Police Citizen Review Subcommittee

Regular Meeting

Portland, ME · April 9, 2025

Minutes

APPROVED MINUTES POLICE CITIZEN REVIEW SUBCOMMITTEE April 9, 2025 Meeting Held Remotely via Zoom Members present: Keith Bidwell, Interim Chair; Rachel Schlein; Joey Brunelle; Kaylin Kerina; Walter Bihumugani; and Randall Kilty. Members absent: Xavier Botana Staff present: Associate Corporation Counsel Avery Dandreta; and Tracy Boyd. 6:05 Call to order. Introductions. Election of Chair and Vice Chair. Joey nominated Kay for Chair, Keith seconded. Kay accepted the nomination. Passage 6- 0. Kay nominated Joey as Vice Chair, Keith seconded. Passage 6-0. Motion was made by Joey and seconded by Keith to approve the March 12, 2025 meeting minutes. Passage 3-0. Complainant Letter. Joey suggested two edits to the letter and also shared a suggestion that Xavier would like the date of PCRS review of the IA investigation included in the letter. Kay suggested that Joey look at NACOLE1 resources to research best practices around including the date of review in the letter and as a basis for possibly creating SOPS for the subcommittee in the future. Motion was made by Joey and seconded by Randall to adopt the letter pending two changes. Passage 6-0. Training opportunities. Kay will have a list of training opportunities ready for the next meeting and also spoke about the upcoming NACOLE conference (which will be held in October). Kay suggested that it may serve as an opportunity to have a committee member either present on the subcommittee’s successes, or, attend the conference, either in person or virtually. Kay will send the link for everyone to explore the site. Kay also offered to look into funding from the City Manager’s office. Rachel expressed interest in attending. Randall suggested follow-up learning if someone presents. Kay agreed and also suggested that attendees share what they learned with the entire subcommittee. 2024 Annual Report. Joey has reviewed the template and he and Xavier will be meeting next week. Joey is waiting on the data from Rachel. It is possible that they will have a draft ready for the next meeting. 1 NACOLE is the acronym for the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement. New ordinance update. Avery shared that the City Council will hold a public workshop on this topic on June 30. Everyone can attend in their individual capacity. PCRS email discussion. Joey asked if the PCRS email could be forwarded directly to the members of the group eliminating the Corporation Counsel intermediaries. Randall offered to help develop committee SOPs. Keith suggested adding an auto reply to the PCRS email. Joey offered to follow up with Rachel regarding this idea. No public comment was offered. Topics for next month’s meeting agenda. ● PCRS introductory letter review ● Training opportunities ● Annual report update or tentative draft ● NACOLE discussion ● Drafting a letter to the City Council re: new ordinance ● Possible case 7:02 Motion was made by Keith and seconded by Walter to adjourn. Passage 6-0.

