Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout4-23-2013 PCRB Community Forum. A �. •1111 _ ► 11 IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY, RM i 123 South Linn Street, IC ITEM NO. 1 CALL TO ORDER & ROLL CALL ITEM NO. 2 INTRODUCTION OF BOARD ITEM NO. 3 CONSIDER MOTION TO ACCEPT CORRESPONDENCE AND/OR DOCUMENTS ITEM NO. 4 PUBLIC DISCUSSION WITH POLICE CITIZENS REVIEW BOARD ITEM NO. 5 ADJOURNMENT We invite YOU to attend a forum. The City of Iowa City POLICE CITIZENS REVIEW BOARD COMMUNITY FORUM WHEN: Tuesday, April 23, 2013 TIME: 6:00 PM WHERE: Iowa City Public Library, Rm A 123 South Linn Street, IC TOPIC: The Police Citizens Review Board will be holding a Community Forum for the purpose of hearing Citizens' views on the policies, practices and procedures of the Iowa City Police Department. (Find ICPD General Orders at www.icgov.org under Police Dept) QUESTIONS & COMMENTS: Send your questions or comments you'd like addressed at the forum to the following by Monday, April 8th: Please include full name and address. (All correspondence is public) PCRB City of Iowa City 410 E Washington St Iowa City, IA 52240 Or e-mail to PCRB staff: kellie-tuttle@iowa-city.org The Board will attempt to address all correspondence received. The forum will be taped for rebroadcast. General News Release: The Police Citizens Review Board will be holding its Amoral Community Forum for the put -pose of hearing Citizens' views on the policies, practices and procedures of the Iowa City Police Department. WHEN: Tuesday, April 23, 2013, TIME: 6:00 PM at WHERE: Iowa City Public Library, Rm A 123 South Linn Street, IC Questions & Comments: Send your questions or comments you'd like addressed at the forum to the following by Monday, April 8th: Please include full name and address. (All correspondence is public) PCRB Or e-mail to PCRB staff: City of Iowa City kellie-tuttle c iowa-city.org 410 E Washington St Iowa City, IA 52240 The Board will attempt to address all correspondence received. The forum will be taped and rebroadcast on the Interactive City Channel 5. The agenda is available at: littp://www.ic og v.or default/apps/boards/boardList.asp Kellie Tuttle From: City of Iowa City <webmaster@iowa-city.org> Sent: Friday, March 22, 2013 9:40 AM To: Kellie Tuttle Subject: Police Citizens Review Board Community Forum Police Citizens Review Board Community Forum Issued by: City Clerk Mailing Ust(s): General City News Originally Posted 3/22/2013 9:39:33 AM Contact: Kellie Tuttle Contact Phone: (319) 356-5043 The Police Citizens Review Board will be holding its Annual Community Forum for the purpose of hearing Citizens' views on the policies, practices and procedures of the Iowa City Police Department. WHEN: Tuesday, April 23, 2013 TIME: 6:00 PM at WHERE: Iowa City Public Library, Rm A 123 South Linn Street, IC Questions & Comments: Send your questions or comments you'd like addressed at the forum to the following by Monday, April 8th: Please include full name and address. (All correspondence is public) PCRB City of Iowa City 410 E Washington St Iowa City, IA 52240 Or e-mail to PCRB staff: kellie-tuttle()iowa-citv.oro The Board will attempt to address all correspondence received. The forum will be taped and rebroadcast on the Interactive City Channel 5. The agenda is available at: http://Www.icqov.oro/defauIttapps/boards/boardList.asp Kellie Tuttle From: City of Iowa City <webmaster@iowa-city.org> Sent: Thursday, April 11, 2013 9:32 AM To: Kellie Tuttle Subject: Police Citizens Review Board Community Forum Contact: Kellie Tuttle Contact Phone: (319) 356-5043 Police Citizens Review Board Community Forum Issued by: City Clerk Mailing Ust(s): General City News Originally Posted 4/11/2013 9:31:43 AM The Police Citizens Review Board will be holding its Annual Community Forum for the purpose of hearing Citizens' views on the policies, practices and procedures of the Iowa City Police Department. WHEN: Tuesday, April 23, 2013, TIME: 6:00 PM at WHERE: Iowa City Public Library, Rm A 123 South Linn Street, IC The forum will be taped and rebroadcast on the Interactive City Channel 5. View this article on the ICGov Web Site: htto://www.icgov.org/apps/news/?news]D=8655 This media release was sent to: kellie-tullle(ccpiowa-citv.ora Do not reply directly to this a-maill It is produced from an automated system, and is not monitored for replies. If you have a question or comment about this information, please contact the individual(s) listed in the release. • Unsubscribe or edit your subscription details. • Visit our lobs Page for employment opportunities. • View more news from the City of Iowa Citv. April 23, 2013 PLEASE PRINT YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS ON THE OPPOSITE SHEET WHEN YOU ADDRESS THE BOARD NAME: ADDRESS: C�1S� A Co ri r - / i- o- / Erna i, r'esPvnse {i c ryi %re: /atr- Thank you again for attending the Police Citizen's Review Board Annual Forum and for your questions and interests that you expressed at this forum. You had a question concerning training that Iowa City Police Officers receive concerning service animals. I contacted the Police Department and received the following information. The Iowa City Police Department contracts with a company out of Washington, Iowa called Police Legal Sciences, Inc. or PLS. PLS "is a corporation dedicated to helping police officer and dispatchers strengthen their decision -making skills, professionalism and customer service. Each month a team of experienced and highly -qualified dispatchers, police officers and lawyers create interactive, continuing education training lessons that can be taken anywhere there is internet access." This training has the key components of being: 1. Reality -Based, involving actual cases and actual 911 calls. 2. Structural Dynamics, where the training teams demonstrate how significant elements of a complex event function with each other and how each element functions in relation to the overall handling of the event. 3. Alignment, between callers, dispatchers, police officers, training and agency policies. 