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Home My WebLink About04-15-2002 Articles Distribution Requested Iowa CityPress-Citizen:News by PCRB Chair, John Stratton Page 1 of 4 -- ~ .I..'~:I. :~ .l'$~.. l'y .~ ]~ .N ~, I ~ ~ ~ ,~ (~ ~:~ :K... :~.. ~. ~ I , ~ ~ ,'J' .'~5 'W' '.~ I..,. ~ .~. ~ J Local News Sunday, March 24~ 2002 Archives Crick Here to view our Nation~orld Ci~ denies records' release archives. Weather Reports of police misconduct climb in 2001 Obituaries Calendar By Sara Langenberg Road Delays Iowa Ci~ Press-Citi=e~ Ba:k6rounders Compl~nts of police misconduct in Iowa CiW are at ~itv Vile~ ~ek highest lev al since 1997, the year the council Bruegger's created ~e Police Citizens Review Board to investigate Poll such complaints independent of police administrators. NCS Pop Quiz A poli~ memo says n~e compla~ts were ~vesfigated h 2001 by Iowa Ci~ police a~inis~ators, who oversee about 80 sworn ~ ~:z':!~ :~:~: officers, h addition to ~e n~e compla~ts h~dl~ htemally, six ~'~:~: i;'>~=::*'~<=:~'::~':;~::i~:( ~::~:~ additional complaints w~e filed but were h~dl~ by the Police Citiz~s Review Bo~d. In 1997, 12 complaints w~e filed. ...~ .. ~ someone files a compla~t aga~st ~ officer, they c~ have . · e case investigated by ~e officer's supe~ors or ~e PC~, or ~th. O~y the ~lice dep~ment can administer discipline, however. Most details about ca~s investigated by the PCRB - o~er th~ ~e n~es of ~e people or officem involved - ~e released to the public. ~~~~ But ci~ officials will di~lo~ only limited details about the allegations investigated by admiMstrato~. Fkst Assistant City AUomey S~ Holecek says those records ~e viewed as perm=el matt~s ~d police Mvestigative r~ords. As such, ~ey ~ protected from disclosure by Iowa's open records law. However, the extent of ~e city's refusal to di~lose a~itional details could be in violation of that law, ~ attorney for ~e Iowa Newspap~ Association said Friday. For example, one officer w~ a<~ed last ye~ of conduct that brought di~r~it to the dep~ent, ~nduct unbecoming ~ officer ~d inappropriate conduct toward supehors or asmciates. According to a memo dated J~. 9, 2002, which s~ma~es ~e nine int~al affairs investigations durMg 200 I, the incident ~c~ed at 3 a.m June 12 at the Iowa City Civic Center, wh~e the ~lice d~ent is located. The case was assi~ed to m htemal affai~ investigator the next day, ~d all ~e allegations w~e sustainS. http://www.press-citizen.com/news/032402police.htm 3/28/02 Iowa City Press-Citizen: News Page 2 of 4 The Jan. 9 memo lists only that information about the case and says nothing about the immediate circumstances of the incidents or whether the officer was disciplined. The memo offers similarly brief descriptions of the other eight internal affairs cases in 2001. Holecek, who represents the police on legal matters, said additional details about internal affairs cases are exempt from disclosure under Iowa's open records laws. In a letter to the Press-Citizen Friday, Holecek cites a portion of the law that protects a peace officers' investigative reports, a portion that protects personnel records and a portion that is designed to protect the identity of so-called whistleblowers. However, Joe Quiun, an attorney for the Iowa Newspaper Association, says the city may not be releasing everything it should be, according to the same law. Quinn said the portion of Iowa law that protects a peace officer's investigative report from disclosure also says the "date, time, specific location and circumstances surrounding a crime or incident" shall not be kept confidential unless it would jeopardize the investigation or put someone at risk of clear and present danger. "If they are going to call it a police investigative report, we should get the details surrounding the crime or incident,N Quinn said. The same provision applies under the whistleblower protection, he added. The law says such records are confidential, except for the time, date, location and immediate facts and circumstances of the incident, unless disclosure would jeopardize a person's safety or a pending investigation. Quinn said the city may be "on solid ground" defending disclosure of the data as personnel records, but the city still could "release enough information to the public to let them know what is going on while at the same time protecting the identity of the officers involved." Police Chief R.J.Winkelhake did not return a call seeking comment Friday, but on March 13, when the Press-Citizen first asked for additional information related to the nine cases referred to in the Jan. 9 memo, Winkelhake referred questions to Holecek. John Watson, a long-time member of the PCRB, says the board is comfortable with the amount of information it receives about complaints handled by police administrators. The board has the power to track all complaints by officer, but so far hasn't seen the need to do it, he added. "Those other complaints are important to us, because ff there were suddenly a whole lot of complaints, we'd want to know a whole lot more about them and whether we need to track them by officer," he said. http://www.press-citizen.com/news/032402police.htm 3/28/02 Iowa City Press-Citizen: News Page 3 of 4 ~Our charge is to look at police misconduct and any patterns we might see. I'm not a statistician, but right now, the numbers are so small I'm not sum how we could determine anything statistically significant from them. "If we had a rogue cop, and I'm not saying there is one, I think we'd know that," he added. The PCRB gets a brief summary of internal affairs cases, such as the Jan. 9 memo from Police Capt. Matt Johnson to Police Chief R.J. Winkelhake. Of the nine complaints handled internally last year, two involved allegations that were sustained, according to the Jan. 9 memo. One involved the officer misconduct on June 12; another involved mishandling a search warrant. Two other complaints were not sustained. One was withdrawn by the person who filed it. Four of the nine investigations still were under investigation at the time the memo was written, although PCRB reports indicate that throe of the four since have been closed. In one of those cases, both the PCRB and police administrators sustained an allegation of inappropriate conduct. According to a PCRB report, a woman called 911 at 5 a.m. Aug. 25 to report someone Wing to break into her residence. When officers arrived, they found a man outside who admitted to trying to break in. The officers decided to give the man a ride home because he was intoxicated, but the woman told the other officer she wanted the man arrested, the report said. The woman filed a complaint because one officer described her as being "vindictive" in wanting the intoxicated person put in j ail. Both the PCRB and the police chief determined that the officer's use of the word "vindictive" was inappropriate in this case, the PCRB report states. Neither investigation supported the woman's claim that the officers~ plan to drive the intoxicated man home was a violation of police policy. The PCRB has no disciplinary power, and the public record does not reflect whether discipline was administered by the police chief. In two other cases, PCRB members agreed with administrators to not sustain allegations of misconduct. Both cases were still under investigation when the Jan. 9 memo was written. Police response to a domestic disturbance on March 23 prompted five allegations of misconduct. None were sustained. An officer's Sept. 13 decision to arrest a bicyclist for providing a fake name while being issued a citation for riding a bike on a http://www.press-citizen.com/news/032402police.htm 3/28/02 Iowa City Press-Citizen: News Page 4 of 4 downtown sidewalk prompted four allegations of misconduct. None were sustained during either review process. According to PCRB documents, the independent board disagreed with the police administration's findings in just one case during 2001. In that case, police trying to serve an an'est warrant were granted entxy to a home by an 11-year-old boy on Jan. 27, 2001. The boy's mother later claimed the officers illegally searched her home. Police administrators did not sustain the complaint, but the PCRB did, advising the police to create a policy regarding a juvenile's ability to grant consent to search a residence. The police department's Jan. 9 memo on this case refers to the case as an allegation of "improper conduct," and says the officer was exonerated by administrators. Let us know what you think of this story... http://www.press-citizen.com/news/032402police.htm 3/28/02 Page ! of § Distribution Requested IrvJn Pfab by Irvin Pfab From: "Steven LecklJtne~' <legalise_freedorn~yahoo.corn> To: <KeyWestCRB_Forum~topica.com> Sent: Tuesday, March 19, 2002 1:33 PM Subject: GRASSROOTS RESULTS: Joe Q. Public invited to preliminary Civilian * RESULTS *** GRASSROOTS ACTION RESULTS *** RESULTS * Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has. - Margaret Mead 1) RESULTS: Joe Q. Public invited to preliminary Civilian Review Board meeOngs, March 27, 2000. 2) Who is that masked man? Who is JOE Q. PUBLIC? 3) Grassroots Info: What YOU can DO to assist the growing movement to establish a civilian review board for Key West. Volunteer TODAY! 1) RESULTS: Joe Q. Public invited to preliminary Civilian Review Board meetings, March 27, 2000. Congratulations! THANK YOU all SO MUCH for your tremendous response and for letting your City Commissioners know your views about establishing a Civilian Review Board for Key West. WE THE PEOPLE; a quaint little term coined by a group of subversive radicals with a high price on their heads, from another age, left us with a legacy of self determination. Our founding fathers gave us the means to make choices about governing ourselves. And if we are unable to govern ourselves locally, in our diverse communities, with equal protection under the law, what else really matters? Because of your response to our last ACTION ALERT Commissioner Han'y Bethel berated City Manager Julio Avael for failing to invite "Joe Q. Public" to his special "invitation only" public meetings to discuss civilian oversight in Key West. When Avael began listing the invitees for the next meeting, he listed the representatives for numerous organizations expected to attend. Bethel reprimanded the City Manager for failing to invite "individuals", people who may have had real life negative experiences with the Key West police. Thanks to YOUR e-mails, Avael has now invited "Joe Q. Public" (the author and creator of this e-list), to the next meeting to be held on March 27th at the Beachside Holiday Inn. I know, from your responses to these e-mailings, that there are many of you who have personal, as well as broader community reasons for supporting strong civilian oversight. Many of you, unfortunately, will never have the opportunity to say or do anything about your specific concerns. Even if you wanted to do so, where would you go? To the Internal Affairs unit? Local attorneys who fear political reprisals? Do you want to keep your job? Are you afl.aid 3/19/02 Page 2 of § that the police might retaliate against you too? Good Luck... Now you can get more involved, SAFELY! Here's how: Send me YOUR stories. I set up this list for YOU to get involved and to be able to make a difference. I will take YOUR voice to these meetings. I will present YOUR side of the story that is not being heard. Together we will positively demonstrate why a Civilian Review Board in Key West is appropriate at this time. Then, we will work to steer the process in a direction that ensures that the "YES MEN" are not set up to con~'ol the board. We will NOT accept a paper tiger. WE THE PEOPLE must take this action or face the consequences when those in power use their influence to establish a weak and phony civilian review with no teeth. WE THE PEOPLE need to know the police are there to "Protect and Serve" the whole community; equally and fairly. Send me your stories! Do it TODAY! 2) Who is that masked man? WHO IS JOE Q. PUBLIC?! I have lived here since 1994, when I and a close friend opened the first "Hair Wrap" shop in Key West. NOT the one you hear about on the radio. ·. the REAL first hippie hair wrap shop in town, at 200 Duval, across from Rum Runner's· Our shop was called BrainWash Yourself, Inc. Our motto was that if you don't brainwash yourself, somebody is going to do it for you. We jumped through all HARC's hoops and over all the hurdles at City Hall. We established a very successful business. We hired all our competition - that is, all the street kids doing wraps - and showed them that they could make more money working for us than for themselves, and not risk getting ticketed while doing so. We taught them how to do it for themselves too, and many did. But Dennis Wardlow was Mayor then, and he in no uncertain terms, wanted us to pay a "special" local business license (cash) in order to operate without the never ending hoops and hurdles. HHhhhmmmmm... Mayor Wardlow was later investigated by the F.B.I. for receiving illegal "g~atuifies" from local businesses. After refusing his generous offer, Code Enforcement began giving us bogus tickets for one violation or another. We came to consider this as a cost of doing business. 1 was arrested for trespassing when I showed up to court on a citation date. Mind you, this was public property, on a day and time when I had a summons to appear; or risk having a judge sign a bench warrant for my arrest for failure to appear! In the end no-one could explain why 1 was arrested for showing up to court, and the charge was dropped. We left town, and took the business with us. 1 went on to work as an lnternet developer and online marketer. 3/19/02 Page 3 of § I came back to Key West and worked as a carpenter doing the woodwork renovations at the Custom House. After that, I worked as a diver for Mel Fisher. I was the first one to put Fantasy Fest online with live streaming video (1998). I filmed at Rick's Bar where Joe Carter does body painting and at Bourbon St. and at four other locations. I was arrested and beaten by police while returning a vehicle to a friend in Bahama Village. In the end they couldn't explain that either, and the charges dropped again. I was the website administrator for Reef Relief and showed them how to establish an "e-list" and demonstrated its effectiveness in reaching people with a focused idea; in order to generate a response that enabled strategic action to be taken by those of like mind and to get things done. One day, I needed police assistance, and it seems the guy I needed help fi'om was a "buddy" of the cop who fielded the call. He gave me a Victim's Rights brochure but refused to make a police report. When I insisted, he threatened to arrest me for trespassing - ON MY OWN DRIVEWAY! I went to a private business and called to find out how to file an Internal Affairs complaint, then called the Sherifftn handle the original complaint. While still on the phone with the Sheriff, the same cop came in the store, dragged me outside, threatened to arrest me for trespassing if 1 didn't leave, when I did try to leave, they handcuffed and hog-tied me, and then he and several others kicked and stomped me to unconsciousness, in front of about 50 witnesses (according to the police depositions), in broad daylight. A public flogging. They said they did this to protect me from myself and said I resisted arrest with violence and attacked several officers. I had bruised lungs, boot marks, cuts scrapes and abrasions all over my body. Not one officer had a mark. They accused me of kicking a female officer in the breast; the wife of the commanding officer at the scene. Under deposition however, she said I kicked her after I was already hog-tied, and while her hands were on the chains binding my feet as they shoved me into a car! The truth is that they swung me feet first into her and said, "Oops, you just assaulted an officer!" I am not making this up. I guess it was meant to teach me a lesson. Well, no-one could explain all this very well either, and once again the charges against me were dropped. But this time I am not satisfied. I want an answer to a simple question: WHY? I seek an accountability, where there seems to be none. I intend to bring a legal action against the police and the City of Key West in Federal Court to do just that. It took everything I had to fight the injustice heaped upon me. The cops lied under oath, and what they said is simply impossible. Since then, I have had a nervous breakdown and am now broke and homeless; but not broken in spirit! And so, to answer the original question; who is "John Q. Public"? I am NOBODY. At least that's what I see every day I get a chance to look in a mirror.., and I have nothing left but human dignity, and somehow, through it all, I can still see that. Only now, I can see it in others l have met with similar stories around here. Way too many people with way too many similar stories. Stories 3/19/02 Page 4 of § that will NEVER be heard, victims without recourse, local people who feel they have no voice. Even if they did, who would listen, who would hear, who would answer this question: How do you make the unaccountable to become responsible for what they do? Nobody cares... And like I said, I AM NOBODY. And I care... But I am one who believes that you don't complain about a situation unless you have a possible solution. In my humble opinion, a strong Civilian Review Board might be a way to start finding a solution to a very complex problem that simply HAS to be solved. But then again, who am I!? NOBODY, folks, just nobody. Because Civilian Review Boards provide for an external review mechanism; they can be an extremely effective way to curb police abuses. This is what people ultimately want to see. They want to know that regardless of who you are, whether you are a police officer, or even a City Commissioner, that if you do something you're not supposed to do, that there are consequences. Otherwise, there is not fair representation being given to the people of this community. Now, send me YOUR stories and let's change the course of this debate. Just sign it "Joe Q. Public" and we'll understand. You know the sto~y; "the faces and names are changed to protect the identity oftbe KWPD victims". Thank You So Much for all your help! Steve Lecklimer legalist Irccdolll (~) ahoo COlll The organizations below offer detailed insight into the successes and shortcomings of contemporary civilian review agencies nationwide. National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE): Amnesty International: hllp://xx ~ x~ amnc~l3 usa ol,e/riglllsl~*in]l policc/n_x pd/ic]dc,, hhnl Human Rights Watch: htll~:'.'xxxxxx hm org_/lCl~orlsOS/imlicc:~spo22lllnl American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU): htlp://~xxxxaclttolg~lil>rats/l'ighling police abusc him] *** HERE IS WHAT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN SAYING: *** "Thank you for caring this much about our city. There is a lot of corruption here, which is why the majority of "locals" have lea. 3/19/0g Page 5 of 5 Perhaps we can't have it as it used to be, but with people like you it might get better!" -- Leslie [7 generations of Conchs] "I'd be glad to help establish the Citizen review board. I know from fi'lends who were on the police force (and have retired) that there arc, in no uncertain terms, some really bad cops out there who operate with impunity." - Richard "Thanks for the article. My hat is offto the good folks in Key West." -- Don [Sacramento, CA] "Thanks for forwarding this useful editorial. Please add NACOLE (the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement) to the list of organizations that will assist jurisdictions in getting oversight up and running." -- Sue Quinn [NACOLE President] "I would like to sign on to the e-list." -- Sharon YOU TOO, can sign on to the Key West Civilian Review Board Advocates e-list newsletter: lfyou would like to receive future mailings and updates it's simple; just send an e-mail to: Kc} ~,\cxl( I4B l'Ol'Lllll-Slllixcril~ct/lOplCll COltl Once again, Thank You So Much for all your help! This email was sent to: i?lab ~ axahm ucl EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: hill)://lopica COlll/U/'?a2i\V!l{I a30MN(; Or send an email to: Kc} WcslCRB I.ormn-mlxt~/~qcribc t~ Iopica con/ T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! AIIp://X; X\ XX lei>Ica COlll/l¢~lrlllCl?la~O2/rcgistcl- 3/19/0 Distribution Requested by Irvin Pfab Marian Karr From: Irvin Pfab [ipfab@avalon.net] Sent: Thursday, April 04, 2002 3:10 PM To: Irvin Pfab's mailing list Subject: 4202fw Two landmarkd settlement could signal sweeping changes in the Cincinnati Police Department...: The Cincinnati Enquirer, by Jane Prendergast, Robert Anglen and Kevin Aldridge Thursday, April 04, 2002 Deals provide 'turning point' The Cincinnati Enquirer Two lanc~ark settlements could signal sweeping changes in the Cincinnati Police Department -- and provide for federal oversight of those reforms - at a cost of as much as $12.5 million over five years. The settlements -- with the U.S. Justice Department and plaintiffs in 2 a racial profiling lawsuit -- came Wednesday after more than 100 hours of intense negotiations over the past two weeks. KEY POINTS Ends federal mediation, Justice Department investigation. Governs Cincinnati police use of force. Includes a five-year police oversight plan. Creates independent citizen complaint body. Requires appointment of outside monitor. Estimated operating cost: $12.5 million. WHAT'S NEXT · Approval by all parties required by Tuesday. · Lack of agreement could lead to federal trial. · Monitor must be selected within 150 days. WHAT IT MEANS · Addresses complaints that African-Americans were discriminated against for decades by police. · Commits police to working closely with community. · Restricts use of police dogs and chemical irritants. Improves investigation of citizen complaints. Settlement is first of its kind in nation. THE DETAILS The proposed settlement related to police conduct spells out conditions for police procedures. It calls for no discrimination, more courtesy and an independent citizens complaint board. Here are more details: · "The city shall provide police services in a fair and impartial manner without any discrimination on the basis of race, color or ethnicity. The city, in consultation with the parties, shall take appropriate action to track compliance." It also addresses police conduct. "Except in exigent circumstances, when a citizen is stopped or detained and then released as part of an investigation, the officer shall explain to the citizen why he or she is stopped or detained in a professional, courteous manner. "An officer must always display his or her badge on request and must never retaliate or express disapproval if a citizen seeks to record an officer's badge number." · The city would also create an independent Citizen Complaint Authority to replace a citizen police review panel and the city's Office of Municipal Investigations. "The CCA's mission will be to investigate serious interventions by police officers, including but not limited to shots fired, deaths in custody and major uses of force, and to review and resolve all citizen complaints in a fair and efficient manner," the document said. "It is essential that the CCA uniformly be perceived as fair and impartial, and not a vehicle for any individuals or groups to promote their own agendas." And it came four days before the one-year anniversary of a police shooting that sparked the city's worst riots in three decades. Together, the agreements would require police to better track citizen complaints, and force changes in police policies on the use of force, foot pursuits and interaction with the mentally ill. And it would overhaul city agencies responsible for providing oversight of the police department, creating a Citizen Complaint Authority to replace two other panels, the Office of Municipal Investigation and Citizens Police Review Panel. "It's a very good settlement," said Mayor Charlie Luken. "It's just what we've all been waiting for. It gets the Fraternal Order of Police on the same page as the Black United Front. "It's historic. At the risk of sounding sensational, it's an unprecedented turning point for the city." Still, the Black United Front and other groups supporting a boycott against the city over the treatment of minorities said the settlement and the boycott were separate issues. The settlement -- and the accompanying Justice Department agreement specifically did not include any finding that the Cincinnati Police Department discriminated against black suspects, or that there was a pattern or practice of excessive use of force by police. The Cincinnati Black United Front was the first lawsuit party to approve the settlements in a vote Wednesday night. City Council is scheduled to vote Friday, the Fraternal Order of Police Saturday, and the ~erican Civil Liberties Union on Monday. If those signatures don't come by Tuesday, the lawsuit could head to trial, though all sides said that was unlikely. At a 9:30 p.m. news conference Wednesday, the Rev. Damon Lynch III, leader of the Black United Front, said the group unanimously accepted the settlement's conditions. "We're looking forward to being part of history here in Cincinnati and moving forward," the activist pastor said. "We look forward to the other parties signing on to the agreement." Ralph Boyd Jr., assistant U.S. attorney general, commended Cincinnati officials for cooperating with the federal patterns and practices investigation. "We believe these settlements developed in conjunction with city officials, community leaders and the men and women of the Cincinnati police division will yield lasting improvements," Mr. Boyd said. Twelve hours after an early-morning bargaining session yielded a tentative agreement, the city's lawyers released 60 pages of settlement documents to City Council. Most of the debate that followed was not about the substance of the agreements, but about the deadlines for signing them and how the plaintiffs' lawyers would be paid. The settlement documents don't address the question of the $600,000 in plaintiffs' legal fees -- an issue that threatened to be a make-or-break item as the negotiations entered the final hours. But the lawyers in the case said they have an informal agreement that no tax dollars will be used to pay the plaintiffs' lawyers. Instead, they will try to raise money from local foundations, which have supported the settlement talks. Still, the money remains one of the most volatile political issues left to be resolved. Some council members appear to be willing to vote against the settlement on that issue alone. "I have a particular distaste for paying the plaintiffs' attorneys in this case, because at the same time that they were negotiating with us they were also pushing a boycott of the city," said Councilman Pat DeWine. And while the plaintiffs' lawyers denied that their fees could derail an agreement, the city's lawyers said they're feeling pressure to come up with some private money before the ACLU votes on whether to accept the settlement Monday. 4 "That is not something that is going to sabotage this," said ACLU lawyer Scott Greenwood. The cost of implementing the agreements could be as much as $2.5 million a year, said Deputy City Manager Tim Riordan. The city's costs in the lawsuit are capped at $1 million, and the police reforms could cost $1.5 million a year. That's not counting as much as $7 million for a new computer system to track complaints about police and how officers use their weapons. Although those costs will contribute to the city's 2003 budget deficit already at $27 million, Mr. Luken said it's a bargain. "If we go to trial next week, the exposure is enormous," he said. "If the judge certifies it as a class-action lawsuit, it would be impossible to add up all the dollar signs." Police Chief Tom Streicher welcomed both agreements as an opportunity to prove how professional his police officers are. "Scrutiny comes with this job," he said. "We can live with this and we can enforce it. ~bsolutely." One monitor, who will be chosen within five months of the final agreement, will oversee the changes in both settlements. Keith Fangman, FOP vice president, said a lot of officers still question why the city negotiated with groups such as the Black United Front, which are leading the boycott against the city. "However, I think the membership realizes that by voting in favor of the agreement," he said, Kit gives us a permanent seat at the table, which is very important when dealing with individuals and groups who are not necessarily supportive of police." Where city has been In the 12 months since the city's worst race riots in 33 years, Cincinnati has been working to make history in improving police-community relations. Even before Timothy Thomas was shot and killed by a Cincinnati police officer last April -- and before days of protests and riots erupted -- a group of black activists and the A~erican Civil Liberties Union were already working to fight what they called decades of unchecked discrimination by police. Many told of being pulled over, detained, handcuffed and even physically abused, though they said they were doing nothing wrong. Civil rights lawyers wanted to turn those cases into a class-action lawsuit against the city. The original plaintiff in the case before U.S. District Court Judge Susan Dlott is businessman Bomani Tyehimba, who claims he was ordered out of his van at gunpoint while his 7-year-old watched. That specific claim, and 19 related complaints of specific racial profiling incidents, remain unresolved by the settlement. But before much could happen with that lawsuit, the parties agreed to an unprecedented process by which a special mediator gathered com~aunity input to provide the foundation of the settlement. Despite acclaim for that process, there are still plenty of naysayers - many of whom tie the Black United Front's lawsuit to its boycott of the city. "The city's trying to buy peace by signing this agreement with Rev. Lynch," said former City Councilman Phil Heimlioh, who voted against the effort to settle the lawsuit. "He'll just increase his demands. "The city is cutting a deal with the person who helped incite the riots. What kind of message does that send?" The Rev. Stephen Scott, vice chairman of the Coalition for a Just Cincinnati, called the settlement "a good first step" toward improving relations in Cincinnati. However, the Rev. Mr. Scott said it will have little impact on the coalition's calls for a boycott. "The boycott will continue until all the demands that we have presented are brought to the table," he said. "What this settlement does, however, is let us know that at least maybe now the city is at a point that it is willing to listen to its constituency. Enquirer reporters Jane Prendergast, Robert Anglen and Kevin Aldridge contributed to this report. Copyright 1995-2002. The Cincinnati Enquirer, a Gannett Co. Inc. newspaper. Page 1 of 3 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Friday, March 08, 2002 1:43 PM To: Update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] For 3 Who Broke Code of Silence, No Peace For 3 Who Broke Code of Silence, No Peace Click Here For Discussion: I~ Dateline: Trenton, NJ - 3/4/2002 Philadelphia Inquirer By Angela Couloumbis Emblez Longoria rarely leaves his house for fear of being followed. Jennifer Horse can barely hold a conversation without tearing. And John Oliva takes medication nightly just to carry out the simple task of sleeping. All three used to work for the New Jersey State Police - Oliva and Longoria as road troopers and Horse as a civilian employee. All spoke out against what they believed was improper or criminal behavior inside the agency at a time when the state police was battling revelations of racism, cronyism, sexism and secrecy. Now, as the agency braces itself for today's confirmation hearing of superintendent Joseph J. Santiago, who has promised to usher in an era of accountability, its critics wonder whether the state's most elite law enforcement agency will ever truly be held accountable for its past. To date, only two troopers accused of firing on four minority motorists on the New Jersey Turnpike in 1998 have been punished for wrongdoing, despite telling authorities that racial profiling and other abuses were widespread within state police ranks. For its part, Gov. HcGreevey's administration has said the agency has made strides in improving its image, but was clear that the administration will not tolerate any other wrongdoing. Santiago has said that, if confirmed, he intends to hold officers "accountable to the standards and integrity of the organization." But neither Santiago nor other members of McGreevey's administration have said how they intend to accomplish that. And the state police has declined to comment. "The message being sent is that there will be no justice," the Rev. Reginald Jackson, executive director of the Black Ministers Council of New Jersey, a vocal critic of the state police, said in a recent interview. Tt is a particularly difficult message for Oliva, Longoria and Horse. Their lives have been destroyed, they said. They've either lost their jobs, or feel they can never return. They are on medication to ease their nerves, and they spend their days locked inside their homes. All they want, they said, is some semblance of justice, and have filed suits against the state police, alleging everything from discrimination to retaliation - joining roughly three dozen other state police troopers or civilian employees to do so. "[ just want to know that what ! did was worth it - that what happened to me will never happen to anyone else," said Oliva, 34, who filed suit against the state police last year, alleging retaliation. Oliva, a former police officer in the Shore towns of Pleasantville and Absecon, said it had been a long-time dream of his to become a state trooper. He joined the academy in 1998, graduating first in his class, and went to work in the state police's Bellmawr station. His troubles began almost immediately, according to his suit. 3/8/02 Page 2 of 3 Within the first month on the job, his training coach at the time took him to the same spot every day: the 1-76 ramp in Camden. There, the two would park in an adjacent grassy area, headlights trained on the ramp, and stop motorists based on their race, the suit states. "If we saw a car that fit the profile, like whites coming out of inner-city Camden, we would stop the car immediately, without any probable cause," he said. "Then, the probable cause was made up in the report." Within his first two weeks of training, Oliva and his coach wrote tickets on four motorists - three white men and one white woman - for "failure to maintain lane," according to the police reports. "But it was a lie," Oliva said, when asked about those reports. "We never even followed them. We made up the violation to justify the stops." Oliva said he spoke with his supervisor about his concerns. When word got out he had complained, Oliva contends in his suit, his squad mailbox was vandalized, and he received threatening notes. "I became afraid even to go to work," he said. He filed suit in April 2001. Today, he is out on stress leave, visits both a psychologist and a psychiatrist, and takes antidepressants to steady his nerves. Meanwhile, his coach has been promoted and is now an instructor at the academy. "The state police, it's like a cult," said Longoria, who sued the agency in 1999 for discrimination. "We've been talking about our stories for years now .... We've been labeled as disgruntled employees. We're treated like malcontents." Longoria said he too had always wanted to be a trooper, so in 1988, he joined the academy. When he graduated, according to the suit, he was assigned a coach, and was taught to racially profile. He said he and his coach routinely stopped minorities, and often heard his superiors and colleagues make derogatory references to blacks and Hispanics. Over the next several years, he was transferred from one station to another and was twice passed over for a promotion, according to the suit. He was reassigned to the turnpike, where he said he continued to witness racial profiling. By January 1999, his superiors were trying to transfer him to a station where he had already worked and where he said he had encountered racism. "Enough was enough," said Longoria. He said he filed suit against the state police shortly after. "I just felt I had endured a lot of nonsense for many years," Longoria, 39, said in a recent interview. "We [minorities] were treated like animals." Since filing suit, he said, the mailbox outside his home has been vandalized three times, and he has received harassing phone calls. He said he feels he can't leave his home without putting himself in danger, and is now on antianxiety medication, as well as medication for his stomach, because "my nerves are shot." "I know my career is over," said Longoria. "But I know I chose the right path, and I'd do it again .... It's just a bitter pill for me to swallow that no one has been held accountable." Jennifer Morse knows that feeling well. Morse went to work as a secretary in the state police in 1990, and is now contending in a lengthy lawsuit 3/8/02 Page 3 of 3 that she endured years of sexual harassment and intimidation by her immediate supervisor. As part of her suit, which alleges a hostile work environment, Morse, 29, contends her supervisor made inappropriate sexual remarks to her, touched or pinched her on her arms and shoulders, and refused to stop even after she complained. Tn the suit, filed in 1999, Morse also contends she was denied a transfer to another office - despite repeated requests for one - until 1997. After her transfer, Morse alleges she continued to be subjected to harassment, and was eventually fired in September 2000. For the last three years, she has been in and out of workers' compensation hearings. The proceedings, she said, have been stressful - sometimes, witnesses don't show up. At other times, neither the prosecutor nor the judge has shown up, further delaying an outcome. These days, Morse is taking a battery of antidepressants. She has been diagnosed as suffering from panic, depression and anxiety. She has thought about suicide more than once. And when she's asked about her past, she cries. "I just want this to be over," Morse said in an interview. Yet she acknowledges she doesn't know what she will do once it all ends - she can't think that far down the line. "I just want to show people what the culture of the state police is," she said. "And I don't want what happened to me to happen to any other woman." *** eSafe scanned this email for malicious content *** *** IMPORTANT: Do not open attachments from unrecognized senders *** 3/8/02 Page 1 of 4 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Friday, March 08, 2002 1:43 PM To: Update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] PA SWAT Shootout Has Police Taking Hard Look PA Shootout Has Police Taking a Hard Look Dateline: Pittsburgh, PA - 3/3/2002 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette By Jonathan D. Silver Last month, an informant code-named "Hippo" told police that a Homewood man was packaging a large amount of heroin for resale. It was a garden-variety tip, the kind police get all the time. But the outcome -- a gun battle, injured officers and numerous questions about how police handled the incident -- was anything but routine. Hippo identified the suspected dealer as Cecil Brookins, 46, a fugitive who was living in a house on Hermitage Street instead of at the Allegheny County Jail, where he was supposed to be. After staking out Brookins for a while, Pittsburgh narcotics detectives typed up an affidavit laying out their case. They presented it to a magistrate Feb. 20 and at 2:35 p.m. got a search warrant for Brookins' home. The detectives, Terry Holland and Kevin Ghafoor, found that Brookins was already wanted. There were two arrest warrants for him stemming from firearms violations. No one knew then that a snafu had led to his being released prematurely from jail. Holland also knew that Brookins was dangerous. The two had tussled three years earlier during a drug arrest. What's more, Hippo had told police that Brookins packed two pistols. Armed with this information and the search warrant, Holland joined about eight other detectives, Lhree uniformed officers from the East Liberty station and a police dog at 7200 Hermitage St. shortly after 4 p.m. Police knocked and announced themselves once, twice, three times. Receiving no answer, they broke open the front door with a battering ram. As they charged upstairs, Brookins did the same, staying a step ahead and abandoning his stash of more than 2,600 stamp bags of heroin and a cache of five guns. The wiry felon made it to the third floor, where he climbed out a back-bedroom window and jumped to an adjacent roof. It was the beginning of a three-hour standoff that would evolve into one of the most dangerous, chaotic and confusing situations Pittsburgh police had confronted in years. By the end of it, two officers were shot, Brookins was wounded, top police officials were admitting to errors, the chief was clamping down on information, and a controversy had embroiled the Allegheny County Jail warden and a judge. Now police are conducting what promises to be the most complex internal review ever of a police shooting. From all indications, there will be mistakes to explain, policies to review and training procedures to refine. "We have not ruled out discipline," police Chief Robert W. McNeilly Jr. said last week. "We have not ruled out anything." A wild card From the get-go, police were at a disadvantage. Brookins was outside -- in the open and away from a 3/8/02 Page 2 of 4 controlled environment. He had a cell phone, but police didn't know the number. Detectives tried to woo him back inside, but Brookins threatened to kill himself. Stuck at an impasse, the detectives who had barged in summoned the SWAT team. Assistant Chief Nathan Harper, who was monitoring the situation over the police radio, requested a trained negotiator. Cmdr. Rashall Brackney-Griffin, the head of the Police Bureau's special deployment division, which includes SWAT, responded. So did her husband, Sgt. Ronald Griffin, a negotiator working out of the North Side station. Another police officer also responded, a wild card who unknowingly became the linchpin in how events were to unfold. Cmdr. Dominic Costa of the Squirrel Hill station, who for years had been a special-deployment leader and negotiator, was on his way home when he learned of the standoff. Costa figured he could help. He turned his car toward Homewood. Other officers were showing up in force, establishing a cordon to keep the curious back. Cmdr. Daniel Quinlan of the East Liberty station arrived, as did Cmdr. Regina McDonald of the narcotics and vice squad and Cmdr. Maurita Bryant, head of the major crimes division. There were plenty of supervisors, but effective communication among them was in short supply, according to Harper, who oversees the bureau's uniformed officers and arrived 15 minutes before two of them were shot. Part of the reason, Harper said: Commanders were physically scattered, with Quinlan and Brackney-Griffin a block away from each other and Costa, eventually, inside the house. "Communication had basically failed in that case and that was because, basically, the commanders got separated throughout that incident," Harper said. "There seemed to be confusion about who was doing what." Police used separate radio channels to coordinate their efforts. One was dedicated to the SWAT team, another to everything else associated with the standoff and a third to cover all other 911 calls. "One person trying to keep track of all those channels, it's pretty hard to do," Harper said. "It's almost like trying to listen to the TV and the radio at the same time." SWAT arrest team Dressed in civilian clothes and without a bulletproof vest or flak jacket, Costa stepped into the house to negotiate. He had Harper's approval to enter, but he went against protocol set down by the chief of police. "I could see [Costa] working as a negotiations supervisor, but not as a negotiator, because our negotiators, I have said, should not be above the rank of sergeant," McNeilly said. That way, negotiators aren't placed in a position where people such as Brookins can make demands of them and think they have the clout to make decisions. Negotiators can truthfully say they have to check with a supervisor before acceding to a demand. As well, it's a matter of debate whether Costa or Griffin should have been inside the house at all, especially considering that family members had supplied Costa with Brookins' cell phone number. "The negotiator in a perfect training scenario shouldn't be in a hot area," Harper said. "The hot area is where the SWAT team should be placed." 