TGIF: Bits and pieces, here and there

The discussion of the Nov. 8, 2006 fatal officer-involved shooting of Douglas Steven Cloud was postponed by the Community Police Review Commission again. About 563 days have passed since the shooting took place and the CPRC is still preparing to certify its facts, which is stage 2 of its own process. Family members of Cloud have been attending the meeting, addressing the CPRC's review of the shooting. But there's not really effective communication in informing the relatives of individuals whose deaths fall under the purview of the CPRC as of yet.

At any rate, the commission was barely at quorum with an acting chair. This is not a body that's heading in a better direction.





The city council meeting this week is even briefer than usual. Is it to give Riverside's elected officials time to recover from last week's grueling marathon meeting? No, actually it's because there's some county elections next week and given that everyone on the dais is endorsing one side of the District One race, civic business has been sidelined so that they can celebrate or mourn the election results.


One of the darlings of closed sessions, Jon Lonsburg, is back. Every time you see a wheel chair ramp or one being constructed, think of him and his litigation against the city in federal court. While the city officials and their direct employees might boast about how many times they've beat him in court, the wheelchair ramps are being built or rebuilt later than they should of, including several hundred ordered by a federal judge after Lonsbury "lost" his last lawsuit.


More wheelchair ramps are to be added.


Also, contained in the consent calendar in the early afternoon session is this item on the transfer of over $4 million being used for the relocation of Marcy Library from one city account to another.



With many independent bookstores going under due to the proliferation of big chain outlets, here's another one to support.



Romantically Inclined

3830 La Sierra Ave.

Riverside











An off-duty Los Angeles Police Department officer pulled a knife and then a gun while having a tirade inside a restaurant. The officer was arrested not long after he kicked a man's food out of his hands and the pulled a gun and pointed it at his head.





A Bell Police Department officer was arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a woman onduty.




Once a week, the New York City Police Department conducts a "
trial" involving officers who are being administratively investigated. These hearings where evidence is heard are open to the public though the decision making processes are not.


(excerpt, New York Times)



The trial room is where the New York City police punish — or exonerate — their own, and, as the disciplinary arm of a paramilitary organization, it answers to its own set of rules.

There is no jury box, because there is no jury, and while there is a judge, the judge does not have the final say; that power belongs to the police commissioner. The Fifth Amendment does not apply. The Police Department patrol guide is the rule of law, and there is no prospect of jail time; instead, officers can be fired.

It is here where seven police officers involved in the Sean Bell shooting case could find themselves fighting for their jobs. Four of the officers, including three who were acquitted in a criminal trial, were charged with “discharging their firearms outside of departmental guidelines,” while the others were faulted for their supervision or their processing of the shooting scene.

The Police Department puts one of its own on trial at least once a week, on average, and opens the proceedings to the public. “And after the trial, the trial record is available,” said the department’s chief spokesman, Paul J. Browne.

But critics say that parts of the process are not transparent.

“The process of decision-making is so opaque, and takes place outside of the public’s view, that people don’t have confidence that justice is being served,” said Dick Dadey, executive director of Citizens Union, a watchdog group that has called for reforms in the prosecution of police misconduct.

Still, the process in New York City is worlds away from that in many other cities in other states such as California where nothing is open to the public except a complaint form. And in some places like Riverside, even when the laws governing the confidentiality of police personnel records allows for the release of statistical records, the city attorney's office denies the public this information. That shows how confident that office is and those who direct its operation are in the performance of the officers in the police department or at least that's the perception that such actions or rather inaction sends to the public.

The Community Police Review Commission traditionally released statistical data from its process through its monthly and annual reports available online or through hard copies. However, the commission has recently resumed its monthly reports after a bit of a dry spell. As you know, the operations of the commission have not thrived since the arrival of current City Manager Brad Hudson and his assistant, Tom DeSantis. In fact, the performance of these individuals in overlooking the CPRC is somewhat below that of prior city management teams.

In related rooms, the game of musical offices for the CPRC is apparently over. Recently, it moved back to its original haunt, the front section on the left hand side of the sixth floor of City Hall.

A man who was tased by police officers in Northern California died soon after.




More and more law enforcement agency recruiters are seeking out law school graduates to hire as officers.




A former Cambridge employee who worked as the head of the Police Review and Advisory Board was awarded $4.5 million by a jury after she alleged that the city had retaliated against her for filing a discrimination lawsuit against it.


(excerpt, Boston Globe)



Malvina Monteiro lost her job in September 2003 as executive director of the city's Police Review and Advisory Board, a civilian oversight group. The city had recently informed her of its intention to fire her, so she resigned from the job.

"It is really gratifying for me," Monteiro said in a telephone interview. "I am deeply humbled the jury understood my experience."

The total amount, once legal fees and statutory interest are factored in, could climb to $6 million or more, said Monteiro's lawyer, Ellen Zucker. She said the amount shows how incensed the jury was by the retaliation.

"As a lawyer, I view Malvina as my hero," Zucker said. "It takes someone with that kind of integrity and grit to stand up and, in this case, take on City Hall."

The jury on Friday found the city's five-year retaliation effort so egregious in nature that the payout includes $3.5 million in punitive damages. Awarding punitive damages is rare in Massachusetts, and high amounts are usually about $2 million for employment law cases, said David Yas, editor in chief of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly.






Critical Mass, a group of activists who are bicyclists will be protesting the acquittal of three New York City Police Department officers involved in the Sean Bell shooting during the Friday evening commute in Manhattan.