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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-12-1998 Articlesthe l;aaette, Monday, April 27, 1998, page 26 Police review board rules against 4., Oazatte Johnson County Bureau IOWA CITY — The Police Citizens Review Board recently ruled against four complainants. According to the board's re- ports to the City Council, all of the complainants have filed nu- merous complaints in 1997 and 1998. One complainant, who has filed seven complaints, alleged that he is being harassed by Police Chief R.J. Winkelhake. He cites an incident in February when officers came to his house and removed fishing line at- tached to his chain -link fence and strewn across the sidewalk. In ruling that the man had not been harassed by Winkel - hake or the department, the board said that Winkelhake was not directly involved in this incident. The board members also said that any police officer attempting to contact a person at home under the circumstanc- es the man described is not trespassing. The board made a similar ruling in a case where a man claimed officers were trespass- IOWA CITY ing when they came to his home in February to get additional information for the county attor- ney for a pending case. The man has filed eight complaints this year and last, according to the board's report. Another complainant has filed nine complaints. The complaint most recently considered by the board concerns police stopping the man for allegedly following his neighbor to the home of the neighbor's grandmother. The man denied doing any- thing wrong and said his neigh- bor had spit on his windshield. The officer asked if the man and his neighbor were in a relation- ship, because the alleged actions seemed to the officer to be typi- cal of a domestic dispute. The board ruled against the man's allegation that officers called him a homosexual, noting that the possibility of a standing no -contact order made the ques- tion about a relationship rele- vant. The question could have been asked more tactfully, the, board said. The board also ruled against the man's claims that he .was stopped without probable cause and that police refused to take action against his neighbor even though the neighbor had violat- ed his rights. Officers addressed the matter but chose to handle it without prosecution, the board noted. The man also claitited that he was harassed while po- lice served him with outstand- ing misdemeanor citations dur- ing the traffic stop. The board also ruled against this allega- tion. The final complaint reported by the board is one of 10 filed: by the same man, who claims that he informed police he didn't want them calling him, yet,an officer left a message on his answering machine in March. Given that the officer who called was investigating a previ- ous complaint filed by the man, the board ruled against the man's allegations that police ha- rassed him and that he is being denied the right to live in peace.