Document of Interest Provided By Councilmember Hamann on Civilian Review Boards

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a 6-month period alone, deaths and injuries resulting from police shootings resulted in more than 300 civil suits against the Washington, D.C., police department, with nearly $8 million in court settlements and judg- ments awarded.7 • Joan Campbell, the chairperson of the Minneapolis City Council Ways and Means Committee, reports that, when citizens sue the city for alleged police brutality, the judge asks if the Civilian Police Review Authority (CRA) sustained the case. In many instances in which CRA has not, the council has a stronger case for not settling with the complainant and for expecting the judge to rule in the city’s favor. As a result, the city has gone to court on more cases and won most of them. Campbell also believes that CRA has reduced the number of complaints that have gone to litigation because complainants feel they have already had their day in court with the review board. • According to Robert Bailey, former assistant city man- ager in Berkeley, the Police Review Commission “saved the city at least $100,000 from one potential lawsuit alone.” Because they did not trust the police to investigate the matter fairly, family members filed a complaint after a relative died from cardiac arrest in police custody after being put into four-point restraints. The board decided to hear the case en bloc and hired an independent toxicologist to review the medical records and do more testing. The toxicologist, as had the coroner previously, reported that use of force had not caused the person’s death—aspiration due to a drug overdose was the cause. The family decided not to sue the city after the board concluded that the officers did not use excessive force. • Merrick Bobb, special counsel to Los Angeles County, reported: “In 1992 . . . the County of Los Angeles had 800 police misconduct cases pending. And the exposure to the tax- payers of the County of Los Angeles was calculated by the County’s lawyers as far in excess of $600 mil- lion. Today, 5 years later, in 1997, we find the caseload has dropped from 800 cases to a little over 200 cases. We find that the amount of money that is being spent has dropped for the first time to below the 10 million mark in terms of judgments, settlements, and attor- neys’ fees in such cases. . . . I think this is a testament to the effect of civilian oversight, civilian review” initiated in 1993. 8 C ITIZEN R EVIEW OF P OLICE: APPROACHES AND I MPLEMENTATION 11 According to Robert Bailey, former assistant city manager in Berkeley, the Police Review Commission “saved the city at least $100,000 from one potential lawsuit alone.” SOME POLICE CHIEFS HAVE ESTABLISHED CITIZEN OVERSIGHT PROCEDURES ON THEIR OWN Police chiefs have taken the initiative to establish citizen oversight procedures on their own. • When Robert Olson, chief of the Minneapolis Police Department since 1995, was commissioner in Yonkers, New York, he established a civilian oversight program because of the department’s poor relations with the African-American community.The review board he established included four civilians nominated by a citizen panel, an officer nominated by the police union, and three other officers Olson selected. He approved all the candidates.The board, which met monthly, reviewed completed IA cases and occasionally pending cases, and it had the authority to direct IA to conduct additional investigations.The board recommended findings, with Olson retaining the ultimate decision to decide cases and impose discipline. • William Finney, chief of the St. Paul Police Department, recommended the Police Civilian Internal Affairs Review Commission on his own initiative because he felt the need to gain citizens’ perspective on department behavior. (See the St. Paul case study in chapter 2.)