City of Dekalb Citizen Police Review Board met May 5.
Here are the minutes provided by the board:
The Citizen Police Review Board of the City of DeKalb, Illinois, convened at the DeKalb Police Department, 700 W. Lincoln Highway, DeKalb, Illinois.
A. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL
Chair Maurice McDavid called the meeting to order at 6:02 p.m.
Records Supervisor Emily Henderson called the roll, and the following members of the CPRB were present: Justin Carlson, Maurice McDavid, Kate Noreiko, Veronica Origel, and John Walker.
Others in attendance included Chief of Police David Byrd and Deputy Police Chief Jason Leverton.
B. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA
MOTION: Ms. Noreiko moved to approve the agenda; seconded by Mr. Carlson.
VOTE: Motion carried by a 5-0 voice vote of the CPRB members present.
C. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES
1. March 31, 2022
MOTION: Ms. Noreiko moved to approve the minutes; seconded by Ms. Origel.
VOTE: Motion carried by a 5-0 voice vote of the CPRB members present.
D. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
There were no speaker request forms submitted.
E. ORIENTATION OF THE CITIZEN POLICE REVIEW BOARD MEMBERS
Police Chief David Byrd provided information regarding the process for the upcoming ride-a-long process. Mr. McDavid will be with Officer Pristave on May 28th, 2022, Mr. Carlson will be with Officer Donahue on May 14th, 2022, Ms. Noreiko will be with Officer Rinella on May 26th, 2022, Mr. Walker will be with Officer Schaeffer-Carrington on May 14th, 2022, and Ms. Origel will be scheduled soon.
Brief discussion ensued regarding the process of ride-a-longs.
Deputy Policy Chief Leverton then provided an opportunity for members to ask questions regarding policies that had been discussed at previous meetings.
Mr. McDavid inquired about the policies or procedures in place for interactions between officers and those who do not speak English. Deputy Chief Leverton then provided an overview of the training and tools in place to assist in situations with a language barrier.
Ms. Noreiko inquired about the Discipline Matrix that was discussed in a previous meeting. Police Chief David Byrd then provided an overview of the process that takes place to have the Discipline Matrix put in place. Deputy Chief Leverton said the Discipline Matrix should be able to be introduced at the next meeting.
Mr. Walker inquired about the confidentiality of the information that is discussed in the room. Police Chief David Byrd discussed that a confidentiality agreement is common for the discussions that would take place in closed session. Violations of that agreement would be reviewed by the City Manager and Mayor.
Deputy Chief Leverton then discussed that the Police Department would be going through a review of its policies for a reaccreditation next year. An overview of the process of the reaccreditation was provided and members were informed that they would be able to give input on the policy changes. Ms. Noreiko inquired if the accreditation body would be reviewing the actions of the Citizen Police Review Board. Deputy Chief Leverton said he would be reaching out to the accreditation body for an answer to that question.
Mr. McDavid then opened a discussion regarding the procedure of reviewing complaints and that the procedures that would be decided would go in front of the City Council for review.
Brief discussion ensued regarding the threshold that needs to be met for a complaint to be reviewed outside of a scheduled meeting.
Police Chief David Byrd explained the complaint process and investigation process. Use of Force complaints are investigated by an outside agency, that investigation is sent to the States Attorney for review of criminal charges, that decision is sent to Deputy Chief Leverton to look for policy violations, and that review is then sent to the Citizen Police Review Board for recommendations and then it is sent to the Police Chief for a decision. Ms. Noreiko then inquired about the timeframe for this process. Police Chief David Byrd explained the last two took at least three months.
Brief discussion ensued regarding the difference between looking for a law being broken versus a policy being broken.
Ms. Noreiko made a recommendation to the chair that language is added to show that the board will react in a timely manner after all investigations are complete. Mr. Carlson recommends that the severity of the complaint would dictate the time that complaints are reviewed by the board.
Brief discussion ensued regarding not holding meetings if there weren’t complaints and if a decision on a large case came in that the board could hold a special meeting.
Mr. McDavid suggested the board review the recent Officer Involved Shootings. Mr. Walker suggested the board set up regular meetings that can be canceled if they are not needed. Mr. McDavid inquired on how the Citizen Police Review Board was publicized and how it can be promoted in the future. Deputy Chief Leverton commented that the media has published it several times and Police Chief David Byrd commented that he can promote it on his monthly time with the radio station. Deputy Chief Leverton suggested a website be created. Ms. Noreiko suggested the city assist.
Brief discussion ensued.
Mr. Carlson left the meeting for a prior engagement at 7:26 p.m.
Mr. McDavid recapped the processes the board discussed in how they would be handling complaints or Use Of Force incidents. Mr. McDavid suggested adding items to the next meeting’s agenda.
Brief discussion ensued.
F. DATE OF NEXT MEETING
It was noted that the next meeting of the CPRB is scheduled for June 9, 2022. Brief discussion ensued.
G. Adjournment
MOTION: Ms. Noreiko moved to adjourn the meeting; seconded by Ms. Origel.
VOTE: Motion carried by a 4-0 voice vote of the CPRB members present.
Chair McDavid adjourned the meeting at 7:37 p.m.
https://www.cityofdekalb.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_05052022-2174
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