4. Legal Analysis, explanations of legal principles relevant to each case. 5. Experience The training team of PLS equals 80 years of Dispatcher experience, 60 years of Police Officer experience and 38 years of legal (lawyer) experience. Officer Kelsay informed me that all officers are required to completed e-learning sessions through PLS and that different topics are covered each month. The current session pertaining to service animals training was made in 2009 and was a part of a monthly e-learning packet. Officer Kelsay spoke with the Director of PLS, Mr. Gerald N. Partridge and was told that the newest training on service animals was going to be released in June of this year. He was told that instead of service animal training being a part of one big training, with other unrelated topics, it has been upgraded and expanded to be part of an animal specific training dealing with service animals and police canines. The Iowa City Police Department will be receiving this new expanded and updated training on service animals for their officers in June of this year. Thank You Again for your interest in Iowa City's Police Citizen Review Board and the Iowa City Police Department. Joe Treloar Chair Iowa City Police Citizen's Review Board FINAL/APPROVED POLICE CITIZENS REVIEW BOARD COMMUNITY FORUM April 23, 2013, 6:00 P.M. IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY 123 South Linn Street, IC CALL TO ORDER: Chair Joseph Treloar called the meeting to order at 6:00 P.M. MEMBERS PRESENT: Kingsley Botchway, Melissa Jensen, Donald King, Royceann Porter MEMBERS ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Legal Counsel Catherine Pugh and Staff Kellie Tuttle (Transcriptions are available) INTRODUCTION OF BOARD. Treloar announced that Janet Lyness from the Johnson County Attorney's office was present if anyone had questions regarding citizens' rights. Also that the forum was being taped for rebroadcast on City Channel 4 at a later date. PUBLIC DISCUSSION The following individuals appeared before the PCRB: Cat Moore PO Box 572, IC Sherry Christoffer Iowa City Nicholas Harper 515 E College St, Apt 1, IC Janet Lyness JC Attorney's Office ADJOURNMENT Motion by King and seconded by Jensen to adjourn. Motion carried, 5/0. Meeting adjourned at 6:43 P.M. (Forum Summary will be submitted to Council) ) |//ok i,#i. ��»t$ �B�§_§ §/7 / � & , �»w� A�J�[J (`�« ��§ /}"|m` \ _ ; / 2 } ® } ~ \ f % � \ § x x x x x» x x x x x§ x x 2 x 2/ x x x 2 x 7 2 x x x x£ x x x x � \ x o % x x §� 2 x x x x %i 2 x 2 x x §� § § ) § 7 § x x 2 x 2/ x o 2 x x& x x x x x 0 2 x x x% x x x x 2� $ o x x x A x x x x x§ / ) R qjk § §§� \ � ��§ §� k POLICE CITIZENS REVIEW BOARD A Board of the City of Iowa City 410 East Washington Street Iowa City, IA 52240-1826 (319) 356-5041 May 29, 2013 Iowa City City Council City of Iowa City 410 E. Washington St. Iowa City, Iowa 52240 Re: Police Citizen Review Board's Annual Community Forum Conducted April 23, 2013 To: Whom It May Concern The Police Citizen Review Board held its annual forum at the Iowa City Public Library in Room A at 6:00 p.m. Board members present were Joe Treloar— Chairperson, Melissa Jensen -Vice Chairperson, Don King, Royceann Porter, and Kingsley Botchway. The Board's legal counsel, Catherine Pugh was also present. The Chairperson called the forum to order, shared a welcome with the attendees, and the forum was opened to the public for questions. The Board was asked about what training the Iowa City Police Department received in regards to service dog awareness. The individual stated she believed the police officers did not have a good understanding of service dogs and what they do. The discussion regarding the use of service dogs continued for a short period of time. Chairperson Treloar agreed to contact the police department and find out. A member of the public inquired what comments the Board had about the recent report and recommendations to the Iowa City City Council from the Ad Hoc Diversity Committee. Member Botchway commented that one of the Diversity Committee's goals was for there to be a little more transparency. Chairperson Treloar stated the Board was waiting for recommendations from the City Council before commenting. The individual inquired about the format of the Board and whether it encouraged the public to make reports. A brief discussion followed. Ms. Pugh commented that the Board is limited by State law, and those changes would have to be made at the legislative level. An additional discussion followed regarding how the Board was structured, and complaints were handled. Member Botchway commented he would like to see the Board have more impact. Johnson County Attorney, Janet Lyness, in attendance, commented that if people had concerns with other law enforcement agencies, they could contact that department directly and share their concerns. All of the departments, including Iowa City have internal affairs departments. Lyness encourage to make reports if there are concerns, as departments take the concerns seriously. Chairperson Treloar also encourage people, if they are interested, to get involved in the Citizens Police Academy which occurs each year. With no further questions or comments, a motion for adjournment was raised by Botchway, and seconded by Jensen, and voted 5-0 to adjourn. Adjournment 6:43pm Iy� e-J i ssc� Melissa Jensen Vice Chairperson Police Citizen Review Board Transcriptions attached. Forum agenda, minutes, transcriptions, correspondence, and handouts are all available on the City website. (www.ic og v.or ) April 23, 2013 lowa City Police Citizens Review Board Public Forum Page I Members Present: Melissa Jensen, Royceann Porter, Joseph Treloar, Kingsley Botchway II, Donald King Staff Present: Catherine Pugh Public Forum: Treloar/ Well I'm going to call the meeting of the Iowa City Police Citizens Review Board to order. (several talking off mic) We're going to open it up for continents from the floor. That's pretty much the whole jest of the meeting tonight. Yeah. So, uh, roll call. Don King. King/ Present. Treloar/ Melissa Jensen. Jensen/ Here. Treloar/ Um, Kingsley Botchway. Botchway/ Here. Treloar/ Roycealm Porter. Porter/ Here. Treloar/ Joe Treloar. Here. Treloar/ Catherine Pugh. Pugh/ Here. Treloar/ Okay. Urn ... the purpose of our meeting tonight is our annual public forum. Uh, we ... we're going to open up the floor to questions. We do have Janet Lyness from the ... the County Attorney. Um, we've had questions in the past concerning, uh, officers' rights, or citizens' rights when they're stopped by the police, when they're questioned, detained, things like that. And, uh, we've asked Janet Lyness, who's graciously offered to come and address those questions as the Chief Law Enforcement Officer in the area. So we get ... get good information! Janet, would ... Bin, so if there are any questions for Janet Lyness concerning, um, your rights as a citizen when you're stopped or detained or searched by the police, now would be a good time to address those. Do we have any questions? (several talking) Anybody has any questions we're... we're going to ask that you come up to the mic, state your name and sign in, and then ask your question. (several talking away from mic) Oh, yes. Um ... this ... broad ... this is being taped for rebroadcast on the City Channel 4 at a later date. Urn ... and ... so bear that in mind. