Denver, CO Citizen Oversight Board

Type: Municipal Code

Status: Adopted via ordinance on 10/4/04

Source File: http://www.denvergov.org/cob/GoverningOrdinanceforCOB/tabid/382469/Default.aspx

Text:

ARTICLE XVIII. OFFICE OF THE INDEPENDENT MONITOR

Sec. 2-377. The citizen oversight board.

(a) There is hereby created the citizen oversight board.

(b) The functions of the board shall be to:

(1) Assess the effectiveness of the monitor's office;

(2) Make policy-level recommendations regarding discipline, use of force, and other policies; rules; hiring; training; community relations; and the complaint process;

(3) Address any other issues of concern to the community, members of the board, the monitor, the manager of safety, the chief of police, the undersheriff, or the fire chief;

(4) Make recommendations as to specific cases as provided in subsection (f) of section 2-373; and

(5) Exercise such other powers and duties as are set forth in this article.

(Ord. No. 730-04, § 1, 10-4-04)

Sec. 2-378. Appointment and qualification of board members.

(a) The civilian oversight board shall consist of seven (7) members who shall be residents of the City and County of Denver.

(b) The mayor shall appoint, subject to confirmation by the city council, the members of the board.

(c) No officer or employee of the City and County of Denver shall be appointed to the board.

(d) Neither the members of the board nor any of their immediate family members (defined as husband, wife, son, daughter, mother, father, step-son, step-daughter, step-mother, step-father, grandmother, grandfather, brother, sister, domestic partner, and in-laws) shall have ever been employed by the Denver police, sheriff, or fire departments.

(e) The members of the board should reflect the diversity of Denver, including the ethnic, racial, and geographic constitution of the population as well as the diverse professional backgrounds, experience, and expertise of the citizens of Denver.

(f) The members of the board shall receive compensation in an amount not to exceed one thousand two hundred dollars ($1,200.00) per year and be paid necessary expenses incurred in connection with the work of the board.

(g) The members of the board shall participate in an appropriate training program to be established by the board and/or the monitor's office so that they shall possess the applicable knowledge to perform their duties. (Ord. No. 730-04, § 1, 10-4-04)

Sec. 2-379. Terms and vacancies.

(a) The term of each member of the board shall be four (4) years.

(b) Any vacancy occurring during the term of any member shall be filled by appointment by the mayor and confirmed by city council.

(c) The members first appointed after the effective date of this section shall be appointed as follows so as to create staggered terms: Three (3) members shall be appointed to serve for two (2) years and four (4) members shall be appointed to serve for four (4) years. After these initial appointment terms have been served, each member of the board shall be appointed thereafter for a four-year term.

(d) Each member shall continue to serve in such capacity until the member's successor has been duly appointed and is acting, provided, however, that that period shall not exceed ninety (90) days past the expiration of the member's term. (Ord. No. 730-04, § 1, 10-4-04)

Sec. 2-380. Removal from office.
Prior to the expiration of his or her appointed term, a member of the board may be removed from the board by the mayor for cause including a persistent failure to perform his or her duties on the board or if, subsequent to being selected as a member of the board, information becomes known to the mayor that, had it been known when the member was selected, the information would have disqualified him or her from being selected. (Ord. No. 730-04, § 1, 10-4-04)

Sec. 2-381. Officers.
The board shall annually elect from among its members a chairperson and a vice-chairperson, who shall serve in such capacities until their successors are duly elected. In case of a vacancy in either of these positions, the board shall elect a successor who shall serve the unexpired balance of the predecessor's term. (Ord. No. 730-04, § 1, 10-4-04)

Sec. 2-382. Meetings of the citizen oversight board.

(a) The board shall conduct at least three (3) meetings annually for public comment, including a meeting to be held not later than thirty (30) calendar days after the issuance of the board's annual report and shall from time to time meet with citizens' groups to learn of citizens' concerns and to inform the citizens of relevant information regarding the activities of police, sheriff, and fire departments, the monitor's office, and the board.

(b) The board shall meet at least bi-monthly with the monitor.

(c) The board shall meet at least quarterly in public with the manager of safety, the chief of police, and the undersheriff and shall meet with any other city personnel on an as-needed basis to discuss any issues of concern and to make recommendations for ways that the police, sheriff, and fire departments can improve their relationships with the citizens and recommendations regarding policies, rules, hiring, training, and the complaint process.

(d) The board shall fix the time and place of its meetings.

(e) The board shall maintain records of its meetings, which records shall be available to the public.

(f) All public meetings of said board shall be subject to the provisions of article III of chapter 2 of the Revised Municipal Code dealing with open meetings. (Ord. No. 730-04, § 1, 10-4-04)

Sec. 2-383. Interaction between the monitor's office and the citizen oversight board.

(a) The monitor's office shall inform the board of the status of police, sheriff, and fire department investigations and disciplinary proceedings and the actions of the monitor's office in monitoring those investigations and disciplinary proceedings.

(b) The board shall establish both qualitative and quantitative criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of the monitor.

(c) In order to determine whether the monitor's office is effectively monitoring police, sheriff, and fire investigations, the board shall receive regular reports from the monitor's office and shall be allowed to review pertinent portions of the personnel files of uniformed personnel and IAB files including statements of uniformed personnel and to make recommendations to the manager of safety, chief of police, undersheriff, fire chief, and monitor's office regarding investigations, determinations as to whether department rules or policies have been violated, and the appropriateness of disciplinary sanctions, if any. However, the board shall not become the custodian of any such records and the board shall not be allowed access to documents protected by the attorney-client privilege or the attorney work product privilege. (Ord. No. 730-04, § 1, 10-4-04)

Sec. 2-384. Reports of the citizen oversight board.

(a) The board shall furnish an annual public report to the mayor and city council regarding the board's assessment of the work of the monitor's office; the board's activities during the preceding year; concerns expressed by citizens; the board's assessment of the police, sheriff, and fire department investigative and disciplinary processes; recommendations for ways that those three (3) departments can improve their relationships with the citizens; and recommendations for changes to police, sheriff, and fire department policies, rules, hiring, training, and the complaint process.

(b) The board's annual report shall be furnished concurrently with the monitor's annual report to the mayor and city council.

(c) In addition to the annual report, the board may furnish additional reports, which shall be available to the public and which shall include, among other things, patterns relating to complaints and recommendations regarding the sufficiency of investigations, determinations as to whether department rules and policies have been violated, and the appropriateness of disciplinary sanctions, if any.

(d) The board shall have the ability to hire consultants to assist in assessing the effectiveness of the monitor's office and in preparing the board's annual report and any other reports. (Ord. No. 730-04, § 1, 10-4-04)

Sec. 2-385. Rules.
The board shall publish and make available to the public such procedural rules as it may adopt for the conduct of its business. (Ord. No. 730-04, § 1, 10-4-04)

Sec. 2-386. Citizen complaints.

(a) In addition to availing themselves of any citizen complaint mechanisms that are provided by the department of safety, police department, or sheriff department, citizens may file complaints of alleged misconduct by uniformed personnel with the board or the monitor's office.

(b) Whenever a citizen files a complaint with the monitor's office, the board, or the police or sheriff departments, the agency receiving the complaint shall, within three (3) business days, advise all of the other agencies (the board; the monitor's office; the manager of safety; and, when received by the board or the monitor's office, either the police department or sheriff department) that it has received the complaint and provide a copy of the complaint to each of them. (Ord. No. 730-04, § 1, 10-4-04)