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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-03FINA LAPPR0VED POLICE CITIZENS REVIEW BOARD A Board of the City of Iowa City 410 East Washin9ton Street Iowa City IA 522401826 3193565041 TO City Council Complainant Stephen Atkins City Manager R J Winkelhake Chief of Police Officers involved in complaint FROM Police Citizens Review Board RE Investigation of PCRB Complaint 0403 DATE March 8 2005 This is the Report of the Police Citizens Review Boardsthe Board review of the investigation of Complaint PCRB 0403 the Complant BoardsResponsibility Under the City Code of the City of Iowa City Section 887B2 the Boards job is to review the Police ChiefsReport Report of his investigation of a complaint The City Code requires the Board to apply a reasonable basis standard of review to the Report and to give deference to the Report because of the Police Chiefsprofessional expertise Section 887B 2 While the City Code directs the Board to make findings of fact it also requires that the Board recommend that the Police Chief reverse or modify his findings only if these findings are unsupported by substantial evidence are unreasonable arbitrary or capricious or are contrary to a Police Department policy or practice or any Federal State or Local Law Sections 887B 2 a b and c BoardsProcedure The Complaint was received at the Office of the City Clerk November 8 2004 As required by Section 885of the City Code the Complaints were referred to the Chief of Police for investigation The Chiefs Report was due on February 7 2005 and was filed with the City Clerk on February 12005 PCRB 0403 Page 1 FINA IAPPR 0VED The Board voted to review the Complaints in accordance with Section 887B1aon the record with no additional investigation The Board met to consider the Report on February 8 2005 and March 8 2005 Findinqs of Fact in the fall of 2004 the complainant was stopped for a traffic offense by Officer A of the Iowa City Police Department Officer A stated the complainant was observed operating a motor vehicle in the 1900 block of Broadway Street and Officer A knew that he did not have a valid license to operate motor vehicles in Iowa Upon approach to the vehicle Officer A observed that the complainant had put something into his mouth Officer A believed this was done in an attempt to conceal an item When Officer A asked the complainant what was in his mouth the complainant fled from Officer A After a foot pursuit of approximately 12 blocks the complainant was apprehended and taken down by Officer A The complainant stated in his complaint that he had stopped fleeing and surrendered to Officer A prior to being apprehended and taken down to the pavement After being physically apprehended the complainant continued to resist the lawful attempts of Officer A to control him Iowa City Police Department Officer B came to assist Officer A in controlling the complainant Officer B stated that the complainant was already taken down to the pavement by Officer A prior to his arrival and that the complainant was resisting Officer A Officer B helped Officer A control the complainant through control techniques applied to the back and back of head areas of the complainantsbody Extensive written training documentation was supplied to the Board as to the control techniques utilized during this apprehension The complainant through his written complaint stated he believed the use of force applied against him during this incident was excessive He stated he repeatedly told the officers involved that he could not breathe An Interview Report supplied to the Board supported the claim that the complainant expressed his concern of his inability to breathe to the officers In the interview conducted by the Iowa City Police Department a witness stated he heard the complainant telling the officers he could not breathe The complainant believes his inability to breath during the incident was due to the force used by the officers The complainant also stated he had sustained superficial injuries to his face during the arrest Although the Officersidentification numbers used in this complaint and report were not on the copies of the Use of Force Reports received by the Board it is believed by the Board through reasonable deduction that the Use of Force Report of Officer B stated that both Officer A and the complainant sustained superficial injuries This is supported PCRB 0403 Page 2 FINALAPPROVED on the first page of the report in the fact that under Suspect Injuries there is an x in the box next to and to the left of Superficial In the same report under Officer Injuries the box next to and to the left of Superficial also has an x in it The Use of Force Report deduced to be completed by Officer A supports the observations of Officer B by also indicating that both Officer A and the complainant had sustained superficial injuries This information was indicated on the first page of the Use of Force Report of Officer A by the xing of the same boxes for injuries to the suspect and to the officer On the second page of Officer As Use of Force Report the officer states in the written Circumstances surrounding the use of said force area of the report that abrasions to one of the complainant elbows and to the right side of his forehead were observed In an Incident Report also believed written by Officer A it is stated in the narrative of the report that Officer A received cuts on my knuckles Also on the second page of Officer As Use of Force Report included in the EffectsResults of said use of force the officer states that Defendant was arrested with only superficial injuries to the def and officer This statement not only documents what injuries occurred during the arrest but also suggests that officer A did not believe these injuries to be inconsistent with the type of incident since the officer referred to the injuries as only superficial Conclusion By unanimous vote the Board set the Level of Review for this complaint at 887B1 a believing there to be enough information in the Chiefs report and other attached materials to allow the Board to come to an informed conclusion The Board finds that the use of force and all control techniques utilized by Iowa City Police Department Officers A and B during this apprehension and arrest to be appropriate and consistent with the training of the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy and the Standard Operating Guidelines of the Iowa City Police Department in regard to use of force and control techniques The use of force was reasonable as perceived by a reasonable officer on the scene rather than 2020 vision of hindsight as per Section 70218 of the Code of Iowa and OPS032 of the Iowa City Police Department operational guidelines The Board concludes that there is nothing in either the Chiefs Report to the Board or the complaint from the complainant that would lead to the conclusion that force above what was reasonable given the situation was utilized by either Officer A or B The Board concludes the findings of the Chief of Police are supported by substantial evidence are reasonable not arbitrary or capricious and are consistent with Police Department policy and practice and any Federal State or Local Law PCRB 0403 Page 3 FINA LAPPR0 VED Alleqation 1 Use of excessive force not sustained The Board has no cause to suspect or believe that Officer B used excessive force in this apprehension Allegation 1 against Officer B is not sustained Comment It was noted by the Board that the two complaints originally made by the complainant were contained in one allegation in the Chiefsreport The Board found this condensation of allegations to be consistent with the complainantsoriginal complaint and concerns PCRB O4O3 Page 4