and what the perceptions are of those. Those are the kinds of specific criteria that I would be looking at and the things that Emie is talking about also because yes there's, a safety net there in what you folks are doing and I acknowledge that. Whether it is that much different than whether you were not there that would be the question to answer. Lehman/Other Council comments or Board comments. Thank you folks, appreciate it. Planning & Zoning Matters This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City council meeting of May 1, 2000. WS050100 5TEVEN KANNER City Councilmember. 'row,., City. Home Address: 515 E. College St., #3, Iowa City, Iowa 52245 (319)338-8865 To: Stephen Atkins From: Steven Kanner Re: I.C. Police Officer Quote in D.I. Date: May 18, 2000 I just read an account in the U.I. Daily Iowan about a local man who was allegedly threatened in the Fieldhouse by another man claiming to have a knife. ("$1 tequila lands I.C. man in jail," 5/10/00) What concerns me about the incident is the following quote fi.om an Iowa City police officer that appeared in the newspaper: "It's stupid if you ask me, (police Lt. Dan) Sellers said. "If somebody wonld come up to me like this, I would tell him to get away and play with his own friends. If he pulls the knife ont, I would have hit him with something." Has police office Sellers been questioned to verify if the above was an accurate quote. If it has been found to be accurate, I fred it very disturbing and hope that Seller's advice is not condoned by Iowa City Police Department policy. Whether the quote is accurate or not, I feel that thc City of Iowa City and its Police Department needs to issue a statement disavowing the above quote/advise as a proper course of recommended action. Please respond to my concerns and let me know what your investigations have found. Thank you. cc: Police Citizen Review Board Chair, John Watson The Daily Iowan ~ Iowa City, Iowa Wednesday, May 10, & NATION space $'1 tequila-land I C man in lan:" · A Ioc21 man allegedly Sellers~"Bvt I have never heard of anything like this in a bar." threatened a Fieldhouse R~os did not have the knife in patron in order to get a his hand, and the alleged victim d ri n k: was nor physically injured, Sellers : said. In a situation such as this;' By Christoph Trappe the outcome heavily depends an The Daily ~owan the victim's ~eaction. "It's stupid if you ask Police ~L~rested an. IoWa City SeLlers said. "If somebpdy would man early Tuesday morr~g a/~er come up to me lik~ th~, I .would" an, alleged incident at the Fiqldhouse :~taurant & Bar, 111 tell him to get away aad play wi~ , E:College St.: . / ::. his Own friends. If Marlo Rios. 2401:Highway 6 E. knife .out. I wo~ld ,hq~(,e, hit'~ Apt. 1803, approached another bar patron and requested that the Brett Roseman/The Da y Iow~h- v'[c~ buy ~ a tequila with about the incident,.and, Ume, according ~ court records, know who~ca]Jed the police. Tl~e alleged z~obber ' Rios, 29, .told the person he hod a Futrell Iool~ at artwork at Aris, knife and would use it it' the by moving back Into its original.' req~:est ~v, as.denJed, the court doc- Rios · , g after occupying the former um~nts s~dd. - asr nine inonths. T~e patron bought the drink for that is puz~shable~ b~ ., Rios because he febxed for his yeaxs L~ prison. ~ safety, court records said. The ~0st Rios is being and attractive and provided a for the tequila drink was $1 Coun.ty JaiI:on great atmosphere." Hollis said. Monday night, said Mike His preliminary h~ing tias been The nonprofit organization McCormell. the bar manager a~ set for May19 ~ J0hnpo~ n 'will celebrate its 25th anniver~ ~he ~ld~house. Distric~ Court..He'.c0uld sary on May 19, before the move. ~I~nor rob,berles, like this one~ reached for conunen~. Of reporter Avian Cartasquillo can be reached at: happen aU the tira~ around Iowa ' Ol reoorter ChdstoDh *~ av~an-carrasauillo@uiowa.edu Cityf said Iowa City police Lt. Dan some CAREERS IN THE' TW ce./ .ut, Nce .. SIGNAL CORP$ ' WHILE YOU'REGONE! · ' s~.,.~...o..,,,~.~,~., ~,, .... '~ 'Consign your. · ~-~,,~,p?,~-~., '~ 'unwanted items... Sofas ?,De~k~ · Beds , ~ ~th us j.~ ~ dayia mon~ ~d ~ ~ Furniture ~ HouSehold Items · ~"~"'~ ~: 3151st Street ~. H.~ ~,~t~ (1 block south ,o[ ~tie~s;',Off,~il?~) 887;i 566V' '." 319-351-2337 Hours: -5:30 · Sat 9-5 · Sun 11-4 City of Iowa City MEMORANDUM Date: May 22, 2000 To: Steve Kanner From: City Manager Re: Police Officer Comment - Lt. Sellers I too share your concern and saw the comment in the DI. Lieutenant Sellers was contacted immediately by Captain Widmer concerning these alleged comments. There is disagreement as to the accuracy of the quote. I can assure you we deal with these types of circumstances in a prompt fashion. I do not believe it is in our best interest to issue any kind of statement disavowing any type of quote particularly when there is a difference of opinion. The only written record would be the reporter's notebook, which I have never seen a reporter surrender. Furthermore it simply sets off the potential for further media debate and, based upon my experience, further misquotes. c: John Watson Mgr~mem~sa5-19-2.doc