“Policing the Police”A Fact-Finding Investigation into the Effectiveness of

Charlotte’s Citizens Review Board

The Charlotte School of Law

Civil Rights Clinic Presents

Professor Jason HuberJohn S. Arco

Lee Miller-FinkelCrystal M. Richardson

April 27, 2011

White Police Officer shoots unarmed 19- year old five

times at traffic stop, killing

him.

Over 200 citizens protest outside D.A.’s

office for failure to prosecute

officer involved in shooting

Police fire 22 shots at car

passing through checkpoint,

killing 48 year-old passenger

Charlotte City Ordinance 849

adopted, creating

Charlotte’s Citizens Review

Board

Nov. 19, 1996 Dec. 10, 1996 April 8, 1997 June 9, 1997

“Police shootings tarnish Charlotte image; 2 deaths rock reputation `New South' city earned” -Associated Press, April 14, 1997

Composition of the CRB

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Appointed by City Council

Appointed by Mayor

Appointed by City Manager

*Chair and Vice-Chair elected annually by CRB

Data on CRB

• Number of Appeals considered by Board since 1997

63

Data on CRB

• Number of Appeals considered by Board since 1997

63• Number of Times CRB voted to

have a “Hearing” 6

Data on CRB

• Number of Appeals considered by Board since 1997

63

• Number of Times CRB voted to have a “Hearing”

6

• Number of “Hearings” actually held

4

Data on CRB

• Number of Appeals considered by Board since 1997

63

• Number of Times CRB voted to have a “Hearing”

6

• Number of “Hearings” actually held

4

• Number of Times CRB has determined that the Chief of Police “Abused his Discretion”

0

Meeting Minutes Annual & Other Reports Internal “Rules” & “Regulations” Dispositions Recommendations Member Information Statistical Data Other Records?

PUBLIC RECORDS: Documentation of CRB Activities

1st Public Records

RequestDecember 3, 2010

2006 – 2010

City’s Response to 1st Public Records Request

March 1, 2011

Received

Two Annual Reports(FY 2004, 2009)

CRB Member Info.(incomplete)

2008 Amended Rules

Some Minutes (“Open” & “Closed”)

“General Materials”

PromisedAdditional Annual Reports,

Minutes

‘Missing’ InformationRE: CRB Members

Other CRB – Made `Rules

Complaints

Appeals

Dispositions

Recommendations Made to

CMPD

Information the City Considers “Exempt” from Public Records Disclosure

Do these RECORDS Provide ANSWERS ?

Do these RECORDS (or Lack Thereof)Simply Raise More QUESTIONS ?

EXAMPLES …

DOCUMENT REVIEW

EX #1: Annual Reports

“Boilerplate” Language

Insufficient Descriptions:Nature of Complaint“Defenses”InvestigationEvidenceMethodologyDeterminative FactsJustifications

EX #2: Minutes

- Excerpt taken from April 2006 CRB Meeting

EX #2: Minutes (continued)

- Excerpt taken from December 2006 CRB Meeting

“Boilerplate” Language

Insufficient Descriptions:Nature of Complaint“Defenses”InvestigationEvidenceMethodologyDeterminative FactsJustifications

2nd (Supplemental) Public Records

RequestApril 2011

1997 – 2006“Missing” Documents from 1st Request

Questionnaires: Moving Beyond the Public Records

“Just the Facts, Ma’am! … Just the Facts!”

Getting to know the Complainants: The Questionnaires Who? What? Where? When? Why?

Locating the Complainants• 19 complainants listed in the minutes• 17 researchable names

• 8 confirmed addressesand phone numbers thus far

5 interviewed up-to-date

Drafting the QuestionsThe Questionnaire

To gauge the how the complainants felt about the overall process we asked questions such as:

• What were the events that occurred which caused you to submit your complaint against the police? Please feel free to tell your story. Question 1

• How did you feel about the complaint process with the police department? Question 4

• Did you feel that the Board took your complaint seriously? Question 15

• Do you feel that the Board favored the police during the process? Question 16

• Do you feel that the Board adequately addressed your complaint against the police? Question 19

• Overall, how satisfied were you with the entire process? Question 20

 

To help locate some of the missing documents, we asked:• Do you have a copy of the complaint that you filed

with the Police Department? Question 2• We also asked if any of the complainants had any

pending criminal or civil cases that extended from the events that lead to their complainant.

To help us determine how easy/difficult the complaint and appeals process were, we asked questions such as:• How were you informed about the police

department’s decision? Question 7• How difficult were the forms to fill out? Question 9• How easy was it to submit your appeal? Question

11

To determine if the complainants were being provided adequate information regarding their rights at the CRB hearings, we asked:

• How did you first find out about the CRB and the appeals Process? Question 5

• How did you obtain the forms for your appeal? Question 8

• Did the forms and information adequately explain your rights and responsibilities regarding the appeals process? Question 10

• How were you contacted? Question 12

We also wanted to gauge if the board was offering timely responses to these complaints, so we asked:• How long was it before you found out the Police

Chief’s decision? Question 4• How soon after receiving the police department’s

decision did you file your appeal with the Board? Question 6

Complainant’s Comments: Take people’s feelings into consideration Board should take claims more seriously

and get rid of the bad attitudes Hold police more accountable and at least

make them apologize Should be able to face the accuser and

address discrimination Have past victims/complainants or those

that can relate to serve on the board

Stay tuned folks!!!

Our next research steps: Continue to investigate all 63 complainants Explore possible litigation regarding the public

records and whether the minutes comply with the open meetings act

Examine the documents filed with the Civil Service Commission (agency responsible for hearing police officer’s complaints when the Police Chief recommends to discipline an officer for misconduct.

“Policing the Police”A Fact-Finding Investigation into the Effectiveness of

Charlotte’s Citizens Review Board

The Charlotte School of Law

Civil Rights Clinic Presents

Q & A