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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCitizen Review Board - Minutes - 08/12/2020Wednesday, August 12, 2020 at 5:30 p.m. Virtual Zoom Meeting 08/12//2020 – MINUTES Page 1 CITIZEN REVIEW BOARD (CRB) REGULAR MEETING 1. CALL TO ORDER – Sally Harris called the meeting to order at 5:31 p.m. a. Introduced 2 newest board members • Cassandra Moore • Melissa Rosas 2. ROLL CALL a. Present: Dennis Hanno, Aaron Rodriguez, Sally Harris, Mark Partridge, Cassandra Moore, Melissa Rosas b. Staff Members Present: Lieutenant Frank Barrett, Jenny Lopez-Filkins, Christine Macrina c. Guests: G. Kaszynski, T. Baldvins, N. Roman, Justin, E L., B. Beard, R. Steczo, M Woodward, SPD, S Mennard, citizen, Alida V, J. Green, P. Anise, J Kelvern, EML, Rebecca N. AGENDA REVIEW 3. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION – Sally welcomed our guests and explained the reason for switching to a virtual meeting was COVID 19 spacing requirements and safety concern. Sally informed the guests that she would call on them and they would have 3 minutes to address the board. a. Alida V – Wanted to voice her concern about the August 8 Black Lives Matter protest. The video clip she viewed made it appear to be black and white and Police Officers were taking bias actions. B Beard – Observing the meeting for his own curiosity N. Roman – Video clips made it seem arrests were made prior to investigation and felt Chief Swoboda’s comments were concerning. Edward L. – Observing meeting due to his concern about the August 8 brawl. Was listening to see if this would be discussed G. Kaszynski – Gave thanks to the new members for their time and service, he has some experience and knows the dedication and sacrifice needed. J. Green – Saturday (August 8) event was disturbing and is interested in advocating for safety within this community. M. Woodward – Attending because of Saturday (August 8) event and learning how to get more involved R. Steczo – Raised in Colorado Springs and interested in observing S. Mennard – Observing meeting and looking to get involved Tom Baldvins – Observing Wednesday, August 12, 2020 at 5:30 p.m. Virtual Zoom Meeting 08/12//2020 – MINUTES Page 2 CITIZEN REVIEW BOARD (CRB) REGULAR MEETING Eml – Observing SPD - Observing Justin – Observing Rebecca n. - Observing 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES a. Dennis moved to approve July 8, 2020 minutes, Mark seconded, passed unanimously 5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS - None 6. NEW BUSINESS a. Voicemail: 08/03/20 – S. Davis called wanting to apply for an open position and inform us that the CRB voicemail states a different meeting location than the CRB website. A request was submitted to staff to update meeting location. D. Williams called regarding an incident wanting to sit down and talk. Referred to Police Services. b. E-mail: 7/9/20 - S. Jade emailed asking about the application process. 7/11/20 - emailed response with link to application process. 7/12/20 - A. Garcia emailed with a description of the Angels Against Child Predators, Inc. No response required. 7/19/20 - G. Duranso emailed with a FOIA request. Sgt. Barrett responded with the proper venue to submit a FOIA request." 7/29/2020 – K. Pollard asking about the application process and why she was not able to apply to CRB. Emailed response regarding the structure of boards and commissions being under evaluation by staff and Council. During this effort, appointments to boards and commissions have been suspended. Wednesday, August 12, 2020 at 5:30 p.m. Virtual Zoom Meeting 08/12//2020 – MINUTES Page 3 CITIZEN REVIEW BOARD (CRB) REGULAR MEETING 8/9/20 - N. Hess emailed asking about the application process. Emailed response regarding how the structure of the boards and commissions are currently under evaluation by staff and Council. During this effort, appointments to boards and commissions have been suspended. Provided link to website. c. Sally explained the Duties of the Citizen Review Board At the request of the City Manager or the Chief of Police, the Citizen Review Board makes recommendations concerning interpretation of police policies and procedures. The Board reviews internal investigations concerning Police and Community Service Officer conduct in the following situations: 1. Upon written complaint, where an Officer is alleged to have: used force or discharged a firearm in violation of policy or law; committed a crime; or caused a person to sustain severe injury, death, or a civil rights violation. 2. Regardless of whether or not there is a complaint, where an Officer has used deadly force. 3. Upon written request, where a person wants to have Police Services' decision reviewed with regard to any other written allegation of misconduct of an Officer. 4. Any other investigation as requested by the City Manager or Chief of Police. The Board also offers reviews for other law enforcement agencies operating within the City and makes annual reports to the City Council and City Manager concerning activities and recommendations of the Board. The results of the Board review are provided to the City Manager, the Chief of Police, and the complainant. d. Random Subcommittee Drawing for Case #PSU2020-042. Sally explained the procedure on drawing for a subcommittee. Tile chips with each board member name listed is blind drawn from a cloth bag. There are three subcommittee members and 1 alternative. All members will be drawn for coverage in any circumstance. 