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City Police Citizens Review Board public forum of April 23, 2013. April 23, 2013 Iowa City Police Citizens Review Board Public Forum Page 2 Moore/ Hi everyone! I'm Cat Moore and... Treloar/ Actually step ... that microphone right there, so you can sign in (laughter and several talking) I'm song! Moore/ (mumbled) Okay, so this is the one I'll be using? Treloar/ Yes! Moore/ Okay! Hello. My name is Cat Moore. That's my art name and my activist name. That's people in the community who know me as an artist and a person who works to... secure rights for people, make sure that they have their rights. They know me by that name. Otherwise, my name is Catherine. Uni... one of the things that I'd like to ask about tonight is there seems ... I want to know have the police specifically been trained in, when it comes to sensitivity with the service animals. Um, I know that this isn't a ... I had a, it wasn't an incident, but... frequently when I ... I have multiple sclerosis and I have two service dogs that help me, and when the, uh, ambulance people came, um, they were fine cause they'd seen 'ern before. The particular officer that came hadn't seen them before, and this was one of those times when my dogs would not release to ... would not stop, cause their thing is mobility for me, make sure I'm safe and that, and until they are comfortable with the people who were there, that they can take care of me, then they will back away and lay down. But the only person who had a problem with them, um, was the police officer and... and it's like, oh, will it bite? And I think that's a reasonable question when your service dog is a Rottweiler or a Doberman, which mine are. But those are the kind I have and that's what I need cause for the strength and the confidence, and independent thinking. But what I want to know is like, okay, if that had also happened on the street, most of the time when I'm out walking, everybody wants to pet and you're not supposed to pet. You ... but you can ask your, you know .... I want to know like if, um, an incident where ... I've had another time when I had to call an officer to the house because there was a problem with, uh... with a gentleman, and um, my husband was not at home, and urn, I couldn't get them to leave but we were in the house. Anyway, as soon as the officer came I had him come in, as soon as he saw my dogs, first thing he did was like pull his gun, like that, and it's like ... what in the world, and increasingly for those of us who are service animal team advocates we're seeing more and more incidents like that where people get so afraid of an animal, um, and part of what, I mean, if this is correctly, if it is indeed a service animal, it is not going to attack. It is not going to act aggressive. It is not going to do that, but if a big muscled dog just moves its muscle, that doesn't mean you need to shoot it. You know? I'm just wondering in terms of sensitivity, that's the kind of thing that I would like to make sure that people ... that needs to be on -going training. On -going. Cause you keep hearing incidents, etc., and you know, it's no one dog. The dogs that terrorize us usually when we go out are terriers, Yorkshire terriers, Cairn terriers, miniature poodles, anything that's little with four legs and is only that tall. And they're never on a leash and they're always bugging its. Does anyone want to respond to what I said or... This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City Police Citizens Review Board public forum of April 23, 2013. April 23, 2013 Iowa City Police Citizens Review Board Public Forum Page 3 King/ Does that say like `working dog,' `don't touch,' or something ... I know they have ... I don't know, placards or vests that the dogs wear. Moore/ Yeah, but you (both talking) King/ ...readily identify the dog as a working dog. I mean, if I came up and there was a German shepherd or a Rottweiler and, um ... I ... I may think twice (laughs) approaching! Moore/ Well, you should always think twice! King/ ...um, but if ... and some of the ... say, "Don't! It's a working dog. Do not touch," you know, so..let the kids know (both talking) the dog's working. The dog's actually working. (unable to hear person away from mic) Sherry Christoffer / (away from inic, difficult to hear) ...public library (mumbled) doing that this Thursday (mumbled) the children here at story hour about service dogs. I've been doing that for the last eight years and ... I have educated the Johnson County ambulance service and the transit drivers, but I've tried to educate the police officers, cause of incidents, but they refuse. Sam Hargadine said I have no interest in hiring her to come and educate my officers. So, that has (mumbled) King/ And I know, wasn't it a couple of years ago ... that that was brought up, um ... was there a ... complaint? Um ... that one of the officers, I don't know, they treated a dog badly or wasn't familiar with the ... the working dog, um ... and it was brought to the Chiefs attention, and they have on -going training (several responding) and I'm not sure ... I know a lot of the in-service training that they have, they do it maybe at roll call. It's like a 15- minute, uh, video or something on ... say the working dog, or a 15-minute video on use of your sirens. I know a lot of that is in-service, in-house type of thing, um, when we talked to the Chief, and I think it was at the forum a couple of years ago, that that was brought up, and it was...um, there was an officer in the audience and said that they do have, uh, sensitivity training for the dogs, uh, for working dogs. And ... and people with working dogs. Moore/ Okay. King/ Urn ... whether they, um, need `ern for... some... mentally challenged people have a dog as a companion for `em, to help them relax. Um ... yours, like you say, helps stabilize you. So, I...I know that they do have in-service training. I don't know who puts it on, um, but urn, that was brought up two years ago. Moore/ Okay. King/ And I know that that was, uh, put out that they do have sensitivity training for, uh, working dogs. