By
Jill Terreri
Buffalo
lawmakers attending the first meeting of the newly revived Police Oversight
Committee took care on Tuesday not to appear as if they were antagonizing
Police Department officials, even as they acknowledged they have concerns about
the behavior of certain officers.
Their
delicate dance lasted 90 minutes in Council Chambers.
Council
members asked department officials about training, the rights of private
citizens who videotape police officers, and the department’s process for
investigating suspected misdeeds committed by police personnel.
Police
Commissioner Daniel Derenda, accompanied by 14 department administrators, told
the lawmakers “we’re very, very proactive on discipline.”
“The
vast majority of officers do the right thing every day,” Derenda said.
From
the outset, the Council made clear the committee wouldn’t be an investigative
body. And city lawmakers took pains to say they believe the vast majority of
officers do the right thing.
No
one on the Council believes “that we have a police force that is out of
control,” said Council President Darius G. Pridgen.
Council
members said they are most concerned about the relationship between the public
and the department, in part because detectives rely on tips from the public to
solve crimes. Then came the dollars and cents concern: The city must pay for
court settlements to victims of police misconduct.
Committee
Chairman David A. Rivera, a former police officer who represents the Niagara
District, asked the first question, aimed at allowing Derenda to explain that
many of the investigations into bad behavior by officers are initiated by the
department.
Derenda
said the department’s Internal Affairs Division has conducted more
investigations since he took over as commissioner in 2010.
Rivera
disclosed he met with Derenda and the union that represents officers before
Tuesday’s meeting. Based on his discussions with union representatives, he
expressed concern about the level of training for police officers.
Even
with some recent troubling incidents involving officers, the Council wasn’t
sure it needed to revive the long-dormant Police Oversight Committee. But
Pridgen decided to schedule a meeting, and he put Rivera in charge. Pridgen
brought up incidents about police behavior that constituents brought to him,
and he said the department has some “bad apples.”
“We
cannot ignore that because they are tainting people who are really great,” he
said.
Pridgen
asked that at the next meeting, Derenda return with a plan for a community
survey on attitudes about the department; an answer to whether installing
cameras in police cars is feasible; plans for sensitivity and other training;
and how to communicate to the public about the consequences officers face when
they are disciplined.
He
also wants officers trained on the rights of citizens to videotape police and
what should be done if officers need a video file for evidence, short of asking
someone to turn over their entire mobile phone.
In
addition to adding mandatory training, the department is also reviewing
policies regarding officers’ outside employment.
Derenda
said the city is working to include a residency requirement for new officers in
the next labor contract, in response to Fillmore Council Member David A.
Franczyk, who said the city is better off with officers who live within its
borders.
Another
police-related item came before the Council on Tuesday.
Pridgen
is calling for a special meeting with the city’s Law Department to discuss the
2008 firing of Police Officer Cariol Horne. She was fired following a violent
arrest during which she and another officer turned on each other. She claimed
the other officer was choking a suspect during the arrest, while the other
officer said she interfered with him as he dealt with a combative suspect. She
was fired after a disciplinary proceeding that reviewed her on-duty
confrontation with the officer.
The
Council agreed to hold a special meeting July 8. Council members Joseph
Golombek, Richard A. Fontana and Christopher P. Scanlon voted against it.
