Megan O'Matz
sun-sentinel.com
A city advisory board set up to address allegations of police misconduct hasn't met in five months, raising questions about the handling of complaints at a time when the department is racked by corruption charges against two officers.
The Citizens Police Review Board last met June 13. Each monthly meeting since has been canceled.
The panel hasn't convened because the Police Department's Office of Internal Affairs hasn't forwarded any cases for review.
"It means our officers are doing the right thing," surmised board member Marc Dickerman.
But the dearth of complaints strikes Roosevelt Walters, another board member, as "very unusual."
"I'm not saying that there is anything going on out of the ordinary, but you would have a tough time explaining to me how all of the sudden everybody in the police department decided they were going to do right," he said in an interview.
In each of the past two years, the board has met 10 times. This year it's met only three.
The members have heard a total of three cases this year. Last year, they considered 17.
"We definitely have no intent of hiding or keeping anything secret," Capt. Michael Gregory, head of Internal Affairs, said when asked why the board has had no work since June.
Gregory said the panel does not review cases until internal investigations are complete, which can take up to 180 days, or much longer if the incident is deemed a criminal matter.
Police misconduct has drawn considerable attention across South Florida in recent weeks.
A Boynton Beach officer awaiting trial on drug charges fled to Brazil. An off-duty Miami officer was cited for speeding at 120 miles per hour on the Turnpike. And two Fort Lauderdale officers were charged with a litany of offenses -- including racketeering, kidnapping and grand theft -- for allegedly making improper traffic stops, searching people for prescription pills and money, and then stealing the cash.
As of now, Fort Lauderdale's Citizens Police Review Board is scheduled to meet December 12.Chairman Alan Stotsky said the group will assemble "come hell or high water" and likely will discuss the board's role and whether there is a need to expand its purview.
The panel was set up in 1994 to ensure that complaints are "thoroughly and objectively investigated and resolved," according to the city ordinance.
But over the years the nine-person board has endured criticism that it is weak and sympathetic to the police.
In 2006, the city attorney issued an opinion narrowing the board's scope by limiting it to complaints filed by the public and not to investigations started internally, which can arise from shootings, police chases, car accidents or other matters.
"When we started we were a board with teeth. Then they took away the teeth. Now we don't even have a mouth," said Walters, an activist in the black community who was one of the early proponents of the creation of a civilian review board.
momatz@tribune.com, 954-356-4518