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City Police Citizens Review Board public forum of April 23, 2013. April 23, 2013 Iowa City Police Citizens Review Board Public Forunt Page 4 Moore/ We just want to make sure to keep an open dialogue on that, because there's often, you know, officers and stuff coming in and out all the time, and to answer one question of yours though, um, under law, federal law, you're not required with a service dog, a service animal, team cause now under the ... um ... under the DOI rules, the only service animals are dogs and miniature horses. So you can use miniature horses, um, and I would love to get some in this area (laughter) cause I think they're... they'd be really, cause they, you know, they live longer, they're tiny... they're not very big. They really are a miniature horse. (several responding) So you get one, you need to get two, and you're not supposed to bring them in the house and put them in the bed with you, but like your dog did follow you all around the house all day long, everywhere you go. But, um, but those are the only ones that are recognized, but it is not required by law to have a, uh, a vest on. You're not required to wear a cape. You're not required to, what you are required to do, however, if a person stops you and they ask you, you know, like for instance if I was going to go into a business. And let's say someone else was there, unr, and they were wondering, "What is this dog doing here?" So they can ask one of the... the people who's on staff. They come ask me, you know, is this a service animal? (person responding) Is this ... is this a working animal? And then the other question that they can ask is, "What service does this animal perform for you?" (person responding) And then that's it. So ... that's ... and ... it's becoming a ... a problem we're hearing in the neighborhood as some of us who do a lot of service animal work on the internet are hearing more and more about this, uh, people who are ... going and getting little cards saying that they have a service animal. They're actually going to the sites, places where we go and buy capes, jackets, and things like that. Purchase those so that way I can get on the bus because this is my service dog. And you know you get on there and I've got my dog and it's not ... I'm not talking about a good obedience trained dog. I'm talking about somebody who doesn't get enough exercise, probably has too much protein in their diet, probably gets played with aggressively, and then I'm getting on a city bus with him. That ... that is not a service animal, and the problem is there's no way for the driver to know. (people responding) King/ That... that's what I was... wasn't saying that it was (mumbled) I'm just suggesting that, you know, it would eliminate some of that, um, and I ... you know, I know sometimes you don't want your dog to be notified ... to be noticed like that ... that, but if you go into a restaurant or something and they're going to ask you, it might be, uh, probably a little elimination if they see this vest that says `service animal' or `service dog' or something on it. Moore/ Most of the service animals we train, you know, like you bring... bring your animal in that's going to come and sit right there. Now like my Doberman likes, he's very attractive. He's handsome. He likes women, you know, like a lot of men do, but usually two -footed women instead ofjust four -footed women. So they come; he'll come in; he'll sit upon the chair and he'll just look around, see who's looking at hire. I don't know why male dogs do that. My male Rottweiler's have done it, male Doberman does it. But they just think they look good and they want to make sure (laughter) you catch their best profile. You know, but normally, they go ... they go underneath, they go down, just like if you were on a plane. They go down, and the whole thing in the training is to be This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City Police Citizens Review Board public forum of April 23, 2013. April 23, 2013 Iowa City Police Citizens Review Board Public Forum Page 5 unobtrusive. (person responds) Always! You know, you're there to help, you're not there to obstruct. Treloar/ If you'd like I'd ... I'd be more than happy to contact the Chief or probably Officer Wyss and find out what their most recent training is, what that entails, and get back to you on that. (both talking) Moore/ That would be cool! That would be cool. Want me to put email address on here? Treloar/ That'd be great! Christoffer/ (unable to hear away from mic) ... sensitivity training too. (person responds) The actual (mumbled) on a video. Jensen/ Ma'am? If you could use the mic. The only reason I ... we ask that is that way it'll, the audio, everybody can hear it. Treloar/ People on TV will be able to hear you (laughter) (both talking) Moore/ (several talking) yeah, we just want to make sure that there continues to be an open dialogue, not... Treloar/ Sure! Moore/ And a ... not a closed door. Christoffer/ Yeah, just to make sure, I'm Sherry Christoffer, and I'm on the Coalition for Persons With Disabilities and I'm a educator and advocator about service dogs especially and... my whole thing is to make sure that we have the sensitivity training that all our, urn... that our service people are educated, trained to proficiency on the ins and outs on how to identify a service dog, and to identify fakers of service dogs, and I would be more than happy to come in and do the educating or be a part of it, and I'm sure we could get other people ... to help out. So, that's what I would like to see more of in the community and then I think that would help clear up some of the...I don't know... ties that we might have with the police or other service people in the community. (several talking) Moore/ ...good strong well -trained, uh, dog that's gone through