Posted at 09:55 PM on Thursday, Jun. 16, 2011
By George Hostetter / The Fresno Bee
The city of Fresno should give its police auditor subpoena power and the authority to conduct its own investigations or else stop funding the position, the Fresno County grand jury says in an as-yet-unreleased report on the Office of Independent Review obtained Thursday by The Bee.
If the position stays, the grand jury said, City Hall should improve the OIR's website, streamline the complaint process and publish its reports in a more timely fashion. The grand jury also said the city hasn't done enough to explain the OIR's purpose to the public.
"The OIR's mission is clear in the written description of the Office," the grand jury said. "However, the public's perception of the OIR seems to indicate a lack of understanding of its function and authority."
A city spokesman said he expects the report will be released to the public on Tuesday.
The report comes in the wake of Fresno City Manager Mark Scott's recent decision to make major changes in the OIR now that police auditor Eddie Aubrey, on the job just 18 months, is applying for a similar job in Washington state.
City Attorney James Sanchez in a written statement said state law prohibits city officials from commenting on the grand jury report until it is made public.
The five-page report makes clear that the OIR from its beginning has been plagued by controversy. The office was created in 2009 after years of public debate over the best way to ensure public oversight of the police department.
Some people wanted a truly independent auditor with the subpoena power necessary to conduct investigations. Others said the auditor wasn't necessary because many layers of public oversight, from the courts to the city manager, already existed.
The powerful Fresno Police Officers Association was a strong critic of the concept.
There are several models of police auditor. The grand jury said Fresno chose the "review and appellate" model, which restricted the auditor to reviewing the results of Internal Affairs investigations – including officer-involved shootings.
City officials made it clear when Aubrey began work in November 2009 that his boss would be the city manager, who also is the police chief's boss.
The OIR's job was complicated when the Fresno County District Attorney's Office decided to no longer routinely send one of its lawyers to the scene of officer-involved shootings, the grand jury said. Officer-involved shootings are probably the police department's most controversial incidents. District Attorney Elizabeth Egan's decision, and the inability of Aubrey to initiate his own investigations, means Fresnans no longer have a guaranteed independent review of those incidents.
In light of this, the grand jury said, city leaders need to reconsider the wisdom of even having a police auditor.
"The Fresno Office of Independent Review appears to be a symbolic attempt by City leaders to demonstrate to the public that an unbiased, independent review body monitors police activities," the grand jury said. "... In this era of budget constraints, City leaders must evaluate whether the 'symbolic' value of the OIR to the community warrants its continued funding."
City Manager Scott on Wednesday said he will propose several major changes to the OIR, regardless of whether Aubrey leaves for Seattle. Scott said the office's budget for fiscal year 2012 beginning next month would be cut in about half, to about $100,000. Scott said he is talking to Egan about the city picking up the tab when one of her lawyers responds to officer-involved shootings.
He also said the city would make the OIR website more consumer-friendly and make it easier for people to file complaints against the police department.
Scott didn't discuss Aubrey's future if he doesn't get the Seattle job. Since Aubrey's annual salary was $107,000 when he was hired, and next year's OIR budget is going to be about $100,000, his future with the city of Fresno is uncertain. Even if Aubrey leaves, the OIR position wouldn't be eliminated, Scott said. He said Mayor Ashley Swearengin strongly supports the concept.
Swearengin made creation of the police auditor an important issue in her 2008 mayoral campaign. Changes to the OIR would require City Council approval.
The grand jury said public access to the OIR is difficult, noting that people must go to the city manager's web page to get to the OIR website.
The grand jury also noted that citizen complaints made through the city manager/OIR website are forwarded to the Police Department's Internal Affairs division, not to the police auditor.
The reporter can be reached at ghostetter@fresnobee.com or(559) 441-6272.
Read more: http://www.fresnobee.com/2011/06/16/2430468/fresno-police-auditor-powers-questioned.html#ixzz1PfnrRGws
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