Document of Interest Provided By Councilmember Hamann on Civilian Review Boards

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Management Control Division commanding officer. If the commander agrees with the disposition, IA staff notify Prentice Sanders, the assistant chief, of the recommended finding and punishment. With rare exceptions, Sanders agrees with OCC’s sustained findings and IA’s discipli- nary recommendation. Internal affairs writes the subject officer a letter offering the option of “a chief’s hearing” or acceptance of the stated discipline. When IA disagrees with an OCC finding, the IA officer- in-charge and the OCC investigator discuss their dis- agreement. About half the time, they reach a consensus. When they fail to reach a consensus, the OCC sustained disposition with which IA disagrees remains in the offi- cer’s file, but no discipline is imposed unless the OCC director asks the chief to submit the case to the police commission for trial. When the chief and OCC disagree on whether disciplinary action is appropriate in a case that OCC has sustained, the following procedure is used: 1. The chief returns the file to the OCC director explain- ing his disagreement. 2. The OCC director reopens the investigation, if neces- sary. If she determines on review that discipline is not warranted, the matter is closed. If she determines that discipline is warranted, she prepares and forwards a “verified” [i.e., by her] complaint to the chief. 3. If the chief files the verified complaint with the police commission, the commission may elect to hold a hear- ing on the disciplinary charges against the officer. 4. If the chief decides not to file the complaint with the police commission, he must tell the commission in writing. After reviewing the chief’s and OCC direc- tor’s decisions, the commission may order the chief to file the complaint. The commission decides whether to hold a hearing to try the charges in the complaint and, if the charges are sustained, to determine the discipline. This procedure places the ultimate decision regarding disciplinary action in the hands of citizens if the police commission chooses to hear a disputed case. Although there has been only one instance (still ongoing) in which the chief has been obliged to decide whether to file a verified complaint with the police commission, there have been instances in which the commission has ruled on disagreements that the chief and OCC have asked it to resolve. When officers in a hostage situation heard the hostage taker, who was holding a knife to the vic- tim’s throat, say he would kill her, they could have legally used lethal force. However, an officer threw his baton instead, hitting the man on the head and ending the crisis. OCC requested the officer be sus- pended because department orders prohibit throwing a baton. The internal affairs division said that using less-than-lethal force was preferable in the situation to using lethal force. Because IA and OCC disagreed on the finding, the police commission heard the case. The commission refused to sustain the allega- tion, ruling instead that the department’s policies on use of batons needed to be changed. The chief’s hearing Fred Lau, the current chief of police, delegates the chief’s hearing to Prentice Sanders, the assistant chief. However, the chief reviews all of Sanders’ decisions. Sanders upheld OCC’s sustained findings and imposed discipline in 74 of 88 chief’s hearings held in 1998. The Management Control Division schedules and runs the chief’s hearings with the subject officer, union representa- tive, and the officer’s captain present. An OCC attorney prosecutes the case. The union representative gives the subject officer’s version of the incident and may introduce evidence exonerating the officer. The captain often gives an opinion about the case as well. Because of the informal nature of the chief’s hearing, no sworn testimony is taken, although Sanders may ask the officer some questions. About half the time, Sanders makes a disciplinary decision at the hearing; the rest of the time, he decides later. Officers may appeal Sanders’decision to the police com- mission if a suspension of at least 1 day is ordered. Police commission hearings The police commission hears cases that: • Subject officers have appealed and the commission agrees to accept. • The chief forwards to it. • Involve more than a 10-day suspension. C ITIZEN R EVIEW OF P OLICE: APPROACHES AND I MPLEMENTATION 59