Agenda

Packet

City of Portland Police Citizen Review Subcommittee AGENDA April 9, 2025 6:00 PM 1. Zoom information a On Wednesday, April 9, 2025 at 6:00 p.m., the Police Citizen Review Subcommittee will conduct a . virtual meeting. This meeting will take place remotely using Zoom. This meeting will be held remotely pursuant to the Remote Meeting Policy adopted by the Police Citizen Review Subcommittee and as authorized under 1 M.R.S. 403-B . Allow your computer to install the free Zoom app to get the best meeting experience. If you are not able to attend live, a recording will be available following the meeting. For public comment, you will need to use the "raise your hand" feature. To raise your hand via the telephone, please hit *9. You will be unmuted by the host when it is time for public comment. You are invited to a Zoom webinar! When: April 9, 2025 06:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Every month on the Second Wed, 5 occurrence(s) April 9, 2025 06:00 PM Please download and import the following iCalendar (.ics) files to your calendar system. Monthly: https://portlandmaine- gov.zoom.us/webinar/tZUkcO6upjMiH9KOnzMWTxmSa6QQPLb_djzw/ics?icsToken=DEFxJnM9azQyDUYs MQAALAAAABgjVsQ5Igkoi2bfiNTAYNNzht8VnnukFMMxt5rXCyn6_IdxeNwyXkX3EHrKDDrfUbSeKMR pww_BX3k0ejAwMDAwMQ Topic: Police Citizen Review Subcommittee Join from PC, Mac, iPad, or Android: https://portlandmaine- gov.zoom.us/j/81977688856?pwd=RYXb2BQoYVpOzxtaWTxzVOKb5QFFV5.1 Passcode:304710 Phone one-tap: +13092053325,,81977688856# US +13126266799,,81977688856# US (Chicago) 2. Call to Order 3. Election of chair and vice-chair Page 1 a. Attachment 4. Approval of the March 12, 2025 minutes a. Attachment 5. Review draft PCRS introduction letter to complainants a. Attachment 6. Training opportunities 7. 2024 Annual Report update or tentative draft 8. Update on the new Civil Police Review Board ordinance 9. Discussion of PCRS email 10. Public comment on agenda items 11. Topics for next month’s meeting 12. Adjourn Page 2 Tracy Boyd <tboyd@portlandmaine.gov> Re: Agenda, draft minutes, pre case review letter, and redacted complainant letter 1 message Xavier Botana <xebotana@yahoo.com> Mon, Apr 7, 2025 at 9:45 PM To: Randall Kilty <randall.kilty@gmail.com>, Joey Brunelle <joey.brunelle@gmail.com>, Kaylin Kerina <kaylinnkerina@gmail.com>, Rachel Schlein <schleinr@gmail.com>, William Bihumugani <walterbihumugani@yahoo.fr>, Keith Bidwell <bidwell78@gmail.com>, Tracy Boyd <tboyd@portlandmaine.gov> Cc: Rachel Millette <rmillette@portlandmaine.gov> Dear PCRS members and staff, I will not be in attendance at this week's meeting. Since the majority of the members of the PCRS voting this Wednesday do not have my extensive experience with potential candidates, I would like to go on the record supporting the candidacy of Kaylin Kerina for chair and Joey Brunelle for vice chair of the committee. Kaylin is by far the most experienced member of the PCRS and was on the committee when it did substantive work to understand the full spectrum of options for police civilian oversight. She has been a resource to me, and other members of the PCRS on this and other related issues. I have known Joey for quite some time now, going back to his first run for the council. I have a great deal of respect for his values and work ethic. I know he has been a passionate advocate for civilian oversight and public transparency in government. I hope that this information is valuable to you as you consider whatever options are on the table. We have important work to do as a committee, particularly as we look ahead to the transition to the new committee structure envisioned by the voter approved city charter. I look forward to working with each of you in the coming months and years. Tracy, would you please include this communication in the public packet to avoid any FOA conflicts. Best, Xavier Botana PCRS member On Thursday, April 3, 2025 at 11:17:11 AM CDT, Tracy Boyd <tboyd@portlandmaine.gov> wrote: Good afternoon, Typically these documents would be attached to the Google Meet that we use for executive session. However, because there is no case to review, there is no need for an executive session for the April 9, 2025 meeting. Attached please find the above referenced documents. Thank you. Sincerely, Tracy Boyd Litigation Paralegal City of Portland Corporation Counsel Office 389 Congress Street, Room 211 Portland, Maine 04101 207-874-8427 tboyd@portlandmaine.gov Notice: Under Maine law, documents - including e-mails - in the possession of public officials or city employees about government business may be classified as public records. There are very few exceptions. As a result, please be advised that what is written in an e-mail could be released to the public and/or the media if requested. Page 3 MINUTES POLICE CITIZEN REVIEW SUBCOMMITTEE March 12, 2025 Meeting Held Remotely via Zoom Members