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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-04POLICE CITIZENS REVIEW BOARD A Board of the City ofIowa City 410 East Washington Street Iowa City IA 522401826 319 3565041 September 9 2008 To City Council sComplainant Michael Lombardo City Manager Sam Hargadine Chief of Police Officers involved in complaint r7 G K n From Police Citizens Review Board 0 Re Investigation of PCRB Complaint 0804 This is the Report ofthe Police Citizens Review Boards the Board review ofthe investigation of Complaint PCRB 0804the Complaint BOARDSRESPONSIBILITY Under the City Code ofthe City of Iowa City Section 887B 2 the Boazds job is to review the Police Chiefs Report Report of his investigation of a complaint The City Code requires the Board to apply a reasonable basis standard ofreview to the Report and to give deference to the Report because ofthe Police Chiefs professional expertise Section 887 B 2 While the City Code directs the Board to make Findings of Fact it also requires that the Boazd recommend that the Police Chief reverse or modify his fmdings 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 Section 887B 2 a b c BOARDSPROCEDURE The Complaint was received at the Office of the City Clerk on May 1 2008 As required by Section 885 B of the City Code the Complaint was referred to the Chief of Police for investigation The Chiefs Report was due on July 30 2008 and was filed with the City Clerk on July 30 2008 i The Board met to consider the Chiefs Report on August 19 2008 and September 9 2008 The Board voted to review the Chiefs Report in accordance with Section 887 B 1 a on the record with no additional investigation FINDINGS OF FACT On February 1 2008 at approximately 0200 hours the Complainant was arrested for his involvement in an altercation in the 500 block ofGilbert Street Later in the day the Complainant picked up a complaint form from the Police Department At 156PMon May 1 2008 the City Clerk received the Police Citizens Review Board Complaint form and on May 5 2008 it was assigned for investigation C V vs mIALLEGATIONS aTheComplainantsallegationsare r i1ni C1EXCESSIVEUSEOFFORCEIMPROPERLYAPPLIEDHANDCUFFS a The Complainant alleged that the handcuffs were applied too tight and he asked Offiers at least twice to loosen the cuffs He also alleged that the arresting Officers slammed him over the patrol car These allegations are made against Officers A B 2 INADEQUATE INVESTIGATION OF THE INCIDENT The Complainant alleged that Officer A did not assess the situation but rather insisted that he lie on the ground that he and his siblings were not allowed to give their side ofthe story and his sister wasnot allowed to give a statement The Complainant also alleged that at no time did the officer tell him what he was being charged with even after his persistent asking 3 UNPROFESSIONAL BEHAVIORINAPPROPRIATE INTERACTION WITH A CITIZEN The Complainant alleged that Officer C displayed disrespectful and rude behavior He also alleged that Officer C got in the back seat of the patrol car to get face to face with him arguing about the situation screaming at him numerous times and mocking his medical condition 4 INTERFERENCE WITH A MEDICAL EMERGENCY The Complainant alleged that his actions were due to excessively high blood sugar and that z Officer C waited almost 45 minutes before getting him medical attention He also alleges that Officer C took the phone that the Emergency Treatment Center ETC nurse was using to talk to his mother about his condition and put it in his pocket POLICE DEPARTMENT INVESTIGATION The Iowa City Police Department did an investigation of the allegations PCRB 0804 filed by the Complainant on May 1 2008 The investigation report was filed with the City Clerks Office on July 30 2008 and reviewed by the Board at the August 19 2008 and September 9 2008 meetings To investigate the four allegations the police department interviewed the officers involved and reviewed police incar videoaudio logs from all of the officers present at the scene Reports and witness statements from that evening were reviewed Interviews were conducted with the Complainant the Emergency Room nurse the Triage Nurse and the attending physician Investigator called the Complainants brother and sister and left messages in an attempt to sclleSiule interviews The messages were not answered and further attempts to contact these witnessesere not answered BOARD FINDINGS 3 Allegation 1 G r TheBoazd finds allegation 1 to be NOT SUSTAINED due to the following 0 The incaz camera systems do not record the Complainant ever telling Officers that the handcuffs were too tight The incar camera systems record that the Complainant is leaned against the side of the patrol carnear the trunk by the Officers The