1. Chair – Aaron Rodriguez 2. Vice Chair – Sally Harris 3. Cassandra Moore 4. Alternate – Mark Partridge Wednesday, August 12, 2020 at 5:30 p.m. Virtual Zoom Meeting 08/12//2020 – MINUTES Page 4 CITIZEN REVIEW BOARD (CRB) REGULAR MEETING 5. Melissa Rosas 6. Dennis Hanno Aaron asked Lieutenant Barrett when they would receive the case material. Lieutenant Barrett responded next week. Melissa wondered how the cases are received to review. Is a binder received? Sally when the case is ready Adam will notify the subcommittee board members flash drives used to provide the material are ready to be picked up. e. Sally called for the election of the vacant Chair position – Mark nominated Aaron for the Chair; Melissa seconded. Roll call for member vote Sally - aye Dennis - aye Mark - aye Cassandra - aye Melissa - aye Aaron – aye Aaron was designated as the official Chair. f. Aaron addressed the new members and citizens attending explaining the role Jenny Lopez-Filkins fulfills as the board’s legal guidance. 7. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS - None 8. OTHER BUSINESS Aaron described how cases are assigned by Chief Swoboda and City Manager. Concerns should be directed to City Council. Wednesday, August 12, 2020 at 5:30 p.m. Virtual Zoom Meeting 08/12//2020 – MINUTES Page 5 CITIZEN REVIEW BOARD (CRB) REGULAR MEETING Jenny Lopez-Filkins mentioned Council is the AD Hoc Community Impact Committee, Councilmember Emily Gorgol, Councilmember Julie Pignataro, Councilmember Susan Gutowsky. Information regarding this committee can be found at https://www.fcgov.com/council/ad-hoc-community-impact-committee Citizen – is there any way to have a citizen trigger an investigation? How could a citizen file a complaint about more than one officer? Mark Partridge – A citizen can file a complaint through police services to kick an investigation off. Jenny Lopez-Filkins asked Frank Barrett to describe how to go about filing a complaint. Mr. Barrett explained that a complaint can be submitted by telephone, email or a person could go to police department for a packet of forms to complete or send to internal affairs or directly to Frank Barret directly. (https://www.fcgov.com/police/employee-conduct.php) Community Information Comments on Employee Conduct • Board Overview • Email: crb@fcgov.com • Citizen Review Board Voicemail: 970.416.2707 (Voicemail is checked regularly) P. Annis – Concerned about last weekend (August 8 Black Lives Matter protest). Social media posts and how the Police Department reacted to the incident. Does Fort Collins do any backgrounds for officers involved in white supremist groups? Frank Barrett – Police Services does not proactively look for employee involvement but would investigate if an allegation were made. P. Annis - Is this something that can be looked into? Frank Barrett willing to look at. Fellow employees do report inappropriate comments. P. Annis – I have always believed Fort Collins Police were incredibly professional and feels upset about the police response last weekend. Wednesday, August 12, 2020 at 5:30 p.m. Virtual Zoom Meeting 08/12//2020 – MINUTES Page 6 CITIZEN REVIEW BOARD (CRB) REGULAR MEETING Frank Barrett will bring this suggestion to the Executive Staff to discuss. We do not want any bad apples and want to identify issues if officer is struggling to offer assistance. J. Wells raised his concerns about last weekend’s event. And wanted to confirm if additional arrests were made. Concerned about how the initial arrests were Aaron Rodriguez informed the audience that the investigation into the event could be a one to three months. Mark Partridge – Thanked the citizens that joined tonight. Encourage to join. Opportunity to have your say, express what they are feeling and watch what we do. The time is J. Kelvern – Served in Navy USS George Washington part of the training included de- escalation. Despite all this training there were internal audits from different resources or different departments. Racist acts or participation in racist acts need to be surfaced. Budget should be appropriated for investigations and it should not be a police staff member. Sally – Budget outreach occurring right now, and it would be great to make comments to City Council J. Kelvern – Do you use de-escalation training or predator-based training? Can a citizen access material on how police officers are being trained? Training on hands on skills firearm skills. Frank Barrett will look into how to distribute training materials. We want to be transparent and if that would help the community, he would be happy to do this, and will check into. Mr. Barrett was not familiar with predatory-based training. J. Kelvern – Asked if qualified immunity was going to be removed. Aaron Rodriquez stated that this would come from the City Council with the City Manager’s involvement. Wednesday, August 12, 2020 at 5:30 p.m. Virtual Zoom Meeting 08/12//2020 – MINUTES Page 7 CITIZEN REVIEW BOARD (CRB) REGULAR MEETING Melissa asked if anyone knew about the State removing immunity – Frank answered that a Bill as at the State Legislation to remove qualified immunity of $25K, but they are still working on the details. Alida - it is very important to know how police officers are trained. Can you file find out about an investigation? Do you need to be involved in an incident or can you file as a concerned citizen? Frank Barrett stated the best way to file a complaint is to go through normal channels. Jenny Lopez-Filkins stated that anyone can look at the duties of the Citizen Review Board (CRB). Available on the City website in the Municipal Code in Chapter 2 functions of CRB. Sally Harris stated that she read the duties included at fcgov/crb. SPD – Also feels police officer training needs to be transparent and would like to have the information available. Frank – How we train is offered in the Citizen Academy. In 2020 details are being worked out to accommodate physical distance. The classes are held in the evening. Dennis Hanno participated in the Citizen Academy and felt it provides great insight to the training and allows you to understand why they do what they do. Cassandra Moore – There is also a Sheriff Academy which would help you understand why it is the way it is. This allows you to Interact with officers and ask direct questions 9. ADJOURNMENT – The meeting adjourned at 6:30 p.m.