present: Anne Hardcastle, Chair; Keith Bidwell; Gino Desruisseaux; Kaylin Kerina; Joey Brunelle; and Xavier Botana. Members absent: Reverend Lewis, Vice-Chair. Staff present: Associate Corporation Counsel Rachel Millette; Chief Mark Dubois; Major Dan Hondo; Lt. Jacob Titcomb; Tracy Boyd 6:05 Call to order. Motion was made by Gino and seconded by Kaylin to approve the February 12, 2025 meeting minutes. Passage 3-0, with 3 abstentions. New ordinance update. Rachel updated the subcommittee on the City Council workshop which took place on Monday, 3/10, the majority of which was held during executive session. At the end of the meeting the City Council indicated that there will be a future workshop in the public setting to talk about the new ordinance. Rachel will inform the subcommittee of the date of the next City Council workshop which she speculates might happen in late spring or early summer. Complainant Letter. Anne opened up a discussion regarding the complainant letter which is intended to be sent ahead of each PCRS meeting to complainants. Joey and Xavier shared their edits and Anne offered to update the letter and send it to Joey for his review before April’s meeting. Training opportunities. Kay will have a list of training opportunities ready for the next meeting. Joey made contact with the city’s acting DEI director who will reach out to Joey with possible training and collaboration opportunities. 2024 Annual Report. Joey and Xavier volunteered to work on the Annual Report. Rachel will share the data after she has reviewed it. No public comment was offered. 6:26 Motion was made to enter into Executive Session pursuant to 1 M.R.S. Sec. 405(6)(F) to discuss IA2025-003 by Joey and seconded by Gino. Passage 6-0. Page 4 7:06 Out of Executive Session. Motion was made by Xavier to find that IA2025-003 was fair; seconded by Gino. Passage: 6-0, IA2025-003 was found to be fair. Motion was made by Gino to find that IA2025-003 was thorough; seconded by Kaylin. Passage: 6-0, IA2025-003 was found to be thorough. Motion was made by Gino to find that IA2025-003 was timely; seconded by Xavier. Passage: 6-0, IA2025-003 was found to be timely. Motion was made by Joey to find that IA2025-003 was objective; seconded by Kaylin. Passage: 6-0, IA2025-003 was found to be objective. No public comment was offered. Topics for next month’s meeting agenda. ● Updated PCRS introductory letter ● Training opportunities ● Annual report update or tentative draft ● Update on new ordinance ● Discussion of PCRS email address ● Election of chair and vice-chair ● Possible case Kay asked about members’ ability to comment during City Council workshops. Rachel explained that the City Council does not typically allow public comment during workshops, however, if they allowed it, PCRS members would be allowed to speak in their individual capacities. Or, in the alternative, the subcommittee could nominate a member to speak on behalf of the PCRS or the subcommittee could draft a letter or email and send it as public comment. Anne announced that she was resigning from the subcommittee effective March 31st. Keith volunteered to act as interim chair until elections are held. 7:22 Motion was made by Gino and seconded by Xavier to adjourn. Passage 6-0. Page 5 Subject: Notification of Case Review by the Police Citizen Review Subcommittee Dear [Complainant's Name], I hope this message finds you well. I am writing to inform you that Portland Police Department Internal Affairs investigation into your compliant against the PPD has been referred to the Police Citizen Review Subcommittee (“PCRS”) for review. The PCRS is an independent body comprised of city residents dedicated to promoting accountability, fairness, and transparency in the review of police investigations into citizen complaints. The subcommittee’s primary duties include: • Reviewing the process of police investigations of citizen complaints to ensure they are thorough, objective, fair, and timely. • Reporting to the City Manager on the results of its reviews. • Offering recommendations for improving police investigation processes, policies, and training, and enhancing public confidence in the complaint investigation system. • Holding public hearings to receive community input on the police citizen complaint process. The PCRS will conduct a comprehensive review of your case, [IA2025-XXX] and follow up with you once their review is complete. Additionally, as part of its commitment to transparency, the subcommittee holds monthly public meetings to discuss relevant matters. You are welcome to attend these meetings. Details about upcoming meetings, including dates, times, agenda items, and locations, are posted on the City of Portland website at [insert correct link here]. Should you have any immediate questions or require assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Sincerely, ______________________ Page 6