Citizen's Review Board

Wichita Citizen Review Board Minutes February 28, 2019 4 p.m. Advanced Learning Library 711 West 2nd St. N. Conference Rooms B & C Wichita, KS 67203 Present: Jay Fowler, Stephanie Luna, Shaun Rojas, Tonja Sowder, Robert Thompson, Sharon Ailslieger, Odell Harris, Jr., 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 4:05 p.m. 2. Approval of October 4, 2018 Meeting Minutes Sowder made a motion to approve the January 17 minutes. Second by Rojas. 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 Update Fowler stated he reviewed the report and noted that there is a summary on the accompanying report that marries back to the shorter report due to the limited number of characters available in the shorter report. He asked the Board to review the report prior to the meetings and flag those that they would like to review during the meeting. Sowder suggested the Board send those they wish to review to Pinkston and copy Fowler so they can appear on the future meeting agenda. 5. Staffing Study Update Pinkston noted there are three phases of the study. Phase one includes hiring six (6) community service officers (who are in training now); two (2) sergeants; one (1) crime analyst supervisor; four (4) crime analysts; and 16 officers. This phase should be completed in 2019. Crime analysts review crime patterns, statistics and can sometimes predict crimes and areas where resources may be needed. Fowler asked what training and education crime analysts have. Chief responded they usually have a criminal analytics’ education. They follow patterns and help to drive down into trends, numbers, and data. Miller asked if they are using new software. Chief responded they are using Lexis Nexis to help collate data. Wichita Citizen Review Board February 28, 2019 Page 1 of 4 Fowler asked if the new officers will be targeted to specific areas. Chief responded that three (3) will go to investigations and two (2) will go to domestic violence immediately due to an increase in domestic violence cases. Three (3) will go to the training bureau and six (6) officers will respond to 911 calls with the expectation for more community policing. Rojas noted he was in the Citizens Police Academy for his first class on Monday. He asked how the department identifies and recruits police officers. Chief responded that they encourage officers to constantly recruit. Last year the department hired a Spanish speaker who worked at QuikTrip. He also noted that the top floor of training center is the criminal justice program for WSU. 6. Legal Update Discussion – Jennifer Magaña Fowler stated he added this agenda item because he wanted the Board to have an opportunity to visit with Magaña on legal issues. Magaña summarized the statute on immunity from excessive force and reviewed the law regarding the statute. She stated it was to protect government officials from liability and damages in the course of doing their jobs. Fowler asked if there is a legal issue on what the Board can say if the facts are known publicly about a case they are reviewing in the meetings. Magaña stated there is a city ordinance that in general applies to all Board members that their opinion is their own and not of the City of Wichita 7. Establish CRB Purpose and Goals – Fowler Fowler stated that this was addressed in November 2018 and he thought it would be useful to review again. Sowder asked when the Board will be able to review the Joshua Price case. Fowler responded that the discipline is over for Joshua Price, but there are two other officers involved whose cases are not closed yet. He thought it made sense to wait until all cases are completed. Sowder stated she would like to see two to three cases per meeting. She would like to know what the outcome was for those cases where mentoring and coaching were noted. Chief noted that the Price case is at final discipline and could be reviewed next month possibly. Fowler asked if it is possible to do scenario presentations and discuss the conduct and policies and applications of the policies without getting into an individual case. Magaña responded that if an officer could be reasonably identified, then the answer is no. Ailslieger noted that “rude” is a common complaint and wondered if officers are being trained in such a way that they are being perceived as rude by the public. Wichita Citizen Review Board February 28, 2019 Page 2 of 4 Chief responded that the unfounded “rude” complaints find there are no policy violations. He stated they are willing to review a case for the board to see what they are looking at. He also noted that they have a tendency to deal with the 1% of the population over and over again. When they deal with the rest of the population, they have to show compassion as it may be their only dealing with the department. Fowler suggested the Board should be reviewing cases that public is interested in which is why he brought up the Price case. Luna suggested to keep a record of the cases the Board reviews and the outcome. Fowler noted that the minutes will tell the public what the Board decided upon reviewing a case. Chief suggested highlighting those cases that had already been reviewed by the Board. Miller asked the Board to review what they had done in the past year. She noted they had revised the bylaws and made an ordinance change. Fowler noted the Board had reviewed camera and drone policy and the tattoo policy. Chief added that the Board had made three policy recommendations: 1) Tattoo Policy – the department revised the policy internally based on recommendations and it was implemented. 2) Off-Duty Employment – Board had suggested a tracking process and the department is looking at systems to track hours, etc. and is in phase one. 3) Officer-Involved Shootings – Board recommended releasing the names of officers. He noted that some people think it is ok to harass and release personal information of officers and their family members’ names. Officers have a difficult job and the current climate for officers is volatile. He has to advocate for the officers’ protection and well-being as well as that of the community. He noted there are internal discussions being had now. The public probably wants to know the history / discipline record / longevity / gender of the officer. He noted maybe these factors could be released without releasing the name of the officers and this could balance protecting the officers’ names and their family. Ailslieger responded she does not need to know the officer’s name, but thinks the information would be good to release about the officer. Miller suggested the subject be placed back on the next agenda so the public can be given notice of the discussion. Fowler noted the Price case, officer naming and the matrix can be on the next agenda. 8. Action to take Executive Session Discussion Miller asked if there is a statement the Board can make after returning from Executive Session. Magaña reminded the Board that no action can be taken in Executive Session. Miller asked if the Board could ask that a case be reviewed in an open session. Magaña responded yes. Wichita Citizen Review Board February 28, 2019 Page 3 of 4 Magaña stated that if the Board recommends action, they can come out of Executive Session and take a vote on action. Executive Session is to discuss a personnel issue or seek legal advice. If policy review is recommended, the Board should request a vote. Fowler noted the ordinance requires confidentiality of the Executive Session and is confusing. He thinks the Board should be able to review a case and advise that a case is being reviewed and “recommend no binding action for this case”. In this manner, the Board can provide the community the information they want to hear. Miller added she felt like there should be some closure on the Executive Sessions so the public knows an outcome. Magaña stated she can give guidelines before the Board goes into Executive Session and what can happen after the Executive Session. Fowler noted the Board has to be transparent and figure out a way to do that. Magaña stated that is why there is an Open Meeting Act that states there can be no binding action taken in Executive Session 9. Project Tracking List Discussion Fowler noted that the Juvenile Arrest Policy is up for review in March. Miller asked who keeps the official list. Pinkston responded that he has it. Miller asked if Fowler could send the project list when he sends out agenda item requests. 10. New Business – Fowler Rojas asked about ride-alongs. Pinkston noted he has the list and it has been given to Investigations. He will email the list to the Board. Pinkston showed the Board drone video footage of an arrest. A citizen called 911 because the suspect was stealing property from his private property. The drone has infrared capabilities and searches for the suspect because it is cold and the owner had handcuffed the suspect who got away. The drone spots the suspect in a wooded area and the officers apprehend him. Due to the low temperature and an injury sustained by the suspect as he fled, the drone could have saved the suspect’s life. Fowler noted that the next meeting will be March 28 at the library or another suitable location. 11. Adjourn Harris made a motion to adjourn. Second by Miller. The motion passed unanimously and the meeting adjourned at 5:21 p.m. Wichita Citizen Review Board February 28, 2019 Page 4 of 4