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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-13-2001 MinutesPOLICE CITIZENS REVIEW BOARD MINUTES — February 13, 2001 CALL TO ORDER Chair John Watson called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M. ATTENDANCE Board members present: Leah Cohen, Paul Hoffey, Loren Horton, John Stratton and John Watson. Staff present: Legal Counsel Catherine Pugh and PCRB Assistant Sandy Bauer. Captain Tom Widmer was also present. CONSENT CALENDAR Motion by Hoffey and seconded by Horton to adopt the Consent Calendar as presented: a. Minutes of 1 /9/01 meeting b. Revised PCRB By -Law, 1/16/00 C. ICPD General Order - Racial Profiling d. ICPD General Order - Department Disciplinary Philosophy e. ICPD General Order - Emergency Operation of Police Vehicles f. ICPD General Order - Informants g. Department Memorandum 01-05, November & December Use of Force Review h. Traffic Stop Demographics, Jan. 2000 through Dec. 2000. i. ICPD Training Newsletter, January 2001 j. ICPD January Training Report k. Watch Training 01-23 1. ICPD Training Bulletin 01-37 M. ICPD Training Bulletin 01-38 n. ICPD Training Bulletin 01-39 o. Memorandum from Chief Winkelhake re 2000 Yearly Review p. ICPD Use of Force Report, December 2000 Items on the Consent Calendar were discussed as follows: c. ICPD General Order - Racial Profiling - Page 3, G. Watson questioned if the canine officer makes a traffic stop, what's the rule for using the dog to sniff. Widmer responded the dog does not get out of the car unless there is probable cause. A "cursory sniff" means unobtrusive; the officer must be able to articulate why he deems there is a reason to have the dog do a walk - around. Widmer stated, as a matter of policy, the dog is not taken into a random parking lot and walking him around. The dog is used for routine patrol; his drug -sniffing ability is simply one of the things he is trained to do. 1 Watson questioned "Complaints...", #1, why the department does not explain to a person how to fill out a PCRB complaint form, and Widmer responded that the practice is they explain the options they have and the procedures they would need to fill out both kinds of complaints, and directing them to the appropriate person in the PCRB. Stratton recommended some grammatical changes. d. ICPD General Order - Department Disciplinary Philosophy - Stratton recommended possible grammatical changes. e. ICPD General Order - Emergency Operation of Police Vehicles - Regarding all of the General Orders, Hoffey stated these are written exceptionally well. Especially this Order, where priority calls have been defined and are quite explicit, noting this is the first time in his experience that he has seen this. f. ICPD General Order - Informants - Stratton asked if there was something beyond monetary that would be included as a personal benefit. Widmer stated there probably is and gave possible examples. Stratton asked who the Commander of Investigations is, and Widmer stated it is Lieutenant Rick Wyss. o. Memorandum from Chief Winkelhake re 2000 Yearly Review - Watson commented that there appears to be fewer departmental complaints and PCRB complaints this year than in previous years. Watson requested from Widmer the number of complaints in the ICPD in the past five years. Widmer stated he would provide those numbers, and confirmed that the number of complaints is significantly down this year. Watson also would like provided the number of use of force incidents, together with other baseline statistics to include number of arrests (Widmer stated some categories of arrests are up; calls for services are up). Widmer explained how the department is doing policing differently and how that affects complaints. Widmer stated he would let the Chief know of the Board's request for this information. He also said the department's year-end report should be finished sometime in March. Motion carried, 5/0, all members present. RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL — None ICPD PPP Chief Winkelhake was not prepared to give a presentation at this meeting on GOALS & OBJECTIVES OF THE ICPD FOR 2001, but should have that information completed for the March meeting. Widmer and Bauer will confirm this with the Chief. 2 Watson also stated that Prof. David Baldus would be present at the March meeting to discuss the ICPD traffic stop data and racial profiling. The Board requested that Sid Jackson and the Chief be invited to attend also. Further discussion of topics for upcoming presentations will be discussed at the next meeting. Hoffey previously mentioned Police Pursuits as a possible topic. He questioned. in a Dolice pursuit situation where another agency is pursuing through Iowa City, what their procedure would be. COMMUNITY FORUM The decision whether to videotape the Community Forum was discussed again. It remained the Board's decision to not videotape. Bauer reported that Chief Winkelhake stated Captain Matt Johnson would be available to make a Dresentation at the PCRB Community Forum on April 18, 2001, on Communitv Policing. Bauer also reported that the Chief stated Captain Johnson would take questions from the Board. but he would not take auestions from the Dublic. Watson stated that it seems self-defeating to have a Dublic forum and have a representative of the department there to make a presentation on a major emphasis of the department and then that person not take any questions/answers from the public on that subject matter. Followina discussion. Watson was directed to meet with the Chief to discuss the Board's position on this matter. Watson will report back to the Board in March. NEW BUSINESS None OLD BUSINESS The Board noted that Article V, Section I of the PCRB By - Laws was approved by Council. A copy of e-mail correspondence from Bob Hardy was distributed, which stated the PCRB videotape is still on target for completion in April. NACOLE membership was again discussed. Bauer reported NACOLE has not responded to her reauests for a refund of their membership dues. PUBLIC DISCUSSION Captain Widmer informed the Board that the ICPD has made the decision to ao throuah the accreditation exam inspection in August. A mock inspection is planned prior to that. MEETING SCHEDULE BOARD INFORMATION Referring to a Gazette article on Jan. 15, 2001, reaardina accreditation. Hoffev stated perhaps the most important aspect of police accreditation is the fact that it assures the communitv that the DOlice department is meeting and complying with the hiahest professional standards ever set for a DOlice agency in this country, which the article did not state. • Reaular Meetina_ March 13. 2001 ( Stratton and Cohen absent) • Reaular Meetina April 10, 2001 • Community Forum April 18, 2001 • Cohen and Chief Winkelhake met with students from Metro High School, Cedar Rapids, in the Council Chambers on January 23. Approximately 15-20 students plus a few teachers attended. The students are studvina Dolice boards throuahout the country and came to the meeting very well prepared. A very good, intelliaent conversation was held about the board. and PCRB handouts were distributed. • Cohen reported a conversation with Council Member Connie Champion. • Stratton reported on a reauest from a Dai/v Iowan reporter on student rights and information about the PCRB. STAFF INFORMATION None ADJOURNMENT Motion for adjournment by Stratton and seconded by Hoffev. Motion carried. 5/0. all members present. Meeting adjourned at 8:20 P.M.