Sunday, November 29, 2009
Opinion, Politics, Atlanta

It's time to fix the citizen review board

Ceasar Mitchell sees and understands the deepening crisis.

By Stephanie Ramage

    Last week carried great significance for the future of Atlanta.

    Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington submitted his notice of resignation. A legal aid group filed a lawsuit against the Atlanta Police Department on behalf of more than 20 employees and patrons of the Atlanta Eagle, a gay leather bar. And the third anniversary of the tragic killing of 92-year-old Kathryn Johnston through the actions of two corrupt Atlanta Police officers, Greg Junnier and Jason R. Smith, was marked with a memorial service in Johnston’s neighborhood.

    Additionally, November marked the one-year anniversary of the operational launch of the Citizen Review Board (CRB), which was inspired by the Johnston tragedy.

    Since the night of Nov. 21, 2006, there has been a lot of speculation about what might have been done to prevent Johnston’s senseless killing, but one thing is certain: If the Citizen Review Board had been in existence in its present form at that time, it would not have mattered one bit—Johnston still would have been killed by police officers. 

    The reason is simple. The CRB does nothing preventative. Though it was founded to heal the rift caused by narcotics officers Junnier and Smith between police and neighborhoods, its present role and duties do not reflect that spirit. Though the board’s members are to be commended for their volunteerism, they merely duplicate the actions of professional investigative bodies, rather than advising on police policy and procedure--a much more meaningful position.

    It is in this policy advisory role—actually shaping the kind of police department the citizens want—that the CRB can be most effective and beneficial. If that kind of CRB had existed in 2006, Johnston, despite her advanced years, would likely be alive today. Here's why: 

    In its investigation of Johnston’s killing, the FBI “found performance quotas of nine arrests and two search warrants a month expected of officers,” according to one of the attorneys in the officers’ trials, as reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. U.S. District Judge Julie Carnes said “the pressures brought to bear” by the quotas helped precipitate the officers’ actions. A CRB entrusted with reviewing policy would have seen that Chief Pennington’s quotas encouraged officers to take dangerous shortcuts, and it would have nixed them, so Johnston’s home never would have been invaded by cops.

    There is no one better equipped to determine the soundness of police policies as they affect the citizens than the citizens themselves. Not only would a CRB devoted to policy review have prevented the killing of Johnston, it would have likely prevented some of the claims that have surfaced regarding the raid of the Atlanta Eagle, as well as other police incidents for which the city now finds itself the target of lawsuits.

    Instead, the CRB’s members have been sent on a fool’s errand of duplicating the duties of four layers of investigatory agencies. Police officers suspected of wrongdoing are subject to investigation by the APD’s internal affairs unit, the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Even if the CRB is granted every power vested in a criminal court, it will still be combing through the same documents and testimony thoroughly combed over by those four agencies. In its present after-the-fact role, the CRB cannot hope to prevent tragedies like the death of Kathryn Johnston.

    That is why it is imperative that the City Council take a fresh look at the CRB and refocus its duties so that they are in line with its original mission—the mission of healing the rift between police and citizens. The way to do that is to put the CRB where it belongs—on the front end of the policing process, instead of complicating the efforts of investigatory agencies.

    The CRB could be required to review APD policies and procedures, sending recommendations to the City Council, thereby preventing the infractions that shame the city and leave its government open to costly lawsuits. Of course, the council would need to revise the CRB’s charter so that its membership actually reflects the makeup of the city: It must have an openly gay member, it must have a Latino member, and it must have one representative from the police department to determine the practicality of the rest of the board’s recommendations. The CRB’s recommendations should be given the weight of an attorney’s expertise, so the attorneys presently serving on the CRB should continue in their positions.

    City Councilman Ceasar Mitchell understands the need for a refocused CRB.
He attended the memorial service for Johnston last week, and he told me he saw the continuing angst of her neighborhood and the depression of the police officers. There is too much suspicion and ill will on both sides. The rift is deepening rather than healing.

    “I am dedicated to improving the relationship between the neighborhoods and the police,” says Mitchell, who is running for City Council president. “I am more than willing to consider ways to shift the role of the CRB to make that happen.”

    That’s why I am endorsing Mitchell for council president. Neither citizens nor cops are satisfied with the CRB in its present role. Mitchell sees and understands the deepening crisis. Atlanta cannot go on as it is, with fearful residents and police officers. Fear is poison. Trust is needed, but that trust will not be produced by adding one more layer to the existing layers of investigation into crimes perpetrated by police. Instead, the CRB must act proactively to help build the department the citizens want—one that can, without fear or shame, “serve and protect.” SP