3/8/02 Page 3 of 4 Costa and Griffin were the flip side of the 13 or so SWAT officers assembled at the scene. Negotiators rely on establishing rapport and building trust, while SWAT members are meant to be elite shock troops, lethal and lightning fast in shutting down a threat. The SWAT officers broke into groups. There was the sharpshooting team consisting of a sniper, whose rifle was trained on Brookins, and what police call a countersniper, a second gunman who scans the crowd for anyone else brandishing a weapon. Several officers were in the house where Brookins was perched. Three other SWAT officers were stationed outside a window atop the front porch roof of Brookins' house next door. Through that window was a skinny hallway leading to a bedroom in the back of the house. Halfway down the passage, on the right side, were the narrow stairs where the SWAT arrest team, five officers, was stacked. They were maybe a dozen feet from the negotiators. Among them were Officers Thomas Huerbin and Patrick Knepp. The arrest team, waiting to take Brookins into custody, listened on headsets to their radio channel. They could hear their sniper giving a play-by-play of the situation of Brookins' movements on the roof. They knew when Costa and Griffin finally managed to talk Brookins into putting his .22-caliber gun down on a chimney in a heavy downpour. Before Brookins agreed to come back to his house and enter through the window of the back bedroom, though, he grew suspicious. To gain his confidence, Costa did something unorthodox. He took a mirror and, turning it this way and that so the inside of the house was reflected, attempted to show Brookins that no one was waiting to harm him. The SWAT officers on the stairs were taken by surprise. They had to scramble down in order not to be reflected in the mirror. Police have not spoken publicly about the exact sequence of events after Brookins came through the window. Brookins, who police say refused to be searched, somehow got past Costa and Griffin and out of the back bedroom. He ran down the hallway, right past the SWAT team on the steps, and into the front bedroom. Brookins opened the window that looked out onto Hermitage Street. Seeing the SWAT officers right outside on the porch roof, he slammed it shut and locked it. At that, the arrest team swung into action. They surged upstairs and into the hallway. Huerbin, who bucked convention by having his weapon holstered, popped out first. About that time, Brookins crouched and drew a .38-caliber handgun from his waistband at the small of his back. His first shot hit Costa in the shoulder. Costa dropped. Hearing gunfire, the SWAT team on the porch roof broke through the window. Meanwhile~ Kevin Wilkes and Andrew Tice, two detectives who had been on the third floor with Costa and Griffin, took cover in a kitchen. Brookins squeezed off three shots at Huerbin. He was hit in the chest, but his flak jacket stopped the bullets. Brookins managed to fire one more shot. It whizzed by Knepp's head and lodged in the kitchen wall. Then Knepp fired, and five of his bullets brought Brookins down. And that was the end of it. At least 12 shots fired, two officers down, one injured, and a wounded suspect. Had Brookins used better aim, there could have been three dead police officers. 3/8/02 Page 4 of 4 'They've been trained' For the next several months, police will try to sort out what happened and who erred, if anyone. There will be a multitude of questions: Should Brookins have been made to strip or at least raise his shirt before coming inside? Would it have been smart to lock Brookins out and make him suffer through rain and cold so officers could wait him out? Should Costa have worn body armor, a decision left to individual officers? Was there a clear plan in place? Did police supervisors follow a command structure that IHcNeilly said he laid out last year for such situations? Should the SWAT team have served the search warrant in the first place? Assistant Chief William Mullen is in charge of the three-member panel that will set out to answer such questions; joining him are Cmdr. Linda Barone, IVlcNeilly's chief of staff, and Cmdr. William Joyce of the West End station. HcNeiily, a military reservist who was receiving an award from the Coast Guard in New Orleans the night of the shooting, is reluctant to make any judgments before hearing from the panel. However, he berated Harper and Brackney-Griffin for speaking publicly about the incident. He is officially handling all media inquiries. In addressing Harper's criticisms, HcNeilly said it was not unusual for the SWAT team to operate on its own radio channel. He did not know if the command structure broke down. He would not agree necessarily that Costa and Griffin should not have been in the building, saying only that negotiators should not put themselves in the line of fire. "We have a good policy on how to handle these situations, and they've been trained," McNeilly said of his commanders. "If there was something done wrong there, they didn't follow the policy or the training." 3/8/02 Marian Karr From: Don Casimere [DCasimere@cityofsacramento.org] Sent: Friday, Mamh 08, 2002 5:16 Pry1 To: mailbox@boiseombudsman.org; update@nacole.org Subject: Re: [NACOLE Update] Urgent Request For Ideas Pierce, In Re: "the Battle Against Terrorism" ....... The primary issue that has come up here in Sacramento deals with perceived racial profiling ef Arab A~ericans...in the name of the War on terrorism. To that end we have had community forums on the importance of law enforcement not over-reacting, to the threat of Terrorism. Arab Americans here have received assurances from city officials that law enforcement is aware of, and will be responsive to, their complaints. Don >>> "Boise Ce~mlunity Ombudsman" <mailbex@boiseombudsman.org> 03/05/02 01:50PH >>> Greetings Fellow Law Enforcement Oversight Professionals: Idaho's capitol city newspaper, The Idaho Statesman, has asked me to be part of a panel at a news forum next Honday, Harch 11. That day is the six-month anniversary ef the terrorist attacks and the forum will be billed as the "Battle Against Terrorism." I Nave been asked to speak about the impact that the so-called "war en terrorism" has had on the delicate balance between law enforcement and civil liberties. I would be very grateful for any examples you might have from your local community that would speak to any impact the "war on terrorism" has had en this balance. Also, I am interested in your opinions regarding what the future may held in this regard. Thank you in advance for any email responses you can send. Please send them this week se that I can assimilate and use them Honday at the forum. Cheers to all! Pierce Hurphy Cen~lunity Ombudsman Boise, Idaho Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://gamma.jumpserver.net/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org Page 1 of 3 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Monday, March 11, 2002 10:05 PM To: Update@nacole,org Subject: [NACOLE Update] New LASO Program for Dealing w Mentally III Showing Results New LASO Program for Dealing w/Mentally III Showing Results Dateline: Los Angeles - 3/11/2002 Clutching her month-old daughter like a rag doll, the distraught woman warned Ventura police that she would slam the infant on the pavement if they didn't back off. Officer Ramiro Capa trained his flashlight on the woman and immediately began talking, trying to win her confidence. After a few tense minutes, the baby was safe in the hands of officers and the woman was on her way to a clinic for treatment. Mission accomplished. "You try to build a rapport with the person and find something you have in common," Capa said in describing the delicate negotiations that took place in late January. "You get a little bit nervous because you don't know what this lady may do. She was very unpredictable." Law enforcement and mental health officials credit a new training course for officers such as Capa with helping save the baby's life. Capa and 33 other officers were the first to complete the 40-hour mental health training program at the Ventura County sheriff's academy in Camarillo in December. Such training has become increasingly important because police often are confronted with incidents involving the mentally ill, officials said. Last year, Oxnard police fatally shot three disturbed people. During the past decade, county law enforcement officers have been involved in the homicides of at least 17 mentally ill people, according to a new grand jury report. After a review, the grand jury recommended that all local police officers and dispatchers take the new academy training course, modeled after successful programs at other agencies across the country. Such training "will decrease the number of police shootings," the grand jury concluded, and "the lives of citizens and police will, as a consequence, be saved." The hope among the program's creators is that officers will learn to exercise restraint whenever possible in dealing with an emotionally or mentally troubled person. It is important to think all the options through, to determine what kind of help a person needs before acting, said Ventura Police Sgt. Hark Stadler, who helped design the county's Crisis Intervention Training program. "This isn't regular police work and we realize the danger involved," Stadler said. At the same time, when dealing with mentally disturbed individuals, "we don't want to corner them where they feel trapped." Stadler, who teaches a class on officer-involved shootings at the academy, is no novice when it comes to dealing with such cases. In June, he was summoned to talk to a man threatening to leap from a railroad trestle above the Ventura Freeway. After three hours of negotiations, the man agreed to climb down. Then there was an incident that occurred 14 years ago. Six weeks out of the training academy, the then- Santa Barbara police officer confronted a machete-wielding man who had wounded several people during a rampage. When Stadler encountered the assailant, the man lunged toward him and the officer opened fire. The wounded man staggered toward Stadler and collapsed at his feet. Had he known then what he knows now, Stadler said, he may have tried to handle the situation differently when he arrived on the scene. 3/12/02 Page 2 of 3 "I wouldn't have done anything different after he attacked me," Stadler said. "But before, I would have tried to communicate with him and find out what was bothering him and find out what it was that brought him to that point ... I didn't come to this job to take lives." Organizers Hope to Train 10% of Officers Organizers of the new training program hope it will reduce the number of officer-involved shootings. At least 150 police officers and dispatchers are expected to complete the course this year. The training includes courses taught by mental health officials that cover everything from role playing to drugs used by the mentally ill. ~:very local police agency sent officers to the program in December. The goal of the training coordinators is to have 10% of all officers trained eventually. The emphasis of the program is on "increased people skills," said Dr. Michael Ferguson, a psychiatrist who works with inmates and helped craft the course's 100-page training manual. In typical police training, officers are taught the importance of establishing an aggressive and commanding presence in potentially violent situations. "Most of the time that's appropriate," Stadler said. But when dealing with the mentally ill, the emphasis is on "talking softly and listening." Having trained officers at the scene will allow more time for a member of the county's busy mental health crisis unit to respond, said Patrick Oviedo, a member of the crisis unit. The program has already helped officers in the field diffuse situations before they spiraled out of control, he said. The trainees "have had a profound effect on the mortality rate," he said. Though it is a noble effort, it will take more than just a week of training to fix the problems that led to the spate of officer-involved shootings last year, said attorney Greg Ramirez. He formerly represented the family of Robert Jones, a man with a history of mental problems who was shot by Oxnard police on Aug. 24. Oxnard police said they had no choice but to shoot Jones because he moved toward them with a 13-inch knife. Jones' family has sued the department for negligence. "Training in and of itself does not change people," Ramirez said. "The change in the mental attitude has to start at the top. The leadership sets the standard." Since last year's shootings, there has been mounting community pressure for police agencies to better prepare their officers for dealing with the mentally ill. The string of officer-involved shootings began in January 2000 when the Oxnard SWAT team shot and killed a 17-year-old boy holding a female student hostage at Hueneme High School and ended in October with the shooting of a knife-wielding man in Thousand Oaks. The district attorney's office has ruled that police were justified in three of the four fatal shootings involving mentally ill suspects. But investigators have yet to rule on the Jones case. With the closing of Camarillo State Hospital in 1997 and continued budget cuts for mental health facilities and programs, the number of confrontations between police and mentally ill people will continue to rise, the grand jury report warned. The problem boils down to the fact that there are numerous mentally ill people on the street with little oversight, said Lou Matthews, a consultant for the police training course and a member of the county chapter of the National Alliance for the Mentally III. 3/12/02 Page 3 of 3 The new police program is "like putting your finger in the dam," Matthews said. "It's not solving the whole problem." Oxnard Police Chief Art Lopez said he is in full support of the specialized training but warned that it won't stand in the way of police protecting themselves and the community. "The mental health system is broken down ... the first responders are going to be the ones thrown into the situation more and more," Lopez said. "We want to be able to bring these situations to a peaceful conclusion where there isn't a use of lethal force," he said. "But the fact is that sometimes [suspects] leave us with no other choice." LOS ANGELES TIMES 3/12/02 Page 1 of 1 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Monday, March 11,2002 10:06 PM To: Update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Feds To Probe Miami-Dade Police Conduct Feds Probe Miami-Dade Police Conduct By JOHN PAIN c The Associated Press MIAMI (AP) - The Justice Department has opened a preliminary inquiry into alleged police misconduct in Miami-Dade County and will decide whether to go ahead with a full investigation in three months. The inquiry was announced Friday by Robert Driscoll, deputy assistant attorney general for the department's Civil Rights Division, at a hearing convened by a congresswoman disturbed by a spate of police shootings of minorities within the past year. "This is a community that is in an uproar," Rep. Carrie Meek, D-Fla., told about 200 people at the hearing. "We're not saying all police are bad, but they better get their house in order." The police shootings have included three deaths. Two victims were unarmed, and a third was in his wheelchair rolling away from an officer. The state attorney's office has cleared officers accused of misconduct because it found they acted within the law. At the hearing, lawyers for victims' families, as well as civil rights and community groups, urged the Justice Department to open a full investigation. "If they're not going to protect and serve us, then take it off their cars, because it's false advertising," said Victor Curry, a bishop at New Birth Baptist Church. Carlos Alvarez, chief of the Miami-Dade Police Department, invited the FBI's and Justice Department's review: "We are confident that when they look at the facts, they won't find any wrongdoing." In the city of Miami, more than a dozen police officers have been indicted on federal charges of misconduct since September. AP-NY-03-08-02 2040EST 3/12/02 Marian Karr From: Philip Eure [phileure@hotmail,com] Sent: Tuesday, March 12, 2002 10:20 AM To: LPMurphy@cityofboise.org; CoachJMW@aol.com; Jhsko@aol,com; NACOLE95@aol.com; NKULL^@aol.com; RHAaronson@aohcom; Suelqq@aol.com; BAttard@ci.berkeley.ca.us; MMonteiro@ci.cambridge.ma.us; CejaaRE@ci.denver.co.us; mhess@ci.portland,or, us; rrosenthal@ci.portland.or.us; Teresa. Guerrero-Daley@ci.sj.ca.us; LPerezl@ci.tucson.az.us; james.johnson@cinlaw, rcc.org; Beth. Pittinger@city. pittsburgh.pa.us; DCasimere@gw,sacto.org; dede@hawa[ian.net; martina@hdcdojnet, state,ca,us; gvillecopwatch@hotmail.com; CReeder@indygov.org; Sandovaj@mscd.edu; rzoss@mymailstation.com; Update@nacole.org; markiris@northwestern.edu; mharris~policylink.org; fheske@sdccd.cc.ca,us; John. Parker@sdcounty,ca,gov; cdavis@ultra-tech.com Cc: philip.eure@dc,gov Subject: [NACOLE Update] harassment definition We're drafting our administrative regulations here at the DC Office of Citizen Complaint Review. We're struggling to come up with a not too vague definition of "harassment," one of 5 types of police misconduct over which we have jurisdiction. Has anyone come up with a workable definition that they would recon~end? I also would like to see how other agencies define "discrimination," if you've got a definition that works well. Thanks, Phil Eure Tel: (202) 727-7166 www.occr.dc.gov MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://ga~na.jumpserver.net/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: philip.eure [philip,eure@dc,gov] Sent: Tuesday, March 12, 2002 11:20 AM To: CoachJMW@aol.com; Jhsko@aol.com; NACOLE95@aol.com; NKULLA@aol.com; RHAaronson@aol.com; Suelqq@aol.com; BAttard@ci.berkeley.ca.us; MMonteiro@ci.cambridge.ma.us; CejaaRE@ci.denver.co.us; mhess@ci.portland.or, us; rrosenthal@ci.portland.or, us; Teresa. Guerrero-Daley@ci.sj.ca,us; LPerezl @cilucson.az. us; james.johnson@cinlaw.rcc.org; LPMurphy@cityofboise.org; Beth,Pittinger@city.pittsburgh.pa,us; DCasimere@gw. sacto.org; dede@hawaiianmet; martina@hdcdojnet.state.ca.us; gvillecopwatch@hotmai[com; CReeder@indygov.org; Sandovaj@mscd,edu; rzoss@mymailstation,com; Update@nacole,org; markiris@northwestern.edu; mharris@policylink.org; fheske@sdccd,cc.ca,us; John. Parker@sdcounty,ca.gov; cdavis@ultra-tech.com Subject: [NACOLE Update] DC: Ass't Chief Investigator We're recruiting to fill the newly created position of Assistant Chief Investigator here at DC's Office of Citizen Complaint Review. If anyone knows of interested candidates, preferably with police oversight experience, please forward this message. A job announcement is attached. Starting salary will range from $60,749 to $72,538, depending on experience. Thanks. Philip K. Eure Executive Director Office of Citizen Complaint Review Government of the District of Columbia 730 llth Street, N.W., Suite 600 Washington, D.C. 20001 Tel: {202) 727-3838 Fax: (202) 727-7638 Website: www.occr.dc.gov *** eSafe scanned this email for malicious content *** *** IHPORTANT: Do not open attachments from unrecognized senders *** JOB OPENiNG FOR ASSISTANT CHIEF iNVESTIGATOR Office of Citizen Complaint Review Washington, D.C. Independent DC agency seeks to hire an Assistant Chief Investigator. Duties include investigating citizen complaints against the police, supervising investigators and drafting policy recommendations concerning police misconduct. A college degree, plus strong written and interpersonal skills are required, as is significant experience supervising and training investigators. Starting salary is $60,749 to $72,538, depending on experience. Excellent benefits. Submit coverletter andresume to: Chief Investigator, Office of Citizen Complaint Review, District of Columbia Government, 730 11th Street, N.W., Suite 500, Washington, D.C. 20001 or fax to 202-72%9182. www.occr.dc.gov Applications accepted until position is filled. Page 1 of 1 Marian Karr From: Boise Community Ombudsman [mailbox@boiseombudsman.org] Sent: Tuesday, March 12, 2002 1:48 PM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Boise Ombudsman Releases Annual Report Below is the text of a news release sent out today. Tonight I present our annual report to city council. You can access a PDF version of the report by going to the "Annual Reports" section of our web site: ~,~i~ee~bud~maa,org MEDIA RELEASE CONTACT: Pierce Murphy March 12, 2002 PHONE: 395-7859 Pierce Murphy, the Boise community ombudsman, released his annual report today. The report, which covers from January 1, 2001 through December 31, 2001, summarizes the activities, recommendations, and findings of the Office of the Community Ombudsman. Mr. Murphy will present his report to the Boise City Council this afternoon at 5:15 p.m. In summarizing the report, Mr. Murphy said, "This report demonstrates that the law enforcement officers and agencies serving our city are performing their duties, by and large, in an exemplary manner. The fact that only 13% of the allegations made against officers were sustained, and that the many of the sustained findings were for minor or technical violations of policy, is definitely good news. Obviously, the goal is to have no sustained findings, but 13% is well within the national average." This year's report, for the first time, took a look at the frequency with which the ombudsman received complaints about the same officer. "Here again," said Mr. Murphy, "the news is encouraging. In a two-year period (2000 and 2001) only twelve officers, out of approximately 260, received three or more complaints. The most any one officer received was five complaints in 24 months. Of the three officers who each received five complaints, one officer was cleared of wrong-doing in all five complaints, and the other two each received only one sustained finding for rudeness." "This report also demonstrates the value that the ombudsman's office brings to the community and the police," said Mr. Murphy. "We handled over 200 cases last year that were not complaints, but were citizens who either had questions about police actions or had a problem with the police that needed to be resolved. The ombudsman and his staff worked with police supervisors and officers to mediate solutions, answer citizen questions, and educate the public." The 2001 annual report for the Office of the Community Ombudsman is available on-line through the ombudsman's web site: ~.boiseombud~n,~[g 3/12/02 Marian Karr From: Kelvyn.Anderson@phila.gov Sent: Tuesday, March 12, 2002 2:08 PM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] NJ proposes to close public info re state troopers pic05097 gif pic 16512 gif pi623986 gif NACOLE members: I believe this is the beginning of a troubling trend to restrict public info about law enforcement actions. This NJ situation is driven by the battle over racial profiling, but some will use 9/11 and the War on Terrorism to justify overly-broad denials to police and other public records. As an aside, there is a similar battle over the release/use of property records here in Philadelphia. The DA has supported our Real Estate Bureaus efforts to prevent a public activists use of the city's property database. The activist wants to allow searching of the data by name (Which the real estate bureau does not allow) , which the DA believes will lead to stalking problems. Never mind that 1) property ownership information is arguably the most "public" of all public information (imagine the economic fallout of removing access to this data) and 2) Many jurisdictions offer fully-searchable real estate data. I routinely use this information to identify/trace possible witnesses, etc. -Kelvyn Posted on Tue, Mar. 12, 2002 (Embedded image moved to file: pic05097.gif) (Embedded image moved to file: pic16512.gif) Proposal to 'shield' police is condemned New Jersey officials want to keep some documents about troopers private. The timing couldn't be worse, critics say. By Angola Couloumbis Inquirer Trenton Bureau TRENTON - Though New Jersey officials have publicly admitted that state troopers engaged in racial profiling, the state Attorney General's Office wants to close to the public a wide range of state police records, including documents on traffic stops. Regulations proposed late last year by then-Attorney General John J. Farmer Jr. would exempt many state police documents from New Jersey's Open Public Records Act, which will make government documents more accessible to the public beginning in July. The proposed regulations, discussed yesterday before the Assembly Regulatory Oversight Committee, essentially seek to keep private records en individual troopers' disciplinary histories, records regarding troopers' training and promotions, and videotapes from cameras recently placed in troopers' cars as a deterrent to racial profiling. The proposal has sparked fierce opposition in Trenton, which is still reeling from revelations that troopers routinely pulled over motorists ! based on race. "What law enforcement is essentially doing is trying te shield itself from public view," Ed Barocas of the American Civil Liberties Union o£ New Jersey told the Assembly panel yesterday. "And this shield couldn't have come at a worse time," he said. "New Jersey is new trying to get out the stain of racial profiling." Gov. HcGreevey would have te sign off on the regulations for them to take effect. A HcGreevey spokesman yesterday said the governor had net yet reviewed them. Farmer, who left office in January, proposed the regulations because ef concerns that the zeal te eradicate racial profiling would jeopardize troopers' right to privacy. It was unclear yesterday whether newly appointed Attorney General David Samson agrees with his predecessor. Chuck Davis, a spokesman for the Attorney General's Office, said the public has 60 days - or until April 20 - te voice concerns about the regulations. The office will then review those comments and could amend the regulations. "If we agree with the public's comments, we could make changes," 8avis said. Yesterday, at least, "the public" appeared unhappy with the proposal. About a half-dozen people testified against it, saying it was se broad that it could deny the public access to basic police records. The state police has been under the supervision of a federal monitor since the agency signed a consent decree with the U.S. Justice Department in 1999. Under the decree, state police must compile information regarding traffic stops - and the racial makeup of motorists pulled over or arrested. In the last two years, that information has been made public through the federal monitor. Contact Angola Couloumbis at 609-989-9016 or acouloumhis@phillynews.com. ( m d d d g m o t 2 Page 1 of 2 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Tuesday, March 12, 2002 10:46 PM To: Update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Iron Rule Puts LA Police Chiefs Back to the Wall Iron rule puts LA police chief's back to the wall America's most senior black officer mired in row over race and corruption Duncan Campbell in Los Angeles Tuesday March '12, 2002 The Guardian He is the most powerful black police officer in the United States, and the most unloved. His officers want him to go, the mayor wants him to go, and his newspaper has just told him to "walk away proud". The row about Bernard Parks encompasses race, politics, police corruption and how big US cities should be patrolled. This being Los Angeles, it is perhaps not surprising that the chief of police was included in People magazine's 1998 list of the the "world's most beautiful people", but his supporters say he is suffering an ugly onslaught from virtually all sides as he fights for reappointment in May. It began with the mayor, Jim Hahn, a white liberal Democrat, opposing a second term for Mr Parks on the grounds that morale in the force had collapsed. He is accused of failing to carry out the reforms required of him after officers in the Rampart division were involved in drug dealing and planting evidence, and failing to introduce the kind of community policing Mr Hahn favours. The Police Protective League, which represents his officers, wants him to go because, it says, morale is dangerously Iow and his discipline is too strict: like Captain Queeg in the Herman Wouk novel and film The Caine Mutiny, it says, he concentrates on tiny breaches of the rules and investigates every public complaint. The LA Times salutes his achievements but it too has asked him to go. Mr Parks is universally regarded as as a clean cop, but his support comes mainly from black politicians, activists and clergy, who say that just by his presence he gives confidence to a community which, historically, has been the victim of the worst kind of policing. They have already demonstrated their support on the streets. Mr Parks's office is on the sixth floor of the Parker Centre, which is itself significant, since in the days of the eponymous Chief Parker it was an unwritten rule that no black officers should rise above the second floor. When he joined the force 37 years ago, Mr Parks said, "officers thought it funny to deliver a water melon to a black lieutenant, or leave a chicken in a black lieutenants's office over a weekend". Now he leads a force of about 9,000 with about 1,300 black officers, 3,000 Latinos, 800 Asians and 2,000 women. White men are a minority. So why do so many of his own officers oppose him on measures which he claims win the trust of the community they police? The way to improve relations with the public, he says, is to insist that every complaint they make is fully investigated. "i've gone through two riots [Watts in 1965 after the arrest of a young black motorist, and 1992 after white officers were acquitted of beating Rodney King] and the issues were very similar. "Years and years of distrust, discourtesy and disrespect is what drives people to react in that fashion. There may have been an incident that was a flashpoint, but when you really look into it, the same issues exist." All the other factors that made an area combustible, such as poor education and health services, were still in place in inner LA, he said. What about his officers' complaint that they were disciplined for such minor infractions as failing to take off their sunglasses when speaking to a member of the public? "That's not true. People are bringing up dishonest claims about petty complaints. We terminated 33 people a year for four years for very serious misconduct and criminal behaviour. Before that the average was about 19 a year. Before the system changed the community's number one complaint was that they couldn't get a complaint [heard]." About 60-70% of the issues which were put through the complaints procedure could be prevented by the officers themselves he said. "If officers stopping wrecking 1,000 police cars a year; if they went to court when they were subpoenaed; if they 3/13/02 Page 2 of 2 qualified on the range [as they are required] to; if they followed our rules, which is their duty; if they were not discourteous to the public ... if their off-duty behaviour was such that they didn't [require] other law enforcement officers to be involved; if they didn't abuse their spouses: that's stuff that they can prevent." Race i$ not the issue So does he feel betrayed by his officers? "It's unfortunate for the community when the union does that what they do," he said."Officers don't want to be held accountable ... "The complaints system isn't for the officers, it's for the community. Unfortunately, many of the officers think that the complaints system is just for them ... "We know when we interview officers like Rafael Perez [the man at the centre of the Rampart scandal] and David Mack [an officer-turned-bank-robber] who have done something horribly bad, they all tell us the same thing: that none of them started doing big things. They all started violating little rules and when the environment allowed them to keep violating the rules they went to bigger rules." Does he feel let down by the mayor, who didn't say anything about getting rid of him when he won the lion's share of the black vote last year? "1 think I'm disappointed." It was "unfortunate" that the mayor had made public comments months before the police commission decides on the new chief. Some have suggested that with the Latino population expanding fast, Mr Hahn wants a Latino as the new chief. Did he feel that race was an issue? "1 try not to look at things in the prism of race," Mr Parks said. "I'm sure that some look at this as a race deal and some look at it strictly as a business/political deal ... I don't believe that the community would support playing games with the chief's position by making it a political pawn, to give it to one group versus another when safety is so important for the city." The novelist and former LA detective Joseph (The Onion Field) Wambaugh agrees that the issue is leadership, not race. "One can only wish that a good man like Bernie Parks will take his well-deserved pension and retire. He must be embarrassed by the race card being played on his behalf, because he knows that this is not a racial issue," he wrote in the LA Times. 3/13/02 Page 1 of 2 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Tuesday, March 12, 2002 10:46 PM To: Update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] NY Daily News OpEd: Keep Louima 3 Out of Uniform Forever From: News and Views I Opinion ISunday, March 'I0, 2002 NY Daily News Keep the Louima 3 Out of Uniform Forever The calendar tells us that we are one day shy of six months having passed since New York CitY was forever changed Sept. 11, 2001. And the recovery of the remains of two police officers at Ground Zero four days ago was a stark reminder of the heroism and sacrifice of so many men and women in uniform that day at the World Trade Center. But the headlines of late also have reminded us of another time in the lives of the cthzenry and the POlice: August 1997 when, at the 70th Precinct stationhouse in Brooldvn, men in blue toek it upon themselves to assault a man, Abner Louima, and then jein in the coveruP, follewing their own omerta: the blue wail of silence. In making that accusation, I don't have to wnrry about hedging with the word "alleged." We knew from all accounts that this took Place. And now we know the audacity of two of the three officers who took part in that terrible day in the lives of the citizenry and the POliCe. It Is astounding. As Mayor Bloomberg said, Louima's brutalization "shocked and disgraced our city." Headlines may have declared that the three officers were cleared last month, but they most certainly were not. Anyone who read the opinion of the 2nd Circuit U.S. hurt of Appeals realizes that Themas Wiese, Thomas Bruder and, yes, the guy who's been grinning from ear to ear these Past few days, Charles Schwarz, are guilty men walking. Perhaps not guilty of the obstructionist charge that the ceurt said the federal prosecutors failed to prove, but guilty nevertheless of betraying the people's trust-- a trust, mind you, that has been hard to win from members of minority communities. SePt. 11 almost changed that, or at least put issues of POlice misconduct and brutality and racism on a back burner while everyone of every color and political persuasion reeled from the terror strikes and joined ranks in communal grieving. But Feb. 28 brought it all back. That's when the appeals ceurt reversed cenvictions against Schwarz, setting the stage for his release en $1 million bond after nearly three Years in prisen, and against Wlese and Bruder, releasing them perhaps fer goed. Immediately after, the lawyer for one of the disgraced ceps-- the one, according to some accounts, who was in the statioflhouse rest room with Justin VolPe when he rammed a stick up the rectum ef Leuima-- said: "HoPefUllY, now Thomas Wiese, Themas Bruder and Charles Schwarz can resume their nermal lives with this and even POSSiblY return to the force." A few days later, after the Protests had just begun among those outraged at the ProsPects of Wiese and Bruder back in uniform, both men indicated they would not rush to seek reinstatement. But their lawyers, in initiallY depicting them as exonerated heroes, obviously missed the point: The appellate court had no doubt that these cePs-- and others ef their pals, two ef where pleaded guiltY to various charges related to the coverup m,,agreed generally te impede investigators by Putting forth and corroborating a false version of what occurred." 3/13/02 Page 2 of 2 111ey did this in seine 250 tolephene calls that went back and ferth ameng them as they ebvieusly tried te synchronize their steries. They eveu met in the basement of tho stationhoos9 to, as the appellate court put iL "discuss a response to Louima's allegatiens." The greatest travesty of this entire affair would be their donning the uniform worn by the men and women of the NYPD, 23 of whom gave their lives in the cause of protecting and sewing Sept 11. To permit these three to suit up again would constitute the ultimate slap in the face of all who have werked to bridge the gulf between the NYPD and PeoPle whoYe felt the brunt of its abuse over the years. And it weuld be the greatest bar te NYPD efforts to recruit men and women from those underrepresented communities. New Yorkers, indeed, all Americans, who truly care about justice should rise up in unison to demand that Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly keep Schwarz, Wiese and Bruder off the force forever. 