DOJ Office of Justice Programs, which include building public trust in the
civilian oversight process, the Police Conduct Oversight Commission may be
trying to destroy the little trust that process has.
Primarily because of the resistance of PCOC Chair Andrea Brown and Assistant
Director of Civil Rights Michael Brown, for almost a year the PCOC was
inaccessible by email for citizens who wanted to make suggestions and comments.
People were told they could make public comments in person during the PCOC
monthly meetings.
Now, it looks like even those two or three minute public comment opportunities
may be eliminated. The "Public Comment" item on the agenda of the May 12 agenda
of the PCOC has been eliminated, and a curious item in "New Business" appears
instead: "Chair's Discussion on Public Comment."
I have attended most of the PCOC monthly meetings. Typically, two people have
been making public comments. These have never been time-consuming or disruptive
portions of the PCOC meetings, though even if they had been, they should
continue nonetheless.
>From my observations, the PCOC has sometimes -- maybe even too often -- been
excessively deferential to Civil Rights Department staff. At a time when even
the police department is emphasizing its claims of transparency, accountability
and accessibility, for the civilian oversight body to move in the opposite
direction would be sad and frustrating and shocking and frightening.
Chuck Turchick
Phillips