Received Council President Sherri S. Lightner City of San Diego Oct 25 2016 San Diego County Grand Jury October 18,*

Published: October 18, 2016 8 pages

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Findings 3 findings

F02

Using the City Attorney as legal counsel to CRB while also defending SDPD represents a potential conflict of interest. Response: The Mayor and City Council partially disagree with the Grand Jury's finding. Pursuant to Charter section 40, the City Attorney's Office has been providing legal services to the Citizens' Review Board on Police Practices (CRB) since it was created in 1988. From that time to the present, no legal conflict of interest has arisen. To avoid the appearances of a conflict and to prevent any actual conflict of interest from arising, the City Attorney ensures that the attorneys who advise and represent the San Diego Police Department (SDPD) do not advise the CRB and further, are "walled off" from those attorneys who advise the CRB. In the Fiscal Year 2017 Adopted Budget, the City Council approved the expenditure of $25,000 to be used for as-needed outside legal counsel for the CRB. If there were to be a conflict of interest, the avenue for procuring outside legal counsel exists.

F03

Modest compensation and reimbursement of expenses to board members could encourage greater community involvement and increase board diversity. Response: The Mayor and City Council agree with the Grand Jury's finding. See response to Recommendation 16-28 regarding the City's plans for further analysis of this issue.

F04

Annual reports provide the public with timely information on CRB activities and increase transparency. Response: The Mayor and City Council agree with the Grand Jury's finding. City Response to San Diego County Grand Jury Report Entitled "Citizen Oversight Boards of Police Behavior" <b>RECOMMENDATIONS 16-26 THROUGH 16-28</b>

Recommendations 3

16-26
Page 3

Prepare and publish annual reports on Citizens' Review Board actions. Response: The recommendation has been implemented. In April 2016, the CRB released its Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2015 to the Mayor and City Council. Reports are posted on the CRB website. The Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2016 was released in September 2016. <b>
16-27
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</b> Provide the Citizens' Review Board with independent legal counsel. Response: The recommendation requires further analysis. Providing legal advice to multiple departments and boards that are components of a public entity such as the City does not constitute a conflict of interest under either the City Charter or California Law. In lawsuits against the City arising from actions by SDPD officers, SDPD is represented by separate Deputy City Attorneys. The role of the Deputy City Attorney to the CRB is to advise the CRB as to its own procedures and the law governing its operations, including the San Diego City Charter, the Ralph M. Brown Act, and the Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights Act. The City Attorney's Office has been providing legal services to the CRB since it was created in 1988 without the incidence of a conflict of interest. However, appropriate resources do exist in the event a conflict of interest arises. In Fiscal Year 2017, the City budgeted $25,000 for outside legal counsel for the CRB. Further analysis is required to consider a process by which the CRB may request that outside legal counsel be utilized in accordance with City Charter Section 40. The appropriate Council Committee will consider this issue within the next six months.
16-28
Page 3

Provide modest compensation for board member time and expenses. Response: The recommendation requires further analysis. Based on feedback from former and current members, volunteering as a CRB member is a rewarding experience. CRB members are dedicated to the mission and vision of the Board and work to make a difference in their communities. The CRB has formed a Community Outreach Committee and Board members spend a significant amount of time in the community soliciting diverse applicants. The Executive Director makes regular presentations to organizations that represent diverse populations and has attended over 100 community meetings in the last year. Outreach and education have been demonstrated to be effective tools to increase diversity on the board, and those efforts will continue. City Response to San Diego County Grand Jury Report Entitled "Citizen Oversight Boards of Police Behavior" The work of volunteer boards is greatly valued by the City and serves as a significant method of civic engagement. However, compensation for board service runs counter to current City practice for volunteer boards. If CRB members were to receive compensation, it would be an outlier for boards in the City. The City does provide free parking in the Evan Jones Parkade to CRB members, on request, for meetings that take place at City Hall. Members of other City boards also have this benefit available. Also, SDPD provides CRB members free parking for meetings at SDPD headquarters. It is possible that modest compensation or reimbursement of expenses could increase community members' willingness to serve on the CRB. Further analysis of this issue is required as it would represent a departure from current City practice for volunteer boards and may also necessitate a City Charter amendment with respect to providing compensation. The appropriate Council Committee will consider this issue within the next six months. 1100 10 10/m/g (R-2017-170) 310708 RESOLUTION NUMBER R- OCT 17 2016 DATE OF FINAL PASSAGE __ A RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN DIEGO APPROVING THE CITY OF SAN DIEGO'S RESPONSE TO THE 2015-2016 SAN DIEGO COUNTY GRAND JURY REPORT TITLED "CITIZEN OVERSIGHT BOARDS OF POLICE BEHAVIOR." WHEREAS, on May 25, 2016, the 2015-2016 San Diego County Grand Jury (Grand Jury) filed a final report titled "Citizen Oversight Boards of Police Behavior" (Report) that requested a response from the City Council (Council) and Mayor, as well as a response from the San Diego County Board of Supervisors and Mayors and City Councils of all cities within the County of San Diego; and WHEREAS, the Report discusses a number of issues related to local jurisdictions' review of citizen complaints against law enforcement officers; and WHEREAS, the Report includes three

* This report's PDF did not contain easily extractable text and required Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for analysis. There may be minor errors in the extracted findings and recommendations due to OCR limitations with scanned documents.