Citizen's Review Board

Wichita Citizen Review Board Minutes June 27, 2019 4 p.m. Advanced Learning Library 711 West 2nd St N. Wichita, KS 67203 Present: Jay Fowler, Shaun Rojas, Tonja Sowder, Dennis Bender, Timothy Sims, Sharon Ailslieger, Stephanie Luna, Paul Kitchen, Robert Thompson (arrived late), Odell Harris (arrived late), Captain Pinkston, Captain Duff, Jennifer Magaña, Keely Bean. 1. Call to Order—Chairperson Fowler The meeting was called to order at approximately 4:02 p.m. 2. Approval of Minutes Sowder made a motion to approve the May 23 meeting minutes. Second by Ailslieger. The motion passed unanimously. 3. Public Agenda - 15 minutes is set aside for this portion of the meetings No one signed up for Public Agenda. 4. Staff Report Update – Captain Pinkston Pinkston noted that Bean had scheduled the remainder of the meetings for 2019 to take place at the Advanced Learning Library. Kitchen asked about having the meetings at various locations to increase citizen attendance. Pinkston responded he thought the Board wished to hold the meetings at the library, but maybe he had misunderstood. Fowler stated he was not opposed to having meetings at another location, but thought the library was a good location for public access. Kitchen responded they could meet at the Kansas Leadership Center, churches, or recreation centers. It would be good to plan agendas to meet the needs of the community members. Sowder stated she had wanted to serve on the Board to serve the community. Pinkston asked the Board if there are ways that the department can help the Board with community outreach. Fowler noted the department could help by notifying the Board of an area of the community that has a concern or opportunity to attract more citizens. Bender noted the Board should let the District Advisory Board (DAB) staff know of the CRB meetings so they can advise their DAB members and attendants. Fowler suggested to meet at the Alford library branch for a future meeting and the Board agreed. Pinkston moved on to review the Staff Report and noted there were 31 new complaints. Wichita Citizen Review Board June 27, 2019 Page 1 of 5 Sims asked about 19PSB-1193. Pinkston noted that the officer was involved in a controversial conversation with a neighbor while in uniform. Fowler asked Captain Pinkston to review 18-PSB1676 and 18-PSB3291 which are closed cases of sustained unnecessary force. Sowder asked why there so many rude comments complaints. Pinkston responded those calls typically come from car stops or domestic disturbances. The department tries to coach new officers and mentor them. Bender asked if the suspensions vary in duration based on classification or severity of the violation. Pinkston responded yes and they range from class A-F with A being minor and F being a more severe offense. There is also a 1st, 2nd and 3rd offense for each class with increasing penalties. Penalties typically range from 1-3 days, 1-5 days or 1-15 days. Bender noted he would like some insight into the determination of the severity of the offense. Pinkston responded that he will talk with the Chief and see if there is a better way to clarify the “suspension” notation. 5. Homicide Stats Update - Captain Pinkston Pinkston reviewed the city map of 2018 homicides in Wichita and the statistics on sex, race, gun related, gang affiliated, and bureau. Sowder asked if Board members are still being called for the homicides. Pinkston responded that they should be. Sowder stated that Sims is the only one who has be called so far. Pinkston noted that he would check into it and email the Board. He thought it to be an oversight. He noted he will ask investigators to notify Pinkston and he will personally call the Board member as needed. Fowler asked if the homicide report was prepared by the department’s technical analysts. Pinkston responded yes. Fowler asked if they have done any analysis of the non-gang related homicides. He wondered if they are domestic violence related. Pinkston responded he could find out more on the balance of the non-gang related homicides for the next meeting. 6. Officer Elections – Chairperson Fowler Fowler noted that per the ordinance, the Board is required to elect new officers before the July 25 meeting to include a Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and Secretary. Wichita Citizen Review Board June 27, 2019 Page 2 of 5 Chairperson – Rojas nominated Fowler for another term and he was unanimously elected. Vice-Chairperson – Harris nominated Sims for another term and he was unanimously elected. Secretary – Luna was nominated for another term and she was unanimously elected. Sowder asked what steps need to be taken if a members does not care to be reappointed to the Board. Fowler responded they should tell the City Manager. Pinkston suggested sending a letter or email to the City Manager. Fowler also noted that if you want to continue on the Board, you should also send notice to the City Manager. 