Officials in Springfield, Massachusetts want to give more teeth to the civilian board that reviews complaints about the city’s troubled police department.
Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno is asking the City Council to pass an ordinance that would give the Community Police Hearing Board subpoena power to compel witnesses to testify or produce evidence to aid in the board’s investigations of police officer misconduct.
"This will continue to build on the public trust and mutual respect between our residents and police department," said Sarno.
The proposed changes to the authority of the civilian review board follow the recommendations of a consultant the city hired to assess the police department’s internal investigations.
A report from the Police Executive Research Forum ( PERF) recommended increasing the volunteer hearing board from seven members to as many as 10 and naming a retired judge or experienced trial attorney to chair the board.
The review board was created by Sarno with an executive order in 2010. Critics have complained the board lacks any real authority to investigate police misconduct. Its findings are forwarded to the police commissioner who has the final say on disciplining officers.
Two high profile cases that have led to criminal charges against more than a dozen current or former Springfield police officers, along with recent lawsuits alleging police brutality, have tarnished the department and called into question policies and procedures for investigating and disciplining wayward cops.
The scandals have also led to a clash between Sarno and the City Council over who should run the police department. Twice since 2016, the council has voted to eliminate the job of police commissioner and put the department in the hands of a five-member appointed board. Sarno has rejected this.
City Councilor Mike Fenton announced Wednesday that he, along with Councilor Tim Ryan, will introduce the ordinance to give the civilian review board more investigative tools.
"There is a disconnnect and a gridlock between the laws on the books and what is happening in practice," said Fenton. " Without out making the CPHB a legal entity under the ordnances we are tieing out hands behind our backs."
Acting Police Commissioner Cheryl Clapprood said she supports the changes proposed to strengthen the investigative abilities of the civilian hearing board.
"The transparency will be there because the people the mayor has appointed take it seriously, so give them more teeth to invesetigate and run with it," said Claprood. She said so far she agreed with the recommendations forwarded to her from the review board for disciplining officers.
Clapprood she is implementing other recommendations from PERF including having the head of the police Internal Investigations Unit report directly to the commissioner.
