The Citizens Police Review Board nailed down a list of guidelines for closing some future proceedings at Wednesday’s meeting.
Closed sessions, a hot-button issue at many review board meetings, were approved last spring. The board decided to require a two-thirds vote under special circumstances to close a session for witness statements.
“In extremely regulated circumstances, it would be appropriate for us to discuss it in private and require a two-thirds vote to begin with,” board member Steve Alexander said.
City Council asked the board to come up with a set of guidelines for closing a session. Alexander presented a rough outline of six possible components for closing a session, which the board discussed one by one.
From the six proposed components, two were already covered by the Missouri Sunshine Law, two were thrown out, and two were adopted. The first adopted guideline involved the testimony of a minor.
“We need to make an effort to prevent intimidation or embarrassment on the part of the minor,” board member Roger Dowis said.
Board member Betty Wilson said she felt the involvement of a minor was not enough by itself to close a meeting.
“I think it’s too broad,” Wilson said. “I don’t think that, in and of itself, it would justify closing a hearing. The child needs to be a principal victim or complainant.”
The board decided to allow a child 16 years old or younger to give his or her testimony in closed session at the request of the minor, his or her parents or the board, as long as two-thirds of the board approves it.
Another proposed guideline involved sexual assault in the complaint. Alexander urged the other board members to widen the provision to more than simply assault.
“I have a sense that this is broader than just assault,” Alexander said. “I’d hate for someone to have a legitimate grievance and the ordinance is written in such a specific way that we can’t accommodate them.”
The board voted to allow parts of a hearing to be closed in cases of sexual assault or intimidation. Wilson, the only dissenting vote, said she felt the wording was not precise enough.
“I want to preserve openness as much as possible,” Wilson said. “We need to be more specific.”
Dowis said he was worried the board would lock themselves in with set guidelines without anticipating future incidents. To remedy this, the board added an “including, but not limited to” provision in the adopted guidelines.
Other business included talk of hiring a mediation coordinator, the board’s outreach efforts and new software for police department data collection. Wednesday’s meeting was the last for board members Susan Smith and Carroll Highbarger. Board members Steve Alexander and Roger Dowis both have terms expiring in November, but have re-applied for their positions.
