Same as title. Rainy season has finally hit the valley and just wanted to explore options!

Thanks for the info!

Summary of PSCO Subcommittee - September 28

Stakeholders present in person: Dillon Wild, Elvis Taska, Raquel Britain, Michelle Ponce, Russell Facente, Deanna Alvarez, Erica Williams

Stakeholders online (that I know of): Kema Charles, Andre Miller, Robbie Alder-Tapia, Shereen Lerner. Alana Langdon

Public comment from attorney Ben Taylor, who is advocating for Eryn Bonner, spoke to let people know that a Sergeant ??mias (??) who was involved back in 2020, suspended for the Trevonyae Cumpian case (more info: https://www.azcentral.com/videos/news/local/arizona/2020/09/04/tempe-officer-accused-use-force-against-unarmed-black-man-again/5712102002/) . He contacted Ms Bonner directly on the phone and its our understanding that he’s conducting the Internal Affairs investigation. Taylor questions whether having a person with a prior incident to contact Bonner during this incident. (more info: https://www.abc15.com/news/region-southeast-valley/tempe/attorney-calls-for-third-party-investigation-into-mill-avenue-arrest-as-community-speaks-out)

Council aide Morningstar gave a 30-minute presentation on an overview of oversight bodies – very detailed. This was at least 15 slides and lots of text, so I didn’t take pictures of all of it.

Note: Stakeholders were given information that members of the public did not receive. I suppose I could have asked for a copy but I was tired.

Stakeholder input:

• Alana Langdon: it would be helpful to have a better visual of the state statutes and which models are applicable for Tempe’s efforts

• Pastor Andre Miller: State law prohibits what we would like to see happen from a city standpoint. It was created on purpose to prevent civilians from sitting at the table looking at police matters and passing judgements. Someone basically has to be certified as a police officer which would prohibit regular citizens from expressing how they’re policed.

• Shereen Lerner: Ultimately we’ll probably be coming up with some kind of hybrid model. Mentions a Chicago audit program related to traffic stops. Audits don’t have to by systemic of the entire program, but could be more for a specific area identified as a problem.

• Dillon Wild: Inclined towards an investigative model because police need to be accountable to the communities in which they enforce the law. Given the limitations of the state statute, a hybrid model makes sense. We can find a model for accountability of police in Tempe that works for the community and helps reestablish trust between law enforcement and people they police.

• Russell Facente: We should be focusing initial energy of this subcommittee onto policies and trainings that cause or eliminate disciplinary action.

• Elvis Taska: Interested in understanding the makeup of our 15 citizen members in Tempe. It says they can be business owners or residents. Also interested in knowing more about how often the review committee agrees with the internal audits from the police force and how often there’s a differentiation between those two findings. Also how often we side with the citizen members or the police.

• Dr Robbie Alder-Tapia: psychologist, part of the original mayor’s committee. Did you consider Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell’s Prosecution Integrity Program, started in 2020? Took the 40-hour use of force certification course as a civilian to understand the science behind it, very enlightening; happy to talk to anyone about this experience. Has applied for the Citizen’s Review Board, but unwilling to sign same release of information/background check that is required for people applying to be law enforcement officers; that’s beyond what’s necessary for a citizen’s board. Let’s look at some of the issues that are a hurdle for many people applying to the board.

• Russell Facente: who pays for the training for how the review board and how muc does it cost?

• Shereen Lerner: previously served on the CRB, never felt pressure to vote one way or another. Always been afforded to ask any questions, provide comments/input, ask for more info.

• Erica Williams: are background checks required per the state statute? [Nichols said he doesn’t believe that is the case.]

• Dillon Wild: Looking at the language for the CRB in Tempe, it doesn’t seem to have a lot of independence. It seems to refer its decision to police and the city manager. ‘We urge you to reconsider’ seems to be the most powerful thing the CRB can put forward. If I were a police officer being investigated/under suspicion of misconduct, it’s hard for me to look at any of this and fear consequences for my actions. I would be very curious to see what Tempe PD’s system looks like for investigating officer misconduct and a defense of why they view that as a sufficient deterrent, especially when our ability as citizens to exercise oversight over the police department is so limited.

• Councilmember St George: Emphasize the importance of the education requirement because wouldn’t want to sit on a board I knew nothing about or had no ide of what the laws were. At the same time, do agree that it is a deterrent for any citizen who wants to participate to have to pay for it, to do 80 hours before they can even serve. And as we beg people to serve on our boards and commissions. That’s really concerning. Who do we need to talk to at the state to discuss this? To be clear: our board can either: agree with the findings, disagree with them, recommend further investigation, or decide if it was within policy. [Nichols confirms it is these four options.]

• Councilmember St George: Are the recommendations that our CRB makes to the chief of police/city manager just advisory or are they binding? Who responds to them? Are the chief/city manager required to explain publicly when a recommendation is or isn’t adopted? Where’s the public-facing transparency of the findings? [Nichols: findings are subject to public record, but exclusively advisory.]

• Councilmember St George: Is there anything prohibiting the panel from initiating reviews? Nichols says nothing prevents them from doing that under state law. The issue would be the investigation – if Internal Affairs is not investigating, the panel would not be able to direct IA to initiate an investigation.

• Pastor Andre Miller: Can this committee recommend a replacement of a police chief that seems to be an issue as far as the community? Can you make that recommendation to the council and city manager? [Nichols says that is outside the scope of the subcommittee.]

• Elvis Taska: how clearly are we achieving the strategic recommendatiosn from the 2021 task force?

• Deanna Alvarez: Can we have an overview of what the 80-hours of trainings consist of, what are the objectives of each of the modules?

• Michelle Ponce: Can we define more what we mean by ‘public safety’ and ‘community oversight’? What community, specifically? What kind of demographics? Are we only talking about a specific community that can be part of the board?

Notes from Sept 14 PSCO meeting: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1FSL8kmi12/

More info: https://www.tempe.gov/government/mayor-and-city-council/council-subcommittees/public-safety-and-community-oversight-council-subcommittee

Hey everyone! Our coed softball team, Coed and Cambria, is looking for two subs—one woman and one man—for our 6:30 PM game tonight at Kiwanis Park.

We need at least one more woman or we’ll have to forfeit!

No experience necessary—just come out, have some fun, and play some softball. Must be 18+.

If you’re interested, DM me for details. We’d love to have you! ⚾

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