VIPD falls short of compliance with federal mandates
Published: May 11, 2010
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An independent monitor has found that although V.I. Police Department leadership seems committed to making changes mandated by a federal consent decree, the department “has gotten off to a slow start.”
Many of the department’s “obsolete policies and unsatisfactory conditions” described in a 2005 letter that the U.S. Justice Department sent to police in the midst of the federal probe that led to the consent decree “remain unchanged more than a year after entry of the consent decree,” independent monitor Michael Bromwich wrote in a report.
The report, released Friday, is the first in a series of quarterly reports that Bromwich will release to the public over the course of the five-year consent decree.
The Special Litigation Section of the U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division launched its investigation into the Police Department’s use of force in March 2004 as result of The Daily News publication of “Deadly Force,” a 44-page investigative report detailing the Police Department’s history of using excessive force and failing to investigate or prosecute the officers involved.
The investigation ended with the Justice Department filing a complaint in federal court contending that the Police Department was engaging in a pattern or practice of using excessive force.
The complaint also charged that the Police Department has tolerated that conduct by failing to adequately train, supervise, investigate and discipline its officers and by failing to establish consistent policies, procedures and practices that appropriately guide and monitor the actions of officers.
The consent decree, which a judge signed off on in March 2009, forces the territory to remedy that situation over the course of five years.
It also sets the clock ticking on specific timelines for those improvements.
Police were several months late in selecting and contracting with an independent monitor — one of the critical elements to move forward with implementing the decree. Bromwich is a partner with the Fried Frank law firm and heads a team of experts in evaluating the department’s compliance with the agreement.
Police Commissioner Novelle Francis said he believes the report is “a fair assessment of what the monitors have seen so far.”
The monitor examined the department’s progress in meeting the mandates on use of force, the citizen complaint process, misconduct investigations, training and risk management.
Use of Force
Bromwich found that the department’s progress in developing a use of force policy has been unacceptably slow.
The report notes that police submitted draft versions of revised use of force policies to the Justice Department last year. The drafts were a “promising start” but not fully responsive to the consent decree mandates.
In December, police set up a Policies and Procedures Committee to develop, review and revise all the department’s policies and procedures.
Although the committee is having serious and responsible discussions, it is not progressing appropriately with the use of force policies, according to the report.
These policies are “cornerstones” of the consent decree’s mandates and “fundamental” to reforming the department’s use of force program, the report states.
“Delays in the implementation of the revised use of force policies undermine the department’s ability to develop appropriate new recruit and in-service training programs and contribute to the absence of clear guidance to VIPD officers regarding what constitutes appropriate — and inappropriate — use of force,” the report states.
It also notes that Commissioner Francis suspended police use of Tasers on Nov. 18, in response to the Justice Department’s finding the department’s draft Taser policy “critically inadequate and inconsistent with accepted best practices.”
The department currently does not have a consistent and reliable way to track use of force by police officers, so monitors had to review incident and arrest reports by hand. They believe the 36 use of force incidents they found in the St. Thomas District for the last six months of 2009 “significantly under-represent” the actual number of incidents, the report states.
Citizen Complaints
On a positive note, Bromwich report says that the Police Department has made significant progress in developing a public information program about the citizen complaint process.
Police have prepared a standard citizen complaint form and purchased lock boxes to be placed at police stations for the complaints. The Department also has developed a compliment/complaint informational brochure to inform the public about its right to make a complaint and to offer compliments as well, according to the report.
It notes that police department reported it have posted the brochure on its website. The department intends to display the brochures in every police facility open to the public and in other public areas, according to the report. It also is planning a toll-free complaint hotline and public service announcements, according to the report.
Francis said the department is in the process of getting the materials out and plans to have a press conference soon rolling everything out to the public.
Misconduct investigations
According to the report, monitors started reviewing the Police Department’s misconduct investigations for 2009 and found “several significant issues,” including:
• Absence of final reports with findings in Internal Affairs investigation files.
• Failure of investigators to use any one of the findings required by the consent decree, which are sustained, not sustained, exonerated or unfounded.
• Untimely investigations because investigations are subject to provisions in collective bargaining agreements requiring disciplinary actions within 50 days of receiving notice of allegations.
• A lack of general completeness and sufficiency in the investigations.
To help the Police Department improve, monitors provided officials with model investigation checklists and templates developed by the Washington, D.C., Police Department.
Training
In-service training — including training in the use of force — has been “infrequent and irregular,” The monitor reported.
The report notes that there was little emphasis on the use of force continuum and decision-making related to use of force.
“Currently, there is no formal lesson plan for use of force training, and the lack of such a lesson plan contributed to confusion among the recruits about the department’s requirements related to, among other things, use of force reporting and use of force by off-duty officers,” the report states.
The report notes that other training, such as baton and pepper spray training were “well-done” and delivered appropriate information.
Because the revised use of force policy is still being developed, training for new recruits was based on the existing, out-of-date policy and course materials, the report said.
Conclusion
“Compliance must become one of the highest priorities of the department,” the report emphasizes.
All of the required reforms present “major challenges” and “will take some time to implement,” and if the department is to meet the mandates, it must “translate its willingness to reform into measurable progress under the consent decree in the coming months and quarters,” the report continued.
Francis said he believes that will be possible.
He said he is concerned about meeting the timelines, particularly for training. All officers must undergo training, and Francis said it will be a balancing act between taking them offline to train them and keeping enough officers on the street.
The commitment and energy is there to make the department “second to none,” Francis said.
“That commitment is what will see us through,” he said.
— Contact Joy Blackburn at 774-8772 ext. 455 or e-mail jblackburn@dailynews.vi
