Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-CPB-2018-02-28CITY OF ITHACA COMMUNITY POLICE BOARD MINUTES Regular Meeting 3:30 p.m. February 28, 2018 Present: Chair: Kane Commissioners: (4) Rogers, Wright, Beem-Miller, Onyejuruwa Others Present: Deputy Police Chief Monticello Information Management Specialist Myers Common Council Liaison Kerslick Excused: Commissioner DaGrossa Approval of Minutes: Approval of the November 27, 2017 Community Police Board Meeting Minutes - Resolution By Commissioner Rogers: Seconded by Commissioner Wright RESOLVED, That the minutes of the November 27, 2017 Community Police Board meeting be approved as published. Carried Unanimously Election of Chair: Commissioner Rogers nominated Chair Kane to be the Chair of the Community Police Board for 2018; Commissioner Wright seconded the nomination. A Vote on the Nomination Resulted as Follows: Carried Unanimously Submission of 2018 Confidentiality Statements: All commissioners present at today’s meeting turned in their completed 2018 confidentiality statements to Information Management Myers for filing in the City Clerk’s office – except for Commissioner Onyejuruwa. Information Management Specialist Myers will follow up with Commissioners Onyejuruwa and DaGrossa to insure their 2018 statements are completed and filed with the City Clerk’s Office in a timely manner. Report from Common Council Liaison: CC Liaison Kerslick shared the list of 2018 Common Council liaison assignments with the Board. He will continue as the liaison to the Community Police Board for 2018. Update on New Commissions – CC Liaison Kerslick shared that he will be one of the two Common Council members assigned to the new “Parks, Recreation, and Natural Resources Commission”. Those meetings will take place on the second Monday of the month at 6:00 p.m. in Common Council Chambers. He stated that the new “Public Safety and Information 2 Community Police Board Meeting Minutes February 28, 2018 Commission” meets on the first Monday of the month at 6:00 p.m. in Common Council Chambers. He believes that commission will most likely have more agenda items/issues related to the Community Police Board than the other three commissions. Common Council members Gearhart and Smith are the liaisons to that commission. He further shared that the new “Community Life Commission” and the “Mobility, Accessibility, and Transportation Commission will meet on the third and fourth Mondays of the month respectively. The work of the new commissions will, in part, focus on topics brought before the City Administration and/or Planning and Economic Development Committees of Common Council that needs broader discussions than what can take place in the standing committee meeting. The commissions will discuss and gather public input into those types of topics in order to form a recommendation back to the appropriate standing committee of Common Council. He also wanted to raise the issue of a “ride along” with the Ithaca Police Department that each commissioner is required to do. Commissioners have not, recently, made efforts to do that, so he would encourage them to reach out to IPD to schedule a ride-a-long because IPD is more than willing to schedule them anytime. Commissioner Rogers voiced his hope that someone looking to volunteer to become a member of one of the new commissions, might express some interest in community policing and apply to be on the Community Police Board to fill one the vacant seats. Alderperson Kerslick agreed and noted that the Public Information and Safety Commission might be in a position to share information about the Community Police Board and to encourage those in attendance that may be interested to apply to serve on the Community Police Board. Commissioner Rogers suggested that Chair Kane and/or other Community Police Board members reach out to Common Council members Gearhart and Smith about the vacancies on the board. Report from Police Department: Deputy Chief Monticello provided the following information for the Board: Crimes: IPD set up a task force to investigate the robberies that occurred in December and January on the Commons, at Shortstop Deli, and at a local bank. The task force as able to apprehend the suspect without injury to officers, civilians or the suspect. The task force did a remarkable job in their investigation and apprehension of the suspect. Last night, IPD responded to a call for a robbery involving a Domino pizza delivery person at West Village where the suspect barricaded themselves in an apartment. The SWAT Team responded and the IPD negotiator was able to successfully have the suspect surrender with no injuries to anyone. 3 Community Police Board Meeting Minutes February 28, 2018 Convictions: The defendant that shot UPS Driver Schumacher at Walmart in December 2016 was found guilty and convicted. The defendant in the murder in Collegetown last summer was found guilty and convicted. Staffing: One investigator retired last week. There are four vacancies for police officers plus a deputy chief position that need to be filled. The City might pursue candidates outside the city workforce for a new deputy chief. Officers are being interviewed for the open 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. Commons officer assignment. The 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. shift on the Commons has been filled. The department is facing some big challenges in filling all the vacancies. Fortunately, the civil service list was just released so that will help to move the process forward now. The goal is to get applicants into the academy in Syracuse by May. At least one lateral candidate is currently being considered for one of the openings for police officer; they first need to pass their background and psychological checks. He and Chief Tyler are working with one less person in office (deputy chief) with a lot of demands being placed on them, and they are doing the best they can; however it is a big gap that they’d like to have filled sooner rather than later. The Chief’s executive secretary will retire soon, and finding someone that fits in and can meet the many challenges of the office will be difficult. The department also has a couple support staff vacancies that need to be filled and they are finding that challenging as well. There are many other upcoming retirements, and the chief’s office is doing its best to stay ahead of things. Three officers remain out on injury leave. A brief discussion followed on the floor regarding the upcoming retirements and vacancies that will need to be filled and the options open to the department to hire and fill the openings. CC Liaison Kerslick stated that IPD’s union contract expired in 2011, and that has been and is the challenge of putting someone in the deputy chief position, there isn’t much the city can do until there is a new agreement. He noted that there have been questions regarding the process of filling vacancies and how long it takes. If someone doesn’t understand it might be good for IPD to prepare a spreadsheet that would show everyone all that it takes to fill a position. It would be especially helpful to Common Council members as the City’s budget is reviewed. 4 Community Police Board Meeting Minutes February 28, 2018 Deputy Chief Monticello responded that it typically takes 90 days from the date an application is filed to actually hiring someone. It takes at least two months or more to get civil service test results back, then physical agility and fitness tests need to be scheduled, interviews with the recruitment team, interviewing with the Chief and Deputy Chief, and then scheduling of the polygraph, psychological and other tests. CC Liaison Kerslick stated it would be a good idea to share that information with the public since it would be useful to help educate them on why it takes at least 90 days if not longer to hire a police officer. New Business: Review of draft 2017 Community Police Board Annual Report A brief discussion followed on the floor regarding some minor changes that should be made to the report related to IPD training concerning service dogs, questions concerning multi-law enforcement agency raids at private property related to ongoing investigations into criminal activities and subsequent damage to the property. Approval of the 2017 Community Police Board Annual Report - Resolution By Commissioner Beem-Miller: Seconded by Commissioner Wright RESOLVED, That the 2017 Community Police Board Annual Report be approved with noted changes. Carried Unanimously Chair Kane expressed her thanks and appreciation to Commissioner Rogers for his work to pull together the information and provide the annual report for the Board. Motion to Enter Into Executive Session: Chair Kane reported that no complaints have been submitted, and there are no active ongoing investigations at this time. Adjournment: On a motion the meeting adjourned at 4:24 p.m. ______________________________ _______________________________ Sarah L. Myers, Shirley Kane, Information Management Specialist Chair