Police Community Engagement Board

minutes Meeting Title 8/24/2021 6:33 Meeting called by Cindy Neu Type of meeting PCEB Facilitator Cindy Neu Note taker Erin Klippi Timekeeper Erin Klippi Board Participants Cindy Neu (C.N) Dr. Scott Groesch (S.G.) Angela Brooks (A.B.) Katy Miller (K.M.) Mayor Gerry Welch (G.W.) Chief Dale Curtis (D.C.) Rev. Eric Hayes (E.H.) In Attendance Neil Bruntrager Speaker Agenda Item 3 Review and Approval of July 2021 Minutes Discussion Conclusions Motion by Second by Quorum was not established at the start of the meeting, therefor no vote was taken on the July minutes. Tabled until September meeting. Action Items Person Deadline Responsible N/A Agenda Item 4 Discussion regarding the City Council repealing of the PCEB sunset. Also suggested amendments to accomplish our mission. (Dale) minutes Discussion D.C. reviewed the City Councils request that the Board provide input regarding the repeal of the sunset clause in the original ordinance and presented City Attorney Neil Bruntrager to review legal constraints for the suggestions made by the Alliance for Interracial Dignity. Conclusions Action Items Person Deadline Responsible Agenda Item 5 City Charter Provisions and Law (City Attorney) Discussion Neil Bruntrager (Webster Groves City Attorney) reviewed the suggested amendments to the City Code that establishes the “Police Community Engagement Board” The 7-page document was presented by the Alliance for Interracial Dignity to the Board prior to this meeting for their review. No copy of this document was included with the officially posted agenda. Mr. Bruntrager (N.B.) reviewed the document and made legal observations and suggestions including, but not limited to the following N.B. Webster Groves is a Charter City with delegated authority given by the State of Missouri and must comply with ordinances and statutes as such. The following are examples of observations made regarding the legality of the proposed revisions. Section 4.1205 Membership SS.2 N.B. Unclear language, no quantifiable way to show a “demonstrated commitment” Mandating that volunteer Board Members attend specific training. Requiring the City of Webster Groves pay for said training with no legal authority of the Board to spend City funds. minutes SS.10 N.B. Ex-officio members cannot be excluded from Board meetings and activities. SS.11 N.B. Cannot exclude a liaison form Board meetings and Activities. Closed session meetings must fall under 610.021 to be closed, no activity of the Board will fall into the clearly defined reasons to close a session. C.N. Expressed her reason for wanting to have a “closed session” to provide a “safe space for healing and expression” and communicated that she felt the Sunshine Laws willfully prohibit the Board from completing their mission. N.B. Acknowledged her expression and reiterated that that a Board based on transparency would not have reason under the context of 610.021 to close a session. The presumption of Missouri Sunshine Law is that all meetings are open and the Board should operate under this assumption. N.B. Advised that one on one meetings with individuals can be documented and then presented to the Board while keeping parties anonymous. N.B. Reiterated that any information presented in an open meeting then becomes an open record but that it is not necessary to provide personally identifiable information regarding the provider of the information presented. Section 4.1210 Organization SS a N.B. Reviewed Sunshine Law regarding gathering of information that is subject to Sunshine Law and advised that the City has a Custodian of Records and information should be held by her. N.B. additionally recommended that all Board members minutes collect emails and information on ane-mail specifically for the Board to avoid personal e-mails being bound by Sunshine. N.B. Closed sessions are not allowable under Sunshine 4.1220 Duties N.B. Proposed duties would be better listed under purpose or goals as not to suggest that the Board has a greater power than can be allowed under the charter or State Statute. SS c N.B. Wording expands the purpose of the Board beyond the original limited advisory board created under the original ordinance. SS f N.B. The Board does not have the authority to define “police involved incident causing community concern”. Sunshine Law and State Statute define what is a publicly releasable incident. Wording is in direct conflict with open records laws protecting the integrity of an active investigation per 610 Sunshine Law. C.N. Expressed that the information being provided by Neil Bruntrager created a trust issue. D.C. Reminded the board that these issues are not a matter of trust but a matter of law. K.M. Sought clarification regarding the Boards ability to engage with the Community if there were an incident of community concern. minutes N.B. Expressed that engagement with the Community by the Board is fine with the understanding that the Board would not have access to any closed records and would have no additional knowledge of the hypothetical incident. Reminded that eventually most incidents become open records. 7:14 pm. N.B. exits Conclusions Board will update recommendations Action Items Person Deadline Responsible Review and update suggested revisions Board October Agenda Item 6 Vision Statement Development:(see ppt sent earlier) ● What is the human value of our work? ● What values does the Board hold for themselves? ● With the mission in mind and thinking of our values, what statement can be made to inspire and energize the board and the community? Discussion Discussion was had regarding the accomplishments of the Board, what value of the Board’s work and how it improves the lives of those in the community. The following is a synopsis of the general discussion resulting in the development of a Vision Statement. C.N. How does the PCEB Improve the Community? S.G. PCEB gives a forum to be heard K.M. Provides a community safety net C.N. How does PCEB make Webster Groves a better Place to Live and Work? K.M. Represents valued voices E.H. Questioned if people know the Board is available, and commented that could be improved upon. C.N. Is the Message of PCEB reaching the Community? A.B. Additional information could be included in the WKT to encourage community support and involvement E.H. An informative letter to area churches could be minutes sent out. C.N. What are the values of the PCEB? C.N. Belonging, Welcoming, Honest, Transparent K.M. Acknowledging of a painful history After discussion the Board created the following Vision Statement “Embracing a Partnership between Police and Our Community that Values all Voices, Acknowledges the Past, and Creates a Healthy Future” Conclusions Action Items Person Deadline Responsible Agenda Item 7 Hot Topics A.B. Discussed the issue of Fireworks and Safety Issus D.C. Expressed that the Police Department can increase enforcement of the issue and provide education regarding the dangers involved. Urged caution in issuing citations for low level crimes to avoid creating a cycle of financial and legal troubles for those cited. G.W. Suggested a city campaign to inform residents that they could be spending their money in more productive ways with in the community. Agenda Item 8 Comments of Visitors minutes Discussion Farrell Carfield Thanked the City, Mr. Bruntreger, and the Police Department on spending time reviewing the recommendations of the Alliance for Interracial Dignity and reiterated the reasons for the Alliances suggestions and acknowledged appreciation for the legal understanding of the document as proposed. Offered help to continue to create a joint recommendation for the new Code. Karla Armbruster appreciated the discussion regarding fireworks. Conclusions Action Items Person Deadline Responsible Agenda Item 9 Confirmation of next scheduled meeting Discussion Conclusions September 28th 2021 @ 6:30 Pm Action Items Person Deadline Responsible