Item B: Police Auditor Ordinance Review Report

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(C) Monitoring Complaints (issue #3) Auditor needs access – the highest level of access to internal affairs records and access to database. (E) Appeal There should be an appeal process that does not involve the city manager. So the CRB or an Administrative Judge or some other external person or group needs to be used. (Bob O’Brien, 3525 Gilham Rd, Eugene 97408) ***** Item 14 & 15. The PD has a natural and reasonable tendency to protect its members. This is a given. The PD is by its role a closed society whose members risk their lives. Like any profession, they tend to resist interference in their work from outside their ranks. Because police can be corrupt, and violent, it is necessary to have independent oversight. If the auditor, after investigation, can do no more than hand a finding to the city manager or chief, with no recommendation for action, essentially, the same structure that protects the police takes it from there, which makes the finding toothless. Similarly, with no subpoena power makes stonewalling by the EPD can similarly make the auditor toothless. This won’t get it. (C) Monitoring Complaints The auditor MUST have access to the information needed to do the job. The auditor is no less a public servant than the chief. Remove the exceptions. The auditor should NOT be involved in training, except as the dept. believes would be useful. It is not the auditor’s job. Input to training that comes out of the auditor’s office is a very good idea, though. ***** A. Regarding Issue #10 2.252(5) - Receiving and Classifying Complaints For purposes of community review of police conduct, the chief of police must be subject to the same review as other police employees by the police auditor. The purpose of the auditor is to bring ‘sunshine’ and dialogue – leaving police chief review to the city manager is simply insufficient. Review of the chief, only by the city mgr., lacks the ‘gravity’ necessary to communicate community concerns to the police community. Section 15-A(2)(a) of the ‘charter’ clearly states, “complaints filed against sworn police officers.” If the police chief isn’t a “sworn police officer,” what are the requirements of that role? As supported by the community, the police chief must be subject to police auditor review. Whatever challenges related to PA review of the police chief should be resolved in another form, under the PA.