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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/14/2025 - CITIZEN REVIEW BOARD - AGENDA - Regular MeetingCITIZEN REVIEW BOARD REGULAR MEETING May 14, 2025, at 5:30 PM 222 Laporte Ave, Colorado River Room (Main Floor) 1. CALL TO ORDER 2. ROLL CALL 3. AGENDA REVIEW 4. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION a. Public Input – 5 minutes per individual 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES a. April 9, 2025: 6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 7. NEW BUSINESS a. Voicemail: None b. E-mail: None c. Training: Internal Affairs Investigations with Sergeant Jason Curtis and Seargeant Kim Cochran d. Citizen Review Board Elections 8. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS 9. OTHER BUSINESS 10. ADJOURNMENT Participation for this Citizen Review Board Meeting will be in person at the Colorado River Room on the main floor. Masks Strongly Recommended in Indoor Public Spaces While there are currently no public health orders in place, Larimer County Public Health officials strongly recommend that well-fitting, high-quality masks are worn in crowded indoor spaces. For more information, please visit fcgov.com/covid Citizen Review Board REGULAR MEETING April 9, 2025 – 5:30PM 281 N. College Ave, (Conference Room A) 1. CALL TO ORDER: 5:30 PM by Shamera Loose 2. ROLL CALL a. Board Members Present – Shamera Loose, Michael Ruttenberg, Mike O’Malley, Veronica Olivas, Valerie Krier, Melissa Rosas b. Board Members Absent – Amy Hoeven (excused) c. Staff Members Present – Lieutenant Jeremy Yonce, Assistant City Attorney Sara Arfmann, Jessica Jones d. Guest(s) - None 3. AGENDA REVIEW 4. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION a. Public Input – None 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES a. March 12, 2025: Melissa Rosas moved to approve, which was seconded by Mike O’Malley. Motion passed. 6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a. Welcome to new board member, Valerie Krier b. Board Member Introductions 7. NEW BUSINESS a. Voicemail: None b. E-mail: None c. Training: New Board Member Training with Sara Arfmann and FCPS Overview with Lieutenant Jeremy Yonce Board Member Training with Assistant City Attorney Sara Arfmann Board members were given an overview of the structure of the City Attorney’s Office and its role in cases of liability and indemnification against board members. As long as board members act within their scope of work for the board, then the City Attorney’s Office’s role is to defend and represent them against any issues that arise related to their work on the board. The board must abide by Open Meetings laws and Confidentiality laws, so board members should reach out to Sara Arfmann if they have any questions about how to comply. Three board members discussing board business means that Open Meetings laws apply, so it is very important to ensure that the only communications occurring between board members as a group, outside of meetings, is for scheduling purposes only. Board members may not request special treatment from staff members because of their role on the board, and staff members are required to report any attempted requests for special treatment to their supervisors. Serving on the board does not mean that board members may not speak at City Councils; they still have the option to participate, but must make it clear that they are speaking on behalf of themselves only, not on behalf of the board. City Code Section 2-79 outlines attendance requirements for board members. Board member appointments will be automatically terminated after two unexcused absences, or after more than 25% of the meetings in a calendar year. City Council may approve an exception to the attendance requirement for good cause shown. Board Member Question: Is the allowance for absences two or three instances? The current requirements for attendance of board members allow for three excused absences, or 25% of the meetings in a calendar year for absences, whether excused or unexcused. Board Member Question: Is there a definition of “good cause” or is that the Council’s judgement? It is up to the Council to decide what “good cause” is. Functions of the board include reviewing IA files, along with FCPS policies upon recommendation of the Chief. When the board receives a case to review, Internal Affairs will provide a digital file to subcommittee members. Confidentiality agreements must be signed by board members prior to viewing subcommittee files. Subcommittee meetings are typically held directly after regular meetings, but they can be scheduled at any time, depending on the needs of the board and on deadlines required by the City Code. Board Member Question: Are subcommittee members allowed to maintain physical files in their homes when reviewing a case? No. The files are only sent digitally, and they are designed so that they can only be viewed in a Read Only format, and board members are unable to print them. Board members are also asked not print or distribute materials and to ensure that the digital file is stored on a locked computer that others do not have access to. Other recommendations include not using a public wi-fi connection and also taking caution for who is around when board members are reviewing the file, because some of the photos can be graphic. The subcommittee is made up of a Chair, Vice Chair, Member, and Alternate. Names are drawn randomly for these positions. Only the Chair, Vice Chair, and Member vote in the subcommittee. The Alternate only votes if one of the other members is