Police Issue Goes Astray

In making its recommendations last week for some civilian monitoring of the internal investigations of police misconduct complaints, the San Diego city task force on police-community relations has allowed the discussion of the issue to slip off the track.

Absent from the proposal was any sense of what is actually needed to assure the public that complaints against police officers are investigated thoroughly and impartially. Missing, too, is the recognition that a significant segment of the community has lost faith in the way some officers deal with those they come in contact with, and that a system must be developed to meet this problem head-on. Instead, the Citizens Advisory Board on Police-Community Relations has become hung up on restrictions in the City Charter that today restrict access to the Police Department’s internal investigative files.

Consequently, as City Manager John Lockwood weighs his decision (due next month) on implementing civilian participation in police complaints, he has before him the toothless proposal from Police Chief Bill Kolender to have the county grand jury randomly review a sampling of internal investigations, and the equally tepid plan of the advisory board.

That plan would have the police chief name 12 “consultants” who would monitor the investigations of serious complaints against police officers and comment on them to police officials.

Neither proposal allows anyone outside the Police Department to play a role in the investigation itself or in determining the proper dispensation of a complaint.

Changing the City Charter is not done with the snap of the fingers, but neither is it as difficult as amending the U.S. Constitution--it’s already been done six times during the 1980s. It seems a shame for the charter to become the obstacle that prevents the public from having confidence that complaints against police officers are being adequately investigated.

Throughout the debate on this issue, there has been a disturbing absence of political leadership. Although the police-community relations advisory board is a creation of the City Council, few council members have had much to say about what kind of civilian review the city should adopt. In her State of the City address earlier this year, Mayor Maureen O’Connor noted the “decline in esteem” of the Police Department. The attempt to establish civilian review of misconduct complaints goes to the heart of that very problem, but O’Connor has not chosen to play a leadership role in trying to sway opinion on the matter. Only Councilwoman Celia Ballesteros has been outspoken in supporting meaningful civilian involvement in the review process.

Little, if anything, would be accomplished by Lockwood’s adopting either of the proposals now before him. The advisory board and the City Council need to come to grips with the fact that the charter should be changed to allow meaningful civilian involvement in the investigation of complaints against officers. Yes, the Police Officers Assn. will howl that only law enforcement professionals are competent to judge their actions, but the American jury system is argument enough to refute that.

The citizens advisory board also has asked the council to extend its life by 18 months, and it should. Even if Lockwood chooses between the two existing proposals, the board will be needed to study the effectiveness of the new system and recommend refinements.