Friday, March 10, 2000
Police panels provide boost to democracy
BY CLIFF RADEL
The Cincinnati Enquirer
When Cincinnati's Citizens Police Review Panel released its first report this week, its work was met with praise and criticism, diminished expectations and raised hopes.
Get used to it. This is the way it goes when you have a citizens panel reviewing controversial police conduct.
People involved with similar panels in other cities tell me the experience is rarely a unanimous view on anything. Such panels do not bring consensus as much as a higher level of participation and public debate. Which is what democracy is all about.
The creation of a Cincinnati panel was recommended by a federal mediator and approved last year by City Council in response to the 1997 shooting death of Lorenzo Collins. After sorting through 130 applications, City Manager John Shirey filled the panel's seven slots with civic-minded citizens. The panel's job was to review official investigations of police actions.
The first case reviewed by the panel concerned the fatal shooting by police of unarmed motorist Michael Carpenter during a traffic stop. Investigations by the police and the Hamilton County prosecutor's office ruled the shooting was justified.
The panel disagreed. In a 37-page report released this week, the seven citizens found the shooting to be unjustified. The panel's report recommended additional training for officers as well as the creation of a campaign to inform the public how to behave when the cops pull you over.
In the wake of the city's first-ever Citizens Police Review Panel report:
• Praise and criticism — The city manager praised the panel's report. The police chief felt the case was already closed. Keith Fangman, Fraternal Order of Police president, wondered: “Who are they to judge us?”
›Split decisions — The report criticized the police while two earlier investigations said what the officers did was justified. In Detroit, a volunteer citizens panel called the Board of Police Commissioners has been reviewing controversial cases for 25 years. That panel's findings occasionally run contrary to police investigations. When findings vary in Detroit, “they are referred to the chief (of police) to settle,” said board member Eva Dewaelsche. In Cincinnati, the city manager is the final word.
• Power and powerlessness — Before the panel released its decision, the city manager disciplined one of the officers involved. Panel members felt their power was being undercut and told the city manager so. On Tuesday, he said he would wait for the panel's next report before acting.
• Diminished expectations, raised hopes — The panel's formation raised hopes for improving police-community relations. After the panel's first case, relations remain strained. Michael Carpenter's parents, for instance, appreciate the report's findings, but wonder “what weight” does the report carry?
While the final say in police matters rests with the city manager, the panel has shown it can and will go its own way. And, through its first set of recommendations, it is dedicated to building bridges of understanding between the police and the people. The panel tries to explain both sides of the story; for example, what both the police and citizens go through during a traffic stop.
Jesse Taylor, the Chicago-based federal mediator who recommended creating the citizens panel, feels what happened this week “is a good start because right away there's a high level of cooperation between the city manager and the panel. That disagreement between them, and how it was resolved, strengthened the panel's standing in the community. They showed they are dedicated to this process.”
Tyrone Yates co-authored legislation to create the panel during his final term on City Council. He expects the citizens review to grow in importance.
“The panel's work has it taking on some of the most complex problems — race, gender, income, power — known to a democracy in the 21st century. Over time and many, many cases, it can improve relations between the community and the police. But, it can't solve these problems with one case.”
At first blush, the panel has shown it is not a rubber stamp for City Hall. Nor is it a mouthpiece for the police or special-interest groups.
The panel gives a voice to the people it represents. It answers only to the first word in the group's name: “Citizens.”
Good work.
Columnist Cliff Radel can be reached at 768-8379; fax 768-8340.
Columnist Cliff Radel can be reached at 768-8379; fax 768-8340.
RADEL ARCHIVES