3/13/02 Page 1 of 2 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Tuesday, March 12, 2002 10:46 PM To: Update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Grand Rapids Police Chief Downplays Force Complaints Advance News Grand Rapids News Police chief downplays complaints of force Tuesday, March 12, 2002 By JOE SNAPPER Grand Rapids Police Chief Harry Dolan told members of the city's Public Safety Committee last Tuesday that allegations of police using excessive force and racial profiling didn't represent majority opinion and that his force was among the nation's "finest." Dolan presented a 36-page report at the meeting. Nine pages described the status of 13 complaints of misconduct, most of them raised at a Feb. 5 meeting of the Grand Rapids City Commission. Dolan said he was disappointed in the way the complaints were made, because many had been investigated earlier or their subjects faced criminal charges. But now charges against subjects in two cases have been thrown out. On Wednesday, District Court Judge Benjamin Logan dismissed charges against Da'Nell Craft and David Thompson, both of whom were named as suspects in Dolan's report. According to the report, five investigations are ongoing, two have been closed, and two were deemed "unfounded." In three cases officers were exonerated, but in only one of those did the Civilian Appeals Board, which meets to review citizen complaints, uphold the police Internal Affairs department's findings. The Civilian Appeals Board never ruled in the other two. However, one complaint of excessive force during arrests at a house party in March 2000 was sustained. The officer used "inappropriate technique" and was dealt a one-day suspension and remedial training. Later the punishment was eased to a written reprimand through the union grievance procedure. Another officer in the March incident received counseling after committing to an arrest without sufficient backup. Dolan has said such conduct can result in the use of greater force than is needed, if more officers could have arrived. Two civil lawsuits against the city of Grand Rapids are pending from the March incident. "[I]t is my considered opinion that the complaints reported and comments made at the [February 5] meeting do not reflect the pulse of the Grand Rapids community's pe?ception of the police," Dolan said. Dolan said complaints at the Feb. 5 meeting, organized by Kent County Commissioner Paul Mayhue, were made with disregard "for the fact that community and police department leaders stand ready to meet and honestly discuss any event or issue at a moment's notice." "That's not true," said Mayhue. "You can talk to the chief. I've been talking to the chief since he's been here. Talking to him doesn't cure what's happening in the community. "People have to say what's happening to them in a way that the people perpetrating it take notice. We can't deal with these things in a vacuum, because nobody gets the message," Mayhue said. Dolan at the meeting also interpreted a poster comparing arrests with use of force. Of the 15,8915 arrests made in 2001, 335, or roughly 2.1 percent, saw the use of force, with 38, or about 11 percent of those, ending in citizen complaints. Dolan's chart showed 98 percent of 201 suspect injuries were minor, with two cases of broken bones and one dislocated shoulder. Between 60 and 70 percent of suspects in forced arrests are under the influence of drugs or alcohol, Dolan said. 3/13/02 Page 2 of 2 Dolan said officers were injured 73 times, all of them minor. He called for greater education on new and improved police procedure, both for the public and for police officers. "There are gains that could be made in interpersonal areas," said Dolan. "We have to look at how we communicate in traffic stops. I think we could improve the explanation of our action. "We have demonstrated on several occasions in the recent past our readiness to acknowled§e our mistakes and take corrective action," he said. 3/13/02 Page 1 of 2 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Tuesday, March 12, 2002 10:46 PM To: Update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Congressional Panel Listens to Criticism of Police in Dade Co Posted on Sat, Mar. 09, 2002 Miami Herald Congressional panel listens to criticism of police in Dade BY ANDREA ROBINSON arobinson@herald.com A congressional panel convening in Miami Friday collected a litany of complaints about police practices in Miami~Dade, including excessive use of deadly force, poor training and slipshod investigations into cases involving African Americans. The hearing was convened by U.S. Reps. Carrie Meek of Miami and John Conyers of Michigan, ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee. They were joined by Rep. Alcee Hastings of Fort Lauderdale and a top official from the civil rights division of the U.S. Justice Department, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Robert Driscoll. "This is a community that is in an uproar," Meek told several hundred people at the hearing. "You're being provoked, and I'm tired of it." "We're not saying all police are bad, but they better get their house in order," said Meek. For four hours at County Hall, she and other panelists heard residents and activists speak out against practices by police officers for Miami-Dade County, Miami and North Miami Beach. All those departments have experienced at least one fatal shooting of a black man by a police officer in the last year. "The actions taken by police.., represent a disturbing pattern of African Americans dying at the hands of the police," said Marc Anthony Douthit, president of the Black Lawyers Association. He was one of more than a dozen residents who spoke -- including a North Miami assistant police chief who said he was abused by Miami-Dade officers. John Rivera, president of the Police Benevolent Association, the county's largest police union, accused some of the critics of "slandering lawful police action." "Under the guise of truth-seeking, they will accept nothing short of vilifying the officer. To those, no use of force is ever justified," Rivera said. Meek has urged the Justice Department to investigate the Jan. 2'1 shooting death of Eddie Macklin Jr., an unarmed suspected car thief, by Miami-Dade Police Officer James Johns. A preliminary inquiry into that shooting was launched more than a month ago and is expected to wrap up by March 26. Driscoll would oversee the an investigation, if one is initiated. The feds will examine testimony from Friday's hearing ~- along with their own findings -- to determine if the allegations are enough to warrant a formal investigation. At the outset, Meek made it clear she had serious problems with police operations in South Florida. "Over the years there have been too many instances of questionable shootings of African Americans by police," Meek said. "Some of these have led to violent protests. All of them have fostered feelings of mistrust, frustration, outrage and unfairness in our community." Conyers said the Macklin shooting "was not an anomaly. The catalog of high-profile incidents of police excessive force grows with each passing day." Since Jan 21, Meek's office has been flooded with calls regarding the shooting that occurred in her district. Macklin was shot in the presence of hundreds of people who were leaving Martin Luther King holiday festivities. The shooting sparked weeks of protests in black communities, and has set off calls for the county commission to give subpoena powers to the Independent Review Panel, which investigates misconduct allegations against county employees. At the hearing, panels of police, prosecutors, victims, community groups and attorneys shared their perspectives of the situation in the county. John Mallah, an attorney representing the Macklin family, questioned the fairness and adequacy of police investigations: "The nature and focus of the internal investigative efforts of the department would suggest that investigations are done to appease a questioning public as opposed to seeking to uncover the facts," Mallah said. Others, like attorney H.T. Smith, leveled criticism at State Attorney Katherine FernAndez Rundle. "The state attorney's office has failed or refused to search for the truth," Smith said. "in my judgment, the only reason the powder keg of community frustration has not yet been ignited is because the people have hope that the federal prosecutors will bring some of the police to justice in bad police shootings." Fernandez Rundle, testifying along with police officials, said she understood community criticisms, but defended the practices of her office. The audience booed during her testimony. "My office aggressively investigates and prosecutes charges against police officers for all crimes," Fernandez Rundle said. 3/13/02 Page 2 of 2 She said police are given authority under the "fleeing felon" law to use deadly force if a felon is leaving a crime and poses a threat to an officer or the public. North Miami Assistant Police Chief Arthur Washington Jr. recounted a traffic stop while driving in North Dade last October in which he alleged a Miami-Dade police officer "verbally and physically abused" him. Washington said a female officer walked toward him in a "very intimidating and aggressive manner." He asked the reason for the stop and then attempted to explain who he was, but the officer didn't respond. The officer, he said, grabbed his arm and attempted to turn him around, but Washington protested and demanded that she let go. After several warnings, he said, she complied. "1 tried on several occasions to rationalize with her .... She behaved like a raging bull and never provided an explanation for the stop. Her approach was very aggressive, threatening, intimidating and offensive," he said. Miami-Dade Police Director Carlos AIvarez had little to say during the hearing. But afterward he reiterated that he welcomed the federal inquiry. "1 feel confident that when they review our practices, they will see we are doing our jobs properly," he said. But Rivera had plenty to say. During his testimony he said he doesn't condone criminal behavior by an officer, but criticized activists pushing for greater civilian oversight of the department. "We know it is important to work with the community in order to foster a better understanding of the risks and challenges faced by law enforcement. Yet we have a coalition that does not respect nor appreciate these men and women.., and more importantly does not understand what it takes to wear a badge." 3/13/02 Page 1 of 2 Marian Karr From: Boise Community Ombudsman [mailbox@boiseombudsman.org] Sent: Wednesday, March 13, 2002 9:53 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] News Story on Boise Annual Report Ombudsman: Police doing their jobs well Annual report holds 'no bombs,' Murphy says By Emily Simnitt The Idaho Statesman Boise police officers are, for the most part, doing their job the way they are supposed to, according to a report released by Community Ombudsman Pierce Murphy Tuesday. Murphy, who presented his 2001 annual report for the City Council, reported: · About 1,110 calls from the public, down from about 1,180 in 2000, · Investigation of 172 complaints. · Twenty-two violations of police procedures -- in about 13 percent of the cases. That's up from 10 percent, or 11 of 191 complaints, in 2000. "There are no bombs in the report," Murphy said. "This is a report that says the Boise Police Department is by and large doing their jobs and doing them well. We've got a system of accountability that includes self-accounting in the department and community accounting with the ombudsman's office. It's working well." This year's report -- the second full-year report since the office was created in 1999 -- took a look at the frequency with which Murphy received complaints about the same officers. Murphy said the news is good, In the past two years, only 12 officers out of 260 received three or more complaints. Of the three officers who received five complaints -- the highest number of complaints per officer -- one was cleared in all complaints while Murphy found the other two had been rude in one instance each. Murphy investigates police conduct in a wide variety of situations, ranging from police shootings to complaints that an officer didn't use a turn signal while driving a police car. Four of the violations Murphy found last year were connected to the sexual assaults of two 14-year-old girls at Barber Park in June 2000, a case that he said police mishandled. Other violations Murphy found include several instances where police officers were "rude"; a situation where an officer improperly brandished a weapon at a traffic stop; and a case in which an off-duty officer in his personal car followed a woman and later issued her a citation when he was on duty for the violation he had witnessed while off duty. In addition to reaching a finding in each case -- whether sustaining the complaint or exonerating the officer -- Murphy also recommends policy changes for the department. This year, Murphy recommended three policy changes: He said the department needed to revise its procedures and training in response to reports of sexual assault; to better communicate with sexual assault victims regarding medical costs and reimbursement; and to strengthen confidentiality requirements. The police department did review its sexual assault crimes procedure and made improvements in response, but it did not add written policies on the subject. Police Chief Don Pierce responds to but is not obligated to follow Murphy's recommendations. 3/13/02 Page 2 of 2 Last year, Murphy made 11 recommendations. To offer story ideas or comments, contact reporfer Emily Simnitt at esimnitt@idahostatesman, com or 377-6427. 3/13/02 Page 1 of 2 Marian Kart From: Boise Community Ombudsman [mailbox@boiseombudsman.org] Sent: Wednesday, March 13, 2002 10:00 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Post 9/11: Balancing Freedom and Security Panel stresses war will go on Efforts to stop terrorism won't succeed easily By Craig Quintana The Idaho Statesman Fighting may be at the mop-up stage in Afghanistan, but the [] American public shouldn't think the war on terrorism is over, or that the United States is safe from another heavy hit, a panel of experts said Monday. The Statesman sponsored the panel meeting exactly six months after the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. About 40 people attended the discussion in Boise State University's Darin Oswald / The Idaho Statesman Jordan Ballroom. Dr. Yasmin Hamidi Aguilar, a native of Afghanistan, A majority of the panelists said America must press on with the fight representing the Agency for New Americans in Boise, addresses a to keep Osama bin Laden, al-Qaida and the next foe on the run. forum on the aftermath of Sept. 11 on Monday night at Boise State "The best defense is a good offense," said Stephen Trott, a judge on University. the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, who previously fought terrorism for the U.S. Justice Department. "We've been on offense for a good six [] months, and we're going to continue on offense for a long time." Later, Trott added, "Israel, in a manner of speaking, has been at it for 50 years." Despite relatively quick success in toppling the Taliban in Afghanistan and flushing al-Qaida out, the war on terrorism may go on longer than most others the nation has waged, said Richard Slaughter, an economist and director of the Boise Committee on Foreign Relations. "The best defense is a good "We're in it for the long haul," Slaughter said. "1 don't expect to see offense.... We've been on the this resolved in my lifetime." offense for a good six months, and we're going to continue the The fight against terror also may require the United States to offense for a long time." consider harder tactics, ones that might not sit well with the national psyche. Even civil libertarians are speaking of the possibility of using --Judge Stephen Trott torture in extreme circumstances to prevent a repeat of the Sept. 11 attacks, Trott said. What do you think? Post your comments about this story on the "Do we plug that person into a wall socket?" Trott asked. "That's a message board or send a letter to measure of the fear that some people are living with." the editor. 3/13/02 Page 2 o£2 Pierce Murphy, Boise's ombudsman who investigates complaints ~] Thoughts from the against police, said there is a downside to increased vigilance: forum Complaints about racial and ethnic profiling and undue scrutiny of Muslims have increased in the past six months. "We were faced with the reality of who the hijackers were," Murphy said, "the reality of who al- Qaida is." But Murphy said the national response periodically went too far and violated civil rights. "Lots of people of Middle Eastern descent being asked to get off of airplanes, being questioned by the crew," he said. Yasmin Hamidi Aguilar, an Afghan immigrant who now lives in Boise, said she has felt some of the national apprehension. "We are not part of Osama's group," she said, referring to al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. "We are all victims of terrorism." No matter how vigilant the nation becomes, an open society like the United States will never be safe; becoming a police state would increase safety but cripple the country, Slaughter said. Bin Laden and his group have shown they can be patient, Lewis said. "They'll strike at their convenience, not ours," he said. "~ think it's going to happen." The difference, according to the panel, is that America, in the past six months, has demonstrated a will to overcome terrorist activity. To offer ¢tory ideas or comments, contact reporter Craig Quintana at cquintana~idahostatesman.com or 377-6439. eSafe scanned this email for malicious content *** IMPORTANT: Do not open attacbJments from unrecognized senders *** 3/13/02 Page 1 of 2 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Thursday, March 14, 2002 9:40 AM To: Update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] San Jose Calif: DA's Action re Cop's Contact w Inmate NEWS RELEASE FROM: GeorgeKennedy, District Attorney CONTACTPERSON: KarynSinunu, Assistant District Attorney (408)792-2702 March13, 2002 TheDistrict Attorney will not prepare criminal charges for filing against ex- San JosePolice Officer Robert Reichert who confronted accused killer DeShawn Campbellin county jail. The San Jose PoliceDepartment has accepted the resignation ofReichert. Reichert's resignation wasnot the determining factor in the decision not to prosecute. Rather, the determining factor was theabsence of a criminal statute proscribing Reichert's provable conduct. FACTS On Saturday, February 23,2002, DeShawn Campbell was housed in the SantaClara County jail awaiting his April trial for the murder of San Jose PoliceOfficer Jeffrey Fontana. Atapproximately 10 p.m. on that date, San Jose Police Officer Robert Reichertbooked a prisoner into the jail and then a Department of Correction (DOC)supervisor approved a tour requested by Reichert of the pod where Campbell isheld. Another DOC officer escortedReichert, who was unarmed, to Campbell's cell and walked away. Reichert knew murder victim Jeffrey Fontanaand had worked with him. Reichert wentto the door of Campbell's cell and spoke briefly. Reicherrs statement was neither recorded nor written; it wasverbal only. Campbell reported theincident, which has now been investigated by the Sheriff's Office, Departmentof Correction, and San Jose Police Department bureaus of criminal and internal investigations. Campbell said Reichert's statementfrightened him, and he confirmed that no other San Jose officer has threatenedhim. Reichert's exact statement isunknown. Campbell reported thestatement to two different investigators. One report of the statement was, "The officer was my partner, the onewho passed away. I'll do you the sameway. I hope you get out. I got two titles under my belt and I'm gonnamake you the third one." The otherreport of the threat was, "You know that San Jose officer that was killed,well, I've two titles under my belt and one's for you.'~ Reichert privately stated immediately afterthe incident that he spoke to Campbell and told Campbell that he (Reichert) hasbeen in a couple of shootings and guys like him (Campbell) do not scare him and"if he ever got out he would remember his face." An inmate who allegedly overheard Reichert speaking reported astatement slightly different from the one Campbell reported, but when firstquestioned declared that he had not heard the words spoken. The DOC officer who escorted Reichert statedhe did not hear anything because he had walked away. 3/14/02 Page 2 of 2 CALIFORNIA LAW 1. Penal Code section 147 prohibits the inhumane treatment oroppression of a prisoner under thecare and custody of the suspect-officer. Campbell was under the custody of theDepartment of Correction, not San Jose Police Department. (The DOC officers were not criminally investigatedbecause they had no knowledge that Reichert intended to speak toCampbell. Tours had been an acceptedpractice at DOC.) 2. Penal Code section 415 prohibits use of offensive words in apublic place that are inherently likely toprovoke. Jail is not a public place anda secured door separated the parties. 3. Penal Code section 4570 prohibits unauthorized communicationwith prisoners, acting without the permission of Department of Correction. In this case,a DOC supervisor allowed Reichertto tour and talk to Campbell. 4. Penal Code Title 11.6 prohibits criminal civil rightsviolations ("hate crimes"). However,the basis of those charges must be that a crime was committed because of a victim's race, religion,ancestry, national origin, disability, gender, qr sexual orientation. Motivation for Reichert's behavior provenone of the above. 5. Penal Codesection 422 ("criminal threats") prohibits intentional threats which if committed would result in deathor great bodily injury to another person. In order to find Reichert guilty beyond areasonable doubt, a jury would be instructed: "Thethreatening statement on its face, and under the circumstances in which it wasmade, was so unequivocal, unconditional, immediate, and specific as to conveyto the person threatened, a gravity of purpose and an immediate prospectof execution of the threat." (California Jury Instruction 9.94, Revision 2002 emphasis added) ANALYSIS Not allthreats can be charged as criminal threats. First Amendment decisional law results in narrow drafting of statutesproscribing even threatening speech. Inthis case the statutory requirement bf the immediate prospect of theexecution of the threat cannot be proven. A secureddoor separated the parties when the threat was made and, although Californiadecisional law holds that conditional threats may suffice as criminal threats withinPenal Code section 422, the word "immediate" nevertheless attaches to thefuture prospect of the threat being carried out when the condition is not met. If areasonable interpretation of the evidence points to innocence, the jury mustadopt that interpretation and return a verdict of not guilty. A reasonable interpretation of the evidencehere does point to innocence in that Campbell will likely not "get out" in theimmediate future and Reichert did not convey immediate execution of the threatif and when Campbell were released and, thus, the required immediacy is notpresent. Uncertainty as to the precisestatement contributes to the failure of proof. CONCLUSION The facts do not present enoughevidence to convince a jury beyond a reasonable doubt that Reichert's offensiveand unprofessional behavior violated any California criminal statute. The District Attorney is confidentDepartment of Correction and San Jose Police Department procedures are being reviewedand will be modified as appropriate. The San Jose Police Department accepted Reichert's resignation on March 11, 2002. The District Attorney wouldwelcome legJslation to criminally sanction the type of behavior presented. The District Attorney's Office has filed 127criminal cases against law enforcement personnel since George Kennedy tookoffice in December of 1990. Questions about details of thecriminal investigation should be addressed to Sheriff's Detective Randy Bynum(408-299- 2211). Questions about the San Jose Police Department employment policies should be directed to San JoseAssistant Police Chief Tom Wheatley (408-277-4214). Questions about the Department of Correction investigation shouldbe directed to Mark Cursi (408-299-4005). 3/14/02 Page ! o£ 2 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Thursday, March 14, 2002 12:22 PM To: Update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Detroit Police Shootings An Issue Again Detroit Police Shootings An Issue Again Dateline: Detroit, MT - 3/13/2002 Detroit Free Press BY BEN SCHMI']-I', ]AMES G. HILL AND DAVID ASHENFELTER Investigations of all shootings by police in Detroit may be handed back to the police department's homicide section from internal affairs, City Councilwoman Sheila Cockrel said Tuesday. Cockrel decried the move as turning back the clock on a crucial reform former Mayor Dennis Archer imposed during an uproar over questionable shootings of civilians by police. "i've been told by very reliable sources that.the jurisdiction has or is returning to homicide," Cockrel said after a City Council meeting. Inspector Donald Williams of the internal affairs section said no move has yet been made, but he too has heard it may be coming. "We're still handling police shootings until we hear differently," Williams said. "There's been some talk by the chief and other department executives about the change, but it's going to be the chief's decision." Such a change is a troubling signal, Cockrel said. She sent a letter Tuesday to Police Chief,]erry Oliver asking whether the new procedures are in place and whether the changes, if implemented, were discussed with the Board of Police Commissioners. Oliver could not be reached Tuesday for comment. Megan Norris, vice chair of the police commission, said any change would have to go through the board. "I have nothing negative to say about the homicide department," she said. "I have a great deal of confidence in internal affairs. I can't predict how the board would act on this, if it is true." After a Free Press report on police shootings in Hay 2000, Archer relieved the homicide section of its task of investigating police shootings. Archer gave the job to internal affairs. He also called for a U.S. Justice Department investigation into the department, which is still pending. Cockrel said, 'Tm really concerned that you're not going to have the independence and autonomy that internal affairs represents. There is a point at which, if this keeps up, the thing we need to begin to look at is having really completely external entities investigate questionable practices." Mart,/' Bandemer, president of the Detroit Police Officers Association, said Tuesday that he doesn't care which section investigates police shootings. "It's the same, one way or the other," he said. "The questions are all the same, 'Did you see a weapon7' 'How far was the perpetrator?' The investigation is going to be the same and sent to the prosecutor's office for review." Since 1987, the City Council has authorized more than $123 million to pay for lawsuits against police, all the while demanding police executives do more to identify and correct problem officers and trends. Lawyers who have represented families of people who were killed or maimed by Detroit police under questionable circumstances told the Free Press two years ago that the homicide section was failing to impartially and thoroughly investigate questionable shootings. 3 / 14/02 Page 2 of 2 Detroit, with nearly 1 million residents, averaged nearly 10 fatal police shootings a year in 1990-98. New York City, with 7.3 million residents, averaged 28 fatal shootings a year during that time. Cockrel's comments Tuesday came less than a week after Mayor Kwame Kiipatrick requested the resignations of three police commissioners. Two complied, but Commission Chair Nathaniel Head refused. Mayoral spokesman Bob Berg said he wasn't aware of the issue and that it was a matter for the chief to comment on. The council is conducting its own hearings on police reforms, designed to reduce the city's staggering police litigation costs and save lives. The Free Press also has reported that the police commission hasn't demanded changes and has been kept in the dark by police executives about problems confronting the department. Councilwoman Sharon McPhail, who served on the Board of Police Commissioners from 1985 to 1990, said she thinks any decisions on department policy concerning internal investigations should be done by the board and the police chief. According to the charter, they have responsibility for setting department policy, she said. "I don't really have a problem with it as long as the job gets done and police aren't out here shooting people and the citizens are protected," McPhail said. "I think that oftentimes there is a little bit more interference in the administrative process than needs to be from some legislators." 3/14/02 Page 1 of 1 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Thursday, March '14, 2002 12:22 PM To: Update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Denver Police Files Raise Rights Concerns March 14, 2002 Denver Police Files Raise Rights Concerns By THE NEW YORK TIMES ~ iENVER, March '13! -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado has accused the Denver Police Department of maintaining secret and illegal files on hundreds of groups and people, and the mayor has asked for a review of the department's policies. "The police have no legitimate reason to keep files on the peaceful expression of political views and opinions," said Mark Silverstein, legal director of the A.C.L.U. of Colorado. The organization said it had copies of some files, but Mr. Silverstein declined to say how it had obtained them. Groups that files were kept on include Amnesty International, the American Friends Service Committee and End the Politics of Cruelty, a local group that focuses on police accountability. "Denver residents should feel free to join a peaceful protest without fear that their names will wind up in police files," Mr. Silverstein said. The Denver Department of Safety, which oversees the police department, met this week with the city attorney and the assistant police chief and said there would be a review of the policies. "1 don't think there were any rights that were violated, but even if there is a perception of that, we want to aggressively make sure it doesn't happen," said Ari Zavaras, manager of public safety. "1 think we're over the hill on getting this solved and it was a problem with the interpretation of the policy. What officers did was within the policy, but overly broad." This afternoon, Mayor Wellington Webb, who said he was unaware of the files until the A.C.LU. brought them to light, said that they had apparently been kept since 1999, and covered 208 groups and roughly 3,200 individuals. Mayor Webb said that he thought the A.C.LU.'s concerns were legitimate and that it was not the police department's policy to keep such files. "No information about political, religious or social views, associations or activities should be collected unless the information relates to a criminal activity and the subject is suspected of criminal activity," he said. Mayor Webb said the city's policies would be reviewed and an independent third party would review the files. He said such files would be audited and purged regularly. Mr. Silverstein has asked the mayor to prohibit the police department from sharin9 the files with other law enforcement agencies, to allow people named in the files an opportunity to review them and to provide a public accounting of the files. The files list some individuals and groups as "criminal extremist." The Chiapas Coalition, a loose-knit group in Denver that says it supports the rights of the indigenous people of Chiapas, Mexico, is one of those groups. The file on the group says that it is "dedicated to overthrow of Mexican government." The Chiapas file, part of which was posted on the Colorado A.C.LU.'s Web site, includes addresses for Kerry Appel, the coalition's leader, and locations where he had protested. "Beyond being shocked, surprised, I was angry at what was written," Mr. Appel said. "It's inaccurate, incompetent, inept and just wrong. It's one thing to have a file on you, but none of us have ever been convicted of a crime and we're not a criminal extremist group." "People come to our activities out of sincere political and moral beliefs," Mr. Appel added. "in 20 years, these people might apply for a visa or a teaching job and be turned down because there is this file that says they are a criminal extremist." Some cities and police departments, including San Francisco, Seattle and Portland, Ore., have ordinances or policies that prevent such information gathering. "This smacks of exactly what the F.B.I. was doing in the 1960's," said Alan Schlosser, legal director for the A.C.LU. of San Francisco. "There is a concern in the wake of 9/11 that needs for security might lead to some elements of thinking in law enforcement to going back to the bad old days," 3/14/02 Page 1 of 2 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Thursday, March '14, 2002 12:22 PM To: Update@nacole.or9 Subject: [NACOLE Update] LA Officers Gun Buys Probed http :~~~atimes~c~m~news~~~ca~~~a~~~~~1$72 7mar14.st~ry?c~~~=~a%2Dhead~ines%2Dca~if~rnia Officers' Gun Buys Probed Documents: Letters authorizing police personnel to purchase assault rifles may have been faked, sources say. By MATT LAIT and SCO]-I- GLOVER TIMES STAFF WRITERS March '14 2002 Los An§eles police officers are under investigation for alle§edly using fraudulent documents to purchase law- enforcement-only versions of assault rifles before the weapons were banned, according to law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation. The precise number of officers whose actions are being investigated is unclear, but as many as 40 suspect letters were seized from one gun dealer and many others are under review. Any officer who faked a letter to obtain an assault weapon could be guilty of a felony and could also face LAPD discipline, according to state laws and Police Department guidelines. State and local investigators are scrutinizing letters the officers were required to provide from police superiors stating that they had been given departmental permission to buy the weapons. Investigators suspect that the signatures on many of the letters were forged or that the names of the supervisors were not accurate, according to sources familiar with the probe. Hallye Jordan, a spokeswoman for the California attorney general's office, confirmed Wednesday that her agency had an ongoing investigation regarding the illegal sale and purchase of assault weapons and that some of the transactions may involve police officers. LAPD Cmdr. Tom Lorenzen, who heads that department's Internal Affairs Division, said the Police Department was conducting an investigation of its officers in conjunction with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. As of now, he said, no action has been taken against any officers. "We're examining the conditions under which the purchases were made," Lorenzen said. He added that if any documents were forged, that could violate federal law as well as LAPD policy. One law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity said a search warrant served on one gun dealer yielded as many as 40 letters on Police Department letterhead stating that the officers had permission to buy the firearms. Some investigators have indicated that they believe some or all of those letters may be fraudulent. Under the law, a specific allowance for the sale of assault weapons was made for any police officer "authorized by his or her employer to possess or receive the assault weapon." The law defined that authorization as a written certification from the head of the officer's a§ency and said it must identify the officer and the weapon that the officer was permitted to possess. The law does not specify whether the "head of the agency" would mean that only the top officer, in this case the chief of police, would have the power to issue such an authorization or whether "agency" might be construed as an individual police station or division. Police Chief Bernard C. Parks has long been a supporter of strong gun control laws. Early in his tenure as chief, Parks advocated the collection and destruction of all assault rifles in circulation, a position that earned him praise and scorn amon9 police officers. Parks' stance on assault weapons may have led some officers to conclude that department supervisors would not have approved their requests to purchase the guns, some officials suggested. 3/14/02 Page 2 of 2 As part of the probe, state and federal investigators have seized documents from gun dealers who sold the weapons to officers. "If the letters were forged, that's not a good thing," said Lawrence Wolff, an Encino gun dealer whose records were seized by investigators from the ATF and the state Department of Justice. "It's like any other forgery. It's pretty rotten." Wolff said he sold 200 to 300 assault rifles to police officers from several Southland agencies before the ban. Among the records seized from Wolff, he said, were letters that officers said were signed by supervisors. Wolff said he had no idea whether any of those letters were forged. The weapons that officers purchased from dealers before the ban went into effect were discounted. Wolff said he sold assault rifles to officers at $800 apiece, although a private citizen would have paid as much as $2,500 for a similarly equipped weapon. Such discounts were common among dealers who were selling to police, Wolff said. 3/14/02 Page 1 of 1 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Thursday, March 14, 2002 12:22 PM To: Update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Judge Who Ruled Out Matching Fingerprints Changes His Mind March '14, 2002 Judge Who Ruled Out Matching Fingerprints Changes His Mind By ANDY NEWMAN NY Times wo months after issuing the first ruling that fingerprint identification did not meet federal standards for scientific evidence, a judge reversed himself yesterday and said he would let an F.B.I, expert testify that a suspect's prints match those found at a crime scene. The judge, Louis H. Pollak of Federal District Court in Philadelphia, found that the F.BI.'s procedures, though unproven in the strictest scientific sense, were similar to Scotland Yard procedures accepted by British courts. He also said the Supreme Court's 1993 standard of what constitutes allowable expert testimony was more flexible than he had first thought. Judge Pollak's initial decision in January delighted defense lawyers and alarmed law enforcement officials, who had counted on fingerprint evidence as nearly unassailable. In a capital murder case in which prosecutors said the prints of two defendants, Carlos Ivan Llera Plaza and Wilfredo Martinez Acosta, were found in a car, the judge ruled that because fingerprint analysis had not been subjected to rigorous testing, an expert could testify to the similarities between prints but could not conclusively tell a jury that one print matched another. But the United States attorney's office in Philadelphia asked for a rehearing and, in three days of testimony, managed to sway the judge. "1 have concluded," Judge Pollak wrote, "that arrangements which, subject to careful trial court oversight, are felt to be sufficiently reliable in England, ought likewise to be found sufficiently reliable in the federal courts of the United States, subject to similar measures of trial court oversight. "In short, I have changed my mind." The United States attorney in Philadelphia, Patrick Meehan, applauded the ruling, saying, "We prevailed on the underlying theory that this is in fact reliable testimony that the judge in his role as the gatekeeper of evidence can have confidence in." Mr. Meehan noted, however, that the judge's ruling addressed only F.B.I. print examiners. Most fingerprint experts work for state and local police agencies, which have differing standards. Rob Epstein, the federal public defender whose challenge of fingerprinting in an earlier case formed the basis of the present challenge, said he was puzzled by the judge's about-face. The judge wrote in his opinion that while the proficiency tests that the F.B.I. submitted as evidence of its examiners' accuracy were so easy as to be of little value, no F.B.I. print identification had ever been proved wrong. Mr. Epstein said: "It's not the burden of the defense to show that the error rate is unacceptably high. It's the government's to show that the rate is acceptably Iow." Lawyers for the defendants cannot appeal Judge Pollak's ruling until the murder trial is complete. One of the lawyers, Felipe Restrepo, said that if his clients were convicted he might appeal. in any case, Mr. Epstein said, the ruling was unlikely to slow the steadily rising tide of challenges to fingerprint testimony nationwide. "This is one decision by one trial judge," he said. That is what prosecutors had said after Judge Pollak's first ruling. "They were right," Mr. Epstein said. 3/14/02 Page 1 of 4 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Thursday, March 14, 2002 12:38 PM To: Update@nacole.or9 Subject: [NACOLE Update] Congrssnl Hearing on Dade Police; Cincinnati Mayor:Feds Proposal Onerous Posted on Sat, Mar. 09, 2002 Miami Herald Congressional panel listens to criticism of police in Dade BY ANDREA ROBINSON arobinson_@hera!d.com A congressional panel convening in Miami Friday collected a litany of complaints about police practices in Miami-Dade, including excessive use of deadly force, poor training and slipshod investigations into cases involving African Americans. The hearing was convened by U.S. Reps. Carrie Meek of Miami and John Conyers of Michigan, ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee. They were joined by Rep. Alcee Hastings of Fort Lauderdale and a top official from the civil rights division of the U.S. Justice Department, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Robert Driscoll. "This is a community that is in an uproar," Meek told several hundred people at the hearing. "You're being provoked, and I'm tired of it." "We're not saying all police are bad, but they better get their house in order," said Meek. For four hours at County Hall, she and other panelists heard residents and activists speak out against practices by police officers for Miami-Dade County, Miami and North Miami Beach. All those departments have experienced at least one fatal shooting of a black man by a police officer in the last year. "The actions taken by police.., represent a disturbing pattern of African Americans dying at the hands of the police," said Marc Anthony Douthit, president of the Black Lawyers Association. He was one of more than a dozen residents who spoke -- including a North Miami assistant police chief who said he was abused by Miami-Dade officers. John Rivera, president of the Police Benevolent Association, the county's largest police union, accused some of the critics of "slandering lawful police action." "Under the guise of truth-seeking, they will accept nothing short of vilifying the officer. To those, no use of force