A plan to allow civilians to review the actions of police officers has added to a growing rift between law enforcement and City Hall.
Officers, already angered by reorganization plans and by a fee imposed for taking squad cars home after work, are gearing up to fight the plan, which they say will jeopardize a delicate process that requires expertise.Salt Lake Mayor Deedee Corradini said last week she wants to add up to two civilians to a five-member review panel that will judge questionable police actions, including reviews of whether high-speed chases were justified.
Her announcement came shortly after the death June 6 of Marjorie Butterfield, 75, whose car was rammed during a high-speed police chase of an auto-theft suspect. It was the second chase in three months that resulted in the death of a bystander.
Corradini said police may not be the best ones to judge such things.
The plan "would add some element of outside, or objective, review," she said.
Corradini acknowledged some officers will resist the plan, but she said it is fair.
But David Greer, police labor-relations officer, said his colleagues adamantly disagree.
Greer is compiling research on the success, or failure, of citizen review boards and plans to present it to the mayor's office sometime next week. He said the confidentiality that currently exists in internal investigations allows an officer to be candid in testimony.
"(The officer) simply needs to candidly explain the conduct," Greer said. If citizens are involved, the press and special-interest groups may also become involved, and that may hamper the gathering of honest, candid testimony.
Those currently judging police actions are "highly skilled and highly trained people who know the law with respect to police conduct," Greer said.
Civilians gain much of what they know about police conduct from television, he said. Studies have shown civilian review boards quickly lose credibility with special interest groups, which are more likely to suspect misconduct.
He even doubts there is public support of such a policy.
The mayor acknowledged her plan might lead to legal problems. City attorneys have suggested the measure would complicate their defense if the department were sued.
But the plan appears to have the support of the City Council.
The mayor also said she wants to lobby state lawmakers to make it a felony to flee from a police officer. Currently, such flights are misdemeanors.