Document of Interest Provided By Councilmember Hamann on Civilian Review Boards

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Liz Murray Mediator Minneapolis Mediation Program Hyatt Merchandise Mart 1300 Nicollet Mall, Suite 3046 Minneapolis, MN 55403 612–359–9883 Robert Olson Chief Minneapolis Police Department Room 130, City Hall 350 South Fifth Street Minneapolis, MN 55415–1389 612–373–2853 The Orange County, Florida, Citizen Review Board: A Sheriff’s Department Provides Executive Support to an Independent Review Board Background In 1992, in response to the nationwide concern about police misconduct generated by the Rodney King beat- ing, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office established a process in which citizens could exercise oversight over deputies’ use of excessive force and abuse of power. In 1995, the elected Orange County Commission amended the county charter to establish an independent Citizen Review Board (CRB) that effectively replaced the sher- iff’s board. CRB heard 45 cases involving 67 allegations of miscon- duct that the sheriff’s office investigated in 1997. The board disagreed with three IA findings, exonerating deputies of two allegations of abuse of power that IA had sustained and sustaining one abuse of power allegation in a case in which IA had exonerated the deputy. The CRB procedure Exhibit 2–10 and the following discussion explain the citizen oversight procedure in Orange County. Intake Most citizens call the sheriff’s office’s internal affairs unit to file complaints, but others call the Citizen Review Board’s number. The CRB’s telephone number rings at the sheriff’s Research and Development Unit, which has a dedicated line. The switchboard operator answers, “Citizen Review Board.” When citizens call, the secretary mails out the CRB complaint form, which complainants return by mail or in person at the CRB office, located at the sheriff’s office. The CRB secretary turns cases over to the sheriff’s office IA unit for investi- gation and disposition. Melvin Sears, a captain with the Research and Develop- ment Unit and the CRB administrative coordinator, provides board members with all completed investiga- tions a month before the cases are to be heard. The cases are complaints of alleged use of excessive force (includ- ing all discharges of a firearm, even if there has been no C ITIZEN R EVIEW OF P OLICE: APPROACHES AND I MPLEMENTATION 37 THUMBNAIL SKETCH:ORANGE COUNTY Model: citizens review cases (type 2) Jurisdiction: Orange County, Florida (Orlando) Population: 749,631 Government: county commission Appointment of sheriff: elected Sworn deputies: 1,134 Oversight funding: $20,000 Oversight staff: two part time A nine-person Citizen Review Board selected by the Orange County Commission and sheriff hears all cases involving the alleged use of excessive force and abuse of power after the sheriff’s internal affairs unit has investigated them. Hearings are open to the public and the media. Board members also make policy recommendations. A captain in the sheriff’s office devotes about 20 percent of his time to coordinating the board’s activities.