is ever justified," Rivera said. Meek has urged the Justice Department to investigate the Jan. 21 shooting death of Eddie Macklin Jr., an unarmed suspected car thief, by Miami-Dade Police Officer James Johns. A preliminary inquiry into that shooting was launched more than a month ago and is expected to wrap up by March 26. Driscoll would oversee the an investigation, if one is initiated. The feds will examine testimony from Friday's hearing -- along with their own findings -- to determine if the allegations are enough to warrant a formal investigation. At the outset, Meek made it clear she had serious problems with police operations in South Florida. "Over the years there have been too many instances of questionable shootings of African Americans by police," Meek said. "Some of these have led to violent protests. All of them have fostered feelings of mistrust, frustration, outrage and unfairness in our community." Conyers said the Macklin shooting "was not an anomaly. The catalog of high-profile incidents of police excessive force grows with each passing day." Since Jan 21, Meek's office has been flooded with calls regarding the shooting that occurred in her district. Mackiin was shot in the presence of hundreds of people who were leaving Martin Luther King holiday festivities. The shooting sparked weeks of protests in black communities, and has set off calls for the county commission to give subpoena powers to the independent Review Panel, which investigates misconduct allegations against county employees. At the hearing, panels of police, prosecutors, victims, community groups and attorneys shared their perspectives of the situation in the county. John Mallah, an attorney representing the Macklin family, questioned the fairness and adequacy of police investigations: "The nature and focus of the internal investigative efforts of the department would suggest that investigations are done to appease a questioning public as opposed to seeking to uncover the facts," Mallah said. Others, like attorney H.T. Smith, leveled criticism at State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle. "The state attorney's office has failed or refused to search for the truth," Smith said. "In my judgment, the only reason the powder keg of community frustration has not yet been ignited is because the people have hope that the federal prosecutors will bring some of the police to justice in bad police shootings." Fernandez Rundle, testifying along with police officials, said she understood community criticisms, but defended the practices of her office. The audience booed during her testimony. "My office aggressively investigates and prosecutes charges against police officers for all crimes," FernAndez Rundle said. 3/14/02 Page 2 of 4 She said police are given authority under the "fleeing felon" law to use deadly force if a felon is leaving a crime and poses a threat to an officer or the public. North Miami Assistant Police Chief Arthur Washington Jr. recounted a traffic stop while driving in North Dade last October in which he alleged a Miami-Dade police officer "verbally and physically abused" him. Washington said a female officer walked toward him in a "very intimidating and aggressive manner." He asked the reason for the stop and then attempted to explain who he was, but the officer didn't respond. The officer, he said, grabbed his arm and attempted to turn him around, but Washington protested and demanded that she let go. After several warnings, he said, she compiled. "1 tried on several occasions to rationalize with her .... She behaved like a raging bull and never provided an explanation for the stop. Her approach was very aggressive, threatening, intimidating and offensive," he said. Miami-Dade Police Director Carlos Alvarez had little to say during the hearing. But afterward he reiterated that he welcomed the federal inquiry. "1 feel confident that when they review our practices, they will see we are doing our jobs properly," he said. But Rivere had plenty to say. During his testimony he said he doesn't condone criminal behavior by an officer, but criticized activists pushing for greater civilian oversight of the department. "We know it is important to work with the community in order to foster a better understanding of the risks and challenges faced by law enforcement. Yet we have a coalition that does not respect nor appreciate these men and women.., and more importantly does not understand what it takes to wear a badge." CJncy Mayor: Federal Proposal 'Onerous' Dateline: Cincinnati, OH - 3/14/2002 By Dan Horn The Cincinnati Enquirer Cincinnati officials are shocked by the harsh tone of a recent federal proposal to reform the city's police department. After months of talk about cooperating with the city, the U.S. Department of Justice delivered a proposal last week that Mayor Charlie Luken described as "onerous." The proposal came during negotiations to end an investigation into the "patterns and practices" of Cincinnati police. Although the proposal has not been made public, Hr. Luken said Wednesday it called for too much intrusion into the day-to-day work of officers. He said officials, since they received it, have been revising it and renegotiating with the Justice Department. "Our law department said what they got from the Department of Justice was not consistent with what they expected," the mayor said. "It was more onerous." The mayor's words were the first public comments about the nature of the latest step in talks with the Justice Department. Many other police and city officials refused to discuss the settlement talks, saying they feared talking about it would jeopardize what has been a relatively carm working relationship. The document under discussion remains secret. Neither the city solicitor nor the Justice Department has released it, despite open-records requests filed by the Enquirer to both offices. City officials argue that the document is exempt from the state open-records law but haven't said why. The Enquirer will ask a Hamilton County appeals court today to force the city to provide the document. Nelson Hermilla, who handles Freedom of Information Act requests for Justice's civil rights division, said he had referred the newspaper's letter to assistant attorney general Ralph Boyd for his recommendation on whether it should be released. Mayor Luken said he wants the public eventually to know "every dotted "i' and crossed "t,"' but he realizes the sensitive nature of the negotiations. Justice, he said, "gets really annoyed" at publicity about the talks. The federal civil rights investigation began in April 2001 after the fatal police shooting of Timothy Thomas 3/14/02 Page 3 of 4 -- an unarmed black man who ran from officers -- sparked riots in Cincinnati. From the outset of the investigation, city officials have emphasized their desire to cooperate with the Department of Justice. The goal, they said, was to avoid the animosity that accompanied similar investigations in other cities. The city also hoped to avoid a federal consent decree -- or court order -- that would mandate changes in the police department. Mayor Luken said the document stopped short of suggesting a consent decree. City Council members Pat DeWine and John Cranley both said Wednesday they had not seen the 3ustice document. Mr. DeWine, chairman of council's Law and Public Safety committee, said he did not want to hold up finalizing the agreement with Justice during a critical stage of the mediation of a federal lawsuit alleging decades of discrimination against blacks in Cincinnati. Mr. DeWine said he remains opposed to merging the two processes together into one, though some involved in the mediation collaborative are pushing for that. "It's not going to happen if ! have anything to do with it," Mr. DeWine said. Members of the Metropolitan Area Religious Coalition (MARC), at their lunchtime meeting Wednesday, prayed again for success as officials continue to negotiate. Another Controversial Cincy Cop Leaving Dateline: Cincinnati, OH - 3/14/2002 Cincinnati Post By Craig Garretson For the second time in three months, a Cincinnati police officer involved in a controversial death of an unarmed black man is leaving the city for a job elsewhere. Cincinnati Police Officer Robert "Blaine" 3org, 30, was one of three officers hired by Pierce Township in Clermont County Tuesday night. Jorg will start April 1, said Pierce Township Administrator David Coyle. Jorg has not yet resigned from the Cincinnati police division, said Cincinnati police spokesman Lt. Kurt Byrd. Jorg has been assigned to the police impound lot since shortly after the death of 29-year-old Roger Owensby Jr., who died while he was being arrested outside a Roselawn gas station in November 2000. 3org and four other officers were trying to arrest Owensby, of College Hill, on Election Night 2000. .lorg, who joined the Cincinnati police division in 1996, was indicted on charges of involuntary manslaughter and assault; in October, a jury found him not guilty of manslaughter but couldn't agree on a verdict on the assault charge. Hamilton County Prosecutor Mike Allen said a month later he would not re-try ]org on the manslaughter charge. That came over the objections of Owensby's family and the Black United Front, one of the groups leading a boycott of the city. Owensby's parents have since filed a lawsuit against dozens of defendants, including .lorg. Coyle said Jorg was the top candidate out of more than 60 who applied for five open police positions in the township. Coyle said he didn't expect any uproar over Jorg's hiring such as that which occurred in Evendale, when 3/14/02 Page 4 of 4 village officials hired Police Officer Stephen Roach in January. Last April, Roach shot and killed an unarmed black teen during a chase in an Over-the-Rhine alley. "I don't expect we'll have any problems," Coyle said. Jorg's new boss will be Pierce Township Police Chief James Smith, who was an assistant police chief with the Cincinnati Police Division until taking the top job in the township last August. Pierce Township is a large area bordering Anderson Township. It has a population of 12,226. 3/14/02 Marian Karr From: Steven Lecklitner [legalise_freedom@yahoo.com] Sent: Thursday, March 14, 2002 4:45 PM To: pmiani@ft, newyorklife.com; thad.rueter@news-jrnhcom; makiara@aol.com; frontdesk@currymansion,com; foot@footsart.com; dede@hawaiian,net; labradap@monroe,k12.fl.us; Skip. Jansen@kwcityelectric.com; pgpcorn@bellsouth.net; cattours@aohcom; FIoridagetaway@aol,com; cknj@kyohnet; JCollins@tbo,com; quinn@nacole.org; ray@bonefishcentral,com; centerct@aol,com; info@theislandescapes.com; jt@designkw.com; dejawest@aol.com; APhJllips@tbo.com; fdlecomplaints@fdle.state.fhus; htkeys@aol.com; george_bennett@pbpost.com; Alexhouse@aol.com; Collina@hrw.org Subject: [Key West] City Cop Charged with Battery Key West Civilian Review Board advocates - A Public Forum Newsletter 1) News: City Cop Charged with Battery 2) Letter to the Editor: A Civilian Review Board? 1) City Cop Charged with Battery The following article is reprinted in its entirety. It was published on March 9, 2002 by the "Florida Keys Keynoter", and was written by Bruce Laplaunte: The case stems from car chase in July 2000 Key West Police Officer Michael Beerbower has been charged by the Monroe County State Attorney's office with three counts of misdemeanor battery. Assistant State Attorney Steve Ellison said on Friday the charges come after a four-month investigation into events that occurred in July 2000. Beerbower, 31, a three-year veteran of the Key West Police Department, is charged with punching one man in the face twice and a second man in the face once. An affidavit sworn Friday by Notary Public Pamela Vildostegui says State Attorney's Office Investigator Ron Grimming outlined the incidents leading to the charges. Grimming said Daniel Stambaugh provided a sworn statement July 26, 2001, saying he was arrested on several charges July 6, 2000, following a chase through Key West. While he was handcuffed and seated in the back seat of a police car, Stambaugh said in his statement, a police officer opened the car door and, after asking him his name, punched him in the face and pepper-sprayed him. He said he could not identify the officer because his 1 vision was hampered by the pepper spray. However, Grimming said, Key West Police Officer Steve Austin gave a sworn statement July 6, 2001, saying he observed Beerbower striking Stambaugh. Also, on July 6, 2000, Grimming's statement continues, Jesse Gregory was arrested on various charges ste~ing from the same chase through the city. In a sworn statement on June 13, 2001, Gregory alleges he was kicked by several police officers while he was on the ground. He ads that he identified Beerbower as one of those officers. On June 6, 2001, Key West Police Inspector Bob Christensen said he responded to the chase scene and he saw Beerbower punching Gregory "in the head and face several times while Gregory was handcuffed and on the ground." Christensen also swore that he had to pull Beerbower off Gregory. Ellison said Friday Beerbower was not arrested but has been issued a surmmons to appear in court on the charges. The first-degree misdemeanor is punishable by up to $1,000 in fines, as well as up to one year in jail. Key West Police Chief Buz Dillon said Friday his Internal Affairs Department had investigated the allegations against Beerbower and when finished, turned the case over to the State Attorney's Office last July. His only co~mment on the Beerbower allegations was that "he's innocent until proven guilty." Numerous reports in the past few weeks have the State Attorney's Office investigating allegations of wrongdoings by Key West police officers. On March 1, Lt. A1 Flowers accepted an offer from the prosecutors to resign rather than face charges of filing a false affidavit. There are reports that there are four more officers being investigated by the State Attorney's Office, allegedly for using excessive force. State Attorney Mark Khol has steadfastly refused to cor~nent on whether there are investigations being conducted, opting instead to issue statements only when his office takes some action. To contact the author of.this article send e-mail to: blaplaunte@keynoter.com To contact the Florida Keys Keynoter for confirmation: Keynoter Editor 2720-A North Roosevelt Blvd., Key West, Florida, 33040 (305) 293-0100 e-mail: keynoter@keynoter.com 2 2) Letter to the editor: A Civilian Review Board? In recent months, some individuals have advocated called for the creation of a Civilian Review Board (CRB) in Key West, specifically to investigate questions of police conduct. First and most importantly, we need to keep this issue in the proper perspective. It should be noted that the entire Key West Police Department is doing an excellent job overall, handling a wide variety of difficult and dangerous situations every day. And, in 99.99% of those cases, there is never a doubt that our police men and women handled everything in the most professional, legal and courteous way that could be expected of them. We all should salute and be proud of these hard-working and dedicated individuals who put their lives on the line to serve and protect us 24/7. The subject of a Civilian Review Board comes up only in the extremely rare case when someone questions the handling of an isolated incident. That's when we need to keep a cool head and examine the issue of civilian review. To start, what would be the effects of such a board? CRBs have the following positive benefits: (1) Questions can be fairly and completely investigated by a diverse board of citizens who have no personal or political interest in the case. That means the investigation is conducted openly, honestly and objectively. (Everyone should want that). (2) Questions of misconduct that are found to be untrue can then be removed from the arena of vitriolic public debate and resolved to the satisfaction of all observers and critics, both civilian and media. That means the community can move forward and focus our energies on other, more valid and pressing issues. (Our community deserves that). (3) Should a charge be found by a CRB to have validity, the desire of our governing bodies to resolve the situation will most likely result in the initial problem being put "on the front burner." That means problems can be resolved quickly, completely, and in the full light of day by the proper authorities. (That's one of the duties of a responsible government in our democracy). What, then, are the negatives regarding a Civilian Review Board? (1) They cost money. Each community can set up its own funding, but everything costs something. To find out how much it would cost, representatives of the City of Key West have (to their credit) already begun the process of investigating the subject of CRBs. As long as the cost is not extreme, it seems logical that the benefits to our community might well justify the cost. (After all, if we can afford fancy lighted Christmas decorations and scores of expensive new trash cans for our streets, we can surely afford a CRB). (2) Civilian Review Boards need to be given legal operating authority, internal guidelines and hierarchies. The good news is that many other city 3 governments with viable CRBs across the nation will be glad to share their procedures, experiences and educated observations with us. (Then we won't be starting from scratch). (3) Just who is on the Civilian Review Board? How do they get there, and how long do they serve? Again, we can greatly benefit from examining successful CRBs in other communities for answers. (If they can resolve these questions, so can we). (4) How do we keep a Civilian Review Board from running amok? The board would report directly to the mayor, city commissioners and city attorney. If the board is not acting with totally unbiased integrity, it will be up to the mayor and co~issioners to change the board's makeup. (Obviously, there need to be reasonable checks and balances in place to control a CRB, just as there should be checks and balances for the police department and all governmental agencies). Knowing these facts, one might wonder exactly who would oppose a Civilian Review Board? Good question. City leaders could benefit from a CRB's objective finding to take the right actions without incurring personal political damage of any sort. Critics and the media could have their questions answered in a way that none can ever claim a biased result. The public could have a government that takes all necessary actions to protect its citizens while delivering city services of uncompromising quality and ethics. Our police department could know that all questions would be investigated fairly, avoiding the endless quagmire of demoralizing media hype. Law enforcement officials sometimes remind us that 'investigations are no threat to those who have nothing to hide.' So, the only ones who would likely oppose a CRB are those individuals who may be questioned about alleged errors - or those hoping to ignore alleged errors. OK, then, it seems pretty clear that we should investigate the possibility of instituting a responsible and unbiased Civilian Review Board here in the island we call (and ultimately want to be) "paradise." Now is the time for us to ask our civic leaders to seriously look into this important subject and evaluate all the benefits and costs fully. Take a few minutes and contact our leaders today to let them know your opinions on the subject of a Civilian Review Board for Key West. After all, it's your city and your government - and our leaders need to know what you think. James G. Thompson, Key West This was published as a letter to the editor in "The Key West Citizen" To contact the Key West Citizen for confirmation: Editor Tom Tuell 3420 Northside Drive Key West, Florida, 33040 (305) 292-7777 e-mail: info@keysnews.com 4 Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful cor~mitted citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has. - Margaret Mead Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Sports - live college hoops coverage http://sports.yahoo.com/ Marian Karr From: Stewart, Jay [jstewart@udc.edu] Sent: Friday, March 15, 2002 1:05 PM To: suelqq@aol.com Subject: LCCRUL civil rights litigation website launch 15 March 2002 Civil Rights Litigation Web Site to be Launched March 15, 2002 [www.lawyerscomm.org] The Lawyers' Committee, partnered with other national civil rights organizations, has created a portal through which civil rights attorneys and advocates can access the support and training needed to represent clients effectively. Toward that end, the Civil Rights Litigation Support web site will contain a comprehensive library of materials, a message board, a news area, and a calander of events for attorneys doing civil rights litigation. The transfer of information is the most valuable tool we have in our fight against oppression and discrimination. Now, all of us can work together toward our common goal of achieving equal justice for everyone. We hope that you will join us in this effort to share our knowledge and experience with all of the civil rights community. We invite you to join us. Welcome to the Civil Rights Litigation Resource Center This area is hosted by Lawyers' Coulmittee for Civil Rights Under Law; and was developed by Probono.net through the generosity of the Open Society Institute and technical assistance of the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, LLC. This area is currently open to both new and experienced Civil Rights attorneys. The Civil Rights Litigation Resource Center provides online support and resources to its participating lawyers including;interactive news and calendar pages, filled with timely articles and professional development events. There is also, online listings of new cases for volunteers, a message board that will allow you to communicate with other civil rights attorneys across the nation. At the heart of the CRLRC is the online library of training manuals, briefs and practice materials. The Library contains a comprehensive collection of materials including; model complaints, briefs, motions, research memoranda, consent decrees, and discovery materials about the following practice areas: Employment Discrimination Fair Housing and Community Development Education Voting Rights Police Misconduct Environmental Justice Affirmative Action There are a number of products that are available for free or at a iow-cost that will increase the usability of this site but also increase office productivity. Simply click here for a list of the available products, including free Word viewer, to view Microsoft Word documents and Adobe Acrobat reader to view PDF documents. If you would like to contribute to the Civil Rights Library, use our submission form, or contact CRLRC Site Administrator, Tanya Blackwell, Esq. Page 1 of 2 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Friday, March 15, 2002 1:06 PM To: Update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Long Resistant, Police Start Embracing Immigration Enforcement NY Times March 15, 2002 Long Resistant, Police Now Start Embracing Immigration Enforcement Ely ~SUSAN SACHS / [or years, most local police departments have resisted the idea of using their officers to track down illegal immigrants, reasoning that crime-fighting is better served by building relationships of trust in immigrant communities. Now, in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, a growing number of law enforcement agencies around the country say that they have begun to equate immigration enforcement with protecting national security and that they want to be involved. In the starkest example of the turnaround, Florida will soon become the first jurisdiction to accept a long-dormant federal plan to deputize local police officers as agents of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Florida officials say they are completing an agreement with the Justice Department, the immigration service's parent, authorizing 35 state troopers, sheriffs deputies and city police officers to make an arrest solely for overstaying a visa or entering the country illegally. The immigration service, which has long concentrated on border control and employs just 1,947 agents for internal enforcement, calls the new arrangement with Florida "revolutionary" and is actively promoting such partnerships with other states. The Justice Department declines to identify any additional states with which it might be in negotiations, although South Carolina's attorney general, Charlie Condon, is backing a bill in the State Legislature to follow Florida's lead. The framework for such agreements has been in place since 1996, when they were authorized in an overhaul of immigration laws. A handful of efforts were made then, by immigration-control groups and local legislators around the country, to empower local police officers to arrest illegal immigrants. All were blocked by opposition from immigrant groups and employers, the indifference of local law enforcement agencies and, in some places like New York City, strict laws or policies protecting otherwise law-abiding illegal immigrants from being turned over to the immigration service. But "we're in a different situation now," said the North Miami Beach police chief, Bill Berger, president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police. "Now we've got a situation where people feel truly fearful that we may have people in the country who might want to hurt us or kill us." All 19 hijackers on Sept. 11 were foreign-born men living in the United States on temporary visas, and at least two were in violation of visa conditions. As many as 12 had lived briefly in Florida, which helps explain that state's eagerness to work with the immigration service. Federal officials say the intent of the partnership with Florida is not to storm immigrant communities looking for everyone in the country illegally, but to bolster the resources of the understaffed immigration agency in its search for "high priority" illegal immigrants. Short of such formal agreements, local police agencies have already been drawn into immigration matters they once deemed too time-consuming or peripheral to their essential duties. Since Sept. 11, for example, many have participated in the government's antiterrorism task forces hunting for Middle Eastern and Muslim immigrants who have ignored deportation orders, a federal felony. Groups that have long supported a crackdown on illegal immigrants, and the enlistment of state and municipal police forces in the effort, have now renewed their campaign by framing it in terms of fighting terrorism. "Islamic terrorists have penetrated every aspect of our immigration system," Dan Stein, executive director of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a Washington lobby, said in a statement this week. But at a time when the foreign- born population has reached a historic high, and when an estimated eight million illegal immigrants, most of them Hispanic, are spread across the country, others warn of risks in using police officers in the pursuit. "1 don't think the immigrant community would have confidence anymore in the police," said Dolly Hassan, an immigration lawyer in Queens, where a vast majority of residents are foreign-born or the children of foreigners. "The police here have always done a tremendous amount of outreach to convince immigrants that information about their status wouldn't be shared, so that they will come forward to report crimes." Since the attacks, the Justice Department has made abundant use of immigration laws to arrest hundreds of Muslim men for visa expirations and to hold them for months as potential terrorism suspects. State and local law enforcement officers, on the other hand, ordinarily do not have the power to arrest a foreigner for an immigration violation, except for ignoring a deportation order. And the difference in authority does not end there. 3/15/02 Page 2 of 2 Immigration agents have wider latitude than even other federal law enforcement officers to make arrests without a warrant and to single out ethnic or national groups. After the terror attacks, Attorney General John Ashcroft also gave the immigration agency power to detain indefinitely, without bringing charges, any foreigner deemed a security risk. A police officer acting as a deputized immigration agent, then, would not have to meet the criminal justice system's usual standard of probable cause when arresting a foreigner. That officer might be asked to arrest a foreigner who was acting suspiciously or was believed to be an associate of a terrorist group, a senior Justice Department official said, "someone you have information about, but you don't have enough to arrest him on under existing criminal law." The Justice Department has already used immigration data to pursue those it considers potential terrorists and to gather intelligence, and has prevailed upon local police agencies to assist. Last year, for example, the police in many states were asked to interview 5,000 young immigrant men from countries linked to terrorism. Some departments, including three in Oregon, refused, saying that as they interpreted state privacy laws, they were forbidden to question immigrants who were not suspected of any crime. Some jurisdictions prohibit the police and other public employees from reporting illegal immigrants to the federal government. In New York City, a 1985 mayoral executive order that has since become incorporated into city regulations provides that illegal immigrants can be turned over to the immigration service only when they are suspected of separate criminal activity. "It was designed so people wouldn't sit in their houses worrying about whether a New York City police officer is going to come knocking on their door because they overstayed their welcome," said Walter L. Burnes, a department spokesman. Detective Burnes said the Police Department did not now envision asking the Justice Department to deputize its officers as immigration agents. Similarly, spokesmen for the governors of New York, New Jersey, Illinois and Michigan, all immigrant- heavy states, said agreements along the Florida model were not under consideration. Still, there are signs that more than ever before, local law enforcement agencies are taking it on themselves to look out for illegal immigrants. The immigration service said queries from the police to its Law Enforcement Support Center, which runs a registry of foreigners and their legal status, had increased sharply since September, to 30,000 a month from 20,000. Sheriff John Cary Bittick of Forsyth County; Ga., whose jurisdiction includes a 60-mile stretch of Interstate highway that is a favorite route for immigrant laborers, said he would be interested in having his deputies empowered to act as immigration agents. "Like anything else," said Sheriff Bittick, president of the National Sheriffs' Association, "we in law enforcement had to set priorities in the past. Maybe immigration was not as high a priority, but it will be in the future." 3/15/02 Page 1 of 1 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aoi.com Sent: Friday, March 15, 2002 1:09 PM To: Update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Cincy Offers Small Settlements in Riot Lawsuit Cincinnati Offering to Settle Riot Lawsuits; 39 People Say Police Wounded Them Dateline.' Cincinnati, OH - 3/15/2002 Associated Press The city is trying to reach settlements with most of the people who say in a lawsuit that Cincinnati police shot them with beanbag ammunition during protests and rioting last April. Cincinnati is offering amounts ranging from $1,000 to $8,000 to the 39 people represented in the lawsuit, with most of them offered $2,500. The city set today as the deadline to accept or decline the offers. City attorneys said they responded to U.S. District Judge S. Arthur Spiegel's urging that they settle the lawsuit. The city said its condition is that all the plaintiffs accept the settlement to end the case. Lawyer Robert Newman, who represents all the plaintiffs, said it shouldn't be all or nothing. One plaintiff, Louisville, Ky., teacher Christine .]ones, has said that $8,000 isn't enough to cover her $10,000 in medical bills. Jones said her spleen was damaged when she was hit by a beanbag while standing on a street corner April 14. .]ones and other witnesses said police drove up and opened fire near where a funeral had just ended for a black man who had been fatally shot a week earlier by a Cincinnati officer. Nary Ann Meredith, another of those who sued, also was offered $8,000. She needed about 20 stitches to close wounds in her head after being hit by the beanbag rounds. If the settlement dispute can't be resolved, the case could go to trial before Spiegel in October. The city recently settled for $2,500 on a similar complaint filed by shooting victim Tom Craddock, who has a different lawyer, said Richard Ganulin, an assistant city solicitor for Cincinnati. Three other people who said they were hit with beanbags are represented by a third lawyer. But any settlement negotiations in those cases is on hold because they are affected by efforts to resolve a pending lawsuit accusing Cincinnati police of harassing black people, lawyers said. 3/15/02 Page 1 of 2 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Friday, March ,15, 2002 1:09 PM To: Update@NACOLE.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] NYC Deficit & Police Overtime NYTimes March 15, 2002 City's Deficit Forces Police to Study Cuts in Overtime By KEVlN FLYNN Ihe city's fiscal crisis is forcing the Police Department to reduce overtime spending in programs that the Giuliani administration once described as essential to reducing crime. But Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said yesterday that even with the cuts, the force would be able to police the city effectively. Mr. Kelly has appointed a panel to begin reviewing ways to cut police overtime, which has more than doubled in the last three years. Some of the reductions that have already taken shape are in overtime programs specifically created to cut crime. For example, Operation Condor, a program that pays officers to work a sixth day in a week, has been allotted $39.7 million for the fiscal year that begins in July, down from the $100 million spent in the fiscal year that ended last June and the $62 million appropriated this year. Over all, the police overtime budget for the coming fiscal year has been set at $177 million, which is only half what the agency spent in the fiscal year that ended last June and less than a third of what it expects to spend in the current fiscal year, during which the World Trade Center attack sent overtime soaring. Mr. Kelly said the reductions were necessary to help the city close a $4.76 billion budget gap and would not cause problems as long as the available funds were spent wisely. Police officials have noted that crime is down 7 percent this year, even though spending on the Condor program has been sharply reduced. 'Tm confident that with the hard work and dedication of the men and women of this department, we will continue to keep crime down," Mr. Kelly said. But the cuts represent an abrupt shift from the direction taken by the Giuliani administration and may affect the department in ways that extend beyond the shrinking take-home pay of officers. The Giuliani administration, flush with tax revenues from a booming economy, greatly increased overtime spending and did so without apology. Indeed, with the Condor program, administration officials refashioned overtime, a spending category often associated with sloppy management, into a strategic tool that they used to put many more officers on patrol. For example, during the fiscal year that ended last June, officers working Condor overtime shifts made some 7'1,000 arrests, or nearly 20 percent of all arrests, according to department statistics. "We think that without Condor it would be very, very difficult to continue reducing crime," Joseph P. Dunne, the first deputy police commissioner at the time, said after arguing for more funds for the program at a budget hearin9 in November 2000. But several analysts and police commanders said that, as the years passed, the police overtime budget became bloated and it could now be reduced. To that end, Mr. Kelly recently told a meeting of police commanders that they must re- emphasize to officers that arrests should be made during regular working hours whenever possible. Nonetheless, as overtime recedes, the pressure on the department to give officers a substantial raise will most likely intensify, said John F. Timoney, a former first deputy police commissioner. Mr. Timoney is among those who believe overtime costs have risen too much. But he said the ample overtime of recent years had worked to soften the anger of many officers who say their salaries are too Iow. Entry-level base pay for officers is $31,305 a year. "You are really striking up a social contract," Mr. Timoney said, "and it goes something like, 'We expect you to produce and we don't have the overtime to give away anymore, and so we are going to give you a livable wage.' If any part of that falls down, it all falls down." Jerome Skolnick, a professor at New York University School of Law who studies the police, said some complaining by officers was to be expected. But, he said, "1 think the average New York cop understands that we have had a recession and a terror attack and that we can't judge ourselves according to the standards set in the financial boom days of the 90's." Mr. Kelly said the mission of his new overtime panel is to review issues such as whether the department is overstaffing events. Overtime to patrol planned celebrations like parades, as well as unforeseeable events like labor strikes, has doubled in the last three years, according to department statistics. If police officials reduce overtime, it would be the first time in eight years that such spending has declined. In fact, during the current fiscal year, police officials project that overtime will reach $560 million, although $295 million of that was spent in response to the terrorist attacks and those costs will be largely reimbursed by the federal government. 3/15/02 Page 2 of 2 Police overtime has increased even though the force of 39,000 officers is much larger than it was 10 years ago. This seeming incongruity often led Sheldon Leffler, when he was chairman of the City Council's Public Safety Committee, to question whether the force could not be more efficiently deployed. But police officials have said that much of the growth in overtime stemmed from the merger of the housing and transit police forces into the Police Department. They also said that additional officers produced additional arrests, many of which required officers on overtime to take suspects through the criminal justice system. The sharpest rise in overtime began two years ago when the Police Department unveiled Operation Condor. The program puts as many as 1,000 officers a day on overtime patrol, although some analysts have said that the resulting arrests have too often been for minor offenses. Mr. Kelly said some commanders were concerned that some officers may be holding back on arrests until their Condor overtime shift so that they will appear productive, and thus be picked for additional overtime assignments. To combat that, he said, precincts and other commands are being questioned closely about the percentage of the arrests that officers are making on overtime versus regular working hours. Despite the efforts by police supervisors, both city and state auditors predicted this week that the police will spend $100 million more on overtime in fiscal 2003 than the budgeted amount of $177 million. Such skepticism is buttressed by the department's overtime tally for January of $42 million, an unusually high amount that police officials said was caused in part by the cost of policing the World Economic Forum, which drew thousands of demonstrators to the city. Several other analysts said, however, that they do not view the proposed reductions as unreasonable. "Getting overtime down to around $175 million or $200 million, which is twice what it used to be, is eminently doable," said Michael Jacobson, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. "It was a conscious policy to drive overtime up, so there's no mystery here. If they want to get it down, they just have to make choices." 3/15/02 Page 1 of 4 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Monday, March 18, 2002 10:40 AM To: Update@NACOLE.