A passionate public comment section sparked discussion for the Citizens Police Review Board on changes recently proposed by Police Chief Ken Burton. The board heard public comment for 90 minutes, most of which opposed Burton’s proposed ordinance changes.
Several Columbia residents spoke out in favor of a third-party avenue for filing complaints against CPD, making police policy more accessible online and giving the board time to work before changing the rules.
“The employee doesn’t tell their boss how they should be supervised or evaluated,” local attorney Jennifer Bukowsky said. “The police chief is really not in the position to do that.”
The board’s Wednesday meeting and work session came as a result of Mayor Bob McDavid’s Aug. 1 request that the board and CPD resolve its differences in separate proposals. Major points in Columbia Police Chief Ken Burton’s July 25 proposal outlined the need for closed sessions and less time spent interviewing witnesses.
“If they feel the internal investigation is lacking, the board should simply request specific investigative action from Internal Affairs,” Burton’s memo states. “Interviews should not be conducted unless special circumstances apply, and then only in closed session.”
The Columbia Police Officers’ Association, an organization comprised of about 95 percent of CPD officers, released a statement outlining its own stance on the changes, most of which were similar to Burton’s memo. Former CPOA Executive Director Eric Dearmont said the association agrees with Burton on the need for fewer witness interviews.
“This stuff is fact-finding and it’s important, but it doesn’t have much evidentiary value,” Dearmont said in the work session. “If you put good quality evidence in, you’ll get a good quality decision out. Unfortunately, the reverse is also true.”
A controversial point in Burton’s proposal was to increase the training for board members, including quarterly ride-alongs with a patrol officer.
“The police are questioning your right to oversee them because you’re not police-trained,” Keep Columbia Free member Mitch Richards said. “The chief asking you to change this ordinance is outrageous.”
Dearmont said CPOA believes the board needs more training, and though it does not necessarily need to come from CPD, he said he believes CPD is the best option.
Mary Ratliff, president of the state and local chapters of the NAACP, said she encouraged the board to stay independent in spite of the proposed changes.
“The less involvement the police department has with this board, the better off we will be,” Ratliff said. “It looks a little strange when the wolf is in the hen house, so to speak.”
According to a statement provided by the review board, it favors requiring the police department to provide monthly and annual information on complaints, changing the definition of misconduct to the standard police definition and making police policy available online.
“We’ve heard nine cases,” board member Susan Smith said. “That’s not enough time. We want to make sure we’re not changing things before we’ve had a chance to work this through.”
The board voted to hold another meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday to decide on a final proposal for the City Council.
“We’ve gone round and round on this for months,” board member Betty Wilson said. “Our meetings have been open, and we’ve heard from the public. As an autonomous board, it’s now up to us to decide what to present to the City Council.”