Charlotte’s City Council on Monday
may take steps to strengthen the Citizens Review Board after an Observer
investigation found that the board, set up nearly 16 years ago to look into
allegations of police misconduct, has always sided with police.
Proponents of reforming the review
board hope to pressure the City Council to give it more power. They’re trying
to gather dozens of residents to speak at the council meeting or wear black in
silent protest.
At least one City Council member has
told the Observer he plans to recommend that the council’s community safety
committee review the board. If passed, the motion would be the first official
step toward changes.
Among proponents’ suggested changes:
giving the board the authority to subpoena witnesses and to overturn
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department disciplinary decisions after
investigations of officer misconduct.
Jason Huber, a professor at the
Charlotte School of Law, believes the Citizens Review Board has failed in its
mission. A study by the law school questions whether the board is following its
mandate to serve as a public watchdog.
Huber plans to attend Monday’s
council meeting.
“We would hope the City Council
overhauls the Citizens Review Board’s structure to make it fairer for the
citizens who believe they’ve been abused by police,” Huber told the Observer.
Community members have said
overhauling the board would reinforce the community’s faith in the police
department.
“Everybody on the council
understands that there is concern in the community, but we want them to
understand the extent of that concern,” said Matt Newton, a Charlotte defense
lawyer who has helped organize an effort to bring dozens to Monday’s council
meeting in support of reforming the board. “We perceive there to be erosion in
the public trust of the (police department) and the government, and we just
want to reinforce that trust and reinstill the faith that we have in an
efficient, proficient police force.”
‘The board is a cruel joke’
Since it was established in 1997 to
look into allegations of police misconduct, 79 complaints have been filed with
the Citizens Review Board. No one has won before the board.
The 11-member, volunteer board was
established to restore public confidence in police after three unarmed
African-Americans had been killed by white police officers.
If residents don’t agree with the
outcomes of CMPD Internal Affairs investigations into police misbehavior, they
can appeal to the board. The complaints must involve the use of excessive
force, unbecoming conduct, unlawful arrest, search or seizure or a shooting.
The board’s limitations and record
of never siding with complainants suggest it is among the weakest in the
nation, experts and civil liberties advocates told the Observer.
“Right now the board is a cruel joke
– an illusion held out to the citizens that a board exists that can give them
justice against the police,” George Daly, a civil rights lawyer and the board’s
first chairman, wrote in a letter to the Observer.
“If the City Council refuses to give
the Board the power to find the facts, then it is continuing to hide behind the
peculiar Southern myth that policemen can do no wrong.”
Critics, including two former board
members – Daly and former Mecklenburg Commissioners Chairman Harold Cogdell –
don’t believe complainants had much of a chance to win.
The board has little authority. It
has no independent power to investigate. And residents must meet an unusually
high standard of proof for the board to even hold hearings on their complaints
of inappropriate police behavior.
The board has met behind closed
doors – first with the complainants, then with police – and voted to dismiss
almost every case without holding a hearing on the allegations of police
misconduct. The board has only held four hearings. After each of those
hearings, the board ruled in favor of police.
One complaint is pending. A couple
has accused a police officer of using excessive force in killing their dog. The
board has asked police for additional information before deciding whether to
hold a hearing.
Critics recommend changes
Among changes the board needs,
according to critics:
• The burden of proof to gain a
formal hearing should be lowered from the “preponderance of evidence” to
“probable cause” that CMPD made mistakes in its investigation into allegations
of misconduct.
• Independent investigative powers.
Now, the board can’t initiate its own investigations.
• Residents who can’t afford to hire
lawyers should be given representation.
• The power to overturn CMPD’s
disciplinary decisions. The board now can only advise the police chief and city
manager if they believe the disciplinary decisions by CMPD were mistakes.
City Council member Patrick Cannon,
the chairman of the community safety committee, declined to comment before
Monday’s meeting, saying he’s awaiting input from the public and members of the
committee.
Cannon has indicated, however, that
he intends to ask that the community safety committee look into the board’s
work to hammer out what, if any, changes are needed. Any recommendations would
have to be approved by the City Council.
“I’ve had some level of conversation
with some members of the body,” Cannon told the Observer in March. “I think
there’s some open minds about making any changes that would be for the
betterment of the board.”
In a letter to the mayor and City
Council, Police Chief Rodney Monroe didn’t recommend any changes to the board,
saying it “serves the needs of the community.” Later, in an interview with the
Observer, he said he was open to the City Council re-examining the board.
“If they want to look and study it
more, I’m all for anything that’s going to give (residents) more trust and
confidence,” he told the Observer. “I’m not going to sit back and say don’t do
it.”
Monroe outlined in the letter how
CMPD investigates allegations of police misconduct. CMPD’s disciplinary
process, the police chief wrote, is “a direct reflection of the department’s
integrity and professionalism and, as such, is taken seriously by every member
of the department.”
Monroe praised the Citizens Review
Board, calling it an asset to the community that plays a critical role in the
department’s disciplinary process.
“I support the Citizens Review Board
as a way of providing members of the community who feel they have been
mistreated by the police the opportunity to present their cases to a body that
is independent of the Police Department for review,” Monroe said. “It is
another level of accountability and the public is better served because of the
Board’s existence.”