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Miami Police Dept. Overlooked Abuses Maima Herald Posted on Sun, Mar. 17, 2002 Police abuse was overlooked Review shows 293 allegations of wrongdoing, few penalties BY JOSEPH TANFANI AND DAVID KIDWELL jtanfani@herald.com Long before federal authorities arrested 14 Miami police officers on corruption and coverup charges, the department's own investigators had received at least 293 allegations of beatings, thefts and other misconduct against them -- more than twice the average of other Miami officers, a Herald investigation shows. Some suspects told of pistol-whippings, bloodied heads and broken noses. Others told of rip-offs, planted drugs and guns held to their heads. One woman said she was raped. But the department's internal affairs investigators and police brass cleared the officers in case after case, even when independent witnesses or physical evidence bolstered the charges and cast doubt on the officers' stories, according to a Herald review of hundreds of department files, court records and dozens of interviews. Even when some were caught lying, officers escaped serious consequences. Instead, Miami police brass applauded them for their aggressiveness in nabbing criminals and handed them choice assignments on hard-charging units such as street narcotics and SWAT, where they became involved in more suspicious shootings, beatings and allegations of wrongdoing. "Maybe we did a lousy job disciplining these cases," said Miami Police Chief Rat~l MartJnez, acknowledging his department's failures. "We have to do a better job putting these cases together." The high price of that failure is now coming due. A federal grand jury has issued sweeping indictments, charging the officers with shooting unarmed suspects, and lying and planting guns in a conspiracy to cover up their actions. The shootings resulted in four deaths. Though 14 were indicted, two officers -- John Mervolion and William Hames -- have already pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against their colleagues. Miami taxpayers will pay $3.76 million to settle two of the cases, and more settlements worth millions of dollars are bein9 negotiated in other civil suits. "A small clique of police officers came into the department in the early 1980s, a criminal element sneaked through and some of them have risen high enough so they can protect each other," said H.T. Smith, a community activist and lawyer who has sued the department in other shooting cases. "They had to be protected at the top," he said. "Every police chief during that period needs to answer that question, because as far as I'm concerned the blood of some of these people that were killed is on their hands." Said Martinez, the police chief: "1 have seen no evidence of protection, but I certainly understand why people perceive it. Obviously, these officers have lied, and some of them were good at it. "We've been trying for the past year and a half to shore up our problems." Lawyers for the officers defend them as hard-working, aggressive cops who took on Miami's roughest criminals and generated unfounded complaints as a result. They say the Herald's findings are unfair. "Of course they are going to have more allegations made against them. They are working in the most confrontational of circumstances -- SWAT and street narcotics," said Roy Kahn, lawyer for indicted Sgt. Jos~ Acufia. Some of the 14 officers had records less tarnished than others, and not all were accused of lying. But repeated allegations of lies, brutality and thefts dogged some of these officers for a decade or more: GUN ALLEGATIONS Officer most tied to shootings charged · Arturo Beguiristain had 16 internal affairs complaints and was involved in eight shootings -- the most shootings of anyone in the department. Twice, independent witnesses came forward and said they saw him beating suspects; both times, internal investigators said the charges couldn't be proved or disproved. Beguiristain never faced more than a reprimand. Instead, his personnel file is stuffed with accolades and he won the department's Medal of Honor for shooting and killing an armed bank robber on Biscayne Boulevard. He now stands accused by federal authorities of helping to plant guns in three suspicious shootings, including the 1996 SWAT raid that killed 73-year-old Richard Brown. In that drug raid gone wrong, police fired 123 shots indiscriminately and wounded one of their own officers. Beguiristain himself fired 30 shots. 3/18/02 Page 2 of 4 "They are aggressive," said Richard Sharpstein, who represents Beguiristain and Officer Jorge Castello. "That doesn't upset the citizenry, but it upsets the criminals, and they make bogus allegations." SAVED BY SUPERIOR Officer lied but was kept on by then-Chief Warshaw · Jesus "Jesse" Aguero has 46 internal affairs complaints alleging beatings, harassment and thefts. Ten of those complaints were sustained, meaning investigators concluded he broke department rules. Four times, investigators said they caught him lying. Twelve years ago, internal investigators found he lied to help an officer accused in the beating death of drug dealer Leonardo Mercado. Martinez, then an assistant chief, wanted to fire him. But former Chief Donald Warshaw, now serving time in a federal prison for stealing more than $70,000 from a police children's charity, gave him a reprimand instead. Later, a prostitute accused him of forcing her to perform fellatio in his cruiser. When investigators went back to the parking lot where it supposedly happened, they discovered his semen on a discarded Dairy Queen napkin. DNA evidence backed up the woman's story. Aguero denied the accusation and said the DNA tests were wrong. The criminal charges were dropped after the woman refused to cooperate. The department tried to fire him, but Aguero won an administrative appeal and went back on the street. He also was cleared on other allegations. Among them: beating an assistant pastor, stealing money from suspects, slapping a motorist who argued with him in traffic and using a racial slur to describe a superior officer. When some criticized him, other police supervisors jumped to his defense: "One of the most feared officers on the street," wrote one sergeant in 1996. Aguero was rewarded with a spot on an elite street crime unit. Since then, federal prosecutors say, Aguero has participated in three shootings in which authorities suspect guns were planted -- including one in which he allegedly shot a fleeing unarmed man in the back of the head, then knelt by his side and, as he died, uttered a racial epithet. Finally, he was fired last year. Federal agents are now reviewing other cases in Aguero's file, including the alleged sexual assault. Hugo Rodriguez, his lawyer, said Aguero and the other officers were ordered to clear out tourist robbers and other armed thugs and are now are being punished for it. · Police investigators found Alejandro "Alex" Macias was lying in two cases in 1989 In one of them, witnesses said Macias stood by while his partner beat a handcuffed doctor in a Coconut Grove park; Macias said he never saw the beating and got a two-week suspension. "If they ever pulled me over at night I think I would keep running," said Dr. Leonard Frank, now of Seattle, who said he won a $35,000 settlement from the city. In the other case, investigators said Macias lied when he denied harassing a window washer by pouring soda on his head. Investigators wanted to suspend him, but then-Police Chief Calvin Ross, who could not be reached last week for comment, did not. Now, federal indictments charge Macias lied yet again, by saying a mentally disturbed man, Jesse Runnels, stuck a gun out his back window before Macias fatally shot him. Prosecutors believe the toy gun was dropped by a Miami cop, though they haven't determined who planted it. "The bottom line is that Macias is the kind of cop that you want to arrive on the scene when your life is in danger," said Bill Matthewman, his attorney. GUN-PLANTING ALLEGED Prosecutors say firearm was put at 1-95 shooting · Josh Quintero, another Street Crimes veteran, was hit with 48 complaints and investigators found no wrongdoing in 46. He was accused of punching a handcuffed suspect and of helping to steal $13,000 during a search of a suspected drug dealer's house. The finding: "Inconclusive." After a 1994 traffic stop, a motorist said Quintero and Macias strip-searched a young passenger and held guns to his head for "an extended period of time." That incident earned the pair a scolding from their bosses, even though internal affairs dropped the case because the motorist never gave a formal statement. Macias and Quintero said they did nothing wrong. About a year later, Quintero said he found a gun on the scene of a fatal shooting near 1-395 in downtown Miami. It was really a plant, prosecutors say. "Quintero is a great cop," said Sam Rabin, his lawyer. Together, the 14 indicted officers account for nearly one quarter of all Miami police bullets fired at people since 1990:280 rounds. Of the 293 accusations of wrongdoing by the 14 officers, 83 allege abusive treatment or excessive force, 33 stolen property, 20 untruthfulness and 60 discourtesy. "We've had a pretty good system in place to identif7 these officers," Madinez said. "1 don't think we've done a good job trying to figure out what to do with them once we've found them. "We're still struggling with that." COMPLAINTS VARIED Accusations range from assault to theft 3/18/02 Page 3 of 4 The Herald's review of internal affairs files involving the officers shows there were complaints about narcotics planted in pockets and guns pulled during traffic confrontations. Some people told stories about being arrested, handcuffed, taken to darkened streets and stomped on by some of these Miami cops. Among the people who claimed they were abused: Jorge Mas Santos, now chairman of the Cuban American National Foundation; a preacher; a doctor and a teen skateboard champion. But many of the complaints were discounted. In one strange case in 1997, two men called 911 and said that three men -- who seemed to be officers or police impersonators - had forced their way into their Northwest 62nd Street house at gunpoint, stolen their money and driven off in a red Nissan Altima without making any arrests or giving them any paperwork. A half hour later, dispatchers asked whether any Street Narcotics officers had worked a raid in the city's north end. No one responded. Then, a supervisor remembered that Officer Glenn Maura had picked up a city-issued Altima the day before. When confronted, Maura said he was chasing a drug suspect into the house -- with Beguiristain and Macias. All denied taking anything. Maura said in a recent interview he did not remember details of the incident. Investigators gave the three officers reprimands for not answering their radios and for not filling out reports. As for the robbery allegations: "Inconclusive." In some cases, investigators had evidence of wrongdoing, but the victims refused to cooperate. In 1997, the pastor of Solid Rock in Christ Jesus Holiness Church called internal affairs and said that, looking from just outside the Brownsville church's entrance, she had witnessed a police beating. Jessie Mae Brown said she saw two plainclothes officers pistol-whip a man they believed was dealing drugs, take his money and jump back into their red convertible as other plainclothes officers were arriving. "He took the money out of that man's pocket and put it in his own pocket," Brown said in a recent Herald interview. "He beat that boy right down there by the ear on the back of his head until the blood started coming. '1 said, 'You know you don't have to do that.' And they told me, 'Get out of here, lady!'" The two officers were Beguiristain and Oscar Ronda, both later charged with lying about their role in suspect shootings. They said the drug dealer had hit his head on a fence. But evidence backed up Brown's account. Beguiristain's gun tested positive for blood. The dealer, Howard VVhite, said he had more than $390 in his pocket, but only $130 made it into evidence. The internal affairs investigator, who never interviewed Beguiristain or Ronda, said his hands were tied because White refused to file a complaint. "l was scared and I just wanted them to turn me loose and let me go," said White, who pleaded guilty to the drug charges. "They would come after me for the rest of my life, every little thing, that's what I felt." Like the alleged rip-off, the beating case is now under review by federal investigators. NO PUNISHMENT Some people win lawsuits but officers not punished Sometimes, cases were dropped without any investigation. In November 1991, Mas Santos and friend Carlos Valdes said they were pushed, grabbed by their hair and belts and marched to the CocoWalk security office by Beguiristain and another officer, who wanted them to leave at the mall's closing time. Mas and Valdes later met with then-chief Warshaw, who persuaded them to withdraw their complaints, according to Capt. Miguel Exposito, who has filed a lawsuit against the department alleging he was punished for pointing out wrongdoing. Mas and Valdes declined to comment. Several times, alleged victims of Miami police misconduct won money in lawsuits, even though the department hadn't punished the officers. It happened to Willie Ross, who charged he had $500 stolen in a jailhouse beating by Officer Rafael "Ralph" Fuentes, also one of the 14 officers facing federal charges. Ross said Fuentes hit him with handcuffs. Medical records showed his hand was broken. Ross later won a $16,000 civil judgment. Fuentes denied abusing Ross or taking his money. It happened to Ricky Martinez, who was 16 and skateboarding in Bayfront Park when he made a smart aleck remark to Beguiristain, who wanted him to stop. "He just went to him, grabbed him and pushed him to the ground. He was bleeding," said witness Rosario Roman, an administrator at Miami-Dade Community College. Martinez was charged with battery on a law-enforcement officer but the charges were dropped, his lawyer said. And the city gave him a $10,000 settlement. A PERSONAL STORY Woman got broken arm while police were in home His case is not unusual. A Herald review of court records also shows that, in at least 35 of the cases involving these officers, enough questions emerged to prompt judges and prosectors to drop the criminal charges against the offenders or the people who made the complaints. When it was the officers' word against a citizen's, the officers almost always won: "Inconclusive," investigators would write. Octavia Muldrow was 17 years old and asleep in her upstairs bedroom on June 30, 1993, when Josh Acufia and SWAT 3/18/02 Page 4 of 4 team members burst into her house with a search warrant. The police were there on suspicion her brother was fencing stolen property. "1 was upstairs and I heard all this commotion," Muldrow recalls. '1 came down the stairs half asleep and said, 'What's going on?'" She said they barked orders at her and she continued to question them. '1 heard somebody say, 'She wants to be a smartass,' and one of them comes after me." She said Acufia dragged her from the stairs and hit her. "1 hit him back, and then we rolled down the stairs," she said. "Then all hell broke loose." Muldrow later told investigators that Acurla slugged her, kicked her and stomped on her arm repeatedly. "There were three or four of them on me after that," she said. "They broke my arm in three places." Acufia denied beating or stomping on Muldrow, saying he broke her arm while struggling to handcuff her. According to records, all charges against Muldrow stemming from the incident - resisting arrest, battery on a police officer, and dealing in stolen property - were dismissed. "They never showed up at the court hearings," Muldrow said. "My momma always told me to leave it alone -- to leave it in God's hands. And now look. It all comes back around," Muldrow said. © 2001 miamiherald and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved. http://www.miami.com 3/18/02 Page 1 of 1 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Monday, March 18, 2002 10:54 AM To: Update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Louisville Grand Jury Indicts Detectives on Rampart-Like Charges Ky. Detectives Indicted on Charges The Associated Press, Fri 15 Mar2002 LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- A grand jury indicted two police detectives on hundreds of charges of misconduct, including allegations they tampered with drug evidence and forged judges' signatures on warrants. The cases, reminiscent of a scandal that racked a Los Angeles anti-gan9 unit in the late 1990s, could result in the dismissal of charges and verdicts bein9 overturned, officials said. The two Jefferson County Metro Narcotics detectives, Mark Watson and Christie Richardson, were arrested Thursday and charged in a 472-count indictment, said Jeff Derouen, a spokesman for the Jefferson County commonwealth's attorney's office. Both pleaded innocent at their arraignments Friday, and were freed on bond, a mix of land parcels and $25,000 cash each. Watson's attorney, Mark Miller, declined comment. Richardson's lawyer, Steve Schroering, said his client "maintains her innocence of all the criminal charges." Derouen said the detectives had been under investigation by the FBI and U.S. attorney's office for repeated absences at scheduled court appearances. A criminal investigation launched by the Jefferson County police looked into whether the detectives fabricated information to obtain search warrants, tampered with drug evidence, took money intended for informants and forged judges' signatures on warrants. The indictment involved 24 cases the detectives had worked on. The charges included 20 counts of burglary, 132 counts of both criminal possession of a forged instrument and tampering with public records and 70 counts of theft by deception, Derouen said. More cases could still be reviewed, Derouen said, and some prisoners could eventually be let out of jaiL Police Chief William Carcara said the two detectives were suspended with pay, and he expected to resolve their job status by next week. He wouldn't say if they would be fired. The Los Angeles Rampart scandal broke in 1999 when a former officer accused of stealing cocaine from an evidence locker told prosecutors in a plea deal that some officers in the anti-gang unit had framed gang members, planted evidence and committed perjury. The scandal led to the dismissal of about 100 criminal cases tainted by police testimony, and dozens of officers quit or were fired or suspended. According to some estimates, the scandal could cost the city $125 million in lawsuits. IIIIIIIIIIII 3/18/02 Page 1 of 3 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Monday, Mamh 18.2002 9:38 PM To: Update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Fatal Shooting by MN Police Puts Spotlight on Crisis Response Fatal Shooting by MN Police Puts Spotlight on Crisis Response Dateline: Minneapolis, MN - 3/18/2002 Howie Padilla Star Tribune In January, when Minneapolis police Sgt. Ron Bellendier talked about the successes of new training to help officers handle mentally ill people during a crisis, he said simply, "We haven't lost a single person." He said Wednesday that it was a boast he hadn't expected to be able to make forever. "Since the beginning, we've tried to prepare the community. We've always said that this isn't going to solve all of our problems," Bellendier said of the specialized training that 77 Minneapolis officers have received since the crisis intervention team (CIT) was set up last summer. "It's going to make things better." The department doesn't yet track when CIT officers use their training, but officials point to successes such as these: facing a situation in which a man threatened to set himself on fire and controlling it until more experienced negotiators arrived; talking a woman into dropping a knife, and persuading a teen to surrender rather than stab herself or others. But the response to mentally ill people has come under scrutiny after two CIT officers tried unsuccessfully, with non-lethal weapons, to subdue a man before police killed him. Abu Jeilani, 28, was carrying a machete and a crowbar last Sunday when an officer spotted him on E. Franklin Av. near Bloomington Av. S. The officer tried to talk to Jeilani but then pulled back and called for a CIT officer to assist him, police have said. As Jeilani walked, officers twice fired their Advanced Taser guns, which shoot out wires attached to two No. 8 fish hooks designed to grab onto a person and transmit an electrical shock. It's supposed to immobilize a person long enough for officers to subdue him. Jeilani was knocked down the first time but got up. The second time, he didn't seem to be affected. Police have said he was waving the machete and hit the squad car with it, but it's unclear whether that's what prompted six officers to fire their guns. Jeilani, a Somali man who court records said was psychotic, died of multiple gunshot wounds. The case, which unfolded over 11 minutes, is being investigated by the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office. The Minneapolis branch of the NAACP and Somali leaders have raised questions about how police handled the situation. Intervening in crisis "There are a lot of differences we have made out there, but sometimes you have no choice" other than using lethal force, Bellendier said. "For all the successes we've had, it's like everybody forgot about them. We have made a difference." The crisis intervention team was created after three people who had mental illnesses were killed by police between December 1999 and November 2000. Patrol officers now volunteer for 40 hours of training in how to recognize mental disorders and learn ways to resolve a crisis. Minneapolis officer Mike Nimlos, who finished the department's CIT training in June, said he remembers 3/18/02 Page 2 of 3 most vividly a training session in which a woman told officers about delusions she had. "She would see spiders that no one else could see," he recalled. "She described them walking up to her and talking to her. She even described the hairs on the spiders. They were real to her." Less than a month later, Nimlos' training would be tested. He and his partner were called to a public housing building where a woman was walking around the lobby carrying a knife. When they arrived, she was in her apartment holding the knife. Nimlos said that while he tried to talk the woman into dropping the weapon, he reverted to his training, backing away from the woman, keeping a table between them and staying close to the door. "We learned to slow things down," he said. "We learned to give them space." After more than 30 minutes, Nimlos was able to talk the woman into dropping the knife, and she was taken to the crisis center at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis. In another case in July, CIT officers responded to a report of a 16-year-old girl in northeast Minneapolis threatening to stab her mother and others in the house. The girl had been drinking and later threatened to take her own life, but officers talked her into surrendering and took her to a hospital crisis center. Police haven't tracked how many times CIT-trained officers have been dispatched to a crisis. But since June, all Minneapolis officers have helped in taking more than 1,000 people to area crisis intervention centers -- including 17 people last week. Bellendier said he hopes to have a CIT tracking system running soon. CIT officers have used their Tasers at least a dozen times, and the incident involving Jeilani was the first time the shock didn't seem to subdue a person, Bellendier said. The department hasn't yet met its goal of training 120 officers for the team. The officers continue to perform normal patrol duties, but they can be called to handle crises. Typically, when a dispatcher gets a call involving a mentally ill person, a CIT officer is sent to the scene, Bellendier said. At other times, CIT officers might hear a call and respond on their own, he said. If CIT officers are asked to respond, they are in charge of the scene, Bellendier said. Two teams to respond But CIT officers and others at a scene can also ask that a more highly trained negotiating team be brought in. That team, which is part of the department's emergency response unit, may not be on duty at the time and would take longer to respond than a CIT officer. Exactly when the negotiating team is called is up to the officers on the scene, said Lt. Connie Leaf, who leads the negotiating team of 12 officers. ~'t was loosely established in the 1970s, and now members -- some of whom have been with the team for more than 10 years -- meet once a month for training on dealing with people in standoffs. When the negotiating team arrives, one person acts as the primary negotiator while others try to find out about the person's background. "We're trying to find family members, co-workers, mental health professionals.., anyone who can give us any kind of information about the person we're working with," Leaf said. Along with officers, a mental health professional works with the team and goes to scenes when possible, Leaf said. After CIT officers began dealing with a St. Paul man who barricaded himself in a car near Lyndale Av. S. and W. 53rd St., they asked for the emergency response unit's help. 3/18/02 Page 3 of 3 The man had doused himself with gasoline and threatened to set himself on fire. After more than five hours, the uninjured man surrendered to police and was taken to the county crisis intervention center. A CIT officer had talked with the man for about an hour before the negotiating team took over. Over the last two years, the negotiators have responded to 21 scenes, Leaf said. Only once in the team's existence has an incident ended in a death, but like Bellendier, Leaf said she knows that can change the next time her team is called out. "We do the best we can with all of the tools we use to bring a peaceful conclusion to incidents, but it's really up to the other people involved," Leaf said. "They make the final choice. If they refuse to make good decisions, the result is someone getting hurt." Is it enough? But some people are looking outside the Police Department for ways to prevent similar deaths. John Trepp, of the Friends of Barbara Schneider Foundation, said he has heard of CIT success stories, but "obviously the system failed on Sunday." The foundation was formed after police fatally shot Schneider, Alfred Sanders and Rocco Dandrea -- all of whom were mentally ill. "We absolutely do not feel that armed police officers are the correct response to these crisis situations," Trepp said. "By no means are we saying that [police] did the right thing in those situations, but it's unfair to put police officers with 40 hours of training in those situations. Four thousand hours would be more appropriate." Rep. Mindy Greiling, DFL-Roseville, said that the larger solution needs to be found before police become involved. "If it gets to the point where you have to call the police, it's already a dangerous situation and you've lost right off the bat," she said. Greiling, whose son has schizophrenia, said she believes that the Minneapolis Police Department has done the best of any law enforcement agency in Minnesota in educating its officers about mental illness. "They've got the training, they've spoken with the mental health community and with the mental health professionals and they still failed," she said. "As long as we have a health system that depends on the police as a front line, it's always going to be a failure." "The police can be our punching bags all we want, but we have to look at the system that failed," Greiling said. Said Trepp: "The community really needs a professional mental health unit. We don't send electricians when we need a plumber. We don't send police when we need firefighters. Why do we call a cop when we need a social worker? "We've played this blame game before," he said. "What we need to find out is where the system failed." 3/18/02 Page 1 of 4 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Monday, March 18, 2002 9:45 PM To: Update@NACOLE.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Inquiry HeartensDal]as'BlackCops; Fired AZ Chief; More on MN Death&Culture Clash Inquiry Heartens Black Dallas Police Officers Dateline: Dallas, TX - 3/17/2002 Dallas Morning News By ROBERT THARP Attorneys for the U.S. Justice Department spent three days in Dallas this week, taking depositions from current and former police commanders related to a complaint of unfair punishment of minority officers. The investigation was prompted by a December 1998 complaint by more than 40 black officers alleging that they were routinely subjected to discipline more severe than white officers. Dallas police Sgt. Thomas Glover, president of the predominantly black Texas Peace Officers Association, said he's encouraged by the Justice Department officials' return - the third visit by federal attorneys since the lawsuit was filed. He said he hopes the latest visit is an indication that the investigation is nearing an end. "I don't think they'd spend 31/2 years on something fruitless," he said. Justice Department officials, citing department guidelines, refused to comment about the case. In the latest visit, several members of the department command staff and former commanders were subpoenaed to give statements to a panel of four .Justice Department attorneys. The federal lawsuit said that between 1989 and 1998, the police department punished minority officers more severely than white officers accused of similar infractions and with similar work histories and seniority. The suit was filed by Sgt. Glover and Sgt. Lee Bush. Hore than 40 more officers later joined the complaint. The officers also charged that Texas Peace Officers Association members were passed up for promotions or retaliated against because of their involvement with the employee group. "If the evidence is looked at, it will demonstrate that there were some problems in the way we were treated," Sgt. Glover said. Police Chief Terrell Bolton said he could not comment about the ongoing litigation or the practices of previous administrations, but he said he has made fair discipline a priority since becoming chief in 1999. "We've tried to focus overall on fairness," he said. "It's imperative that if you're going to run a police department, the employees have to view you as fair. In many cases you're the judge, jury and decision- maker on cases." During discipline matters, Chief Bolton said he reviews past punishment ranges that have been handed down for similar infractions. He also said he has standardized some punishment for certain common violations. "All cases aren't the same, but there's a range of what's taken place in the past that's fair to the employee and the department," he said. Complaints about discipline matters have not eluded the administration of Chief Bolton, the department's first black chief. Last summer, he fired three black officers after they refused orders to cut their dreadlocks. A lawsuit on that matter is pending. 3/18/02 Page 2 of 4 Fired AZ Police Chief Still on Job Dateline: Huachuca City, AZ - 3/17/2002 BY DAVID RUPKALVIS Herald/Review On a split vote, the town's police chief was fired by the Town Council Thursday. But Dennis Grey is still on the job, and Mayor George Nerhan has gone to court to keep him working. Friday, Nerhan requested a court hearing claiming the immediate firing of the police chief is against the city code. He also wants the town magistrate to stop the council from appointing an interim successor to Grey, who has served on the Huachuca City police force for 23 years. Nerhan's first complaint relates to section 2-5-6 in the city code, which states that all ordinances, resolutions and franchises will not go into effect until 30 days after they are passed by the council. The only exception listed in the code are "measures necessary for the immediate preservation of the peace, health or safety of the town." The code also states that even in the case of an emergency, the bill would take effect immediately only if it stated separately why an emergency is necessary and only if it is approved by a three-fourths vote of the council. The town council voted 4-3 to fire the chief Thursday with the motion to fire including the phrase "effective immediately." Council members Stuart Jantzen, Frank Rich, Laura Wallace and Nancy Holland voted to fire Grey. Mayor Nathan, Mayor Pro Tam Jon Fredberg and councilman Billy Weeks voted to retain Grey. Members of the council have not publicly discussed why they voted as they did, but the council did meet in an executive session before making the decision. Following state law, all discussion in an executive session must be private although any action must be public. Nerhan says that under the city code, the vote can not take effect immediately because it was supported by less than three-fourths of the council. Town Magistrate Don Thomson has not scheduled a hearing on the issue. The town council has planned a special council meeting for 6 p.m. Monday to discuss a severance package for Grey and to name and swear in an interim chief. Nerhan wants the magistrate to stop that meeting. In making a second request of the magistrate, Nerhan pointed to town code section 2-4-2, which states, "The mayor may convene the council at any time. Whenever a special meeting shall be called, a summons or a notice in writing signed by the mayor shall be served upon each member of the council either in person or notice left at his place of residence." The code goes on to say that, "If the mayor is absent from the town, a special meeting may be convened in a similar manner by a majority of the council." Nerhan said he did not convene the meeting nor is he absent from town and therefore the meeting was called illegally. Nerhan is asking that the special meeting be prohibited unless he calls for a meeting. Without the special call, the next meeting would be March 28. The code does permit any council member to sponsor an item on the regular agenda at their request which would allow considering an interim chief without the mayor's approval. Thomson has scheduled a hearing on Nerhan's second request at 1:30 p.m. Monday in the Town Hall courtroom, 500 N. Gonzalez Blvd. MN Police Shooting Investigation, Muslim Culture Conflict Dateline: Minneapolis, MN - 3/18/02 Page 3 of 4 3/17/2002 Pioneer Press BY TODD NELSON As family members mourned the fatal shooting of Abu Kassim Jeilani by Minneapolis police a week ago, the unusual circumstances of his death put them squarely in conflict with their Islamic faith. Ordinarily, a Muslim family would prepare a loved one's body -- bathing it and wrapping it in a simple shroud -- and then bury it intact as soon as possible, preferably before sunset or within 24 hours. That was impossible in the case of Jeilani, who died when six officers opened fire near Chicago and Franklin avenues after the mentally ill man failed to put down a machete and a crowbar. After lying uncovered on the street for six hours during the investigation, Jeilani's body was taken to the Hennepin County medical examiner. While officials there were sensitive to the family's religious beliefs, they also were prepared to go to court for permission if they could not get the go-ahead from relatives to conduct an autopsy. A family reacting in grief or anger to such a trying turn of events might have refused the autopsy, a horrifying prospect in light of Islamic law against making incisions on a body. A lawyer working with .leilani's family had papers ready to file in an effort to keep the autopsy from happening. Instead of rushing into a likely court battle, family members turned to their deeply held faith for guidance. They consulted for hours with imams Hassan Mohamud and Abdi Salan Adan as well as community leaders and their lawyers to weigh the interests at stake for Jeilani, for his relatives and for society. Ultimately, they decided that finding out more about his death, perhaps learning something that could help prevent such incidents in the future, justified waiving the Islamic prohibition on an autopsy. In addition to conflicts over religious practices, the case also spotlights a variety of cultural differences, such as language barriers and perspectives on mental illness, that may become increasingly common in Minnesota, home to an estimated 15,000 Somalis, believed to be the largest concentration of people from the East African country in the United States. Watching the process that .leilani's impoverished but deep-ly devout family went through in deciding to allow the autopsy was a moving experience, said his family's lawyer, Pat Noaker of St. Paul, a member of the board of directors of the Somali Community of Minnesota, a non-profit assistance agency. "They didn't have the knee-jerk reaction: 'Screw you, you killed my brother, you killed my husband, I'm not going to do anything for you,'" Noaker said. "The one thread that runs throughout their family is their religious beliefs. Islam has been a very powerful tool in keeping their family together and in their survival. I'm impressed with their ability to take that seriously in a difficult time." At the beginning, however, family members and their advisers could not bear the thought of an autopsy. "The first time, we said no to the autopsy," said rqohamud, who also is immigrant advocate for the Legal Aid Society of Minneapolis and a member of the Muslim Council of Minnesota. "That's the rule; every Muslim knows that." But the discussion did not end there. Instead, rvlohamud and others peppered Noaker with questions about what an autopsy might accomplish. "They felt as though they were put in a position to violate their religion," Noaker said. "They had to make a decision which requirement to violate and how badly because (.leilani) happened to be shot by police. After much discussion and consultation, they made a decision it was better for the family to cooperate with the authorities. They didn't want to appear they were hiding anything, which they weren't. They didn't want their husband or brother to die Jn further disgrace." What allowed Jeilani's family to contemplate such a decision is what is known under Islamic law as the necessity rule, Mohamud said. 3/18/02 Page 4 of 4 "It was painful; it was tough for all of us," Mohamud said. "In Islam we believe the human being must be brought back as he was when he came into this world, and we feel we're not bringing it back as it was. All these feelings, though they're not guilty feelings, will be painful in our minds." Family members also realized that going to court to try to prevent the autopsy would have further delayed the burial. For IVluslims, avoiding such delays is so important that burial usually occurs before distant family members arrive, said Hamdy El-Sawaf, executive director of the Islamic Center of Minnesota. Survivors typically receive people at their home or the mosque where they worship during a customary three-day mourning period. "From an Islamic point of view, the more time you keep the dead person around, the more grief the family members and relatives and friends would have," said El-Sawaf, who has a doctoral degree in psychology from the University of Minnesota. Authorities released Jeilani's body on Wednesday, and family members quickly buried him. With that matter resolved, family members and advisers continue to believe that 28-year-old Jeilani, who spoke little English, would still be alive but for the language barrier. Mohamud was speaking at a nearby mosque when police shot Jeilani, who reportedly heard voices and suffered from psychosis. He received hospital treatment and medication as well as spiritual healing, which involved having the Quran, the Muslim holy book, recited over him. Many Muslims believe in jinn, invisible spiritual beings that can be forces of good or evil. Imams such as Mohamud believe that reading the Quran over a mentally ill person can help drive evil jinn away from that person. "The mental health professionals and the police are not the only solution," Mohamud said. "The imams must be part of the solution. We could have saved his life, I'm sure." 3/18/02 Page 1 of 3 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Tuesday, March 19, 2002 4:07 PM To: Update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Civil Rights/Policing Issues in Pittsburgh & Denver Civil Rights Cases Against Pittsburgh Police Begin April 22 Dateline.' Pittsburgh, PA - 3/19/2002 By Torsten Ove Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Staff Writer It might have been a bad omen for the city. With the flip of a coin, U.S. District .ludge Robert Cindrich decided yesterday that the plaintiffs will get to choose the first of more than 30 lawsuits against Pittsburgh police officers to be tried in his courtroom beginning April 22. At a status conference, the judge asked attorneys representing both sides to pick the 10 lawsuits they'd like to see go to trial first, and then to rank those 10 in order of preference. Cindrich will first hear one selected by the plaintiffs, then one by the police, alternating between the lists and hearing the trials back to back until they're done. The April 22 starting date could be pushed back by several factors, including criminal trials, but the parties are proceeding based on the plan of having that Monday as the opening trial day. The complaints were part of a ]1996 lawsuit the American Civil Liberties Union brought against the police department on behalf of more than 60 people claiming that officers had violated their civil rights. It prompted a 10~month investigation by the .lustice Department, which resulted in a federal consent decree overseeing city police. Cindrich ordered in .lanuary that 43 of the claims be assigned case numbers so he can get started with the trials in April. Since then, about 10 of the suits have been withdrawn by plaintiffs, or will be. A final list hasn't been submitted yet. Witold Walczak, executive director of the ACLU's Pittsburgh chapter, said most of those who withdrew their complaints did so because they have been satisfied that a mechanism is in place to monitor police. "Their primary goal was to reform management in the police department," he said. "That's been accomplished." A few withdrew because of other problems. One woman had a stroke, for example. Timothy O'Brien, one of several attorneys representing the plaintiffs, praised those who filed suit years ago and have seen changes happen because of it. Pittsburgh was the first large city in the United States to enter into a consent decree to monitor police conduct. "These folks were very courageous people?' O'Brien said. "This had never been done before." A total of 66 plaintiffs were part of the original lawsuit, but 12 either dropped their claims when the consent decree was signed or were dismissed by the judge for failing to comply with requests for documents. Fraternal Order of Police attorney Bryan Campbell, who will represent many of the officers, said the cases will have been winnowed to about 30 or 35 by the time the first trial starts. He said the city will submit its list of its first 10 cases by the end of the week. The judge will spend more than 100 days hearing the cases, many of which will involve three-day jury 3/19/02 Page 2 of 3 trials. Cases that have several plaintiffs and many defendants may take as long as two weeks. CO Council Resolution Opposes Police Spying Dateline: Denver, CO - 3/19/2002 By Peggy Lowe Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer A resolution prohibiting police from spying on people because of race, religion or social views was approved by the Denver City Council on Monday night. The council voted 7-4 after a two-hour, passioriate debate on just how far government may go to protect public safety before it steps on citizens' civil liberties. The debate pitted three councilmen and one councilwoman, who joined to invoke the courage of Sept. l:t victims, against seven councilwomen, who said courage also meant speaking out when constitutional protections are violated. The resolution was sponsored by Elbra Wedgeworth and Kathleen MacKenzie, councilwomen who said it would protect people who haven't done anything wrong. "It is not a crime to have dark skin," MacKenzie said. "It is not a crime to be born in a different country, tt is not a crime to express an unpopular view." Many of the 200 people crammed into council chambers applauded loudly. The resolution originated in December and barred police from assisting in parts of the federal government's anti-terrorism campaign. The USA Patriot Act threatens civil liberties with its broad powers on surveillance and detention of suspected terrorists, resolution supporters said. But the plan took on extra meaning last week when the ACLU revealed that Denver police had kept 3,400 secret files on the activities of protesters. Many in the crowd Monday were wearing stickers saying, "It's the Constitution, stupid!" and "Criminal Extremist," a reference to how police, within their intelligence files, identified some protesters regarded by supporters as peaceful. Earlier Monday, Mayo~' Wellington Webb met with local activists and agreed that an independent reviewer appointed to go over the files would have authority to purge but not destroy any. Webb said he is trying to balance activists' concerns while protecting the privacy rights of the people in the files. The council resolution on civil rights does not have the force of law. But Webb "said he will proudly sign it," said Andrew Hudson, Webb's press secretary. At the council hearing, Councilman Ed Thomas failed twice in trying to amend the resolution and to postpone it until the council could hold a public hearing. While waving a list of World Trade Center victims' names, Thomas said police need to profile potential terrorists to save lives. "If you think this is the last terrorist act we're going to have in this country, you're sadly mistaken," Thomas said to the crowd's hisses. "This is poppycock," said Councilwoman Cathy Reynolds to Thomas' complaint that people around the country would view Denver in a "bad light" if the resolution passed. 