obedience training, whether it's owner trained or gone through one of the groups, like the Dog Obedience Club or Spot and Company, uh, Sue Pearson's. They're ... you know, I mean, that's a different. They're coming in just like a show dog. You'll know from the body language etc. that it's been trained. That's going to be very different. (people responding) you know. Treloar/ Well and service dogs are used in so many more areas than ever used to be. I mean there's even, um, service dogs for diabetics. Moore/ Yeah! This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City Police Citizens Review Board public formn of April 23, 2013. April 23, 2013 Iowa City Police Citizens Review Board Public Foram Page G Treloar/ ...they can sense low blood sugar incidents coming on and ... I mean ... I would guess that could even be a relatively small dog that you would never guess would be a service dog (laughs) Moore/ Well there's some people that have been having problems. One of the groups I belong to has, um, it's for small service dogs, service animals, and they're dogs primarily, of course, and they're...a lot of people have little Chihuahuas and the little vests and for some reason every time they go to Walmart, the people are getting confronted when they come in. It's like, you're kidding me. That's not a service animal! Oh no, that's not a service animal, and ... often times depending upon the need, could be anything from a psychiatric service animal to ... could actually be one that could alert for something else, or let's just say you just don't dare put `em down ... so that they could get stepped on. (person responding) so ... does anyone else have a comment or something they want to make? Okay. Treloar/ Thank you so much! Moore/ Thank you. We don't bite! (laughter) And I'm the President of the Johnson County Coalition for People With Disabilities. Always welcome (unable to hear, away from mic) Treloar/ Do we have any other questions, concerns from the community? Harper/ Hi, uh, my name is Nicholas Harper. I'm a third -year law student at the University of Iowa College of Law. Urn ... I've been a resident here at, uh, Iowa City for three years. Um, as a law student I'm very interested in the Police Citizens Review Board. Um, I had a couple questions about, um, some ... uh, articles that I had seen the titles of in newspapers recently, but I hadn't actually read the articles and... and just wondered what ...what comments you might have about, uni... those articles. Urn ... one thing that I saw is that, um ... I guess there was a minority community, um, kind of, urn ... I guess a committee that was put together that was supposed to study and discuss the interaction between the minority community and the police enforcement. And I know that some of their recommendations regarded the, um, the review board and I was wondering, um, what your thoughts were on, um, any results of that, um, committee report, if you ... if you know of it, um, and ... any thoughts you might have on its comments towards (mumbled) specific. Botchway/ So can you just repeat that last question as far as every, all the different things you said? Harper/ (laughs) Sorry! Um, just... specifically, um ... I know that some of the recommendations or at least the conclusions of the report referred specifically to the review board, and I was wondering if, unr, you guys had any comments or plans, um, regarding those conclusions of the committee? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City Police Citizens Review Board public forum of April 23, 2013. April 23, 2013 Iowa City Police Citizens Review Board Public Ibrum Page 7 Botchway/ Well I don't think the committee's talked about, urn, the things that were recommended by the Diversity Committee, um, I think... being on the Diversity Committee I think one of the main goals was just to, um, have a little more transparency, um, and ... show the public a little more trust as far as, um, how the PCRB was conducted or just how they felt. I know that Orville, who was on the committee, had the idea as far as having other people participate, um, in the process as far as the complaint process to give that legitimacy to the public that, um, other people's eyes were on it. I know two of the things were inviting the City Manager to be a part of the interview process, um, for the complainant, as well as, um, the Human Rights division, as well, you know, having that aspect in there, um, just giving another, you know, having another organization to kind of promote that trust, but again I'm not sure what the committee's kind of talked about. I think it's just something that still needs a lot more parts to come together and make some of those changes that... have uh, been recommended. Treloar/ Kind of where we're at at this point is the recommendation has been made, it's being submitted to City Council. They haven't acted on it yet and ... we ... we operate under the guise of the City Council so ... we're going to wait to see what they have to say and ... if they have recommendations for its, based on their review of the report. Harper/ Okay. Uh, and then ... um, I noticed that the Human Rights Commission, uh, also, um... made a motion to the City Council about the board and reviewing the board and its model, and I was wondering if you had any comments on that? Treloar/ I don't at this time. Does anybody else? Pugh/ I think the Diversity Committee's work was as a result of that, that motion. So that... um, was, that request was made to the City Council. Then they appointed the Diversity Committee to examine, not only the PCRB, but several other aspects in the community, and so now they've made their recommendations. The City Council will consider those and then ... then their orders will come back to the committee and to the various other entities within the City for what changes they would like to see to ... to do a better job! Harper/ Um, and I ... um ... sorry (mumbled) Uh, just had I guess, um ... I ... disclosure, I recently interned with, uh, Student Legal Services at the University of Iowa, um, and so, um, I met lots of students, um ... a few students who had, uni, encounters with officers that, um, they were concerned about, um, and that concerns me, um ... and I always offered that they were more than welcome to file a report with the Police Citizens Review Board. Um, sometimes they were not ... they didn't want to, they were resistant to that. Uni... and I'm not sure whether that was because they felt like they... there might be some kind of, um... I don't know what the word is but, you know (mumbled) they were afraid of something coming back to them, um ... and I ... also ... I was wondering if the... if the form itself and the model of the review (mumbled) review board, um, do you believe it's conducive to encouraging citizens to make reports? Or do you think that it is perhaps intimidating in some ways, um, to people who are already vulnerable because they believe that their rights have been violated? