Tampa Mayor Jane Castor is supposed to make an announcement regarding “next steps on policing” during an 11:30 a.m. press conference today, Friday June 19.
A press release says the event will be livestreamed via Facebook, but yesterday, Tampa activist and Creative Loafing Tampa Bay contributor Kelly Benjamin said he listened in on a call between the NAACP, ACLU and several law enforcement agencies including Tampa Police, Hillsborough Sheriff, plus police departments from Plant City, University of South Florida, and the Tampa Airport.
Benjamin, who is working a longer story about the meeting, said the NAACP presented a list of demands and proposals, so we sent some questions about potential reform to Tampa’s Citizen Review Board (CRB) to Tampa Police Chief Brian Dugan.
He decided to pass on answering them. A spokesperson for TPD told CL, “We're referring all questions regarding the CRB to the mayor's office at this time.”
We’ll stand by to see if Castor addresses any of the questions in today’s event, but you can see the questions below.
- The majority of the current CRB is appointed by the mayor. Does TPD have an issue with changing that to a majority appointed by Tampa City Council?
- The NAACP and ACLU are asking to review any changes in TPD policy before they are implemented. Does TPD have a stance on consulting the CRB before any policy changes are made and for the CRB to have the ability to suggest changes?
- The NAACP and ACLU would like the CRB to have an advisory role in the hiring process for TPD officers. They would like the ability to review applications and conduct/review background checks of new officers and the ability for Board members to sit in on interviews and ability to make recommendations. What is Chief Dugan's/TPD's response on this request?
- The NAACP and ACLU is seeking the ability to accept complaints from the public and decide whether or not to investigate. The current Board does not have that power. Does Chief Dugan/TPD have a stance on the CRB having the ability to investigate complaints from the public?
- Firearm Discharge Reports: ACLU and NAACP are proposing mandatory reporting to CRB on all use of force and a report any time an on duty officer's firearm is discharged and the ability to investigate these instances. Does TPD have a stance on this?
- The ACLU and NAACP are seeking the ability for the CRB to investigate any other general issues involving TPD. At the conclusion of each investigation, the CRB will issue recommendations to TPD. Does TPD have a stance on this?
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This article appears in Jun 18-24, 2020.