Police commission proposes citizen panel to investigate misconduct

The Ad Hoc Police Practices Review Commission is urging the Board of Supervisor to establish a Civilian Review Panel to examine complaints from the public alleging police misconduct and abuse of power.

That’s likely the most contentious recommendation of the commission, as several supervisors raised questions during the Oct. 20 board meeting about why the panel is needed and why it should consist of civilians.

The ad hoc commission, chaired by Michael Hershman, was established by BoS chair Sharon Bulova last March following the widely condemned shooting of Springfield resident John Geer by a police officer in 2013.

The commission’s final report includes dozens of recommendations addressing the use of force, training, communications, and accountability. It will be up to the BoS to determine which recommendations to adopt.

In another key recommendation the commission urges the Board of Supervisors to establish an independent police auditor to review death and serious injury cases and other police issues. The auditor would report directly to the BoS. 

Among other recommendations, the report calls for the Fairfax County Police Department to:

• Require all patrol officers to wear body cameras and use them to record all interactions with the public contingent on policies to protect individuals’ privacy.

• Require officers to carry an electronic control weapon (taser) when on patrol and require detectives and plainclothes officers to keep a taser in their vehicle.

• Prohibit use of a taser on a person who is handcuffed or on a frail or elderly person, child, or a pregnant woman unless deadly force would otherwise be justified.

• Limit “use of force” to cases where it would be “objectively reasonable” to do so, taking into account the totality of circumstances and the officer’s responsibility to protect public safety and the suspect’s civil liberties.

• In cases where the use of force is unavoidable, officers should “refrain from unwarranted infliction of pain or suffering and will never engage in cruel, degrading, or inhumane physical or verbal treatment of any person.”

• The act of a police officer placing his or her weapon “in a ready gun position” at a suspect will be a reportable action. Officers involved in incidents resulting in death or serious injury should be subject to drug and steroid testing as soon as possible.

• Reconstitute the FCPD’s Use of Force Committee to review the decision to use force, de-escalation alternatives, and related issues. Appoint at least civilians to this committee.

• Share and regularly update news and details of all officer-involved shootings in multiple ways, provide the name of the officer as soon as possible, and in cases where a suspect is shot dead, make available camera and audio recordings as soon as possible.

• Release information on the demographics of the subjects in all use-of-force incidents including race, gender, age, whether mental health status was a factor,  and previous involvement with FCPD.

• Increase engagement with the community and expand public information functions.

• Promote a culture of transparency by providing more information to the public on police-involved shootings and other incidents in a more timely manner and develop an open-data policy on crime statistics.

• Expand recruiting and marketing to attract more diverse candidates to the police force and set goals to enhance diversity within each department.

• Adopt the Memphis Model for Crisis Intervention Team approach to train officers to more effectively interact with people with mental health issues and establish a “plain clothes mental health unit.”

• Ensure that the department’s philosophy and policies are based on the idea that citizens should be treated respectfully and that the there is “an appropriate balance between an officer’s role as a guardian/warrior or peacemaker/fighter,” and that there is “a reverence for the sanctity of human life.”

• Ensure that medical assistance will be provided to anyone who is injured or alleges injury.

• Improve police training on the use of force and alternatives, such as de-escalation, tactical retreat,  verbal interactions, and crisis intervention techniques.

• Improve screening of police recruits to weed out people with a propensity for being overly aggressive.