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City Police Citizens Review Board public forum of April 23, 2013. April 23, 2013 Iowa City Police Citizens Review Board Public Forum Page 8 Treloar/ I'm not personally familiar with how it might be intimidating, um, if there's... if somebody, you know, would give me some continent on that, I'd certainly look into that. We do make the forms available at the Library here, uni, at the Broadway Neighborhood Center, and other locations around town, um, with it in mind that some people might be intimidated by going to the Police Department to file a complaint. Um, we've also... we held one of our first public forums, well, not our first, but we held one of our public forums at the City Hall and, uh, there was concern that that might be intimidating to people because it was in such close proximity to the Police Department. So that's why we've chosen different avenues like here at the Public Library. We've met at The Spot, things like that. Urn ... we ... we do try and address, you know, people's apprehension. Another thing to bear in mind is, we're the Police Citizens Review Board for the Iowa City Police Department only. So complaints... Harper/ Not the University of Iowa. Treloar/ (mumbled) University of Iowa, Johnson County, those... those... Harper/ Right. Treloar/ ...those would not come before us. So... Pugh/ And we're always, the Committee is ... uh, always willing to hear suggestions, um, you know, if there are ideas the public has to make it a less intimidating procedure, rib, I think the City Council would be very interested in hearing those ideas and the Commission would certainly be interested in hearing those ideas, as well. Harper/ Okay! Um, one question specifically I had about the form. (mumbled) I noticed that when somebody makes a report, um ... a supervisor or investigator from the Police Department contacts the complainant. (person responds) Uni... I was wondering if you could tell me ... why the, why the process is set up that way and do you think that ... is that in itself perhaps intimidating, um, because perhaps some people come to the Citizens Review Board because they have a distrust for police officers in general, uni, or they have had bad experiences with the police department in general, and ... that any interaction even with a supervisor, um, might be intimidating to them. Pugh/ Um, this is a subject that we covered rather extensively last year and, um, because it's ... it's a little hard to understand why it is set up this way. Uh, it's a result of both federal and state law that's in place, as to why it's investigated by the Police Department. If the ... if the PCRB investigated the complaints, the PCRB would have no access to the officer's side of the story. So the only way that a full investigation can take place is for the Police Department to investigate the complaints, both from the complainant's side and from the officer's side, so that they can get both sides of the story. Now that is one issue that's being explored as to whether perhaps there would be, um, a member of the PCRB at such an interview or the City Manager, um, trying to, you know, create more checks and balances, urn ... as a community we've got a lot of faith in our police department, but certainly, you know, somebody who's got a complaint, who feels they've This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City Police Citizens Review Board public forum of April 23, 2013. April 23, 2013 Iowa City Police Citizens Review Board Public Forum Page 9 been treated unfairly, they've got another layer involved there, and we're trying to recognize that and come up with ways to make that a little more user friendly, um, but the reason that that procedure is in place that way, it's just due to the ... the state and federal laws that are restraining how we can ... how we can operate. Harper/ Okay. Um ... I thought I had another question but I blanked so, um, but thank you for your answers. It's very helpful! Treloar/ Thank you for your questions, and if you do think of your question later, please come back (mumbled). Do we have any other questions or comments from the public? (unable to hear person away from mic) Could you come up to the mic so the people on TV can hear too please (laughs). Moore/ You know, for most people any kind of contact with, um, authority figures ... for most people any kind of contact with authority figures call be intimidating, and um, our police who we have here to serve and protect, they also educate. They do a lot of things, um, for us. There's also people who feel, like you know, some people are criminals. Some people, I don't know, maybe they stole a sock from their husband's drawer, like I usually do, um, and urn... and... and have that on today so they (mumbled) guilt comes over them when they see the officers. I don't know, but the ... part of one of the things that I've always seen as a problem with the Police Citizen Review Board is the fact that the powers are so limited. It's like limited civil administrator review powers. (mumbled) no power, no authority. I mean, there... okay, we look at this, we say here's a problem. We're going to ... this is a problem that's been brought to our attention and then what, takes what, three months usually before it gets run through? Or taken care or. (person responds) And, urn ... also ... I guess in that time you have to make sure not only the rights of the person who's filing the complaint, but the rights of the officer who may be ... they're complaining about, both have civil rights. It's just a ... it seems like it's too slow and my biggest thing has always been with the PCRB is that ... why do you have a Citizens