7. Juvenile Arrest Policy – Captain Pinkston Fowler asked if the Juvenile Arrest Policy has been reviewed by the department. (Thompson arrived during this discussion.) Pinkston responded that it is still in the process of being reviewed. Fowler asked Pinkston to describe the formal review process. Pinkston noted that each captain is assigned a policy to review. The Bureau Commander for Records is assigned the Juvenile Arrest Policy. They review any changes in state law and check to ensure they have been incorporated. They also review the policy for grammar, spelling, etc. and some have to be reviewed by Law. This particular policy is one that would be reviewed by Law for approval. Then the Chief will review, sign off and add to policies. Sims asked if there are talks about rehabilitation for juveniles and getting them out of the system. Pinkston responded that is beyond the scope of police policy. But noted there are efforts for juvenile justice reform. Police try to de-escalate situations, but they do not control intake and prosecutors. Police are responsible for protecting the community. Thompson asked if there were going to be changes made to Section A and B and if there is a timeframe for those changes. He thought this could run parallel with the juvenile justice reform. Fowler asked if the department is considering revisions to the policy. And if so, will the Board review the revisions. Pinkston responded that policies are reviewed on a static timeframe. If state law or case law has changed, then policy will change accordingly. Currently they are in compliance with state law and probably will not be changing the policy. Thompson noted that the incident that sparked the discussion was the questioning of a juvenile in high school – pulling the child out of class for a trespassing incident that occurred six months Wichita Citizen Review Board June 27, 2019 Page 3 of 5 prior to that day. The child was questioned without a parent present and without the school principal’s knowledge. The Board thought the policy was under review for possible change. Pinkston noted he would review the incident Thompson referred to and get back to him. He thought that a training bulletin was sent to officers reminding them of the policy, but knows that policy was not revised. Thompson noted that this story is not an anomaly. It happens often. Pinkston stated that if officers are investigating, they will record the interrogation. Thompson added he would like the age to change for contacting a parent prior to questioning. Pinkston responded that the policy is in compliance with state law. Fowler asked if it is the supervisors’ responsibility to ensure that the policy is followed and that officers know what the policy is. The Board should ensure that the department has safeguards in place and to ensure policy is followed. He asked if there is a report of the incident and documentation that the principal was not contacted prior to the interrogation. Sowder asked if there was a case number for the complaint. Thompson responded there was no case number for the incident or the complaint. Fowler suggested that the Board review this case. 8. New Business – Chairperson Fowler Bender requested that if a policy were to be discussed at the meeting, email the policy to the Board when the agenda is emailed so the Board can review prior to the meeting. Pinkston and Bean noted they would do that. Sims asked about the wording of the policy regarding releasing the identity of an officer. He thought the Board was to review that soon. Pinkston responded that the Chief had stated they would release the demographics of the officer, but not the name. He thought the Chief had stated this at one of the Board’s previous meetings. Fowler responded that the Board members thought it was going to be submitted in writing for review. Pinkston stated he would have it done for the next meeting. Bender noted that the website still was not updated with all the Board members’ names. Pinkston responded that he has asked to have it updated and it still has not been done. Rojas noted that he had seen something in the newspaper that the Citizens Review Board had reviewed a case, but he did not think the Board had reviewed it in depth. It was determined that the case referred to was 18-3427 and Fowler requested that this case be reviewed by the Board in the future. Wichita Citizen Review Board June 27, 2019 Page 4 of 5 Sowder asked what items might be on the agenda for next month. Fowler responded that they would probably review one or two cases, staff report and then it is open. Bean added the Board could review two cases requested by Miller that had initially been placed on today’s agenda, but the Juvenile Arrest Policy was added instead. Fowler added he would like to see the video related to the cases to be reviewed in Executive Sessions and then discussed in generalities in open forum similar to what was done in a previous meeting. The Board was able to do so with no identifiable information and it was a productive discussion. Magaña and Pinkston agreed that could be done. 9. Adjourn Sims made a motion to adjourn. Second by Rojas. The meeting adjourned at 5:22 p.m. Wichita Citizen Review Board June 27, 2019 Page 5 of 5