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August 4, 2005

Yawu Miller

An officer on duty at Area B3 assured Christine Keels that the best way to handle her complaint against an officer would be to talk to a supervisor.

After two weeks and two additional visits to the Mattapan police station, Keels began to feel the wheels of justice grinding to a halt.

“I felt like they were trying to pacify me,” she said. “They didn’t want me to pursue it.”

Eventually, Keels filed a written report with internal affairs, but her ordeal left her with little optimism that the matter will be resolved.

“They’re all caught up in a code of silence,” she said. “I don’t think anything will be resolved. I don’t think it’s a good idea for the police to police themselves.”

Many activists and elected officials in the black community agree with Keels’ assessment. Although the call for an independent civilian review panel is not new, the call has been renewed in light of recent allegations of police brutality.

“In any situation where people accuse the police of misconduct, there has to be an open process,” said Nation of Islam Minister Don Muhammad. “A civilian review panel would go a long way toward making sure there are better relations with police.”

Muhammad recently interviewed several Dorchester girls who were beaten by police following during a July 4 incident. The girls and eyewitnesses to the incident say the beating was unprovoked.

Although Police Commissioner Kathleen O’Toole said in January that she was considering instituting a civilian review board, Mayor Thomas Menino said last week he would oppose such a move.

“I’m not in any way in favor of creating a civilian review board,” he said. “The police department has done a great job of working with the community over the years.”

Menino, however, said he is unaware of the number of complaints filed with Internal Affairs against Boston police officers.

“I’m not aware of that, are you?” he responded to a Banner reporter when queried last week.

Boston police have not yet responded to a July 15 Banner request for information on how many complaints have been filed in the last year against officers.

NAACP Boston Branch President Leonard Alkins says he finds Menino’s reluctance to entertain the idea of civilian review puzzling.

“I can’t imagine what the mayor is afraid of,” he commented. “It’s as if he fears that justice will prevail.”

Alkins points out that other cities, including Spingfield, Mass., New York, Washington, D.C. and Atlanta, have civilian review boards. Alkins says the current system of using police officers to review allegations of misconduct against their fellow officers is simply not working.

“There’s always a reluctance on the part of the police to take a complaint,” he said. “Once they do take it, it’s smoke and mirrors.”

Alkins said Keels’ experience of being advised not to file a complaint is common, despite department rules mandating that officers take civilian complaints.

When civilians do make complaints, the process lacks transparency. Officers in the Internal Affairs Division do not give the complainants written copies of their complaints. They often do not allow advocates in the room with the complainant when they’re taking the complaint.

“It becomes an intimidating procedure,” Alkins commented. “It’s not a welcoming atmosphere. People are made to feel like criminals.”

The call for a civilian review board is not new. The St. Clair Commission recommended such a board in 1992. Then-Mayor Raymond Flynn and Police Commissioner Francis “Mickey” Roach opposed the idea.

Activists say that to be effective, a review board would have to have the power to subpoena witnesses and must be independent of the mayor and police department.

“It needs to have subpoena power in order to provide a monitoring process for the public,” said City Councilor Chuck Turner. “Police are given enormous power. We have a check and balance system for the Legislature. We need a check and balance system in relation to the power of the police.”

Turner says his office receives several calls every month alleging the use of excessive force.

“We refer them to Internal Affairs, then do a follow-up call to makes sure the investigation is taking place.”

But the process is anything but transparent, Turner says, noting that police will not disclose the process by which they arrive at their conclusion.

“All you see is the end result,” he commented. “It’s a closed process.”

Muhammad says the only way a civilian review board would be effective is if it were appointed by community members and staffed with civilians and retired police officers.

“When you have a civilian review board, it has to have some clout,” he said.

 

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