3/19/02 Page 3 of 3 "Especially in times of war, the voices of caution and wisdom should not be stilled," Reynolds said. The resolution was proposed by the All Nations Alliance, a group that grew out of the Columbus Day issue. Glenn Norris, an alliance leader, said the resolution speaks to both the federal taw and the local police action involving the spy files. "They may try to impair civil liberties," Norris said, "but in Denver, Colorado, the sentiment is that civil rights are alive and well and we're going to preserve them." In addition to MacKenzie and Reynolds, those voting for the resolution were Wedgeworth, Ramona Martinez, Deborah Ortega, Happy Haynes and Susan Barnes-Gelt. Joining Thomas in voting against it were Charlie Brown, Polly Flobeck and Dennis Gallagher. Joyce Foster and Ted Hackworth were absent. 3/19/02 Page 1 of 5 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Wednesday, March 20, 2002 12:41 AM To: Update@nacole.org; seen d hurley@gardacomplaints.irlgov, ie Cc: nuala.o'loan@policeombudsman.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Learning from Northern Ireland's Civilian Oversight Process Dear NACOLE Cohort, The Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman's office is charged with civilian oversight for the country. Their Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan is one of the few persons conducting oversight in a political landscape has included terrorist activities for a long, long time, We in the US may have be able to learn from Northern Ireland's oversight experience about how to conduct (and defend the need for) oversight despite the reality of terrorist activities. Here is a series of article regarding her work and its impact. o In the Line of Fire o Main Points of the Omagh [Bombing] Report [of the Ombudsman] o Errors, inaccuracies and misunderstandings; Ombudsman got it wrong, says Flanagan o Two very different versions of complex events From The Guardian, March 1'1, 2002: In the line of fire In 1977 Nuala O'Loan survived a bomb attack - an experience that would stand her in good stead for her career as Northern Ireland's police ombudsman. As she prepares to report on the murder of civil rights lawyer Rosemary Nelson, she explains why she relishes the least-envied job in Ulster By Simon Hattenstone The Guardian Nuala O'Loan looks knackered. Her eyes are moist and colourless, swimming in their own fatigue. It's been one hell of a time for the police ombudsman of Northern Ireland. It started last December when she published her report on the Omagh bomb, which killed 29 people in 1998. She concluded that the investigation had been unsatisfactory, that two key warnings had been ignored, and that RUC chief Sir Ronnie Flanagan had shown a "failure of leadership". Flanagan responded furiously in January, claiming that she had drawn unfair conclusions by looking at evidence out of context and saying that he hoped "the ombudsman will accept her office has lessons to learn". It seemed to be getting very personal - until O'Loan put a stop to it with a single statement. She said that she stood by her report, but that it was time for a truce in the war of words. At least things seem to have calmed down since then, I say. "Calmed down? Are you joking?" she replies. Take last week: two peopre admitted to perverting the course of justice in the case of Robert Hamill, who was allegedly beaten to death by a loyalist mob as RUC officers looked on; and in a separate case, a policeman has been charged with assault - the first officer charged since she began her job~ At the end of the month, she is expected to publish her report into the murder of Rosemary Nelson, which could be every bit as controversial as her Omagh inquiry. Not that she would admit as much. "J think we can recognise that it is a very significant report and it will be very carefully scrutinised when we produce it," she says in scrupulously measured terms. Nelson, a civil rights lawyer, was killed three years ago after she had publicly stated that she had received death threats and was in fear of her life. What is the essence of the complaint against the police? "1 have a complaint in respect of the way in which the chief constable 3/20/02 Page 2 of 5 handled information to the RUC and the threats made against Rosemary prior to her death." Is it going to cause another stink? "No comment." She smiles. The ombudsman's building is in the heart of prosperous, neutral Belfast city centre. The office logo shines from some distance-turquoise and blue in a smart, curling typeface. The people of Belfast were invited to design the logo. While the RUC, with its embedded prejudice and corruption, had been emblematic of all that was wrong with the old Northern Ireland, it was hoped that the ombudsman would become an emblem of a new police force, the Police Service of Northern Ireland, with a new mandate - to be trusted by all sections of the public. It was an ambitious undertaking. It currently receives almost 400 complaints a month about the police. The ombudsman's office is large and decorated in soft greens and blues. O'Loan, 50, is part austere lawyer, part rockabilly queen - elegant gold and diamond earrings, sober grey suit topped with Teddy boy velvet collar, and sensible black shoes with more heel than you would expect. She's still clinging on to her red hair with a hint of a quiff. An assistant brings in a tray. "Coffee and choccy biccies. Thank you very much indeed." O'Loan was born and raised in England. She went to a convent school where the nuns told the girls that they would go to university and do. Main points of the Omagh report [by Northern Ireland's Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan] The Guardian Wednesday December 12, 2001 Introduction This report is about a failure of leadership. The police ombudsman recognises and acknowledges the pressures, burdens and personal risks faced by members of the RUC in dealing with acts of terrorism and atrocities of the scale of the Omagh bombing. The victims, their families and officers of the RUC have been let down by defective leadership, poor judgment and a lack of urgency. Background At 10.00am on August 4 1998 a police officer stationed in Omagh police station received an anonymous telephone call, warning of an "unspecified" attack on police in Omagh on August 15 1998. The officer was convinced by the caller's tone that the call was genuine, and that the caller had a real fear for what was going to happen on August 15 1998. The officer drove from Omagh sub-divisional headquarters to divisional headquarters in Enniskillen. He met the detective chief inspector who accompanied him to the offices of special branch in Enniskillen and he told the special branch officers what he had been told. Special branch took only limited action on the information received on August 4 1998 and a threat warning was not sent to the sub-divisional commander Omagh, as required by a fome order. Special branch personnel told the Omagh police officer that 'C' and 'D' [who the anonymous caller had named as perpetrators of the attacks] were 'only smugglers'. The special branch officers had apparently not left the room at any stage before making this assessment. 'Only smugglers' At the time the anonymous information was received on August 4 1998, it was inappropriate to suggest that just because someone was a smuggler, it was unlikely that they would be involved in terrorism. At that time, and since then, it has been established that terrorists often engage in smuggling and smugglers have been known to be involved in terrorism. Knowledge of smuggling is often central to the illegal movement of material across the border. Anonymous information At the time the anonymous information was received on August 4 1998 the RUC actively encouraged the use of anonymous information. Anonymous information has a considerable part to play in solving crime. Enquiries by the police ombudsman's investigators have established that the RUC made five arrests for murder and two for attempted murder based on anonymous information during the year 2000. It is accepted that the RUC would have received hundreds (or more) of anonymous telephone calls each year. However, the call was not a typical anonymous call, it was made directly to the police station within the area which was to be attacked. It was not a brief telephone call with limited information. The caller provided considerable information and was 3/20/02 Page 3 of 5 engaged in conversation for at least ten minutes. Significantly, the officer who received the call was convinced that the call was genuine. The informer Three days before the bombing of Omagh the RUC also received information from a 'reliable' informant known as Kevin Fulton which indicated that terrorists were about to 'move something north over the next few days'.During the period from June 6 1998 to August 12 1998 an RUC informant known as Kevin Fulton had five meetings with his 'handler', a criminal investigation department (CID) officer. The officer kept records of his meetings with Fulton and passed them to the RUC force Intelligence bureau. Any intelligence of a subversive nature must then be passed to special branch. Between June 6 and 8 1998 Fulton met his handier and gave information regarding 'A' who lived in the Republic of Ireland and was involved with the Real IRA. Fulton said that 'A' had been seeking to obtain coffee grinders (sometimes used in the making of bombs).The information was passed by the CID handler to the force intelligence bureau. The force intelligence bureau passed this information to special branch.The CID handler, additionally, verbally briefed special branch about this information but no records exist of this verbal exchange. A special branch officer remembers he received calls but cannot provide any detailsBut special branch states that they have never received these highly significant documents. The police ombudsman's office is satisfied that the intelligence was given to special branch. The fact that special branch states that it never received these documents represents, at the very least, a very serious breakdown in communication. It will never be known whether or not the bombing of Omagh could have been prevented if the RUC had taken more action in relation to the information it received during the period between August 4 and 15 1998. Recommendations If these matters and the recommendations are dealt with in a very positive way, then the police service of Northern Ireland will be healthier, more professional and more effective as a result. What is outlined here will take no little courage and self-examination, but positive consideration of it will be a good investment. The police ombudsman's report presents windows of opportunity, it is not designed to be destructively critical and it is not directed at the foundations and most of the superstructure of the RUC. Leadership failure is identified but the recommendations are designed to recover, as far as possible, lost ground. The police ombudsman for Northern Ireland makes the following recommendations: 1. That an investigation team lead by a senior investigation officer independent of the police service of Northern Ireland, should be asked to conduct the Omagh bomb investigation. 2. That an officer in overall command from an outside police force be appointed to carry out the investigation of the potentially linked terrorist incidents identified in the Omagh bomb review report. 3. That senior investigation officers in the Omagh bomb investigation, and all other investigations must be given appropriate access to all relevant intelligence (The 'relevance' test being that of the senior investigator officer). 4. That Her Majesty's inspector of constabulary be invited to carry out a review of terrorist linked murder enquiries, with a view to reporting on structure, resources, strategies, policies, practices and processes; This should include lines of communication and sharing of intelligence between special branch and CID generally and also with the senior investigating officer in charge of any murder inquiry. 5. That a review takes place into the role and function of special branch with a view to ensuring that in future there are clear structures and procedures for the management and dissemination of intelligence between special branch and other parts of the police service of Northern Ireland and that special branch will be fully and professionally integrated into the police service of Northern Ireland. 6. That the police service of Northern Ireland adopt the policy of the association of chief police officers with regard to murder reviews. It is the sincere wish of the police ombudsman that the report into the investigation of matters relating to the Omagh bomb on August 15 1998 will be fully considered and that a positive way forward will be found which will facilitate the thorough and effective investigation of the Omagh bomb. It is in the interests of everyone that those responsible for this terrible atrocity are brought to justice. 3/20/02 Page 4 of 5 Errors, inaccuracies and misunderstandings Ombudsman got it wrong, says Flanagan Nick Hopkins, crime correspondent Friday January 25, 2002 The Guardian Ronnie Flanagan's lengthy rebuttal of the criticisms of the Omagh bomb investigation does not rely on hitherto unknown facts. Instead it argues that, while mistakes were made in the murder inquiry, the ombudsman Nuala O'Loan drew wrong and unfair conclusions by looking at evidence out of context. "The result has been a report that has done a grave disservice and caused great hurt to the police service, and to individual officers, and has inflicted great anxiety on the relatives of those murdered at Omagh and those injured. "The errors, inaccuracies, and misunderstandings it contains have also seriously distorted the facts about the events surrounding the bomb and its investigation." In one concession to the ombudsman's, Sir Ronnie says "the service has always recognised it would have lessons to learn". But equally it "hopes the ombudsman will accept her office has lessons to learn". Mrs O'Loan's investigators found there were two warnings before Omagh: an anonymous call on August 4, 1998, and a tip-off from an agent, known as Kevin Fulton, eight days later. The police report says she implied the warnings were not handled correctly, and that, if they had been, the attack might have been prevented. "Those allegations are wrong", it states. Fulton gets particular attention. He told his police handler a known Real IRA paramilitary was making a bomb destined for a town in the north within days. The chief constable accepts the warning was logged by Fulton's handler, but says it was not received by special branch, which assesses such intelligence. "This represented an unacceptable breakdown in procedures," he concedes. However, the report says the warning could not have prevented the bomb; special branch, then a separate unit within the service and "another agency" - ie, MI5 - found Fulton unreliable. The terrorist named by him, referred to as A, was assessed but "ruled out as a firm suspect", the report says. The earlier warning, received by a CID officer in Omagh, is also addressed. The caller spoke of an attack planned against police in Omagh on August 15, and named four individuals. Special branch found the four had no known involvement with dissident republicans, and did not inform police in Omagh. "It is not mandatory to circulate all information received by police relating to a supposed threat, irrespective of its assessed accuracy and reliability," says the report. "The implication that the issue of a threat warning might have led to steps which could have prevented the bombing is not only incorrect and misleading, it is enormously distressing to all those caught up in the atrocity." Even if the information had been passed on, it would not have prevented the bombing. To suggest otherwise "does a grave injustice to police officers", the report adds. Sir Ronnie, a former special branch officer, robustly defends the unit, criticised by the ombudsman for failing to pass potentially important information to the Omagh murder investigation. He denies it is a force within a force. The report then turns to the murder investigation, focusing on the internal review begun in March 2000. It denies the investigation was effectively suspended during the review, and that the review's 274 recommendations were ignored. Only 180 referred to the investigation and"those judged by the senior investigating officer to offer the possibility of advancing the investigation have been accepted and steps taken to progress them". Claims the police did not follow up some leads for a year are dismissed. Disappearance of the bomb car during the investigation did not prevent further tests using new techniques. Criticism that the two officers in charge were not on the inquiry full time did not take account of their other commitments. The police "reject completely" Mrs O'Loan's assertions that the service did not cooperate with her and that some police witnesses "inexplicably" changed their accounts. It blames a breakdown in communications. The ombudsman accused Sir Ronnie of a "failure of leadership"; the chief constable says this is "unsustainable" by any objective assessment. His report also says he was denied time to reply properly to Mrs O'Loan's report before it was published. The ombudsman called for the Omagh investigation to be run by an o~cer from outside. ~ir Ronnie has rejected this, but has appointed a detective from Merseyside to advise. ~he also wanted an outside officer to investigate potentially linked terrorist cases. This is rejected, but the Merseyside officer will be consulted. Mrs O'Loan's demand the Omagh detectives get appropriate access to all relevant intelligence, where relevance was determined by the CID, "misunderstands the situation". A recommendation that special branch be reviewed is "some way behind the substantial progress" made, the report concludes. Two very different versions of complex events 3/20/02 Page 5 of 5 Friday January 25th 2002 THE general judgment on yesterday's Police Service of Northern ireland response to criticisms of its Omagh bomb investigation may well be that it is impressive but not conclusive. The Ombudsman's report which ignited this controversy was both detailed and scathing, Mrs Nuala O'Loan's moral indignation strongly shining through. It set out a formidable case, essentially accusing the police of being both incompetent and over-secretive. The book-length response now produced by Sir Ronnie Flanagan is also formidable, attacking the Ombudsman practically line by line on facts, interpretations and indeed on her basic grasp of policework. If Mrs O'Loan is correct senior officers are guilty of a shocking failure of leadership. If Sir Ronnie is right, she herself got almost everything badly wrong, is incompetent and way out of her depth. Each has now fired a broadside. Mrs O'Loan's report was a striking one, establishing a strong prima facie case against the conduct of the investigation. The police rejoinder is equally striking, containing such a mass of detail that readers will take days to absorb it all. It too has an indignant tone. The Flanagan response takes on each O'Loan criticism, often in intricate detail, presenting the Omagh investigation and the police response to the Ombudsman's inquiry in a very different light. This means two versions are now in the public domain. The police presentation is the longer and more detailed, yet the first impression is that while it presents a strong case it does not include a knock-out punch capable of flooring the O'Loan thesis. In effect both a prosecution case and a defence have been presented, but the jury is still out. Although so much information has been released to the public, not all relevant material has been produced. The most important unpublished material is probably an internal review of the Omagh investigation carried out by a senior policeman. This produced almost 300 recommendations, suggesting its author had significant misgivings about the investigation. Publication might therefore indicate whether he tended more towards the Flanagan or O'Loan versions of events. A copy of this report has been requested by the Police Board, the new committee set up to oversee policing. The Board includes representatives from most of the major political parties, Sinn Fein excepted, which means that the Omagh question is guaranteed to remain a prominent issue. David McKittrick © Idsh Independent http:/Awcw, unison.ie/irish_independen ti & http:/A4,ww, unison.lei 3/20/02 Marian Karr From: Granillo, Anthony R [anthony. r.granillo@boeing.com] Sent: Tuesday, March 26, 2002 7:12 AM To: ACLU; Amnesty International USA; Amnesty Int'l-Grp4; Amy Jenniges; Andrew Ko; Bastian; Bill Miller; Carol Sinclair; CCPA; Colleen Roman; Community Action Network; DHSC; El Centro de la Raza; Florangela Davila; George Hickey; lan Ith; James Egan; Jean Buskin (Fellowship of Reconciliation); Jim Brunner; John Saul; KCCADV; Kery Murikami; KE×P; Kimquy Kieu; KUOW/Conversation; Lewis Kamb; Lisa Daugaard; Lutheran Public Policy; Lynne Wilson; Martha Baskin; Minority Executive Directors Coalition; Mother's for Police Accountability; NAACP; Neil Modie; Nick Allen; Ophelia Ealy; Paige Kayner; People's Coalition for Justice; Rabble Rousers; Rice-Shupe; Richard Lee; Robert Jamieson; Sue Quinn/NACOLE; Urban League of Washington State; UW Daily; Vanessa Lee Subject: City Council Censured by Human Rights Commission FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE SEATTLE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION March 26, 2002 On Thursday, March 21, the Seattle Human Rights Commission passed a motion of censure against City Council Members Jim Compton, Jan Drago and Margaret Pageler. In the their letter of censure the Co~mission expressed official displeasure with the Council Members for being unresponsive to a proposal presented before the Council on April 18, 2001 and for not fulfilling assurances to the Commission for participation in the Office of Professional Accountability (OPA) Review Board candidate selection process. Complete text of the letter of censure may be found below. For more information contact SHRC staff member, Haddis Tadesse, 206-684-4540 <<censure letter2.doc>> March 22, 2002 Peter Steinbrueck, President Seattle City Council 600 4th Ave. llth Floor, Municipal Building Seattle, WA 98104-1817 Dear Council President Steinbrueck, At a meeting, specially convened March 21, 2002, the Seattle Human Rights Commission /SHRC} recorded their official displeasure with a formal vote of censure against Council Members Jim Compton, Jan Drago and Margaret Pageler. This vote was due to the Police, Fire, Courts and Technology (PFCT) Committee being unresponsive to a proposal presented by the SHRC before the then Public Safety and Technology Committee on April 18, 2001 and for not permitting the SHRC to participate in the Office of Professional (OPA) Review Board candidate selection process. The April 18, 2001 proposal recommended a process that brings police and citizens together to understand and agree to a mutually accepted set of authority to be negotiated with the Police Guild to enhance the soon to be established Office of Professional Accountability Review Board, an independent citizen police review board. The intent of the proposal is to lay the groundwork for more effective negotiations on this item with the Police Guild when the City opens contract talks later this year. The Council Members communications to the SHRC give no response to the proposal's ! recommendations. The PFCT has engaged in an accelerated process for the selection of OPA Review Board members that does not permit the SHRC to fulfill their mandate of advising the City Council on matters related to human rights (enabling legislation SMC 3.14.931). This is despite a direct request by the SHRC to the Chair that they structure a selection process that allows the SHRC to provide meaningful input as evidenced by the following extract from the January 24, 2002 minutes of the Seattle Human Rights Commission (SHRC): "(Con~issioners) asked Councilmember Compton how the commission should communicate its input about the review board...He was...asked to give the SHRC a role in the selection of the OPA Review Board member. Councilmember Compton...assured the commission that the SHRC would have a role in the selection of the board members. The first step will be to provide the SHRC with the complete list of names of candidates so the commission can comment prior to a down selection." The SHRC received no communications from PFCT prior to the down selection of candidates, except to receive a list of the final candidates on February 29, 2002. The SHRC has also received no communications from PFCT about a role in the selection of OPA Review Board members as assured by the Chair of PFCT and reflected in the minutes of our January meeting above. It is unfortunate that the Seattle Human Rights Commission must resort to censure as a means of communicating our displeasure with these three Council Members and with the performance of the Police, Fire, Courts and Technology Committee they represent. With this censure we ask the members of the Police, Fire, Courts and Technology Committee to sincerely engage in a dialogue on the proposal of the Seattle Human Rights Commission of April 18, 2001. Further the committee must fulfill the assurances given by the chair in establishing a role for the SHRC in the selection of OPA Review Board Members. Sincerely, L. Charles Jones Cc: Seattle City Council Members Mayor Greg Nickels March 22, 2002 Peter Steinbrueck, President Seattle City Council 600 4th Ave. 11th Floor, Municipal Building Seattle, WA 98104-1817' Dear Council President Steinbrueck, At a meeting, specially convened March 21,2002, the Seattle Human Rights Commission (SHRC) recorded their official displeasure with a formal vote of censure against Council Members Jim Compton, Jan Drago and Margaret Pageler. This vote was due to the Police, Fire, Courts and Technology (PFCT) Committee being unresponsive to a proposal presented by the SHRC before the then Public Safety and Technology Committee on April 18, 2001 and for not permitting the SHRC to participate in the Office of Professional (OPA) Review Board candidate selection process. The April 18, 2001 proposal recommended a process that brings police and citizens together to understand and agree to a mutually accepted set of authority to be negotiated with the Police Guild to enhance the soon to be established Office of Professional Accountability Review Board, an independent citizen police review board. The intent of the proposal is to lay the groundwork for more effective negotiations on this item with the Police Guild when the City opens contract talks later this year. The Council Members communications to the SHRC give no response to the proposars recommendations. The PFCT has engaged in an accelerated process for the selection of OPA Review Board members that does not permit the SHRC to fulfill their mandate of advising the City Council on matters related to human rights (enabling legislation SMC 3.14.931 ). This is despite a direct request by the SHRC to the Chair that they structure a selection process that allows the SHRC to provide meaningful input as evidenced by the following extract from the January 24, 2002 minutes of the Seattle Human Rights Commission (SHRC): "(Commissioners) asked Councilmember Compton how the commission should communicate its input about the review board...He was...asked to give the SHRC a role in the selection of the OPA Review Board member. Councilmember Compton...assured the commission that the SHRC would have a role in the selection of the board members. The first step will be to provide the SHRC with the complete list of names of candidates so the commission can comment prior to a down selection." The SHRC received no communications from PFCT prior to the down selection of candidates, except to receive a list of the final candidates on February 29, 2002. The SHRC has also received no communications from PFCT about a role in the selection of OPA Review Board members as assured by the Chair of PFCT and reflected in the minutes of our January meeting above. It is unfortunate that the Seattle Human Rights Commission must resort to censure as a means of communicating our displeasure with these three Council Members and with the performance of the Police, Fire, Courts and Technology Committee they represent. With this censure we ask the members of the Police, Fire, Courts and Technology Committee to sincerely engage in a dialogue on the proposal of the Seattle Human Rights Commission of April 18, 2001. Further the committee must fulfill the assurances given by the chair in establishing a role for the SHRC in the selection of OPA Review Board Members. Sincerely, L. Charles Jones Cc: Seattle City Council Members Mayor Greg Nickels Page 1 of 2 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Tuesday, March 26, 2002 9:32 AM To: Update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] NYCity: Crime-Fighting by Computer Widens Scope NYTimes March 24, 2002 Crime-Fighting by Computer Widens Scope By WILLIAM K. RASHBAUM i ew York City's renowned Compstat crime-fighting program, originally created to measure and map serious crime in city neighborhoods, has grown into a sweeping data-collection machine that traces hundreds of factors, many of which appear distant from the nuts and bolts of police work. The system, introduced in 1994 to focus largely on the seven major crime categories, has changed in ways both substantial and subtle, and now records 734 of what officials call indicators: everything from concentrations of prostitutes to police overtime, allegations of abuse by officers and how often police commanders meet with community leaders. The expansion reflects an acknowledgment that fighting crime is not just about finding criminals and arresting them, but about enlisting the support of communities and finding a way to do it economically. In effect, Compstat has become an intricate map of the city and its ills -- the annoying and the deadly -- and an abacus upon which officials can calculate how the Police Department is working to alleviate them. Gone are the days when murder, rape, robbery, assault, burglary, grand larceny and auto theft were the central focus of searing Compstat meetings in a cavernous room on the eighth floor of 1 Police Plaza. Under the current commissioner, Raymond W. Kelly, Compstat has further evolved, focusing also on minor offenses that can have a major impact on the quality of city life: panhandling, squeegee men, loud parties and barking dogs. And the weekly meetings have become more collegial, with an atmosphere, Mr. Kelly said, in which commanders are often put on the spot but spared the abuse that many glumly suffered in years past. "It's been broadened, and again, it is more collaborative, in the sense that we're trying to share information as to what was done by other commands to address problems," said Mr. Kelly, who took over the force in January in his second tour as commissioner. Compstat has long been admired nationally and internationally; the system has been used by cities like Baltimore, and Caracas, Venezuela, plans to use it. The concept has also been copied in its hometown, where it has been brought into other agencies like the Sanitation and Correction Departments, and where Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg is considering using it to measure the effectiveness of other city agencies. The innovation was created and developed under William J. Bratton, the police commissioner from 1994 to 1996, the first two years of Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani's administration; one of the primary architects of the program was Jack Maple, Mr. Bratton's deputy commissioner for crime control strategies. Mr. Maple died of cancer last summer. Mr. Bratton used Compstat to direct swift deployments of officers to areas with high concentrations of crime and to hold commanders accountable for crime problems in their precincts. His approach turned into a police philosophy that changed the way departments across America and in other parts of the world serve their communities, drawing a nonstop procession of police commanders and government officials from as far away as China and Chile. Soon after it was introduced, it became part of the culture at 1 Police Plaza: twice-weekly meetings in which local commanders were pushed, prodded and sometimes humiliated by senior officials who pinpointed crime problems on their streets and broadcast their failings. Mr. Bratton defended the aggressive nature of the sessions in the early days, arguing that precinct commanders were making $80,000 a year. "If they can't deal with the pressure of that room, you can be damn sure they can't deal with pressure out there on the street," he said. Mr. Kelly, however, said he felt that commanders, who are each running what he called the equivalent of a $30 million to $40 million business, "shouldn't be abused, they should be treated with dignity and respect, while held accountable for what happens on their watch." Eli B. Silverman, a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the author of "NYPD Battles Crime: Innovative Strategies in Policing," said a certain amount of pressure was required in the program's early days. "My own view was that in the beginning it needed to be very forceful because you were starting something very different," he said. Mr. Kelly, who has made upgrading department technology a priority, says he hopes to use teleconferencing to broadcast the now weekly meetings to officials in boroughs beyond the one under scrutiny each week. And, it seems, there is much to learn. Mr. Kelly said the meetings now focused on the number of precinct arrests that were made by officers on overtime patrols, part of an effort to reduce costs and ensure that enforcement is driven by crime rather than an officer's desire for more overtime. 3/26/02 Page 2 of 2 Compstat now also measures emergency response time, conditions in police station houses and how many police cars are available for patrol and how quickly those in need of repairs are turned around in the department's shops. The system also records the number of corruption allegations and civilian complaints of police abuse in each precinct, which along with community relations are important indicators of how a department serves the people, according to Mark H. Moore, a professor of criminal justice policy and management at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Professor Moore, who has been studying methods to measure police performance for five years, contends that crime reductions alone provide an incomplete picture of a police depar[ment. He maintains that a police force's performance -- or "profits" -- can be accurately gauged only by factoring in the "costs" of police operations: not only the financial costs, but the toll that police operations take on community relations, or how the department's use of authoriht impinges on citizens' liberties. "The degree that people feel alienated by the police is the degree to which they are reluctant to cooperate with them, something that makes the work of the police more difficult," he said. 3/26/02 Page 1 of 2 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Tuesday, March 26, 2002 9:34 AM To: Update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Denver Cop Off Streets After Kicking Suspect Denver Cop Off Streets After Kicking Suspect Dateline: Denver, CO - 3/22/2002 By John Ingold and Flarilyn Robinson Denver Post Staff Writers The Denver Police Department on Thursday took a veteran officer off the streets and condemned his actions after he was caught on videotape kicking a handcuffed suspect in the crotch after a chase through northwest Denver. "In this case, one of our officers acted in a very inappropriate manner, and he will have to be dealt with," police spokesman John White said. The department did not release the officer's name. But police sources identified him as Edward David, a 14-year veteran. Police officials were conducting an internal investigation to determine an appropriate punishment. A representative from the district attorney's office was also reviewing the case to see if criminal charges are warranted. The suspect in the chase, Patrick Rodriguez, 22, made his first court appearance Thursday morning, and he was ordered held on a $150,000 bail. Later, Rodriguez said he was on the ground after the chase, with his wrists handcuffed behind his back, when he felt an officer kick him. "I was laying down with my legs apart, and this guy came up and kicked me" in the crotch, he said. Rodriguez also said several officers punched him while trying to handcuff him. He said one officer used a stun gun on him. White confirmed that a SWAT officer used a Taser gun to subdue Rodriguez. The officer who kicked Rodriguez was placed on an administrative assignment until the end of the internal probe, White said. David, a patrolman in northeast Denver, was on a training assignment with the SWAT team designed to help officers determine if they want to become SWAT team members, officials said. Wednesday was his last day on that training assignment. "He's a very good officer," said Capt. Mike O'Neill, David's commander. David could not be reached for comment Thursday. The chase started shortly after 5 p.m. Wednesday when several officers tried to pull Rodriguez over at West Second Avenue and Clay Street and he fled, police said. Rodriguez was wanted for missing a Feb. 12 court appearance on charges of pointing a gun at an officer. He faces counts of assault and attempted murder of a peace officer in that case. Officers said Rodriguez, driving a white Chevrolet Suburban with three passengers, rammed their police car. But Rodriguez said he was just driving his cousin to work and that the officers rammed his vehicle 3/26/02 Page 2 of 2 without turning on their lights or sirens. "! was scared, so I took off," Rodriguez said. White said officers were authorized to begin a chase because of Rodriguez's criminal history. When arrested, Rodriguez had three warrants for missing court appearances - including two drug possession cases and the attempted- murder case. He has a lengthy record of arrests in drug and weapons-related cases. The chase caused at least four crashes, injuring two officers and a 39-year-old man. One of the injured officers, Michael Gallegos, is the same officer Rodriguez is accused of pointing a gun at. The chase ended near 32nd Avenue and Federal Boulevard. Rodriguez jumped out of the car, ran down an alley, climbed over an approaching police car and ran into a nearby yard. There, he said, he realized he couldn't get away, so he lay down on the ground. Officers tackled him and placed him in handcuffs. Shortly thereafter, the KCNC-News4 helicopter filmed an officer kicking Rodriguez in the crotch. Following the chase, police found a half kilogram of cocaine in the Suburban, White said. Two passengers in the Suburban, Samuel Cameron, 21, and Michael Naylor, 27, were arrested on drug charges. A 23-year-old man who either jumped or was pushed out of the Suburban during the chase was treated at Denver Health Medical Center for an ankle injury on Wednesday. it was not clear Thursday if he was arrested. Santana Martinez, 39, who was injured in an accident during the chase, remained hospitalized Thursday with a broken hip. Police also were holding him on unrelated drug-possession charges. Safety Manager Ari Zavaras said officials are trying to move quickly on the case to decide on discipline. "The type of force used to end the pursuit - we are not condoning that," White said. 3/26/02 Page 1 of 5 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Tuesday, March 26, 2002 9:35 AM To: Update@NACOLE.