A. Complaints: The board shall forward copies of all complaints received to the Police Chief for investigation; or where the complaint concerns the Police Chief, forward a copy of the complaint to the City Manager for investigation. A copy of all complaints shall be forwarded to the Equity Director.
B. Review Of Police Chief's Report Or City Manager's Report:
1. The board shall review all Police Chief's reports and City Manager's reports concerning complaints. The board shall decide, on a simple majority vote, the level of review to give each Police Chief's or City Manager's report, and the board may select any or all of the following levels of review:
a. On the record with no additional investigation.
b. Interview/meet with complainant.
c. Interview/meet with named officer(s) and other officers.
d. Request additional investigation by the Police Chief or City Manager, or request police assistance in the board's own investigation.
e. Perform its own investigation with the authority to subpoena witnesses.
f. Hire independent investigators.
Any time after the board selects a level of review, the board may, on a simple majority vote, select any other or additional level of review.
2. The board shall apply a "reasonable basis" standard of review when reviewing the Police Chief's or City Manager's report. This requires the board to give deference to the Police Chief's or City Manager's report because of the Police Chief's and City Manager's respective professional expertise. The board may issue a report that disagrees with the decision set forth in the Police Chief's or City Manager's report only if:
a. The Police Chief's or City Manager's findings and/or conclusions are not supported by substantial evidence;
b. The Police Chief's or City Manager's findings and/or conclusions are unreasonable, arbitrary or capricious; or
c. The Police Chief's or City Manager's findings and/or conclusions are contrary to a Police Department policy or practice, or any Federal, State, or local law.
3. If, in accordance with said standard, the board affirms the decision of the Police Chief or City Manager with respect to the allegations of misconduct but nonetheless has concern about the officer's conduct or police practices, policies, or procedures, it may so comment in its report to the City Council. If such comments are critical of the officer's conduct the board shall provide the officer a name clearing hearing pursuant to subsection B7 of this section. When collecting and reviewing additional evidence, the board shall rely on evidence which reasonably prudent persons are accustomed to rely upon in the conduct of their serious affairs.
4. If the board disagrees with the decision of the Police Chief or City Manager with respect to the allegations of misconduct, the board and the Police Chief and/or City Manager shall meet in closed session to discuss their disagreement about the complaint. If the board requests the City Manager's presence at its meeting with the Police Chief, the City Manager will also attend. Such meeting shall take place prior to the issuance of the board's public report to the City Council. Within seven (7) days after such meeting, the Police Chief or City Manager may, in the Police Chief's or City Manager's discretion, issue an amended investigative report for the board's consideration.
5. Any time prior to the issuance of the board's public report to the City Council, any member of the board may make a motion to vote again on whether to sustain or not sustain the complaint.
6. At the conclusion of the board's review, the board shall issue a public report to the City Council concerning the complaint investigation. Such public report shall include detailed findings of fact concerning the complaint, together with a clearly articulated conclusion which explains why and the extent to which the complaint is "sustained" or "not sustained". If the complaint is "not sustained", the public report shall not include the names of the complainant(s) or the police officer(s). If the complaint is "sustained" the board may include the names of the complainant(s) and/or the police officer(s) if it determines that the public interest in such disclosure outweighs the public harm and privacy interests of the complainant(s) and/or police officer(s). Said determination shall be made in writing and shall state, in detail, the board's reasons for such determination. The board shall notify the person(s) whose name(s) it intends to disclose, the City Attorney and the Police Chief (or City Manager if the Police Chief is the subject of the complaint), of its intent to make such disclosure by confidential written communication sent by regular mail or hand delivery at least ten (10) working days prior to such disclosure. In addition, the board's public report shall not include any discipline or personnel matters, although the board may comment generally as to whether the board believes discipline is appropriate without commenting on the extent or form of the discipline. A copy of this public report to the City Council shall be given to the complainant(s), the police officer(s), the Police Chief, Equity Director, and the City Manager. The public report shall indicate whether the board affirmed or rejected the decision set forth in the report of the Police Chief and/or City Manager.
7. The board shall not issue a report which is critical of the sworn police officer's conduct until after a "name clearing hearing" has been held, consistent with constitutional due process law. The board shall give notice of such hearing to the police officer so that the officer may testify before the board and present additional relevant evidence. The board shall be responsible for protection of all State and Federal rights enjoyed by the officer. The officer may waive the right to this hearing upon written waiver submitted to the board.
8. If the board's report is not critical of the officer's conduct, the board is not required by law to offer a hearing to the officer, but the board may hold hearings as deemed appropriate by the board.
9. The board's report to the City Council shall be completed within ninety (90) calendar days of receipt of the Chief's or City Manager's report. The City Council may grant requests for extensions to this deadline upon good cause shown.
10. Nothing in this chapter shall in any way impede or interfere with the Police Chief's and the City Manager's lawful ability to perform their personnel supervisory duties over sworn police officers, including the ability to impose discipline as deemed appropriate by the Police Chief or City Manager.
11. No findings or report submitted to the board or prepared by the board shall be used in any other proceedings.
C. General Powers And Duties: The board shall also carry out the following duties:
1. Maintain a central registry of written complaints filed with the board or with the Iowa City Police Department.
2. Collect data and do an annual report to the City Council which shall be public and shall set forth the general types and numbers of complaints, disposition of the complaints, the discipline which was imposed, if any, and demographic information. This annual report shall not include the names of the complainants or officers involved in complaints which were not sustained, and shall otherwise be in a form which protects the confidentiality of the parties while providing the public with information on the overall performance of the Police Department. The board's annual report may also include recommended changes in police practices, policies or procedures. The annual report will also include data derived from the exit survey tool developed for the complainant to provide staff and the public with perceptions of the process.
3. In addition to the annual report, the board shall report to the City Council, from time to time, on police practices, procedures and policies, including recommended changes, if appropriate, and hold at least one community forum each year for the purpose of hearing views on the policies, practices and procedures of the Iowa City Police Department.
4. The board shall adopt procedural rules and bylaws governing the board's activities, including the receipt and processing of complaints, and such procedural rules and bylaws shall be approved by the City Council. (Ord. 13-4555, 9-17-2013; amd. Ord. 15-4627, 6-16-2015; Ord. 19-4783, 3-12-2019; Ord. 22-4886, 8-16-2022)