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WE NEED AN INDEPENDENT POLICE AUDITOR NOW

by Ellie Bluestein
In January 2004 a proposal for an Independent Police Auditor for the City of Fresno will come before the city council.
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WE NEED AN INDEPENDENT POLICE AUDITOR NOW!
by Ellie Bluestein

In January 2004 a proposal for an Independent Police Auditor for the City of Fresno will come before the city council. Most of the city council members oppose it, partly on the grounds that the Police Officers Association is not in favor of it, and they carry much weight with politicians who want their endorsement and money. However we know that there are many police officers who favor an IPA, but who are afraid to speak up.

Here’s what the president of the Los Angeles Police Department Union had to say:

“A civilian review board will bring common sense and civilian judgment to the specialized world of policing. Police officers are a pretty tight bunch. We tend to talk and think alike a lot of the time. After years on this kind of intense job, it is possible to lose the detachment needed to evaluate fairly the complaints about police misconduct. The experience of police departments in other cities is that civilian review boards can bring the balance and nuanced understanding of disciplinary issues that police-only boards cannot.”

She goes on to say:

“. . . It is only with such a system in place that we can restore the pride we once felt as members of what we still believe to be one of the finest and most professional police organizations in the world. We are committed to rebuilding a culture of trust, honesty, and integrity.”

Despite the work that the Central California Criminal Justice Committee has put in for about four years now, working with the police chief, and despite the measures that he assures us have been put in place, we have no sense that these are actually working.

Because of complaints about officers not identifying themselves or telling people why they are being stopped or questioned, we were promised that better communications would be stressed and each officer would be required to give out an identifying business card. We have been told that the business cards are in place, at great expense, but we have no reports indicating that they are being used.

We requested that cultural sensitivity training be given to all police officers. We were shown a video of such training that was totally inadequate, and our requests to use local community people who are trained and sensitive to the needs of our residents has been denied.

We worked very closely with the police chief to formulate a new complaint form, published in four languages, that is to be made available at 10 locations. But the complaint process is still totally inadequate.

No one at any of the locations has had any training as to the use of these complaint forms. Even the officers at the downtown police station are inadequately informed as to policy concerning the complaint process and do not even produce the forms unless pressed to, often requiring ID from people, telling the complainant he must speak directly to an officer first, denying the existence of the forms, and so on.

Central California Criminal Justice Committee has therefore put together the following information sheet that should be included with every complaint form. This is the kind of work that an IPA should be doing and monitoring. If we don’t get the city council to put such a police
oversight system in place now, we will all lose out. Our committee does not have the power to put such measures in place and to monitor the outcome.

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS WHEN FILING A COMPLAINT AGAINST THE POLICE

YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO MAKE A COMPLAINT AGAINST A POLICE OFFICER when you believe the police officer behaved improperly or abused you or someone in your family or property was damaged by them.

YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO FILE THE COMPLAINT WITHOUT FEAR OF RETALIATION FROM THE POLICE. The purpose in filing a complaint is so that the police
Department's Internal Affairs can investigate to correct, discipline, or terminate the officer(s).

BE AWARE THAT THE FRESNO POLICE DEPARTMENT'S COMPLAINT FORM states that it is against the law if you knowingly filed a false complaint against a police officer. HOWEVER, IF YOU BELIEVE that your rights were violated by the police officer you are not knowingly filing a false complaint.

IF YOU ARE CONVINCED AN OFFICER COMMITTED A CRIME, and you have witnesses and evidence, but the police internal affairs investigation resulted in no action, and your pursuit of justice led to dead ends you should BE AWARE that aside from filing a police complaint YOU HAVE SIX MONTHS FROM THE DATE OF THE INCIDENT TO FILE A CLAIM AGAINST THE CITY OF FRESNO IF YOU ARE PLANNING TO RECOVER ANY DAMAGES (MONEY) FOR THE INCIDENT. To do this you must ask for a claim for damages from the risk management department located in the first floor of Fresno city hall.

YOU CAN FILE A CLAIM IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT FOR LESS THAN $5,000.00 DAMAGES. In order to do this you must have filed the claim for damages.

You should document actual damages, whether physical, emotional, financial, or by virtue of having had your constitutional rights violated by the police officers to file with the claim or in court.

The mission of the Central California Criminal Justice Committee is to work to ensure that constitutional and human rights of the people of Fresno will not be violated by the police department.

CCCJC, P.O. Box 4555, Fresno, CA 93744
§Ellie Bluestein speaks at City Council
by Ellie Bluestein
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Photos by Mike Rhodes
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