unable to attend for any reason. Otherwise, the alternate’s responsibility is to take the minutes for the hearing. Subcommittees are open to the public, except for when they are in executive session, unless the subject officer requests for the entire hearing to be in the open. There is a script that must be read in order for the subcommittee to go into executive session. The hearing is recorded, including the executive session, with the exception of any legal advice that is given during the executive session. No action may be taken while subcommittee members are in executive session. Once the executive session ends, votes may be taken. After the hearing, the subcommittee chair will work with Sara Arfmann to write the findings, which must be received by FCPS 45 days after the board receives the case for review. Board Member Question: As far as the chain of command, does the officer who is involved in the incident know that the board has received the case? Yes. They are informed that the case is going to be reviewed by the board, and also informed when the case has been received by the board. FCPS Overview with Lieutenant Jeremy Yonce Board members were given an overview of the structure of FCPS. FCPS currently consists of about 240 sworn officers and an additional 350 nonsworn employees. The Chief of Police reports directly to the City Manager, and FCPS executive staff report directly to the Chief of Police. Director of Communications is a new position on executive staff, and the Community Outreach Officer reports to that position. In FCPS, the Assistant Chiefs do not report to the Deputy, as they do in some organizations. Board Member Question: What is the difference between the Deputy Chief and the Assistant Chiefs? The Deputy Chief is responsible for making decisions in the Chief’s absence. The Assistant Chiefs each have their own specific responsibilities, with teams that report to them. FCPS consists of an Administrative Division, a Patrol Division, and a Special Operations Division. Administrative Division: In charge of Personnel and Training Unit, Professional Standards Unit, and Human Services Unit. FCPS requires 10 hours of in-person training per month. P.O.S.T certification only requires 12 hours per year. FCPS started its own Police Academy in 2021, which gives them the benefit of not having to re-train officers to FCPS culture and methodology. This Division is responsible for Internal Affairs and crime analysis, along with promotional processes and CALEA accreditation. Patrol Division: In charge of patrol watches and Community Watch. This division also includes CSOs, which are nonsworn officers that deal with traffic enforcement. CSOs have recently had their duties expanded since they have doubled the amount of staff, and are now able to participate in duties like cold calling, obtaining background information, etc. Special Operations Division: In charge of Emergency Management, Community Policing, and Tactical Operations. This division includes alcohol compliance, marijuana compliance, and patrolling. Board Member Question: Whenever psilocybin gets approved, will this unit also be responsible for that? Yes, it will most likely be included alongside marijuana compliance, but it remains to be seen. Community Policing units are doing more when it comes to addressing nuisance complaints, or other chronic problems with properties. FCPS currently has 1 School Resource Officer at every high school and middle school in Fort Collins. The Mental Health Response Team are teams that have one officer and one clinician assigned to cases. Board Member Question: Is it true that they partner with UCHealth? Yes, the clinicians are UCHealth employees. The HOPE Team deals with homelessness issues, and the Traffic Unit deals with significant crashes. FCPS recently added a supervisor for the Camera Radar/Red Light program. FCPS also has officers certified to ride motors. Board Member Question: Does that mean that they are authorized to be on bikes? Yes, they are certified to ride motorcycles. In Tactical Operations, FCPS does not have a full-time SWAT team. Instead, the SWAT team is made up of officers that have a variety of other assignments. Criminal Investigations Division: Includes the Crimes Against Persons Unit. This division also includes criminalists, which are detectives that don’t carry guns. These employees allow FCPS to save money on training and personnel costs. It takes 18 months to fill an officer’s position, but only 3-4 months to file the position of a criminalist. Many of them are retired law enforcement. Board Member Question: Do staff members with civilian positions, like criminalists, have a chance to go to trainings on new technology, etc.? Yes. While they do not attend trainings on fire arms and defensive tactics, they do attend detective-specific trainings. Other units in this division include Cybercrimes Unit, Forensic Services, Property and Evidence Unit, Property Crimes, Victim Services, and the joint Task Force for Drugs. Information Services Division: This division is in charge of IT and includes operations of software like PreparedLive. This division is working to get all police reports online. Community Outreach Division: This unit is in charge of the Explorer program for youth, traffic control at events, etc. 8. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS 9. OTHER BUSINESS 10. ADJOURNMENT a. Mike O’Malley moved to adjourn, which was seconded by Val Krier. Motion passed and meeting adjourned at 6:29 PM. Minutes approved by the Chair and a vote of the Board on 05/14/2025 Signature: 04/09/2025 – MINUTES