A. A "complaint to the board" is an allegation of misconduct lodged against a sworn police officer ("police officer" or "officer") employed by the Iowa City Police Department, where the complained of activity occurred while the officer was acting in the capacity of a sworn police officer.
B. Any person with personal knowledge of the alleged police misconduct may file a complaint with the board. In order to have "personal knowledge", the complainant must have been directly involved in the incident or witnessed the incident. A person who observes an incident solely on social media, television, or other media outlets does not have the requisite “personal knowledge” needed to authorize such person to file a complaint. If the person with personal knowledge is underage or otherwise unable to complete a complaint form, the complaint may be filed by such person's designated representative. The City Manager, the Police Chief, the City Council or the board itself may file a complaint based on a reasonable belief that police misconduct has occurred regardless of personal knowledge. The person or official filing the complaint may hereafter be referred to as the "complainant".
C. All complaints to the board shall be in writing and on forms provided by the board. Complaint forms shall be available to the public in easily accessible locations, and nonpolice staff shall be available to receive the complaint forms. Assistance may be available to complete the form as designated by the board.
D. All complaints to the board must be filed with the City Clerk within one hundred eighty (180) days of the alleged misconduct.
E. Only those complaints to the board which do not involve the conduct of an Iowa City sworn police officer or are not filed within one hundred eighty (180) days of the alleged misconduct may be subject to summary dismissal by the board. (Ord. 13-4555, 9-17-2013; amd. Ord. 21-4857, 5-18-2021; Ord. 22-4873, 2-1-2022; Ord. 23-4894, 1-24-2023)