Law enforcement gets more disciplinary protections in updated Columbia city code - KOMU 8
A late-night, often tense City Council meeting Monday resulted in changes to the city code relating to police officer discipline and the green light for a number of new construction projects.
After much debate, the council unanimously voted to update the city code to include new rules for disciplinary procedures for police officers in line with Senate Bill 26, an expanded police bill of rights that the Missouri legislature passed in July.
Some of the new changes mean:
- Officers cannot be questioned by more than two investigators, meaning the Citizens Police Review Board can no longer call subject officers to questioning.
- Anonymous complaints are not actionable, though city counselor Nancy Thompson said the police “are likely to” give due diligence to the complaints.
- Records and proceedings related to complaints will be closed to the public and not subject to disclosure under the Sunshine Law.
- Citizens will have 10 days, instead of 30 days, to file an appeal after the police chief makes a preliminary determination about their complaint.
- Identifying information about the complaining witness will be available to the officer involved.
Council members debated approving these ordinances since they put significant limits on the power of the Citizens Police Review Board. Thompson urged the approval of the ordinances since the process, as stands, does not comply with state law, potentially opening the city up to fines and lawsuit fees if it continued.
State Rep. David Tyson Smith, D-Columbia, spoke to council about another statute that which specifically protects review boards. He was present on the legislature floor when Senate Bill 26 was discussed, debated and voted on and said the intention was never to deal with the review board — it was to deal with initial complaints against law enforcement.
“The purpose of the review board is accountability and transparency and we need to keep that in mind,” Smith said.
Smith said anything the city does to take away a review board’s power to investigate would constitute a violation of the review board statute.
Members of the council agreed, expressing concern over how the new ordinance would impact the review board’s process. However, concerns over potential liability for the city prevailed and the changes to the city ordinance were approved.
More on Monday night's city council meeting can be found here.
source: https://www.komu.com/news/midmissourinews/law-enforcement-gets-more-disciplinary-protections-in-updated-columbia-city-code/article_831eff0d-7b26-5a0a-85c5-5e95f01670f3.html
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