December 10, 1998
DECEMBER 10, 1998
MINUTES
Citizen Advisors Present: Charles Ford, Presiding; Marina Anttila; Gene
Bales; ; Deborah Haring; Leora Mahoney; Dapo Sobomehin, Robert Ueland; Randall
Weisberg; Robert Wells
Citizen Advisors Absent: Les Frank, Steve Heck
City Staff Present: Sgt. Jeff Barker, IAD; Capt. Bill Bennington, IAD; Sgt.
Vince Jarmer, IAD; Sgt. Pam Kauffman, IAD; Lisa Botsko, PIIAC Staff; Sgt. John
Smith, IAD
Ford opened the meeting, which was being held at the Water Quality Control
Lab in North Portland. The minutes for June 1998 were approved after a couple of
clarifiying questions.
PIIAC Appeal #98-07: The appellant was not present. Weisberg summarized. A
teenage girl was stopped for speeding in the I-5 Terwilliger curves. Her vehicle
was towed when she could produce no proof of insurance, and the officer had the
young lady walk to a nearby supermarket. The appellant, the girl's mother, felt
that the officer should have given her a ride to a public telephone rather than
make her walk. According to the appellant it had been dark outside, the girl
lived in Washington, and she had been intimidateed walking on a freeway.
The question is whether any PPB policy was violated, and Weisberg said that
mediation would have been a good solution for this case. He drew a diagram of
the incident location and Capt. Bennington distributed photos that had been
taken of the site. According to the officer involved, the young woman did not
have to cross any traffic lanes to get to the store; in fact she was able to
walk on an overpass sidewalk.
Capt. Bennington said that this case was received when mediations were on
hold. Botsko added that policy concerns could be further reviewed in the
monitoring report. She said that PPB had a General Order on towing that
specified an officer's obligations to inventory and dispose of the vehicle, but
nothing pertaining to the driver. She said that officers should demonstrate good
judgment, but if an officer failed to do so and left a vulnerable person in a
bad position without at least providing assistance in getting to a public
telephone, there was nothing in G.O.'s to deal with that.
Robert Wells asked about the General Orders pertaining to minors. Bennington
replied that there was nothing beyond the Towing General Order. Sobomehin asked
if driving without proof of insurance is considered a criminal offense.
Bennington said that it is a code violation. If an officer is asked for help, or
if the subject is an a hazardous situation, then an officer could and should
provide assistance. In this case, the officer did not believe the situation was
hazardous. He had described the area as safe to walk, well-lit, and just a short
distance from the supermarket.
Ford said the situation bothered him. Had it been his child, he would have
been irate and he felt the officer should have demonstrated better judgment. He
asked if the committee could recommend a change in the general order. Ueland
agreed to include that in the upcoming monitoring report.
Weisberg added that he found the investigator's questioning style overly
leading. Botsko said she had noted that for inclusion in the monitoring report.
Sobomehin made a motion to affirm the Bureau's finding. Ueland seconded. The
motion carried unanimously [Y-10].
Announcements / New Business:
Anttila inquired about the NACOLE conference. Botsko said she would not be
able to attend this year.
Ueland announced that the second/third quarter monitoring reports would be
combined.
Ford was wondering about the decline in PIIAC appeals. Botsko said that this
type of thing often goes in phases and not enough time has elasped to think
there is any problem. Capt. Bennington said IAD was not experiencing any
substantial decrease in caseload.
Capt. Bennington introduced Sgt. Vince Jarmer, a new IAD investigator, and
Sgt. Pam Kauffman who was assigned to IAD temporarily until a fifth investigator
could be placed. Sgt. Steve Bocher, also a new IAD investigator, was not able to
attend tonight's meeting.
William Warren introduced himself as Mayor Katz's recent appointment to
PIIAC. He said he previously worked as a neighborhood coalition crime
specialist, and is presently a citizen involvement coordinator.
Capt. Bennington said that the Crisis Intervention Training will be conducted
as part of the regular in-service program. Also, IAD complaint forms have been
translated into other languages and went out for review in June. IAD is still
awaiting feedback from the reviewers.
Public Input:
Several members of a downtown-area community group, Voices in Action, were in
attendance and introduced themselves. A woman representative commented on the
PIIAC appeal, saying that a minor female should not be left by herself. Even if
young people don't show officers respect -- and the woman said she knows there
are some who do not -- the officer should show the young people respect. In her
opinion, the officer in this case had options.
The meeting adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
Lisa Botsko
PIIAC Staff
PIIAC Staff