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Chicago: Arrest Quotas &More; Portland, ME: Better Handling of Mentally III Chicago Cops Ordered to Boost Arrests Dateline: Chicago, IL - 3/24/2002 Chicago Tribune By Flaurice Possley The head of the Chicago Police Department unit that patrols public housing in the Cabrini-Green neighborhood has ordered squad members to increase the number of arrests or face poor performance ratings. In a memo dated Jan. 20 and obtained by the Tribune last week, Lt. Michael Fitzgerald, commander of the Public Housing North unit, outlined "minimum" quotas for officers--including at least four arrests per month--after determining that some members of the unit were engaging in "very little activity." One day later, according to department officials, a "corrected version" of the memo was issued that eliminated specific numbers but still demanded increased arrests. Civil rights lawyers as well as the president of the police union criticized the practice of instituting arrest quotas, saying such a practice would lead to improper arrests. "Quotas? That's contrary to everything we've been taught," said Bill Nolan, head of the Fraternal Order of Police. Department spokesman Pat Camden said he found nothing improper about setting such standards for police work. The Jan. 20 memo said that those officers who did not meet minimum standards faced the prospect of receiving an unfavorable performance rating, which is used to determine whether officers qualify for merit pay increases or for preferential assignments. That memo required officers to make at least four arrests during each 28-day police period or to engage in a required number of other activities, such as making one traffic stop per day or writing up two curfew or truancy violations per day. "it's outrageous," said Tom Peters, a veteran civil rights lawyer. "it just encourages police to violate the rights of citizens to meet some arbitrarily imposed quota which doesn't necessarily translate to good police work." Officials rarely admit such practices exist. But some police departments have been exposed and penalized. For example, in 1995, a federal court jury awarded an attorney $400,000 for being falsely arrested for drunken driving by a $chaumburg police officer, who allegedly made the arrest to meet a department quota. Evidence showed the man was charged even though a Breathalyzer and blood and urine tests showed no alcohol in his system. ' Old-line policing' "This is old-line policing that predictably generates illegal stops of pedestrians and motorists," said Harvey Grossman, legal director of the Chicago office of the American Civil Liberties Union. "The best policies in law enforcement today frown upon quotas and it's also the antithesis of commun!ty policing. You are supposed to be problem-solving and working with people." 3/26/02 Page 2 of 5 "It's surprising that it's been put in writing," Grossman said. "Quotas are always bad. They put pressure on police to make stops whether these are good or bad stops." Nolan, whose union represents the rank-and-file members of the department, said: "We do not agree with any quota system. Our members do not make arrests based on a quota." Efforts to reach Fitzgerald were unsuccessful Friday. His officers patrol the Cabrini-Green and Lathrop Homes housing developments in an area that for years has been largely populated by minorities, but recently has seen gentrification and an influx of young urban professionals. Grossman was particularly critical of a requirement in the first memo that officers each day fill out three contact cards, which contain information about someone officers stopped but did not arrest. "This is when police officers just stop cars and stop people to stop them," he said. Camden defended the Jan. 20 memo, though he, too, conceded, "It's unusual to see it in writing." "There has to be a way to evaluate people," Camden said. "This isn't unreasonable. There has to be a way to account for an officer's time." Camden said police officers make out contact cards when "they see someone who appears to be suspicious." He said an officer might well stop someone who looks out of place in a particular neighborhood. "They stop them and question them and make out a card," he said. Not excessive Camden said the quotas listed in the Jan. 20 memo were not excessive. "You're not going to have 28 quiet days," he said. "Your activity is looked at every day. It's what you are paid to do. You can't tell me that an officer can be out all day and not see [illegal] traffic activity." Asked if he believed a quota system might result in improper arrests or police stops, Camden said, "I really don't think so .... If you're not making arrests, what are you doing with your time?" Fitzgerald's ]an. 20 memo noted that if officers were unable to meet the quota of four arrests, they would be required to meet "some combination" of the other activities. The memo was sent anonymously to the Tribune attached to a letter addressed to Police Supt. Terry Hillard, as well as several other high-ranking police officers. The letter, typed on official department stationery and purportedly authored by a member of Fitzgerald's unit, stated that Fitzgerald "threatened to get rid of any officer who does not comply with his mandate and any officer whom he feels is not a · team player.'" "I have personally been the subject of retaliatory action...by Lt. Fitzgerald for not complying with his mandate," the letter said. Attorney Peters, who has successfully sued Chicago police for violating the civil rights of arrestees in the past, said arrest quotas "encourage police officers to make the requisite number of arrests whether or not there is sufficient evidence to make the arrests. I'm sure all the police officers want the best rating and there is an incredibly strong incentive to make arrests to meet the quota and get a high performance rating." But, he added, "This just doesn't make any sense. If an officer spent half his day helping some family in some important way instead of making arrests, why should he be penalized?" He added, "And the contact cards? That's just telling police to go stop young male blacks and prove you're making contact with them, which is basically harassing them." 3/26/02 Page 3 of 5 Chicago Police Reconsider Policies Dateline: Chicago, IL - 3/24/2002 By Andrew Buchanan Associated Press Writer White-gloved officers line a city block as the strains of bagpipes break the silence of a cold, bright morning. A grieving widow follows a flag-draped coffin into a church. For the third time in less than nine months, members of the Chicago Police Department mourned a veteran officer shot to death in the line of duty. The killings - along with another shooting that left an officer partially paralyzed - have police brass reassessing procedures, and the rank and file grasping for answers. "I knew it was going to happen when I got on the job, and then I didn't go to any funerals for the first year and a half. And now three in a row," said .loe Krettek, who joined the force in 1999. "I'm not getting used to it," he said. After more than two years without a fatal shooting, two Chicago police officers were killed last summer. Brian Strouse, 33, was shot while investigating a report of gunfire in an alley, allegedly by a 16-year-old gang member. Eric Lee, 37, was killed trying to break up a fight, also in an alley. Then last week, 47-year-old Donald Marquez was shot to death while trying to serve an arrest warrant. Police said that after repeated attempts to coax the suspect from his apartment failed, Marquez broke down the door and was met by a barrage of gunfire. He left behind a wife, four children and a 2-week-old grandchild. The latest shooting has prompted police to consider whether officers should change the way they serve subpoenas and make arrests in civil cases. Marquez and his partner were trying to arrest a 77-year-old man Monday who had been cited for 29 housing violations and had ignored several subpoenas. Marquez was in plain clothes and not wearing a bulletproof vest, a violation of police code. He was shot once in the head and twice in the chest. "The bottom line is whenever a police officer is shot and killed, something went wrong somewhere," said department spokesman Pat Camden. Jim Pasco, executive director of the Fraternal Order of Police, said that as police tactics evolve and become more effective, they may actually place officers at greater risk. "The kind of appropriately aggressive, pro-active policing which has had the effect of saving and protecting the lives of so many citizens has, ironically, probably cost some police officers their lives," he said. Pasco and the Chicago department's Deputy Superintendent Harvey Radney both believe there has been a deterioration in respect for authority, and that police officers bear the brunt of that. Radney believes there also has been an increase in attacks on officers in his city. "I think it requires more training for police officers, it requires more tact on their part, it requires more patience," Radney said. "It requires them to be more aware of these situations and understand that they can be faced with a situation like this at any given time." No major changes have been made yet, Radney said. He said the department has been focused in recent days on Marquez' funeral, which was held Friday. FBI statistics show that 51 police officers were slain in the line of duty nationwide in 2000, the latest year for which statistics were available. That was up from 42 in 1999 but below the 10-year average of 64. 3/26/02 Page 4 of 5 Those figures do not include deaths from traffic accidents and other causes, which can triple the annual total. "You're wary, but you gotta do your job," Krettek said. "You don't know what's behind the door. That's the inherent risk of the job." Portland (ME) Police Prepared to Defuse Mental Health Crisis Dateline: Portland, ME - 3/25/2002 By DAVID HENCH Portland Press Herald Writer When Portland police patrol the streets tonight, some will bring with them a new approach for handling cases involving people with mental illness. Eight officers have been schooled in a new kind of police work that requires empathy, patience and some insight into people who are in psychiatric crisis. The officers spent the past week in intensive training on how to respond to the mentally ill. The new cadre of officers is specially equipped for the growing number of confrontations between police and people with mental illness. The so-called Crisis Intervention Team could ease tensions that can erupt, and reduce the number of conflicts that end in violence or forcible arrest, said Herb Damon, an ex-convict who has mental illness. "Their training at the academy is to go in and control the situation and stop it," Damon said. "We'd like to see them go in with a little understanding and compassion, not going in to take over but to de-escalate the situation." The eight volunteers represent the patrol teams that work during the early evening or at night. They join a social worker who is assigned to the department as the force's first response to people in severe crisis. "Probably during the course of the year we respond to about 700 calls of somebody in some type of mental health crisis threatening to hurt themselves or hurt somebody else," said Portland Police Chief Michael Chitwood. The number of people seeking services in the state's largest city has grown over the years, as the state has embarked on a policy of deinstitutionalizing many mentally ill people. "Having a team of officers available can make our department more proactive in dealing with this particular client base that continues to grow," Chitwood said. The training was funded by a grant won by the National Alliance of the Mentally Ill of Maine, and is supported by the state, the police department and Haine Hedical Center. The grant paid to have police Sgt. Robin Gauvin travel to Hemphis, Tenn., where the intervention team program originated. Gauvin then joined an alliance staff member, Melissa Gattine, in training the Portland officers. The Hemphis program was developed after the shooting death of a mentally ill man by police. It has dramatically reduced the number of disturbances brought about by mental illness that lead to arrest, forcible restraint, injuries or visits to the emergency room. It has since spread to several major metropolitan police departments across the country. 3/26/02 Page 5 of 5 Portland is the first department in Maine to get the training, but alliance officials hope to expand it to departments in the state's other cities. incidents such as the recent shooting of a Somerville man by a Lincoln County sheriff's deputy show the extreme nature of some interactions between law enforcement and people who are experiencing psychotic episodes. When police respond to a person with mental illness, it usually means that person is in crisis. He or she may pose a threat to others, or be suicidal. Officers' response can aggravate the crisis, or ease it. Often, calls come in the middle of the night, when social workers may be unavailable. "When nobody knows where else to turn, they call us," said Officer Timothy Farris, one of the team members, at a meeting with the staff of Catholic Charities Support and Recovery Program, which helps people with mental illness lead more independent lives. "Often, the only option we have (in the middle of the night) is to bring them to the emergency room. We don't want to bring them to jail because they haven't broken any laws," said another team member, Officer ]essica Brown. "I think there's not an officer that works the street that's not dealing with those issues every single night." "It's like the city shuts down, but there's still stuff going on," she said. The officers spent five days studying mental illnesses and the behavior associated with them, so they can recognize the signs. They also toured the various social services available for people with mental illness, from Maine Medical Center's emergency room to Amistad, the social club on State Street for people with mental illness. Carol Carothers, executive director of the National Alliance of the Mentally iii, said the program and the ongoing work that the officers do should increase positive contact between police and consumers of mental health services. Those relationships will pay off during crises. Also, fewer conflicts means fewer arrests and fewer people in jail because of mental illness, she said. Damon, president of the board of directors for Amistad, said some of his friends have been arrested forcibly by police, so the arrival of officers can make them more agitated. "Some of them are reminded of that and they're intimidated when they see an officer in uniform," he said. He hopes that impressions will change, so that the special officers - each identified by a blue-and-gold lapel pin - will be seen as a calming presence during a crisis. 3/26/02 Page 1 of 1 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Tuesday, March 26, 2002 9:35 AM To: Update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Pittsburgh: Editorial City Cops Shouldn't Investigate Selves Editorial: Police call / City cops shouldn't investigate themselves Monday, March 25, 2002 You can usually count on the Fraternal Order of Police to disagree with whatever the city administration proposes, whether it involves police officers or police policies. So the current disagreement over who should investigate last month's standoff between police and an armed Homewood man comes as no surprise. And, not for the first time, the FOP is being supported by City Council. However, if one sifts through the usual labor-management squabbling and political posturing, the unions and council have a point: There should be an independent review of the police standoff, in which two officers and a gun-wielding suspect were shot and injured .The police department is required by city ordinance to have an outside law enforcement agency investigate all police shootings. For the last five years that task was left to the Allegheny County Police Department. However, the county police no longer assist in those investigations, partly because the police union opposed their involvement. This left city police without the required outside agency to investigate shootings until Chief McNeilly announced earlier this week that the Allegheny County District Attorney's office will now take on that role. The problem is that the DA won't be participating in the investigation of the Homewood shooting because, according to Chief McNeilly, the city's Homicide Squad has already completed it. You can bet that this internal investigation is going to be second- guessed.What remains to be done is what Mr. McNeilly calls a "critical incident review" to determine if proper police policies and procedures were followed. It is this aspect of the investigation that has the union fired up. While the FOP clearly has its own agenda (it has not been a supporter of independent investigations in the past), it's also clear that the chief, worried about lawsuits and union grievances, has his own reasons for wanting to control the investigation. He must realize, however, that no matter how fair and impartial his internal investigations may be, they will be viewed as biased by both the union and many citizens. Clearly City Council felt additional oversight was needed when it passed the ordinance five years ago requiring that the department call in outside help to investigate shootings by city police.At the same time, the FOP and City Council can't handpick or dictate who will oversee the inquiry. Chief McNeilly should be given an opportunity to address their concerns and find a credible outside group or agency to review his findings in this incident. The alternative is continued suspicion and controversy. 3/26/02 Page 1 of 5 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent; Tuesday, March 26, 2002 9:35 AM To: Update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Police Inquiry Scorches Cincinnati ExCop; 3 Issues Threaten Profiling Suit Deal Police Inquiry Scorches Cincinnati Ex-Cop Dateline: Cincinnati, OH - 3/20/2002 By Gregory Korte The Cincinnati Enquirer An internal affairs report into the police shooting that sparked last April's riots concluded that Officer Stephen Roach violated police policy on the use of his weapon and that he lied to investigators about the shooting. Because Officer Roach was acquitted in court and has left the Cincinnati Police Department for suburban Evendale, the report's conclusions have no weight. Nonetheless, Police Chief Tom Streicher ,lr. issued a memo to all police officers Tuesday saying, "Dishonesty cannot and will not be tolerated in our organization," and that police officers who lie to investigators can expect to be terminated. Chief Streicher told City Council members Tuesday that Officer Roach violated policy by running with his finger on the trigger of his handgun and by giving conflicting accounts of the shooting to investigators that day and three days later. At first, Officer Roach said he shot Timothy Thomas, the 19-year-old African-American man he had confronted in a dark alley, because he thought he had a gun. He later said he shot him accidentally because he was startled. Chief Streicher stopped short of saying whether he would have fired Officer Roach for lying to investigators. That's the city manager's call, he said. Officer Roach would have been entitled to a disciplinary hearing. The release of the report comes just three weeks before the first anniversary of the shooting and the riots that followed. That timing is intentional, city officials acknowledged, and is the first step in a series of events that will precede likely protests next month. The city is also nearing an agreement with the U.S. Justice Department on the police use of force and a parallel settlement of a federal lawsuit alleging racial profiling. The release of the Roach report at the Law and Public Safety Committee was a surprise to most council members, who found out about it only hours beforehand. The committee was scheduled to hear from the police chief on the timeline of investigations into police-involved deaths. The chief said investigations into the November 2000 death of Roger Owensby .lr. -- scheduled for release this month -- could take another 30 to 60 days. Mayor Charlie Luken, who was out of town Tuesday, said that's not soon enough, given that Robert "Blaine" Jorg -- one of the officers in the Owensby case -- has, like Officer Roach, been hired by a suburban police department. "I think the public is suspicious that there's a game going on here, and T can't do anything about that. But I can insist that if officers are deceptive about the use of force, they will be disciplined and probably fired." But the three-hour hearing Tuesday at the Law and Public Safety Committee also reopened some of the 3/26/02 Page 2 of 5 more controversial aspects of the fatal shooting of Mr. Thomas in Over-the-Rhine on April 7, 2001 -- including this statement from Councilman Jim Tarbell: "Steve Roach is -- and was -- a scapegoat for a series of desperate conditions we need to address." The Rev. Damon Lynch III sat in the back of the council chambers during the hearing. "This is not an investigation. It's a rehash of the trial," said the Rev. Mr. Lynch, leader of the Cincinnati Black United Front. The front and other groups have urged a boycott of the city, largely because of police discipline issues. "Somebody needs to be held accountable. If not these three officers, then you have to look at the chief," he said. "It has just been a travesty of justice. It happened that night. It happened in the courtroom and it is still happening." Two hours before releasing the report to City Council, Chief Streicher outlined its highlights to Mr. Thomas' mother, Angela Leisure. She sat quietly at the committee meeting, hand over her face, shaking her head. She left council chambers as city officials posed questions to the chief. "I'm not mentally able to make any statements right now," Mrs. Leisure said. Attorney Ken Lawson, who's representing Mrs. Leisure in a wrongful death lawsuit against Officer Roach and the city, said the only thing new he learned was that Officer Roach expected Mr. Thomas to come out of the other side of the alley -- which may contradict the officer's testimony that he was startled by Mr. Thomas. "I'm just wondering, how could he be surprised?" Mr. Lawson said. As he spoke, Mr. Tarbell -- one of only two incumbents endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police last year -- got into a testy exchange with the police chief. "Stephen Roach is a Cincinnati police officer with an unblemished record," he said. "I disagree with you," the chief interrupted. "Then can you help me?" Mr. Tarbell said. Chief Streicher pointed to the 46-page internal investigation. "It's right here," he said. Mr. Tarbell said more important factors led to the shooting: the decision to start a foot chase at 2:30 a.m. in Over-the-Rhine; the lack of a police supervisor on the scene', "faulty" or "incomplete" information on what Mr. Thomas was wanted for (it turned out to be 14 traffic and misdemeanor warrants); and the dark, dangerous environment. As the council hearing entered its third hour Tuesday, Chief Streicher became remarkably candid in response to council members' questions. On the dark alley: "This could have very easily have been turned around. You could go down that alley, and Timothy Thomas is not some young, scared kid, but a really bad guy with an automatic weapon, and he's waiting for you to come down that alley so he can turn you into Swiss cheese." On foot chases: "I'll be honest with you. Cops like a good foot pursuit. It's fun. It gets the adrenaline going. Catch the bad guy. The thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat. It becomes, sometimes, a game of catiand-mouse,'' he said. "Chasing somebody is not this giant dilemma for us in policing." On releasing information: "The most critical error that occurred (last April) is the police department did 3/26/02 Page 3 of 5 not address that issue for more than 48 hours. I think that complicated the situation, and led to rumors. ... Yes, I think someone should have held a press conference soon afterward and told everybody what we knew. That was a critical, critical error. I can tell you it won't ever happen again." Based on testimony from fellow police officers, a cruiser-mounted video of the shooting and conflicting statements from Officer Roach, prosecutors indicted Officer Roach on charges of negligent homicide and obstruction last May. Hamilton County Municipal Court Judge Ralph E. "Ted" Winkler, who acquitted Officer Roach after a trial last September, said the internal affairs investigation did not necessarily contradict his verdict. "I'm going to have a hard time disagreeing with what they found because everyone uses different standards and different measures and heard different things than what I heard at trial," said the judge when reached by phone from an out-of-state judicial conference. "Roach never denied that he fired the shot that killed Timothy Thomas. He just varied on how it went down," the judge said. "I don't think he was being purposefully dishonest." In Over-the-Rhine on Tuesday, some residents expressed surprise that police would acknowledge Officer Roach was deceptive in his account of the shooting. Some remain suspicious of police, but many also said they understand the police have a difficult job to do, and that in some corners police/community relations are improving. "Anytime I call police, they're here in a minute, just like that," said .]ames Stanford, 48, who is rehabbing a Vine Street building once plagued by criminal activity. But Jay Johnson, 22, was more skeptical. "I figure they'll blow it up (publicity) but also cover their (butt). They'll just let the situation die down." Three Issues Threaten Cincinnati Profiling Suit Deal Dateline: Cincinnati, OH - 3/22/2002 By Kristina Goetz, kgoetz@enquirer.com. The Cincinnati Enquirer With a court-imposed deadline to settle a racial profiling lawsuit against Cincinnati fast approaching, three issues have emerged that threaten negotiations between city officials and plaintiffs. Sources involved in the unprecedented effort to improve police-community relations and avoid a potential court battle told the Enquirer on Thursday the issues are not insurmountable. However, they have clearly sucked the momentum from the mediation process. The issues are: · Whether recommendations from the U.S. Department of Justice's report -- regarding use of force, in particular -- will be included in the settlement. The Justice Department looked into the Cincinnati Police Department's patterns and practices after Mayor Charlie Luken called for an investigation last year. · What will ultimately happen to the Citizens Police Review Panel, which reviews incidents of alleged police misconduct. The group voted Monday to suspend public operations, citing a lack of adequate staff support. · The extent to which the federal court or those involved in the mediation will have jurisdiction over enforcement of any agreement. Justice Department officials are open to having a single monitor to make sure the police department follows use-of-force recommendations, sources said. However, the city is opposed to allowing the )laintiffs 3/26/02 Page 4 of 5 in the lawsuit to have a say in who that monitor might be. "The issue is not whether {the plaintiffs) can have a say," a source said at the meeting. "The issue is whether they are the say." After 14 hours of the most intense negotiations since the mediation process began last May, talks showed the first signs of a possible breakdown Wednesday night. Looking haggard and frustrated, negotiators left a series of meetings held at Xavier University around 11:30 p.m. without commenting. Mediator .]ay Rothman pledged that the group will resume its work next Thursday and Friday. Negotiators had set Wednesday as the deadline for talks to end and the framework of an agreement to be in hand. But after tempers flared late Wednesday night, each side became entrenched in its positions and the meeting adjourned. At times, lawyer Ken Lawson, who represents the plaintiffs; Mr. Luken -- who was on a speaker phone from a vacation spot in Florida -- and others could be heard yelling from behind closed doors at the Cintas Center. Sources said Thursday city lawyers asked for the postponement, saying they were not ready to discuss certain issues because they were unsure what Cincinnati City Council's reaction would be. They also have been slow to provide written proposals for plaintiffs to review. Mr. Luken remains optimistic that differences can be settled. However, the city will not cave in. "I think it's true that the city's not agreeing to everything," he said. "There are certain requests being made of us that ! think are not healthy for the police department and the reduction of crime we need so badly in our city." This week's intense negotiations evolved after a yearlong process to garner community support and input to settle a racial profiling lawsuit that the American Civil Liberties Union and a group of local black activists asked to widen into a class-action last year. The lawsuit alleges decades of discrimination against blacks. As part of the mediation, dozens of meetings and suggestions from 3,500 citizens helped mold five goals, which have become the foundation of the proposed settlement. If an agreement is reached, the process could take on new importance in solving race relations problems not only in Cincinnati, but also in cities across the nation, criminal justice experts say. U.S. District ]udge Susan DIott has set April 5 -- two days before the one-year anniversary of the shooting incident that sparked the Queen City's worst riots since lg68 - as the date for negotiations to end. By that date, either an agreement will be signed or the parties will stop negotiations and head back to court. .]udge DIott was present at some of the meetings Wednesday. "I think it's encouraging that we're still meeting," Councilman Pat DeWine said, adding that the one-week break will give all sides a chance to focus the issues. Mr. DeWine said council members have been briefed on the progress of the negotiations and would be prepared to vote on a proposed settlement rather quickly -- depending on the settlement. "Obviously, the price tag matters," he explained. "But obviously, it depends on what we're spending our money on. To the extent that we're spending money on better police protection, that's something I'm 3/26/02 Page 5 of 5 willing to live with. "If the agreement is we've got to pay the Black United Front's attorney fees, it's going to have a tough time in my committee." 3/26/02 City of Iowa City, Iowa - Official Web Site Page 1 of 2 search city services ]organization chart ]city code City Resources · City Channel ~ Library Channel News Releases * News Releases · Senior Center TV IOWA CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT IS LocalMedia GRANTED ACCREDITATION . ,v Tuesday, March 26, 2002- 'i2:17:00 PM KCRG, KGAN, KWWL Iowa City Police Department is Granted Accreditation · Print Becomes I of 552 Departments Nation-Wide IC Gazette, IC Press Citizen, Daily Iowan · ' Radio On March 23, 2002, the Iowa City Police Department attended a hearing regarding the KC]J, KCRG, Department's compliance with accreditation standards. The Commission on Accreditation KHAK, for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) granted formal recognition of the Department's KRUI, compliance with Law Enforcement Accreditation Standards. The Department became the KSUZ, ninth Iowa agency and only one of 552 accredited law enforcement agencies. There are wsu[, more than 21,600 law enforcement agencies in the United States. WiVlT · Cable Hediacom CALEA was formed in 1979 through the joint efforts of the International Chiefs of Police ~ Weather (IACP), National Association of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE), National Sheriffs Association and the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF). The purpose of the E-Services accreditation process was to establish national standards for the operation and administration of law enforcement agencies and to recognize "Professional Excellence" in e Subscribe to City Info. these agencies. (ICGOV2U) The Department was reviewed by law enforcement professionals, from outside of the State of Iowa, in December 2001. The assessors determined that the Iowa City Police Department met 353 of the standards necessary for accreditation. The review included viewing department directives, interviewing department personnel, reviewing documentation showing compliance with department directives, and holding a public hearing. Accreditation is an ongoing process that requires accredited agencies to submit reports and documentation to CALEA on an annual basis and to undergo reevaluation every three years. Originating Department: Police Contact Person: Chief RJ Wineklhake Contact Number: 356-5271 home I resident I business I calendar l news ljobsldepartments City of Iowa City - 410 East Washington Street - Iowa City, IA 52240 http://www.icgov.org/news.asp?ID=596 3/27/02 Marian Karr From: Malvina Monteiro [mmonteiro@ci.cambridge.ma.us] Sent: Wednesday, March 27, 2002 9:13 AM To: Sue Quinn Cc: Carleen Tracy; Jonathan S. Chapman; Leslie Robin English; Tira Khan Subject: New York City Council Members Speak Out On Louima Assault By Donna Lamb TBWT Guest Contributor Article Dated 3/25/2002 The March 13th City Council Meeting was the first held since the Second Circuit Court overturned the convictions of former police officers Charles Schwarz, Thomas Bruder and Thomas Wiese in the 1997 assault on ~ner Louima. While shamefully not one white City Council member spoke out about this blatant miscarriage of justice, many Black and Latino elected officials made their objections forcefully known. Prior to the meeting, Council Members Charles Barron, Bill Perkins, Leroy Comrie and James Davis submitted Resolution 91, denouncing the Court's decision and calling for the appointment of a Special Prosecutor to investigate it. The Resolution also declared that Schwarz, Bruder and Wiese should never again be allowed to serve as police officers. No Rights A White Man Is Bound To Honor Councilwoman Helen Foster referred to the Dred-Scott decision of 1857. Dred Scott was an enslaved African who followed his owner to a free state and then sued for his freedom. The Supreme Court declared that Scott was still a slave, that the Constitution specifically excludes Blacks from its rights of citizenship, and that no African has any rights a white man is bound to respect. Foster was right on target as she said, "On the last day of Black History Month in 2002 the Federal Court of Appeals decided to honor that day by again indicating that a black man has no rights a white man has to respect. "This is not a people of color issue;" she continued, "this is an issue of human rights. You must understand that if my rights and the rights of people who look like me continue to be disrespected, it will have a trickle down effect and none of us will be safe." Retired Police Officer Speaks Councilman James Davis, himself a retired police officer, said, "Today I rise in the name of all good police officers, active or retired, those who have put their lives on the line. But in the case of Abner Louima, I join with other members of the Council in calling on my leader Gilford Miller to speak out about the four police officers Volpe, Schwarz, Wiese and Bruder." He also said that to reinstate Schwarz, Bruder and Wiese to the Police Department "would be a slap in the face of every person who is dedicated to building bridges between the police and the community. These officers participated. Someone held Louima down. Do not bring these three officers back on the force!" Prosecute At State Level Council Member Barton, the main sponsor of Resolution 91, began by thanking all of those who support the Resolution. He went on to state, "It's not enough just to speak out against this sadistic, barbaric crime; we need more than words, we need more than eloquence, we need results. We must unite as a ! City Council and get Governor Pataki to assign a Special Prosecutor who can prosecute these officers on criminal charges at the state level, because that does not represent double jeopardy. That should happen immediately." Barron went on to say, "We all know that Volpe didn't do this alone. This was a conspiracy, and we do not want the Court of Appeals to be used through a technicality." Alluding to the huge discrepancy between how "justice" is usually dispensed to people of color and how it was carried out in this case, Barron stated, "I only hope that when Black and Latino people go to the Court of Appeals, the Court will be as technical as they were here and let us go, too. We want to make sure that technicalities are not used to render an unjust decision." Tear Down Blue Wall Of Silence Councilman Bill Perkins stressed the fact that "We all know that the blue wall of silence is effectively hiding others who participated in this terrible act against Abner Louima. The mayor and the Police Commissioner must dedicate themselves to tearing down the blue wall of silence and finding and punishing the other criminals involved in that rape." Council Member Jose Serrano added his voice, speaking about the very real fact that there is a "lack of faith that people of color now have and will continue to have in the Criminal Justice System when cases like this, time and time again, turn out this way. As people of color, we want to have faith in our system and believe that justice will be served in all cases. So this is very important, and I ask my colleagues here in the City Council to support this Resolution and send a clear message to the Criminal Justice System that we will not just stand back while these types of things continue." Councilwoman Yvette Clarke Speaks Councilwoman Yvette Clarke, who has lived her whole life in the community where AJ~ner Louima resided when this atrocity was committed against him, spoke strongly as well. She described the recent court decision as an outrage not only against Louima but against the Caribbean community itself. "The ruling of the Appellate Court is a very painful chapter in the lives of the Caribbean American community, and indeed in communities all across New York," Clarke stated later. "We are concerned that the reopening of such a deep wound can only create a situation in which the city becomes more polarized. Abner Louima himself, in the wake of his torture, called for unity and for the Police Department to create more sensitivity training and other such things. We certainly support that cause. However, after all is said and done we believe that an injustice has been committed, and that the same system which overturned this decision should now work to have Louima and this community receive the justice that everyone is entitled to." As Chair of the Fire & Criminal Justice Services Committee, Yvette Clarke will be working closely with her fellow Council Members who support Resolution 91 and continuing to stand up and address this important issue. Donna Larab can be contacted at dlamb@gis.net Copyright © 2002 The Black World Today. Ail Rights Reserved. The Black World Today 729 East Pratt St., Baltimore, MD, 21202 Phone: 410 521 4678 I Fax: 410 521 9993 Email: editors@tbwt.com 2 Page 1 of 2 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Wednesday, March 27, 2002 12:16 PM To: Update@NACOLE.