SPARC Prosposal p (f)

8/13/2019 SPARC Prosposal p (f)

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SPARCSpokane Police Accountability Reform Coalition

PEOPLES PROPOSAL FOR CITY OF SPOKANE &

SPOKANE POLICE GUILD AGREEMENT THAT

WOULD COMPLY WITH PROPOSITION 1

February 3, 2014

ARTICLE 3--EMPLOYER RESPONSIBILITIES

The Guild recognizes that an area of responsibility must be reserved to management if itis to function effectively. For example, the Guild recognizes that management has theright to enact and perform civilian oversight activities, including independentinvestigative activities, that do not directly affect or inuence the SPD disciplinaryprocess, or change any other working condition for Guild members. In recognition ofthis principle, it is agreed that the following responsibilities are not subject to collective bargaining and are management responsibilities of the City. Unless specically modied by sections in this agreement, management retains the exclusive rights to:

10. Adopt by ordinance terms implementing Article XVI of the City Charter pertainingto the Ofce of Police Ombudsman and the Police Ombudsman Commission that do notchange any daily working conditions or conict with the express terms of thisagreement. ARTICLE 27--CIVILIAN OVERSIGHT

The Ofce of Police Ombudsman (OPO) will act pursuant to Article XVI of the SpokaneCity Charter to provide independent professional monitoring of internal affairsinvestigations, conduct non-disciplinary independent investigations as dened below,and publish reports of the OPOs ndings and recommendations as described below.Pursuant to Article 3 of this agreement, the City reserves its managerial prerogative toenact an ordinance that implements Article XVI of the Spokane City Charter so long asthe ordinance does not contradict any of the express terms of this agreement, does notdirectly impact ofcer discipline and does not affect daily working conditions or othersubjects of mandatory bargaining under state law. The Guild reserves its rights to grieve

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and, if necessary, arbitrate any ordinance language or management practice thatcontradicts the express terms of this agreement, or directly impacts ofcer discipline,daily working conditions or other mandatory subjects of bargaining outside the scopeof this agreement.

(a) The OPO may receive complaints from any complaining party, including withoutlimitation, citizens or employees of the police department.

(b) Upon receipt of a complaint, the OPO will notify the complainant of the followingoptions available to resolve the complaint:

(i) An independent, non-disciplinary investigation of the complaint by the OPO,concluding with a closing report of the OPO investigation. (ii) Mediation of the complaint via the auspices of the OPO and conditioned

upon the agreement of the Spokane Police Department and involved ofcers. (iii) A disciplinary investigation conducted by the Spokane Police DepartmentInternal Affairs (SPD-IA) unit with OPO monitoring of the investigation, provided thatSPD-IA agrees that the complaint warrants investigation pursuant to paragraph (i).

(c) Pursuant to Article XVI of the City Charter, the OPO may conduct an independent,non-disciplinary investigation in response to a citizen complaint, provided thecomplainant is fully apprised that the evidence acquired during the course of theinvestigation, and the ndings of the investigation, shall not be used in disciplinaryproceedings against any SPD ofcer.

(d) The OPO, with concurrence from the OPO commission, may elect to initiateindependent investigation of cases or controversies where the OPO and the OPOCommission agree that a substantial community interest is present, and where nocomplaint has been led with either the OPO or SPD-IA and neither a criminal norinternal affairs investigation has been initiated. In such instances, as with all other OPOindependent investigations, no SPD ofcer will be subject to discipline arising out of theincident that the OPO independently investigates under this section.

(e) Upon the conclusion of an OPO independent investigation, the OPO will publish aclosing report on the investigation and, without disclosing the identities of the ofcersinvolved, describe the event, the complaint, the course of the investigation, and theOPOs ndings based on that investigation. The closing report may include suchrecommendations as the OPO deems warranted.

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(f) The OPO will actively monitor all Spokane Police Department Internal Affairs (SPD-IA) investigations into citizen complaints where a complainant has asked the OPO torefer the complaint to SPD-IA for investigation.

(g) Upon receipt of a complaint from a complainant who requests that the OPO refer thecomplaint to the SPD-IA to investigate the complaint for possible disciplinary action,the OPO will le notice of the complaint with IA within three business days. As part ofthe OPOs role in monitoring SPD-IA investigations, the OPO may attend interviewsand may suggest questions and areas of inquiry to IA investigators, but will not directlyquestion SPD ofcers unless the ofcer consents to such questioning.

(h) As part of its complaint intake process the Spokane Police Department will notify allcomplainants of the existence and availability of the Ofce of Police Ombudsman andthe OPOs authority to conduct independent, non-disciplinary investigations into

complaints against SPD personnel.

(i) SPD Internal Affairs will provide copies of all complaints received by IA to the OPOwithin three business days. Once the IA investigation into the complaint is closed, theOPO will return all case les to IA for retention, but continue to have access to all IAles.

(j) The OPO shall have the opportunity, prior to the initiation of the IA investigation, torecommend mediation to the Chief of Police. In the event the Department, thecomplainant and the ofcer all agree to mediation, this process will be utilized ratherthan investigation by either the OPO or IA. Assuming the ofcer(s) participate in goodfaith in the mediation process, the ofcer(s) will not be subject to discipline and nodisciplinary ndings will be entered against the ofcer(s). Good faith means that theofcer listens and considers the issues raised by the complainant and acts and respondsappropriately. Agreement with either the complainant or the mediator is not arequirement of good faith. In the event an agreement to mediate is reached and thecomplainant thereafter refuses to participate, the ofcer(s) will be considered to haveparticipated in good faith.