Officer stated that the handcuffs were properly applied double locked and removed at the hospital for medical treatment The injuries that the Complainant experienced were consistent with properly applied handcuffs where the person struggles leans back on or tries to manipulate the cuffs Allegation 1s Conclusions The handcuffs were applied in a manner that while handcuffed behind his back and seated in a patrol car the Complainant was able to move around to the extent that he was able to retrieve his cell phone from his pocket and make multiple calls or texts Officer A was attempting to gain control of a volatile situation involving at least four people In order to gain control of the situation Officer A is attempted to stop the subjects from fighting and elimate their opportunity to flee Officer A had no immediate backup and his decision to order the subjects to the ground was necessary and reasonable Allegation 2 The Board finds allegation 2 to be NOT SUSTAINED due to the following The incar camera system records Officer A arriving on the scene and ordering the subjects and the Complainant to the ground to gain control Officer A is directed to the Complainant by another subject and is told to tell him to stop The incar camera system records officers discussing the circumstances of the incident with those witnesses present and among themselves Officer Ds recorder documents his speaking with the Complainants sister at the scene Officer Bs recorder documents him talking with the Complainantssister and other witnesses Officers A B tell the Complainant that he is under arrest because he didntget on the ground when told to do so Allegation 2 Conclusion When attempting to break up fights in progress an Officer will usually begin with the person who appears to be the primary aggressor Officer A arrived on the scene and was directed to the Complainant by another subject The subject told Officer A to tell him to stop This lead Officer A to reasonably conclude that the Complainant wasthe primary aggressor Allegation 3 TheBoard finds Allegation 3 to be NOT SUSTAINED due to the following At no time during the entire incident does any incar camera system record any Officer mocking the Complainantsmedical condition Incar camera system records Officer C getting in the back seat of the patrol car with the Complainant to explain what is going on The Complainant wont allow any discussion screaming over Officers attempts to tell him what is going on with his medical supplies The Complainant is told by Officer D what is happening with retrieval ofhis medical supplies but he becomes more argumentative Allegation 3 Conclusion Officers tell the Complainant that they believe he has diabetes but the Complainant responds that he doesntbelieve them He continues to demand answers but wontlisten when Officers explain anything to him Allegation 4 L The Board finds Allegation 4 to be NOT SUSTAINED due to the following fti r 4 t i F ai At no time does the Complainant indicate that he is having a medical emergency he did express that he needed his medical kit available to him The Complainant informed Officers that he had checked his blood sugar prior to leaving his apartment to come help his sister and his blood sugar it was low The Complainant left the house without doing anything about his blood sugar level but had a snack immediately before the altercation Officer C asked the Complainant if he wanted an ambulance and he replied that he wanted one Officer C asked the Complainant if he wanted an ambulance based on Complainantsreference to past medical history and not because Officer C observed any signs or indicators of medical distress The Complainant would not cooperate with EMT personnel The Complainant was taken to UI ETC where he was uncooperative with the nursing staff also The Complainant denied that he had chest pain fever nausea vomiting abdominal pain which are all systematic ofdiabetic reaction needing medical attention Allegation 4Conclusion The Complainant appeared more interested in having his medical kit available to him than needing immediate medical attention The Complainant stated that his brother had been arrested before and they would not let him have access to his medical kit and he did not want that to happen to him The attending physician was interviewed and asked if he felt that based on the Complainants behavior the officer should have recognized that the Complainant was in need of immediate medical attention The physician indicated he did not think so Board Comments The board noted that while the criminal complaint against the Complainant stated that the Complainant admitted to drinking but denied it later such admission wasnot noted anywhere in the Chiefs report or supporting documentation submitted to the board r n a 7 c 5