City’s Police Review Panel Recommends Creation of Complaint Evaluation Board

The San Diego police review panel is calling for the creation of a new Police Complaint Evaluation Board that would be formed without the blessings of the Police Department and would have independent authority to refer complaints against errant officers to criminal investigative bodies.

The recommendation came in the quarterly report released Friday by the Civilian Advisory Panel on Police Practices, which reviewed 66 new citizen complaints of police misconduct and agreed with the Police Department’s decision to sustain 10 of the cases.

Details of the 10 cases were not provided, but the panel did say the discipline to the officers ranged from verbal and written reprimands to suspensions without pay and terminations for misconduct.

The Civilian Advisory Panel on Police Practices, established in September, has been criticized as a mere extension of the Police Department because it cannot act on complaints.

In its report Friday, the panel called for a change in the City Charter that would set up a new complaint evaluation board.

Investigation Evaluation

That board would be appointed by the city manager. It would submit semiannual reports to the City Council on its evaluation of the Police Department’s internal investigation apparatus. And, when its members disagree with police findings on complaints, the board could refer those claims to the grand jury, county district attorney or state attorney general.

The Rev. George Walker Smith, spokesman for the existing review panel, said the new board would help erase any public perception that an independent group is not overseeing police discipline.

Police Chief Bill Kolender said he too supports the new evaluation board, including its authority to refer complaints for outside criminal investigations. “I have no problem with that,” the chief said. “We do that ourselves.”

But Kolender and Smith do not support an independent review board, as was proposed Monday by the San Diego Charter Review Commission for placement on the November ballot.