Citizen's Review Board

Wichita Citizen Review Board Minutes January 17, 2019 4 p.m. Advanced Learning Library 711 West 2nd St. N. Conference Rooms B & C Wichita, KS 67203 Present: Dennis Bender, Jay Fowler, Stephanie Luna, Shaun Rojas, Timothy Sims, Tonja Sowder, Robert Thompson, Sharon Ailslieger, Odell Harris, Jr., Jaime Lopez, Janet Miller, Deputy Chief Hatter, Captain Chet Pinkston, Chief Ramsay, Jennifer Magaña. 1. Call to Order—Chairperson Fowler The meeting was called to order at approximately 4:08 p.m. 2. Approval of October 4, 2018 Meeting Minutes Sims made a motion to approve the November 29 minutes. Second by Bender. The motion passed unanimously. 3. Public Agenda - 15 minutes is set aside for this portion of the meetings No one signed up to be on the public agenda. 4. Staff Report & Staffing Study Update Captain Pinkston provided an updated staff report and noted the timeframe of the report being January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2018. He reminded the Board that the database was not set up to retrieve this type of information for reporting purposes and staff is manually creating this report. Sowder asked why it takes so long to resolve a complaint. Pinkston responded that if criminal charges are filed, the internal investigation cannot begin until the other investigation is completed. This could affect the timeframe. Chief added that the union has a process as well that could affect the timeframe. Sowder noted there were no resolutions or consequences noted on the summary. Pinkston stated he would add the disposition on the next month’s report. Sims asked who investigates criminal charges. Pinkston responded that the sheriff’s office investigates. Chief added that best practice generally is to wait until the criminal case is completed in order to keep the two cases separate. He asked staff to revert to the former reporting template which includes the resolution of the complaint. Sims asked if the department ever uses other agencies. Wichita Citizen Review Board January 17, 2019 Page 1 of 3 Chief responded that the KBI would be used if there is an officer involved shooting. He reminded the Board that they have one year to request to review a case. Miller asked staff to add “date received”, “disposition” and “date range” on both reports. She added that the Board needs to decide what to do with the information in the report. Chief asked the Board to communicate directly with him and/or Captain Pinkston if there were concerns. Chief noted that the Staffing Study did not go into effect for 2018, but now the department has funding for three (3) stages of implementation. This year begins the first stage with 21 sworn officers, 6 detectives, 19 commissioned officers and 5 crime analysts. He stated they hired 9 non-sworn community service officers who will have body cameras, wear grey uniforms, drive pick-up trucks and will not carry weapons. They will be more customer service oriented and will work most accident scenes. A recruit class began in August and they will graduate in February 2019 with the most women ever. A new class starts in February and will include 30 recruits. With the 30 recruits, the department will meet staffing study recommended numbers. 5. Revised Ordinance Discussion Pinkston noted that Council revised the Citizens Police Academy requirement to state that Board Members must complete the academy within three (3) cycles rather than two (2) years of being appointed to the Board. Miller noted that the Board received racial profiling training on February 17, 2018 at the meeting. Pinkston stated he would check the date. Fowler reiterated that the Board members must attend the Citizens’ Police Academy training within three (3) cycles of their appointment date. Miller stated that she did not recall the Board getting sworn in. Magana stated she would ask the City Clerk about getting the board sworn in. Fowler noted that the revised ordinance states there is a 13 member board. There are currently only 12 members, so another member will need to be appointed. Lopez volunteered for two year term. Ailslieger volunteered for three year term. Odell Harris was selected for four year term. Janet Miller was selected for three year term. Magana will confirm when the terms for alternates began and when they will need to have the citizens’ police academy completed. 6. Off-Duty Work Policy Discussion Chief stated they saw a need for oversight of how many hours of overtime staff are working. Currently do not track that. The first step involves building a database of off duty work – who, when, where – for tracking. Wichita Citizen Review Board January 17, 2019 Page 2 of 3 Fowler asked what the rules are for working off duty and what parameters do the officers have as they perform off duty. He also asked if they are considered police officers. Chief responded they are always working as police officers. Pinkston added they cannot enforce the company’s rules/policies. They can only work as police officers. Chief stated the officer would not do anything other than what they would do if you needed police to respond to your business as a 911 call. He added they had implemented a nuisance ordinance to address businesses that had a lot of police calls requiring additional time (i.e. Walmart). Officers pay goes through the business, not through the City when they work off duty. One of the next steps is determining how the overtime jobs are assigned. Pinkston stated officers are required to be unscheduled for eight (8) hours minimum within a 24 hour period. This is applicable for off duty jobs as well, unless there is an emergency. Bender asked if there is a standard pay rate for off duty work. Pinkston responded that it is currently $40 an hour, however it could be grandfathered if it is an old job. Chief stated that if an officer takes police action and gets hurt on an off duty job, it is on the City’s worker’s compensation. Rojas asked if there are there other municipalities where the department takes a portion of the money. Chief responded that it is a best practice to have everything run through the City. Many cities do not subsidize the position. Businesses pay extra to subsidize the off duty work managers. Fowler added that many officers use this work to supplement their wages. Pinkston noted that 80% will work a part-time job some time in a given year and 40-50% have a consistent part-time job. 7. New Business Fowler made a motion requesting the Board to review the Joshua Price and swatting case. Second by Sims. The motion was unanimously approved. 8. Executive Session – Case Review Fowler made a motion to recess into Executive Session for approximately 30 minutes not to return prior to 5:32 p.m. Second by Sims. The motion was unanimously approved. 9. Adjourn Fowler made a motion to adjourn. Second by Sims. The motion passed unanimously and the meeting adjourned at 5:55 p.m. Wichita Citizen Review Board January 17, 2019 Page 3 of 3