Citizen's Review Board

Wichita Citizen Review Board Minutes July 25, 2019 4 p.m. Advanced Learning Library 711 West 2nd St N. Wichita, KS 67203 Present: Jay Fowler, Tonja Sowder, Dennis Bender, Janet Miller, Timothy Sims, Sharon Ailslieger, Stephanie Luna, Paul Kitchen, Odell Harris, Captain Duff, Captain Pinkston, Chief Ramsay, Jennifer Magaña, Keely Bean. 1. Call to Order—Chairperson Fowler The meeting was called to order at approximately 4:03 p.m. 2. Approval of Minutes Sowder made a motion to approve the June 27 minutes. Second by Sims. 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 & Crime Analyst Supervisor Charlie Giberti Pinkston noted there were 32 new complaints on the report with an even mix of internal and external complaints. Sowder asked what “retired under investigation” meant under the Disposition column. Pinkston noted that sometimes employees will retire in the midst of an investigation. Sims asked what would be considered “improper conduct”. Pinkston responded that the highest complaint of “improper conduct” is “rude conduct” and is typically regarding traffic stops. Fowler asked what “use good judgement” referred to. Pinkston responded that it could be not handling a situation in a manner expected of them or something not specifically in a policy because policies are very clear cut and specific. Miller noted that she likes the classifications on the report so the Board can differentiate between more serious and not-so serious complaints. The year-to-date numbers are nice to have as well. She thanked staff for their good work on making the report more useful for the Board. Pinkston then reviewed the Homicide Report which was created with the Crime Analysis staff for the Board. The report shows the justifiable homicides versus criminal homicides. The Board reviewed the Homicide Report. Wichita Citizen Review Board July 25, 2019 Page 1 of 3 Chief noted that it is a good comparison on gun related vs non-gun related homicides. Since 2014, the city and the state have seen an increase in serious assaults and domestic violence. And you can compare Wichita’s statistics to other cities. Fowler asked how the report impacts what happens after they analyze the data. Chief responded that they look for patterns and where the crimes are occurring to see if they are related because many crimes involve the same people. Trend analysis can help to allocate resources appropriately. Casings/spent shells can be entered into a national data bank and tracked. He added that staff meets on Thursdays to review what is happening and what they are doing about it. Pinkston noted that as of July 25, the city has had 15 homicides for the year with one or two more cases pending determinations. Ramsay noted the DA makes the determination if officer involved shootings should be classified as homicides. Bender asked about Wichita statistics versus national statistics and if staff pays attention to similar cities’ statistics. Chief responded that he does. He looks at how legislation affects the statistics and trends. In 2014 when gun laws changed, there was a significant amount of accidental shootings. They have also seen an increase in guns stolen from cars because people now leave guns in their cars. Miller commented that we could keep hiring officers, but it may not lower the crime rate. Police can do some prevention. Chief responded that he knows there is still distrust in the community and sometimes the community will not call in a tip for prevention or after a crime. But study after study shows that people feel safer with more police officers present. 5. Executive Session – Captain Pinkston Pinkston noted that the Board would review complaint 19PSB-1235 rude conduct and 18PSB- 1676 conduct over an arrest. Fowler moved that the Board go into executive session to return no sooner than 45 minutes to discuss a personnel matter. The motion passed unanimously. The Board returned from executive session at 5:39 p.m. and Fowler noted that no action was taken in Executive Session. 6. New Business – Chairperson Fowler Miller asked about the policy of identifying officers and noted that in April the Board had requested Chief to come back with a proposed written policy. She asked to have it on next month’s agenda to report on the status of the officer involved shooting policy. She suggested again that a spreadsheet be created with a running list of the Board’s requests so they can be tracked by staff and the Board. Wichita Citizen Review Board July 25, 2019 Page 2 of 3 Sims stated he would like an update on the status of the revision of the letters sent to citizens that Mumma was going to write and get back to the Board. He asked that it be placed on the agenda for next month. Pinkston noted there are at least three more cases to review that the Board had requested. He asked the Board to send an email with other case numbers they would like to review. Bender stated he was caught by surprise with the internal affairs story in the newspaper. He stated he thinks the Board could be a benefit to the community if the Board is not surprised with media coverage like that. He thought the Board was created to provide transparency and he was disappointed that there was no contact from the department directly to the Board regarding the article. In his opinion, he thought it should be something that was shared with the Board. Miller and Ailslieger agreed with Bender. Pinkston responded that the media does not advise the department of their reports, so it is unlikely the Board will get prior notice. He did note that the Chief had issued a response to the article. Fowler stated he felt that Bender’s comment was appropriate. He noted that he understands there are things that cannot be shared with the Board, but thinks the department should be more proactive in sharing what they can so the Board can be more engaged in the process. He noted that some Board members are frustrated because the ordinance states the Board cannot advise on ongoing investigations. Bender noted he would like the Board to receive talking points about issues since their names are public and they should be able to have some sort of response when asked about an issue. Sowder agreed with Bender. Kitchen asked if anyone had been called for a homicide. Pinkston stated he tried to call three Board members for the last homicide, but no one answered his call. Board members noted they usually do not answer a call if they do not recognize the number. Salcido’s phone number was given to Board members so they will recognize the number if he calls or texts. It was determined that a text will be sent instead of a phone call for the next homicide. Paul Kitchen requested that his home number be called rather than his cell phone. 7. Adjourn Fowler made a motion to adjourn. Second by Sims. The motion passed unanimously and the meeting adjourned at 5:53 p.m. Wichita Citizen Review Board July 25, 2019 Page 3 of 3