Iowa City Council looking at changes to police review board

IOWA CITY — The Iowa City Council is considering expanding its community police review board from five members to seven and has indicated supporting a budget request to increase public outreach.

The council on Tuesday discussed 13 recommendations the board submitted last December. Four of the recommendations have been addressed and five are in conflict with state law.

Tuesday’s discussion centered on four recommendations from the board: hiring an independent auditor, funding, increased membership and access to a social worker for complainants.

Iowa City’s police review board was established in 1997 to provide oversight of police misconduct investigations and assure these investigations are conducted in a fair, thorough and accurate manner, according to the city.

The board has handled 119 complaints since it was created, according to an October 2020 report from the city. The report found that the police chief and review board come to the same conclusion 93 percent of the time.

The board has sustained 16 complaints. The board’s findings differed from the police chief’s in half of those, the report said.

Mayor Pro Tem Mazahir Salih, who joined the review board in 2013 and resigned in 2018 when she was elected to city council, brought up how it isn’t rare for the review board to disagree with the chief.

Salih said the “not sustained” complaints weren’t because the police review board agreed but because the members of the board did not look like members of the community. She said it wasn’t until “recently” that the board has started to “look like the community.”

Increasing membership

Part of the request to expand membership is to require at least three members of the seven be minorities and at least one be someone who is an expert in police procedures.

City Attorney Eric Goers cautioned against having “explicit quotas based on race” since that could result in a legal challenge.

“The courts have traditionally looked disfavorably on explicit racial quotas,” Goers told The Gazette. “They certainly have looked favorably upon considering life experiences and diversity that adds to the knowledge base.”

Council member Janice Weiner brought up including language that encourages people of color to apply.

“From my perspective, it's absolutely essentially that the communities most affected be represented,” said Weiner, who also is the review board’s city council liaison.

The Cedar Rapids citizens’ police review board — approved unanimously by the city council earlier this year as part of the demands of the Advocates for Social Justice — includes language that “the overall membership of the CRB will include a minimum of five voting members who identify as people of color.”

Goers, the city attorney, said he didn’t feel comfortable commenting on the Cedar Rapids ordinance since he has not reviewed it.

Council members indicated concerns about requiring a seat for an expert in police procedures in the event that no one applies and the seat remains vacant. Language encouraging individuals with police knowledge to apply already exists in the current ordinance.

Awareness, audit

The police review board is asking for funding to promote awareness of the board and increase accessibility. Council members indicated their support and are waiting for a budget request from the board.

Weiner said she is “positively inclined” to support the funding if it gets the word out to different parts of the community.

The review board also is seeking authority to hire an independent auditor.

Council members indicated they would be in favor of the review board coming to the council with their concerns and reasons for an audit, after which the council would likely approve the request.

The council is waiting on additional information from the review board about its recommendation to provide a social worker or medical professional to complainants.

Actions already taken

Two of the board’s recommendations were formally adopted by ordinance in May. Complainants now have expanded ability to respond to the chief’s findings and 180 days to file a complaint after the alleged misconduct.

The review board and police chief agreed on two recommendations about expanded reporting from the department to the board.

City Attorney Goers said five recommendations were in conflict with state law largely due to the fact that disciplinary records are confidential.

Weiner brought up how the state’s “back the blue” bill boosts legal protections for law enforcement and is “specifically aimed at curtailing our ability to act.”

City staff will draft an update to the police review board ordinance. It will go to the board and then to the council.

Comments: (319) 339-3155; izabela.zaluska@thegazette.com