Review Board that's supposed to be interacting or have some kind of say about what happens with, um, how the police conduct themselves in the community. But you have no teeth. No teeth at all! Pugh/ And again, that's just ... we're limited by state law. That's not something that ... we have any say in. That's not something that the City Council can change. It just ... that would have to go to the legislature. Moore/ So that means it'd have to go to like Senator Grassley or Harkin or go to Loebsack, talk to them about that. I don't thii&..I'm not advocating for people who do not have... experience with the law to take it upon themselves to practice the law. I'm not saying that. I'm just saying that things need to be more... expo... they need to expedite, come a little bit faster. I don't know, uh, Janet, you would know better about whether that can be done and still offer... rights for both people, cause I ... cause that's the frustration. That is a real frustration. Cause both people do have rights. Urn ... but ... why have a Citizens Review Board that has no teeth? Urn ... you make recommendations and then it can get This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City Police Citizens Review Board public forum of April 23, 2013. April 23, 2013 Iowa City Police Citizens Review Board Public Forum Page 10 ...go ahead and it's shot down, um, by the Chief of Police, even who's appointed to the Police Citizens Review Board has to go through the Chief of Police. Pugh/ Well actually no. That ... that's determined by the Council. Moore/ Oh, really? Pugh/ Uh huh. The Council appoints the members of the commission. Moore/ Oh, okay! Pugh/ And ... also, the ... the board's recommendations go to Council. Moore/ The City Council? Pugh/ Correct! Right, so it's not like (both talking) to the Chief. Um ... the Council reviews `em and if there are recommendations that the board makes, they'll look into it and, I mean, they have the power then to make changes. Moore/ Cause we're not, I'm not really talking about the criminal things. I'm talking about more civil than anything else. (person responds) Okay. Well, there we have it. Treloar/ Um ... I ... I've heard the complaint that the board has no teeth a lot, but and ... I understand their frustration. I would argue though that the board does have effect. One of the, uh, very powerful things that the board does is it ... brings citizens, such as yourself, and gives them an opportunity to express their concerns about the police department, the way they thing —think things should run, and they should ... the ways they should be treated, and kind of gives a, uh... an overall expectation from the public of what they expect from their police department. Moore/ Uh huh. Treloar/ And that's... that's a good strong message. It also (mumbled) brings these investigations in front of the Chief and, uh, they ultimately go in front of the Council, and ... it requires accountability, which is very powerful. So we've got ... a process where, um ... the citizens for lack of better terms can say this isn't right or this is what we expect from you, the police department, and ... then a review process where this is conveyed to the officers this is what is expected of your behavior when you do your job. Urn ... I think it's worth noting too that our officers wear microphones and they have... Moore/ Oh yeah! Treloar/ ...and they have the cameras and I think that's very noticeably effective, I mean ... in viewing some of these tapes, urn ... it's obvious that they know that they're going to be held accountable for how they behave, and they behave accordingly! This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City Police Citizens Review Board public forum of April 23, 2013. April 23, 2013 Iowa City Police Citizens Review Board Public Forum Page I 1 Moore/ Yes, obvious for some! But for others things seem to disappear. You know? And also I wanted to make a comment about the police. They're... the police (mumbled) for their expectation, the fact that you exist, the Citizens Review Board, it's not just our expectations of the police. But for us as the public, they should be able to expect certain things from us, like for instance that officer who was, uh, choked over on ... Burlington Sheet. I was so angry when I saw that. People went right by. Nobody even called it in! What right, you know, we have an expectation. They should have an expectation of...of, from us of not only respect or of support, they should at least of called that in, and, you know, that's ... it does work two ways. It's not just a one-way thing. (person responds) Treloar/ The police department does work most effectively when ... when they have the support and cooperation from t he community because ... there'sjust so many more eyes and ears out to report what's going on and it's a win -win situation when you have that kind of relationship. Moore/ Uh-huh. Treloar/ Uni... I ... it's timely and key that this recent incident in Boston. It's on the main, uh, evidence was gathered by citizens' cameras. Citizens turned in this information. They worked with the police department. They helped resolve the situation in a timely manner, to the betterment of all! And ... I think that's fantastic, getting the public involved in helping the police, and the police depending on the public for support. That's the best of all worlds. Moore/ I mean, there is that but there's a science fiction movie called "Equilibrium." Sometime I'm going to suggest that you have a look at that (several responding) Um ... Christian Bales is in it. He's had his teeth done. He's a superstar police officer, you know, he can do the catena and numchucks and everything! You know, but ... at that point, everywhere you go in that society there's eyes. That's, you know, that's been a problem too. There's eyes looking. People taking these pictures all over the place. And invading privacy too. But you know I give you your point. Treloar/ Thank you (several talking) Botchway/ I want to make one more comment kind of to what you were saying. Moore/ Okay! Botchway/ One, "Equilibrium" is a ... amazing movie! Moore/ Yeah! Botchway/ I've seen it a couple of times! (laughter) Um, actually came before the "Matrix" I think and so I... Moore/ Yeah, it did! This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City Police Citizens Review Board public forum of April 23, 2013. April 23, 2013 Iowa City Police Citizens Review Board Public Forum Page 12 Botchway/ ...yeah, well in that ... but as far as your comment about teeth I do agree with you. Does need to happen both ways. Um, specifically, unr... can't remember the gentleman that was just up here when he talked about, um, just students that were, um, saying that they felt intimidated. You know, I think those type of things go underreported, unr, possibly, and ... I'd like to see more complaints. I'd like to see more complaints with actual teeth, where you know, there was an actual violation, unr, legitimate violation that occurred, so the board can present a recommendation to City Council that makes some change. I ... I think the public obviously is feeling some type of way about how the police are acting, but there's no documentation. Moore/ Uli-huh. Botchway/ I mean, I'm all about a paper trail, not that I don't ... yeah, I'm all about a paper trail, and I like to see that type of, um ... you know, aggression or public outcry sort of tunneled into more complaints about what's going on so, you know, some of these comments that students are making are actually bearing some teeth. Moore/ They're backed up by evidence. Botchway/ Right. Moore/ ...as you said before, cause otherwise it just sounds like wh000, the Wicked Witch! You know! I'm going to leave if you guys don't mind (mumbled) (laughter) Treloar/ Thank you so much! Any other continents, questions? Thank you. I'm going to give it another minute just in case somebody else wants to say anything or... (unable to hear person away from mic) We'll give it to Janet Lyness to (both talking) Lyness/ Yeah, Janet Lyness. Um, just to let people know too since this is going to be, run, broadcast probably, if there is a complaint, I mean, the Iowa City Citizens, the Police Citizens Review Board is one place to make complaints. Everybody should also know that all the other law enforcement agencies, if you make a...if you're dealing with University police or Coralville or Johnson County Sheriff's Office or North Liberty, you can certainly call that department and make ... and register a complaint with them. All of them have internal affairs, uh, kinds of review, and so they will do an investigation, so if you have a complaint about University police, definitely call University police... University police has quite a few chains of command, up to the President it the University of Iowa and then the Board of Regents and then the Governor. So, there's a lot of steps along the way too to make those complaints. So if you, um, do have a compliant outside of Iowa City, or even within Iowa City, don't hesitate to call, uh, the Iowa City Police Department, as well, unr, as was mentioned it's like most of the law enforcement officers have, um, cameras in the cars, so if there's something that can be, that was recorded, they will certainly take a look at that. Uh, University police I think are actually a lot of them are wearing cameras on their person as they're out patrolling. So that's something that could be checked as well, um ... so the police are doing a lot more, This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City Police Citizens Review Board public forum of April 23, 2013. April 23, 2013 Iowa City Police Citizens Review Board Public Forum Page 13 recording when they're interviewing people within, um, an interview room. There should be a recording of that too so there's going to be more and more ways to be able to ... to check and law enforcement, uh, officials that, you know, up the chain of command really do want to hear complaints. If they don't hear about it, they can't make changes. So if there are concerns and there are problems that you're seeing with officers, anybody, I do encourage you to make those reports because if it ... if it's not ... if it's not reported, it may not change, and if it is reported, I do believe that the people in law enforcement, you know, the higher ups that get those reports really are going to try to make it ... make a change and take that really seriously any complaints, and we'll look at whatever video information they can get, etc. I know within the County if we get a complaint about something going on, we will do our best to try to investigate it and try to make changes. So I really do encourage everybody, um, make complaints, tell your friends, tell other people — if they have a problem, make that complaint because it's really hard to make changes if we don't hear what the problems are. So, please do that. Treloar/ I'd like to make another plug (laughs) Um, the local law enforcement agencies, the Sheriff's Department, Iowa City Police Department, Coralville Police department, and University Police Department every year put on a citizens police academy, usually starts in January. It's about 12 weeks long and it's an excellent way to learn about what the police do, why they do what they do, how they do what they do. It's just a tremendously good idea. And I would encourage everyone if they can have the opportunity to attend that, it's ... it's very informative. If you're at all interested in law enforcement, it's a very, very good thing to see. Moore/ How much does it cost? King/ $25.00 Treloar/ $25. Moore/ (unable to hear, away from mic) Treloar/ Any other comments? Going once ... oh (mumbled) Lyness/ ...(away from mic) I'll be glad to try (laughter) Treloar/ Um, do any board members have questions for Janet or... Jensen/ I do not but thank you for the offer! (laughs) Treloar/ Um, hearing no other comments, I ... I'm going to wrap this up. I want to again thank Janet Lyness for coming and being with us this evening to answer questions and thank you so much for coming and sharing your concerns and questions with us this evening, and uh... at this time I'll entertain a motion to adjourn. King/ So moved. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City Police Citizens Review Board public forum of April 23, 2013. April 23, 2013 Iowa City Police Citizens Review Board Public Forum Page Id Jensen/ Second. Treloar/ Moved and seconded. All in favor say aye. All opposed same sign. We're adjourned, folks. Thank you so much for coming! Jensen/ Thank you! This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City Police Citizens Review Board public forum of April 23, 2013.