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] NY Officer Faces New Charges in Torture Case March 26, 2002 NYTimes Officer Faces New Charges in Torture Case By JIM DWYER and WILLIAM K. RASHBAUM former Brooklyn police officer whose two convictions in the Abner Louima assault case were overturned last month was indicted yesterday on two new charges of perjury. The indictment of the former officer, Charles Schwarz, was announced by Alan Vinegrad, the interim United States attorney in Brooklyn, who said prosecutors wanted to hold Mr. Schwarz "accountable for corruption of the judicial process." The president of the Patrelmen's Benevolent Association, Patrick J. Lynch, immediately denounced the new accusations, saying they were part of a "witch hunt." Mr. Schwarz already faces a retrial on charges that he joined Officer Justin A. Volpe in the attack on Mr. Louima in the bathroom of the 70th Precinct station house on Aug. 9, 1997. In the development yesterday, a federal grand jury in Brooklyn added to those counts by accusing Mr. Schwarz of falsely testifying that he had not escorted Mr. Louima away from the front desk of the 70th Precinct station house and that he had not been in the bathroom when Mr. Volpe jammed a stick into Mr. Louima's rectum. Those statements by Mr. Schwarz are at the core of his claim of innocence, but Mr. Vinegrad, the federal prosecutor who has overseen the case for nearly five years, said they are part of a pattern of lies. "Many acts of obstruction and lying have permeated this case from the beginning," Mr. Vinegrad said. "The defendant Charles Schwarz's conduct at his own trial was uniquely serious." One of Mr. Schwarz's lawyers, Diarmuid White, suggested that the charges were brought by the government to improve its position at Mr. Schwarz's next trial, which is scheduled to begin in June. "It really doesn't change the landscape -- the jury is still going to determine the same facts," Mr. White said. "1 think they perceive some tactical advantage. Maybe they feel in the eyes of the jury it would discredit Chuck up front." From his hospital bed, Mr. Louima quickly picked out Mr. Volpe as his chief attacker, but was unable to identify the second of the two police officers he said brutalized him in the station house bathroom. Mr. Louima had been arrested outside a Flatbush nightclub by Officer Volpe, who had been punched during a melee and mistook Mr. Louima for the culprit. Mr. Volpe eventually pleaded guilty to attacking Mr. Louima and is serving a sentence of 30 years. Mr. Louima did provide a clue to the identity of the second officer in the bathroom: he said that man had been the driver of the patrol car. No one disputed that Mr. Schwarz had been the driver. Two other officers, Eric Turetzky and Mark Schofield, testified that they saw Mr. Schwarz leading Mr. Louima away from the front desk and toward the station house bathroom. The desk sergeant, Jeffrey Fallon, said he did not see who led Mr. Louima away, but testified that Mr. Schwarz had been at the desk with Mr. Louima, filling out paperwork. Sergeant Fallon said that when he glanced away for a moment, Mr. Louima departed and so did Mr. Schwarz. For his part, Mr. Schwarz testified that he had not led Mr. Louima away, and said he had not even been in the station house at the time his fellow officers claimed to have seen him walking Mr. Louima toward the bathroom. The perjury indictment quotes parts of his testimony on this point. "Did you take him anywhere away from the desk?" Mr. Vinegrad, the prosecutor, asked. "No," Mr. Schwarz replied. Asked if he had ever been in the bathroom with Mr. Louima, Mr. Schwarz replied: "Absolutely not." Mr. Schwarz's claim of innocence was partly bolstered by Mr. Volpe, who said that a different police officer, Thomas Wiese, had accompanied him and Mr. Louima into the bathroom and watched wordlessly during the entire attack. And Mr. Wiese told investigators a different version. He said that he had indeed gone into the bathroom, but only after the attack on Mr. Louima was over. He said he had been playing with the station house dog outside the bathroom, heard and saw nothing amiss, and did not see Mr. Schwarz. Mr. Wiese has not testified in any proceedings. He and another former officer, Thomas Bruder, were convicted with Mr. Schwarz on charges that they obstructed a grand jury investigation. Those convictions were overturned by a federal appeals court, which ruled that while the three former officers had attempted to mislead investigators, they had not testified before a grand jury and could not have obstructed its inquiry. The authorities have not yet said whether they will pursue new charges against Mr. Wiese and Mr. Bruder. Early yesterday, before the grand jury voted the indictment, Mr. Vinegrad answered questions about the Louima case after delivering a speech on terrorism to the Citizens Crime Commission. 3/27/02 Page 2 of 2 "To my mind, the door remains open to the possibility of other charges of like kind being brought against one or more of the officers, and as I said earlier, that decision has not yet been made," Mr. Vinegrad said. One of Mr. Louima's lawyers, Peter Neufeld, said the indictment yesterday might aler~ other former officers -- particularly Mr. Wiese, whose testimony might be helpful to Mr. Schwarz -- of the perils of perjury. "It's a warning to Tommy Wiese for the next trial, and other police officers in general, that perjury in support of a cop who breaks the law will no longer be tolerated," Mr. Neufeld said. "Historically, cops believed that they could commit perjury on behalf of their brother officers with impunity. And when cops would testify falsely, even if the target was convicted, they would never be charged. This indictment sends a very strong message that the perjury statute will be vigorously enforced against police officers and not just civilians." Mr. Wiese's lawyer, Joseph Tacopina, scoffed at Mr. Neufeld's analysis, but he said he was not sure whether Mr. Wiese would testify at the next trial of Mr. Schwarz, his former patrol partner. "We have no further legal proceedings of any sort for Mr. VV~ese," Mr. Tacopina said. "Until we're invited to the dance, we're not making any decisions at this point about testifying." Mr. Lynch, the police union president, released a brief statement criticizing the indictment and saying the union was confident Mr. Schwarz will be exonerated. "It's a disgrace that Chuck Schwarz, who has already spent 33 months in prison for crimes he didn't commit, should be subjected to another vindictive prosecution by the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District," the statement said. Mr. Lynch's union last year paid $1.625 million to Mr. Louima to settle civil charges that union officials had helped cover up the attack. It was believed to be the first time a police union has paid a settlement of any amount to the victim of brutality. The union denied any wrongdoing. 3/27/02 Page 1 of 2 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Wednesday, March 27, 2002 8:17 PM To: Update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Pittsbur~lh SWAT Team Probe Planned; Review Board to Observe SWAT team probe planned By Andrew Conte Pittsburgh TRIBUNE-REVIEW Wednesday, March 27, 2002 Pittsburgh City Council wants an independent investigation of three recent SWAT team incidents, including a Homewood standoff in which two police officers were injured. Council on Tuesday unanimously authorized the Murphy administration to hire the National Tactical Officers Association, a Doylestown, Bucks County, membership organization representing special weapons and tactics officers, to do the review. The Fraternal Order of Police, which represents city police officers, had su§gested that the group do a review. The Pittsburgh Citizen Police Review Board would be an observer to the process. A report on the findings would be made public under the legislation approved by council. The study could §et under way within two months if the administration approves it. "We recognize the need to have an independent review, and we are working to develop an appropriate solution," said Craig Kwiecinski, a spokesman for Mayor Tom Murphy. He declined to elaborate. The police union was pleased with council's decision to hire the association. "For a fair and impartial review, they are one of the best, if not the best in the country," said Patrolman Eugene Grattan Jr., president of Fort Pitt Lodge No. -1. On Feb. 20, two police officers were injured as they tried to end an armed standoff with Cecil Brookins, 46, of Homewood. Police say Brookins held police at bay for three hours at his home at 7200 Hermitage St., then shot Cmdr. Dom Costa and SWAT Officer Thomas Huerbin before being shot by another officer. All three men survived. Some police officials have raised concerns over how the standoff was handled. Costa entered Brookins' home without a protective vest and was not in contact with other police commanders at the scene. The union earlier this month sent police Chief Robert W. McNeilly Jr. 96 questions regarding the handling of the incident. McNeilly forwarded the questions to three officers leading an internal review. He said he expects the review to last four to six months. McNeilly could not be reached for comment yesterday. The police union also has raised concerns about the handling of incidents involving a barricaded gunman on March -14 at '17'17 Lowrie St. in Troy Hill, and the serving of a high-risk warrant on March 7 at 2509 Sheraden Blvd. in the West End. "What we're doing here is making a statement about accountability," said Councilman Sala Udin, who insisted the civilian review board be included in the process. Councilman Bob O'Connor, who introduced the legislation, estimated the investigation would cost the city $2'1,000, but did not allocate money for it. He said such legislation could come as soon as next week. Saying he wants to build on the spirit of cooperation, Udin introduced another bill yesterday that would direct the mayor to require 3/28/02 Page 2 of 2 police officers to "fully participate" in civilian review board investigations. It is scheduled for discussion today. Anclro~v Genre can be reachocl at aconto@tribweb~com or (412) 7~5-2312. 3/28/02 Page 1 of 3 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Thursday, March 28, 2002 12:09 AM To: Update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] GA Acquittal in Sheriffs Murder; Cincy Cop Molest; Denver Cop & Road Rage TWO Acquitted in GA Sheriff-Elect's Murder Dateline: Decatur, GA - 3/26/2002 By HITCH STACY The Associated Press Two of the men accused of conspiring with former DeKalb County Sheriff Sidney Dorsey to kill his successor were found innocent of murder and other charges Monday. David Ramsey and Melvin Walker were charged with gunning down Sheriff-elect Derwin Brown in his driveway Dec. 15, 2000, three days before he was to be sworn in. The case against Ramsey and Walker was based almost solely on the testimony of Paul Skyers and Patrick Curly, co-conspirators who were given immunity for cooperating with prosecutors. Curly and Skyers said Dorsey ordered the hit and the four men carried it out, with Walker serving as the gunman. Dorsey, who faces murder and racketeering charges, will be tried separately. Brown had defeated Dorsey in a bitter campaign four months earlier after promising to clean up corruption. Not long before his death, he had vowed to fire 38 of Dorsey's deputies. Cuff,/and Walker were deputies and Ramsey worked for Dorsey's private security company. Lawyers for Ramsey and Walker rested their case Thursday without calling witnesses, and closing arguments were completed earlier Friday. · 'This trial is about Sidney Dorsey," Xavier Dicks, Ramsey's attorney, said in his closing statement. ' ' It's not about David Ramsey or Melvin Walker. The state has done nothing other than attempt to sacrifice David Ramsey and Melvin Walker in an attempt to get Sidney Dorsey." Curly and Skyers said Dorsey ordered the killing because he was angry about losing the election and because Brown was helping authorities investigate allegations of corruption in the sheriff's office and the county jail. Dorsey has said he had nothing to do with the murder. His trial is set to begin in June. Detroit Police Officer Road Rage Dateline: Detroit, MI - 3/26/2002 WXYZ-TV Detroit Reported by Kimberly Craig An off-duty Detroit police officer says he fired his gun because a teenager tried to run him off the road. But the teen driving the other car is telling a different story. The off-duty Detroit officer had to lean in front of the passenger who was in the car with him in order to fire out of the window. He says he was not even aiming at the other driver, but now his is under investigation. Was the Detroit officer who fired a bullet into a pickup truck trying to protect the public, or was it road rage? The officer was off duty and in St. Clair Shores when it happened Saturday night. The person in the pickup truck was an 18-year-old who we'll call Anthony because he does not want to be identified. He said he had no idea that one of the two men who pulled up to him on Nine Mile was a cop. 3/28/02 Page 2 of 3 "I was on my way home and the car pulled up next to me at a red light. They rolled down their window and they were yelling at me saying I had cut them off. I had no idea what they were talking about." The off-duty officer tells Action News that he observed Anthony driving recklessly. Anthony admits he had been drinking, but says the two men began to follow him, and then threw their slurpees at his window. "I was driving, somewhat towards the left part of the lane, and they had swerved at me and made contact with my vehicle. And I got scared after that," Anthony said. The Detroit police officer, who works in the 5th precinct, said when he fired at the pickup truck, he feared for his safety because he says Anthony was driving recklessly and he wanted him stopped. When he pulled the trigger, he says he was only trying to blow out the rear tire. But some police sources, critical of the officer's actions, say he could have hurt or even killed an innocent bystander. The officer tells Action News he tried calling 911 for help, but by the time he had got some assistance from St. Clair Shores Police, he had already fired off a bullet. St. Clair Shores Police did not arrest the officer, but that does not mean he will not be charged. If charged with a felony, he will be suspended without pay. Cincy Officer Goes to Prison for Molestation Dateline: Cincinnati, OH - 3/26/2002 Cincinnati Post By Kimball Perry Bobby Smith spent almost 14 years as a police officer putting criminals behind bars. Today, the former Norwood cop learned he will join them. Smith, 38, who last month admitted to sexually touching a 17-year-old girl in a police Explorer youth program he supervised, was ordered to prison for six months by Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Ann Marie Tracey. "This is just a tremendous lapse of judgment," the judge told Smith. "(The victim) was totally innocent in this matter." Despite the judge's comments and Smith's admission he had invited the girl to his house, wrestled with her as part of a skit, then digitally penetrated her, Smith's family glared at the girl after the sentencing and called her names. "You little tramp," an elderly woman from Smith's family said as she left the courtroom. The judge also chided those in the audience, and in Norwood, who blame the victim and mistreated her for what Smith did. "If it's happening, shame on you. Shame on you." Smith pleaded guilty last month to gross sexual imposition in a plea bargain that allowed more serious charges of rape and sexual battery ~ crimes that carried an additional 15 years in prison - to be dismissed. Again today, Smith admitted his guilt. "I knew I was wrong in what I did," he told the judge. "Words alone can't describe how bad I feel for her and her family." Smith has known the victim and her family for 10 years. Smith resigned from the police department just prior to pleading guilty last month. 3/28/02 Marian Karr From: RONALD.CLARKSON@CO.MO.MD.US Sent: Thursday, March 28, 2002 8:44 AM To: quinn(~nacole.org Subject: News Article --- Received from EXECUTVE.CLARKS 240-777-2500 02-03-28 10.44 -> quinn@nacole.org Subpoena Power Bill Under Fire By KRISSAH WILLI~/~S Capital News Service Journal Newspapers March 28, 2002 ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND - Giving citizens the power to enforce subpoenas of police officers may be going too far, said the chairman of a Senate committee considering the bill Tuesday. ''Are we going to put a badge and gun on everyone in Prince George's County?'' asked Senate Judicial Proceedings Chairman Walter M. Baker, D-Cecil. Baker's committee is weighing a bill backed by the Prince George's County delegation giving the power to enforce subpoenas to a county citizen's panel investigating complaints against the police department. The bill, which passed the House 127-7 two weeks ago, is the last hope for county activists seeking tools to hold the police department accountable. Ail other bills have failed. The Prince George's County Police Department has been tainted in recent years by allegations of abuse and excessive force. Two Prince George's County officers were accused in a federal lawsuit filed earlier this month of beating a man so severely he suffered brain damage. In other cases, officers have been accused of coercing confessions during lengthy interrogations. In response to years of complaints, the county created the Citizen Complaint Oversight Panel to investigate complaints against law enforcement. The panel now relies on the County Council to apply for and enforce subpoenas. If a person fails to comply with the County Council subpoena, the citizen's panel has no power to seek a court order. The future of the bill, which the Senate co~ittee did not vote on Tuesday, is uncertain. Baker said he was concerned that the bill would give citizens too much power. ''I have a real problem giving subpoena power to a private group of citizens,'' Baker said. ''That is a government authority.'' Brown explained the County Council would have to issue the subpoena. The legislation would allow the oversight panel to go to court to enforce the order if a person failed to comply with the council subpoena. ''Our County Council, which is often wrestling with other issues, may not have the time to go to court,'' said Del. Anthony G. Brown, D-Prince George's. ''It gives [the oversight panel] the standing to seek enforcement.'' At the Senate hearing Tuesday, only Brown was allowed to testify because of rules restricting testimony on House bills before a Senate committee. The Prince George's County Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police opposed the bill before the House 1 earlier this month. ''Many cases have been taken to various state courts concerning the required testimony of law enforcement officers by citizens complaint panels,'' Prince George's County FOP President Anthony M. Walker said in a written statement. ''Officers cannot be compelled to testify.'' However, a similar citizen's review board in Baltimore already has subpoena power, said Sen. Clarence M. Mitchell IV, D-Baltimore. The Baltimore panel has used the power once or twice in the last three years, he said. Another police accountability bill backed by the Prince George's County delegation was killed by Judicial Proceedings earlier this session. It would have made statewide changes to the Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights, shortening the waiting period that officers have before being interrogated about a shooting or other incident from 10 days to three. Page 1 of 3 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Thursday, March 28, 2002 1:00 PM To: Update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Ohio Police Chief Admits Shooting Self, Hoax; Cincy & Feds CLose to Agrmt Agrmt OH Police Chief Admits to Shooting Self, Hoax Dateline: Ashland, OH - 3/28/2002 Columbus Dispatch State Service When the Perrysville police chief called for assistance, help arrived in droves. At least 10 law-enforcement agencies responded on Harch 19 when Tim Sommer said shots had been fired. He had been hit, A bullet had pierced his windshield. That much was true. But how it all happened came into question after investigators concluded Sommer's story didn't match the facts. The Ashland County Sheriff's Office in a news release yesterday said the apparent hoax was hatched after Sommer -- parked in the police garage -- accidentally discharged a departmental rifle through the windshield of his cruiser. To cover up the incident, Sommer decided to drive the cruiser to an isolated county road, where he made tire marks with the vehicle in the grass along the berm. Then he used his radio to call for help and fired his weapon to underscore there was trouble at the scene. But there wasn't. Sommer had been sitting in his cruiser when he engaged the bullet dip on his weapon, losing the clip. While dosing the cruiser door and replacing the dip, Sommer accidentally shot himself in his left thigh. When help arrived, he told fellow officers that he had fought in a life- and-death struggle with a man who had attacked him during a traffic stop. Sommer gave a description of the man and said he fled in a white Chevrolet four-door vehicle with no registration. Sommer, 52, was taken by helicopter to Grant Medical (:enter in Columbus where he was treated for the wound and eventually released. A statewide manhunt ensued for a man who didn't exist. "We're not going to give up until we're sure we can't find him," Sheriff F. Wayne Risner had said. They gave up yesterday, after Sommer admitted he concocted the story. The confession occurred during a lengthy interview between Sommer and investigators, who had learned from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and investigation that something was amiss. "Our analysis did not wash with the story the chief relayed," said ]ge Case, spokesman for Ohio Attorney General Betty D. Montgomery, whose agency includes the bureau. The case will be presented to the Ashland County prosecutor's office for possible charges, the sheriff's press release said. Changes for Cincinnati Police Outlined in Draft Dateline: Cincinnati, OH - 3/28/2002 By 3~8~2 Page 2 of 3 Gregory Korte, gkorte@enquirer.com. The Cincinnati Enquirer A secret draft settlement between the U.S. Department of Justice and the city of Cincinnati would make sweeping changes in the way the Cincinnati Police Department deals with foot pursuits, choke holds and mentally ill suspects. The proposed agreement would conclude a 10-month-old "patterns and practices investigation" that found sometimes fatal flaws in how Cincinnati police officers used force against suspects, how the department tracked those incidents, and how police officers were disciplined. Differing versions Three weeks before the mayor's April :L deadline for an agreement, lawyers for the city and the Justice Department seemed to be far apart on several key issues, according to copies of two draft agreements obtained by The Cincinnati Enquirer Wednesday. The Justice Department's proposed draft, dated March 1, calls for a broad range of specific reforms, a comprehensive and expensive system to track the conduct of police officers, and tight deadlines to keep the reforms on track. The city's proposed draft, dated March 11, incorporates many of those reforms but leaves some out. More info refused it's unclear how far city and federal lawyers have come since those drafts were written. The city and the Justice Department have refused requests to release documents related to the "patterns and practices" investigation under the Ohio Public Records Act and the federal Freedom of Information Act. Mayor Charlie Luken said Wednesday that city and federal lawyers have been meeting day and night, and that the documents don't necessarily reflect where the parties are today. He promised in January to have an agreement in hand by next Monday -- less than a week before the first anniversary of the fatal shooting that led to last April's riots. "All ! can tell you is that all of the things have been refined, and there's been a coming together of the minds on several issues," Mr. Luken said. "We're very sensitive right now. The next few days are critical to this." City lawyers and police officials declined to comment on the progress of the talks Wednesday. One of the most pressing issues for the city's lawyers appears to be money. The city's draft makes many of the Justice Department reforms contingent on "available technical and financial resources" -- a phrase that's used at least nine times. A clause in the city's draft would require the Justice Department to help find money for any reform that costs more than $10,000. And it would get the city off the hook for many reforms as long as city officials make "reasonable, good-faith efforts to obtain necessary funds." Mr. Luken wrote the city's representatives in the U.S. House and Senate this month asking for $12 million to create and maintain the new police database, and for more computers and video cameras in police cruisers. Many of the Justice Department's proposed reforms address specific incidents involving police use of force in Cincinnati. · Timothy Thomas, a ].9-year-old wanted on 14 traffic and misdemeanor warrants, was shot by ~olice last April 7 after a foot chase into a dark Over-the-Rhine alley. He was later found to be unarmed. 3/28/02 Page 3 of 3 The Justice Department proposed a new policy on foot chases, which would require police to consider several factors before a foot chase. They include the suspect's offense, the location (especially the lighting and the officer's familiarity with the surroundings), whether the suspect is armed, and the possibility of catching the suspect later. · Roger Owensby Jr. died of asphyxiation in the back of a police cruiser after allegedly being choked, sprayed with chemical irritant and struck by police officers in Roselawn in November 2000. The Justice Department would "prohibit officers from keeping any sprayed suspect in a face-down position," and "explicitly prohibit the use of choke holds and similar carotid holds." · Lorenzo Collins, an escaped mental patient, charged police officers with a brick in 1997 and was fatally shot. The Justice Department wants the Police Department to create "a cadre of specially trained officers within each shift" who would have primary responsibility for dealing with mentally ill suspects. None of those reforms were included in the Justice Department's initial report last October, so city officials were reportedly caught off guard by those recommendations. The city's draft agreement does not address those issues. In some cases, the city has proposed reforms that are not as far reaching, or are less specific, than the Justice Department's. The federal government wants officers to report each time officers discharge a gun "on- or off-duty," for example, but the city's proposed settlement leaves out that phrase. And the Justice Department wants the city to write into its policy manual that the use of police dogs and chemical spray is forbidden when used "solely to protect property." 3/28/02 Page 1 of 2 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Saturday, March 30, 2002 3:13 PM To: Update@nacole.org Subject: IN^COLE Update] LA: Rampart Report Is ^ Year Overdue http://latimes.com/news/Iocal/la 0000228'1 '1 mar30.sto ?coll=la%2Dheadlines%2Dcalifornia Rampart Report Is a Year Overdue LAPD: Chief, seeking a new term, is behind on a promised second document. An official blames the complexity of the investigation. By SCOTT GLOVER and MATT LAIT LA TIMES STAFF WRITERS March 30 2002 Shortly after the Rampart corruption scandal came to light in 1999, Los Angeles Police Chief Bernard C. Parks promised to get to the bottom of the department's troubles and publicly explain what went wrong in two comprehensive reports. The chief issued the first report two years ago, documenting the administrative and managerial failures of the LAPD that police officials believe contributed to the misconduct in Rampart. But the second report, which is supposed to reveal "the exact nature and disposition of each allegation," has yet to be written. Parks initially said the second report would be completed by early last year. Department officials now say that document is still weeks, if not longer, away from completion. It has been delayed, they said, because the corruption investigation has dragged on longer than expected, involving hundreds of allegations and making it more difficult to chronicle them all. One effect of that delay is that the report, now more than a year overdue, probably will not be made public until after the city Police Commission decides whether to give Parks a second term as chief. He is scheduled to appear before the commission Monday to discuss his reappointment. The author of the second report stressed, however, that the delays in producing it are not related to Parks' bid for another term, but rather are the result of difficulties in gathering large volumes of material and working with other agencies. Police commissioners have said that they will evaluate Parks, in part, on his handling of the Rampart scandal. The documents related to the department's response to the scandal are available to the commission even though the final report is not complete. Although Parks won initial praise for trying to uncover the scandal, many critics have complained that the chief failed to make good on his pledge to investigate corruption wherever it led in the department. "If Parks had intentionally planned to cover up Rampart, I don't think he could have done a better job," said USC professor Erwin Chemerinsky, who has studied the LAPD and who, working for the city's police union, produced his own report on the corruption. The LAPD's investigation, according to Chemerinsky and other depariment observers, minimized the scope of police wrongdoing. Once completed, the second report could help prove whether that criticism is valid. "A report like this is long overdue. It's essential," said Gary Wigodsky, an alternate public defender. "The LAPD is sitting on a mountain of evidence that corroborates these [corruption] allegations." Known in the LAPD vernacular as an "after-action report," the second document is supposed to account for every allegation of criminal or administrative misconduct that arose from the Rampart probe. That would mean that police officials would have disclosed for the first time what detectives found in the course of their 2 4/1/02 Page 2 of 2 1/2-year investigation. Much of the investigation was spurred by the admissions and allegations of former LAPD Officer Rafael Perez, who agreed to cooperate with authorities in exchange for a lighter sentence for stealing cocaine. In dozens of interviews, Perez described what he said was an out-of-control group of anti-gang officers who routinely planted evidence, lied in police reports, committed perjury, beat gang members and covered up unjustified shootings. Beyond Perez's accusations, LAPD investigators uncovered other allegations of police misconduct. Cmdr. Daniel Koenig, who is responsible for drafting the after-action report, said the document will be comprehensive. "The chief committed to [issuing the report], and that commitment will be met," he said. "People have a right to know what the hell happened." Koenig said he has been receiving information for the report from various department officials, adding that he hopes that the document can be released as soon as mid-April. However, he cautioned that it could take longer to write and edit the report. After-action reports are undertaken by the LAPD after serious episodes, in recent years, for instance, such reports have been produced after the 2000 Democratic National Convention and after the bloody 1997 North Hollywood shootout. One widely publicized after-action report came after an investigation into the taped allegations of former Det. Mark Fuhrman, who told an aspiring screenwriter tales of police brutality and discrimination. That report, also written by Koenig, concluded that Fuhrman exaggerated or lied about his claims of brutality, but was telling the truth when he spoke of institutional harassment of women. A number of new policies and practices were recommended after the Fuhrman report. First Report Led to Call for Change Policy revisions also were recommended after the LAPD's first report on the Rampart scandal. The so-called Board of Inquiry report addressed mostly the administrative and managerial failures of the department. For instance, the Board of Inquiry concluded that corrupt officers took advantage of lax department supervision to carry out criminal acts. The breakdowns included failures to check the backgrounds of police recruits, to monitor police officer misconduct and to supervise officers in the field. One section of the Rampart after-action report, Koenig said, will assess whether the reforms recommended in the Board of Inquiry report have been implemented and, if so, how they are working. If you want other stories on this topic, search the Archives at latimes.com/archives. For information about reprinting this article, go to www.lats.com/rights. 4/1/02 Page 1 of 2 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Saturday, March 30, 2002 3:18 PM To: Update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] San Bernardino Officer Accused of Multiple Sex Offenses on Duty http:lllatimes.comlnewsllocallla-O00022819mar30.story?coll=la%2 Dheadlines%2 Dcalifornia Accused Officer Is Called Devoted Father, Worker By DAREN BRISCOE LA TIMES STAFF WRITER March 30 2002 A San Bernardino police officer charged with sexually assaulting or raping 11 women while on duty was described Friday as a devoted father who worked a graveyard patrol shift to leave time to participate in Little League games. "As far as we knew, he was a hard-working officer," said Richard Lawhead, vice president of the San Bernardino Police Officers Assn. Ronald Allen VanRossum, 37, a 14-year veteran of the department, is charged with more than two dozen felony counts: 11 of kidnapping for the purpose of rape, eight of rape, two of sexual battery and, under color of authority, five counts of oral copulation and one charge of sodomy. The charges cover the period from April 28, 2000, to Nov. 1,2001. VanRossum's arraignment, initially set for Friday, was continued to April 19 by San Bemardino County Superior Court Judge W. Robert Fawke. Santa Monica attorney Bill Hadden, who has defended police officers for 20 years on criminal and other matters, said he expected that his client would plead not guilty. Hadden spoke to VanRossum for the first time Friday. "He's holding up better than I would," Hadden said. Lawhead said VanRossum and his wife, who works for the San Bernardino city Water Department, have two children. The officer had few close colleagues on the force, Lawhead said, because of his overnight shift. He worked without a partner. According to Lawhead, VanRossum joined the department in the civilian post of community service representative. Later, he worked on bike patrol, where Lawhead worked with him. VanRossum had several different assignments during his career, according to Lawhead. He worked vice and other specialty assignments, Lawhead said, before returning to patrol a couple of years ago, which Lawhead said is not uncommon. Investigators were able to locate the alleged victims by retracing every stop VanRossum made in the last two years as a patrol officer, according to Lawhead. A history of every officer's stop is recorded by a computer. "If he's guilty of all charges, he should be prosecuted to the fullest extent," Lawhead said. "1 think we all feel that way, if he's tarnished our reputation. As police officers, we're held to an even higher standard." Defense attorney Hadden said he has just been given several thousand pages of information about the investigation and will start to go through it all this weekend. The complaint alleges that VanRossum threatened women with arrest. Hadden said he understood "that at least some of [the women] have had extensive law enforcement contact in the past." He said he has been led to believe that some of them may have police records. All the women have asked to remain anonymous. 4/1/02 Page 2 of 2 VanRossum, who was arrested Thursday, is being held at the West Valley Detention Center in lieu of $3-mJllion bail. He has been on leave since Nov. 7, five days after San Bernardino police arrested a woman who told them she had been sexually assaulted by an officer. That began the investigation that led to his arrest. 4/1/02 Page 1 of 2 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Saturday, March 30, 2002 3:21 PM To: Update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Bystander Injuries Stemming from Police Pursuits Rise http;[~a~imes~c¢m[ne~s~c~[~a~228~m~r3~st~ry?~a%2Dh~d~ines%2Dca~if~mi~ LOS ANGELES Bystander Injuries Stemming From Police Pursuits Rise Accidents: Number of pedestrians hurt climbed to 69 last year, nearly double the 1998 figure. Total chases also rose in 2001. By ANDREW BLANKSTEIN LA TIMES STAFF WRITER March 30 2002 The number of police chases and the number of resulting injuries among pedestrians increased significantly last year, according to Los Angeles police statistics. Pursuits rose to 769 in 2001 from 597 in 2000, the figures show. Pedestrian injuries climbed to 69 in 2001, nearly double the number in 1998. "Any time there's injuries, there's obviously cause for concern," Los Angeles Police Department Cmdr. George Gascon said. "This shows we need to continue to assess our [pursuit] practices to minimize injuries to the community and the officers." The recent figures contrast with 1995-2000 statistics compiled by the California Highway Patrol, which reported LAPD pursuits decreased 36%. Statewide, the five-year decrease was 32%, according to the CHP. The LAPD also reported that traffic accidents during chases increased between 2000 and 2001. Accidents involving the suspect's vehicle climbed to 372 in 2001 from 280 the previous year, while accidents involving other vehicles jumped to 151 in 2001 from 116 in 2000. Debate over police chases was rekindled after a driver fleeing police earlier this month struck pedestrians Anna Polivoda, 76, and her husband, Henry, 79, near the Beverly Center. They sustained broken bones and head injuries. Tremine Tillman, 23, of Van Nuys was later arrested and charged with evading arrest and hit-and-run driving. The LAPD says the police cruiser was no longer chasing Tillman--initially noticed because of a questionable registration-when the accident occurred. Under LAPD rules, patrol officers have the discretion to chase any driver who attempts to flee. But Gascon, who heads the group that trains recruits and officers, said a cornerstone of the policy is assessing the safety risks to bystanders and officers. Police, he said, are supposed to weigh many variables before and during a chase. They include traffic volume, whether the area is residential or commemial and whether the driver can be identified and apprehended later. As for any changes Jn policy, Gascon said the department constantly monitors pursuits and makes any necessary adjustments in training. The number of police chases had been dropping after a 1996 report by the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California that highlighted increased numbers of pursuit-ralated crashes, injuries and deaths. ACLU Executive Director Ramona Ripston expressed concern Friday over the rise in injuries and said the LAPD needs a more concrete policy, especially when it comes to pursuing people accused of minor traffic violations. "If police are pursuing someone who has murdered, raped or robbed a bank, that's one thing," she said. "But they should 4/1/02 Page 2 of 2 not engage in these high-speed chases for minor motor vehicle violations. They're too dangerous." The most recent LAPD numbers show 57% of pursuits were initiated by traffic violations, 35% by felonies and 6% by misdemeanors. The ACLU's 1996 report focused on whether officers should be allowed to pursue drivers and whether any offense or crime should justify a chase. It also found that most of the LAPD's fatal chases involved drivers wanted for violating the vehicle code, generally less serious offenses. Some police agencies, such as the Santa Monica Police Department and Orange County Sheriffis Department, prohibit officers from starting a pursuit over minor traffic violations. If you want other stories on this topic, search the Archives at latimes.com/archives. 4/1/02 Page 1 of 1 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Saturday, Mamh 30, 2002 4:35 PM To: Update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Former Ramparts Cop Pleads G to Buying 22 Pounds of Coke near San Diego Former [Ramparts] officer pleads guilty to buying drugs He was fired by LAPD after arrest By Marisa Taylor San Diego Union Tribune STAFF WRITER March 28, 2002 A former Los Angeles police officer being investigated in connection with a stabbing death pleaded guilty yesterday to buying 22 pounds of cocaine in Chula Vista. Ruben Palomares, 32, didn't cut a deal with prosecutors that would have given him a lighter sentence in exchange for his cooperation. He faces between 10 years to life in prison for two drug felonies and a weapons charge at a sentencing hearing July 22. Palomares, an LAPD officer since November 1993, was fired after he and four other men were arrested in an undercover sting. Federal officials said Palomares was caught driving away from a Chula Vista parking lot with the cocaine. According to the officials, he came up with a part of the $130,000 in cash to finance the drug buy. "He was the organizer and leader of this deal," Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy Jones said. David Bartick, Palomares' defense attorney, said Palomares played a minor role in the drug deal and had been recruited only the night before to help out. When arrested, Palomares was carrying two guns, one of them strapped to his ankle, officials said. Agents also found an LAPD-issued gun and two police badges issued to Palomares in a black bag in a car driven by another defendant. Palomares is also being investigated in Los Angeles in connection with the Dec. 9, 2000, stabbing death of a Huntington Park man, according to sources familiar with the case. Palomares and four other men are accused of following Erick Mendoza, 23, to his Huntington Park apartment after an argument at a restaurant. Palomares is accused of punching Mendoza before one of the other men allegedly stabbed him. Shortly after Palomares was charged in San Diego, the Mendoza investigation was turned over to the FBI, sources said. Federal authorities also are investigating allegations that Palomares and his former LAPD partner, William Ferguson, allegedly committed a series of armed robberies, stealing narcotics and money from drug dealers. Palomares was once assigned to the Los Angeles Police Department's Rampart Division, located west of downtown Los Angeles. His name surfaced in a high-profile investigation of the Rampart Division because of his alleged role in the fatal May 19, 1998, police shooting of Carlos Perez Vertiz, 44. The incident was initially deemed legitimate by the department, but the investigation was reopened in light of the Rampart scandaI.Palomares' defense attorney said his client denies the other criminal allegations. 4/1/02