San Diego

Police Chief Bill Kolender and the new Civilian Advisory Panel on Police Practices settled their differences Tuesday night in a closed meeting that included an “open and honest” discussion over the interpretation of the chief’s speech last week to a national conference in Illinois.

The Rev. George Walker Smith, chairman of the local panel, had threatened to resign and other members were concerned over Kolender’s remarks that, while he generally supports citizen review panels, he also believes that police internal affairs units are more effective in investigating alleged police misconduct.

“I told them I regretted it if it caused any problems,” Kolender said after the two-hour meeting. “I am supportive of their group, I appreciate the review and I think it’s a very positive thing.”

Smith said the chief provided a copy of his speech to each panel member, then reaffirmed his support for their work. He said he now believes the chief’s remarks were not intended to undermine the importance of the group.

“The discussion was open and honest,” he said. “The matter has now been resolved and thus closed.”

As structured, the group plans to review internal investigations of alleged police misconduct and make recommendations on how those probes are handled.