CC Minutes - 12/11/06 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

end of the year so that Ms. Beaumud could begin her work. He urged the council to preserve the integrity of the Police Auditor by guaranteeing that the office functioned independently from the City Manager and the Chief of Police. He thanked the Mayor, City Council, Police Commission, and all others who had worked hard to create the Police Review Board and the position of Police Auditor and to pass the ballot measure. Charles M. Zennaché , 4845 Fox Hollow Road, averred that the ordinance was part of the community healing process and he urged the council to adopt it. He felt it was very important to recognize that the Police Auditor’s role was limited to reviewing adjudications and making sure the cases were adjudicated, handled, and investigated appropriately and that she should not be involved in discipline. He stressed that discipline should remain the purview of the Police Chief. He commented that community policing should be the end result, a situation in which the community knew the officers as individuals and the officers knew the community members. Regarding some of the issues in the ordinance, he believed that it should be clear that the Auditor’s Office was independent of the City Manager. He believed the ordinance, as proposed, did so and that the City Manager should give that authority exclusively. He urged the City Manager and the council to work in cooperation with the Police Auditor and to make it clear that the Police Auditor controlled her staff. He supported inclusion of language that made it clear that the Police Auditor answered to the City Council and not the Citizens Review Board. He recommended the council adopt the definition of what constitutes a criminal investigation suggested by Councilor Kelly. He also thought the Police Auditor should be free to ask for external assistance when necessary. Charles Biggs , 540 Antelope Way, looked forward to the day when the Police Auditor’s Office was open and the community had the opportunity to meet Ms. Beamud. He felt having the Police Auditor would help the community feel safer and better about itself. He hoped the new auditor would meet some of the “former victims.” He also hoped it would dispel the notion that the police overlooked things that should have been reported. He felt the Citizen Review Board should not be biased toward the Police Department or in opposition to it. He wished Ms. Beamud luck. Ruth Deumler , 1745 Fircrest Drive, urged the City Council to vote to support the Citizens Review Board. She felt that the Eugene Police Department (EPD), Chief of Police, City Council, Police Auditor, Civilian Review Board, and the public formed a great working team. She thought the relationship between the community and the police force would be better for it. She opined that the citizens of Eugene were surprised that this idea had not been voted upon before by the City Council. Rob Handy , 455 ½ River Road, urged the council to preserve the integrity of the Police Auditor’s function by keeping it independent from the City Manager and the police chief. He wished the council a happy holiday. Lisa Warnes , 5020 Nectar Way, commented that her concerns had been largely addressed. She echoed support for seeing the council vote on the item at the present meeting, especially given that two councilors were leaving. She suggested a vote would lend continuity to the issue. She also supported keeping the Police Auditor’s job independent of the City Manager and the Chief. th Will Shortt , 182 West 19 Avenue, asked to see the motion pass at the present meeting. He said it was not about “us and them,” rather it was about the community and about the people “on the front lines” of the community. He wanted all of the community to have confidence in the Police Department. He believed that the checks and balances the Auditor’s Office would provide would be critical to that confidence and to the ability of the police to work hand in hand with the community. MINUTES—Eugene City Council December 11, 2006 Page 7 Regular Meeting