(k) The pre-conditions for the recommendation of mediation by the OPO are thepurview of the OPO and the Ofce of Police Ombudsman commission.

(l) Once a complaint is received by the Internal Affairs unit (including those forwardedto IA from the OPO), it shall be submitted to the chain of command for review, perexisting policy. When either the Chief or her/his designee determines that theallegations warrant investigation, such investigation shall be approved, and IA will

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initiate the investigative process. The OPOs role in such instances is to monitor theinvestigation pursuant to the following terms and conditions:

1. Internal Affairs will notify the OPO of all administrative interviews connectedwith the IA investigation. The OPO may attend and observe such interviews, in personor via telephone, and suggest questions and areas of inquiry to IA investigators, butshall not directly question ofcers or witnesses during the interview. The OPO shall notparticipate in criminal investigations of Department employees but will be notiedwhen the criminal case is concluded.

2. Upon completion of the IA investigation, IA will forward a complete copy ofthe case le to the OPO for review.

(m) The OPO will be notied if the Chief or designee determines that any complaint

will not be investigated by IA.

(n) The OPO may independently investigate any complaint that is not investigated byIA. The Department is barred from disciplining any ofcer for any conduct that isindependently investigated by the OPO unless such discipline is imposed prior to theOPO investigation.

(o) All disciplinary actions will be made by the Chief (or designee).

(p) The OPO will be provided a copy of any letter or other notication to an ofcerinforming the ofcer of actual discipline imposed as a result of an internal affairsinvestigation, or any Notice of Finding in the event the complaint is not sustained.

(q) The OPO will be notied by IA within ve business days of case closure of IAinvestigations.

(r) Once the Chief has made a nal determination in the case and all disciplinaryproceedings arising from a complaint have been completed, the OPO may publish anal monitoring report that provides the OPOs description of the incident,

observations about the IA investigation, and recommendations to remedy extantproblems and prevent future complaints. The OPO nal monitoring report will notdisclose the names of the ofcers or witnesses. The OPO shall not take issue withdiscipline imposed or not imposed by the Chief of Police in specic cases.

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(s) The Department will notify complainants whose complaints are investigated bySPD-IA that they may contact the OPO in the event they are not satised with the IAndings and wish to register their concerns. Once the SPD-IA investigation iscompleted and the Chief of Police has made a nal decision as to what, if any,disciplinary actions are warranted, the OPO shall have the option of opening aninvestigation to address the complainants concern(s) and issuing a closing report perparagraph (e). In such instances, the ndings of the OPO shall not be used as a basis forre-opening SPD-IA disciplinary investigations or re-visiting disciplinary decisions bythe Chief.

(t) In addition to the investigative process, the OPO will have unimpeded access to allSPD-IA complaint and investigative les.

(u) The OPO may recommend policies and procedures for the review and/or audit of

the complaint resolution process, and review and recommend changes in departmentalpolices to improve the quality of police investigations and practices. The OPO maypublish a policy and procedure report that identies the OPOs recommended policyand procedure changes. The OPOs recommendations will be related to departmentalprocedure, policies, training, or related issues. The OPO will not makerecommendations regarding discipline for specic cases or ofcers. Nothing herein shall be construed as a waiver of the Guilds right to require the City to engage in collective bargaining on mandatory issues of bargaining as dened and stipulated in Washingtonlaw.

(v) A committee of ve (5) members will be formed to recommend three (3) candidatesfor the OPO position to the Police Ombudsman Commission. One of the candidatesmust be selected. The Committee shall be composed of one member appointed by theSpokane Police Guild; one member appointed by the Lieutenants and CaptainsAssociation; one member appointed by the President of the City Council, one memberappointed by the Mayor; and the Chairperson of the Police Ombudsman Commission,who shall serve as chair of the Committee.

(w) In addition to whatever job requirements may be established by the City, one of the

minimum job requirements for OPO will be to have a history that includes a reputationfor even-handedness in dealing with both complainants and the regulated parties. TheCity also agrees that compliance with the condentiality provisions of this agreementwill be a condition of employment for the OPO. Inadvertent, de minimus disclosuresshall not be considered a violation of this section.

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(x) Alleged violations of this agreement are subject to the grievance and arbitrationprovisions of the bargaining agreement. In the event the Guild believes a candidaterecommended by the committee for Ombudsman does not meet the minimum jobrequirement established in section (w) above, the Guild must within three (3) days ofthe recommendation present information to the Police Ombudsman Commission abouttheir concern. If the person is ultimately selected by the Police OmbudsmanCommission, the Guild may le a grievance within ve (5) days of the appointment andan expedited arbitration process will be utilized to resolve the matter. The Arbitratorwill conduct arbitration within twenty-one (21) days, and issue a bench decision. Thedecision will be nal and binding upon the parties. Upon the ling of a grievance, theappointment shall be held in abeyance pending completion of the arbitration.

(y) The City will require that each member of the Police Ombudsman Commission signa condentiality statement conrming as a condition of service that they will not release

the name(s) of employees or other individuals involved in the incidents orinvestigations, nor any other personally identifying information. Inadvertent, deminimus disclosures shall not be considered a violation of this section.

(z) In addition to whatever job requirements may be established by the City, one of theminimum job requirements for the members of the Police Ombudsman Commissionwill be to have a history that includes a reputation for even-handedness in dealing with both complaints and regulated parties.

(zz) Nothing herein shall be construed as a waiver of the Guilds right to require theCity to engage in collective bargaining on mandatory subjects of bargaining as denedand stipulated in Washington law.

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SPARC Prosposal p (f)