City of Lawrence DRAFT
Community Police Review Board
March 26, 2019 minutes
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MEMBERS PRESENT: |
Stephanie Littleton Tony Mitchell Sanjay Mishra, Ph.D. Tonia Salvini Bill Graybill
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MEMBERS ABSENT: |
Brooklynne Mosley Jane Gibson, Ph.D. |
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STAFF PRESENT: |
Diane Stoddard, Assistant City Manager Maria Garcia, Assistant City Attorney David Ernst, Sergeant, Lawrence Police Department Amy Rhoads, Sergeant, Lawrence Police Department
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PUBLIC PRESENT: |
One representative from KJHK Robert Bieniecki, Douglas County Criminal Justice Coordinator Jack McDevitt, Northeastern University
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The meeting was called to order at approximately 7:00 p.m. by Chair Mitchell.
January 25, 2019 Minutes:
A motion was made by Dr. Mishra, seconded by Ms. Littleton, to approve the January 25, 2019 minutes. The motion was approved unanimously.
Presentation about the Law Enforcement Contact Study from Robert Bieniecki, Douglas County Criminal Justice Coordinator
Robert Bieniecki briefed the CPRB about the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council. He reported that Northeastern University had been engaged to collect data about law enforcement contact for all of the agencies in Douglas County. Jack McDevitt with Northeastern University, one of the researchers engaged with the contract for the study, was present at the meeting to provide the CPRB with the steps and the methodology that will be used for the study. The report will be shared with the community.
Ms. Salvini joined the meeting at approximately 7:25 pm.
Receive update on ordinance change request to the City Commission and consider revision to bylaws
Chair Mitchell updated the board regarding its requests to the City Commission for changes to the ordinance relating to the CPRB. The City Commission was willing to look at a change to the ordinance relating to how complaints were received by the board. This ordinance will be presented to the City Commission in the future for consideration. The City Commission suggested that additional detail about how evidence is weighed could be added to the bylaws. Finally, the City Commission did not wish to change the language in the ordinance regarding the qualifications of members of the board, since those qualifications were standardized in the City’s policy on advisory boards.
Ms. Garcia presented the board with some draft language to add to the bylaws regarding how evidence is weighed. The language was discussed by the board.
A motion was made by Dr. Mishra, seconded by Ms. Littleton, to amend the bylaws by including staff’s proposed language regarding how evidence is reviewed on appeal, with the examples indented in the text and the Article being numbered and titled Article 9 Review of Police Department Findings. The motion was approved 4-1, with Mr. Graybill voting against.
Brainstorm and have follow up discussion regarding January 24, 2019 presentation about Lawrence Police Department community engagement
The Board had some brief conversation about this topic. Staff was asked about how to gauge the effectiveness of outreach. It was also suggested that the Police Department be more intentional about outreach to specific groups by reaching out to them. Ms. Littleton shared some ideas about groups to contact. CPRB members were asked to provide names of groups and any contact information to the Police Department for follow up. There was also a question about whether the Police Department provided any LGBTQ training. Sergeant Ernst indicated that he would get an answer and report back to the CPRB on this question.
Cancel March 28, 2019 meeting
It was moved by Ms. Littleton, seconded by Dr. Mishra, to cancel the March 28, 2019 meeting. The motion was approved unanimously.
Discuss remainder of 2019 meeting schedule
Ms. Stoddard briefed the board regarding the July and October meetings. The meeting dates were confirmed.
Adjourn
A motion to adjourn was made by Ms. Littleton, seconded by Dr. Mishra. The motion was approved unanimously.
The meeting was adjourned at approximately 9:02 p.m.
Date approved by the Board:
Date forwarded to City Commission: