Oversight of police common elsewhere.

Byline: Edward Russo The Register-Guard

Having residents look over the shoulder of the Eugene Police Department as it investigates complaints against officers would be a novelty here. But the practice is common elsewhere.

Several of the nation's largest cities, including Portland and Seattle, have police watchdogs that monitor the investigation of complaints against officers. Some cities and counties use an ombudsman, commonly referred to as an auditor; others have commissions, also called civilian review boards. Some cities use a combination of both.

In Eugene, advocates want both.

For the Nov. 8 election, Eugene voters are being asked to give the City Council the authority to hire an auditor and appoint a civilian review board to monitor the investigation of complaints against police officers.

To do that, the city charter would need to be changed. Currently, the City Council can hire only the city manager and the presiding municipal court judge. All other hiring is done by the city manager.

The proposed ballot Measure 20-106 arose from the sex crime convictions of two former police officers, Roger Magana and Juan Francisco Lara. Allegations of racial profiling from the police stop and search of Cortez Jordan, a young black man, also contributed.

Expert: Cities can benefit

Nationally known criminal justice expert Sam Walker said cities can benefit from having auditors oversee the investigation of complaints against officers.

Auditor recommendations often lead to reforms that reduce police misconduct, he said.

In Los Angeles County, auditors determined that the sheriff's department had lax rules about the use of police dogs, Walker said. After the auditor's reforms were adopted, the number of dog bites dropped 90 percent, he said.

Auditor recommendations also can improve police-community relations, said Walker, who earlier this year retired from the University of Nebraska at Omaha as a criminal justice professor.

"It's about changing management practices" of police departments, he said.

In Tucson, Ariz., the former home of Eugene Police Chief Robert Lehner, what the city terms an "independent police auditor" has the ability to monitor ongoing investigations into alleged police misconduct. Also, a citizen police advisory review board in Tucson reviews completed investigations.

Walker said he is less impressed with civilian review boards because they tend to focus on allegations of misconduct rather than on the root causes of the problems.

"A civilian review board will look at particular cases, so it looks at the symptoms," said Walker. "The auditor gets to the cause, and will play a much more effective role."

In Eugene, backers of Measure 20-106 like the idea of the City Council hiring the auditor and appointing the review board. Opponents worry that giving councilors the hiring power would erode Eugene's city manager form of government.

In most other cities with police auditors, the local government's chief executive - often a mayor - hires police auditors, according to the Los Angeles-based Police Assessment Resource Center.

But Walker, the author of 13 books on police, criminal justice and civil liberties, said he doesn't necessarily see a problem if the council hires the auditor.

"To a certain extent, you could get more public support and more consensus," if the council is involved, he said.

Under the recommendation from the Eugene Police Commission, the auditor and review board would work together, overseeing the investigation of complaints about officers by the police department's internal affairs unit.

The final outcome of any investigation and officer discipline would rest with Police Chief Lehner, and his boss, City Manager Dennis Taylor.

City officials estimate that it will cost $532,552 in the first year to create a three-person auditor's office and the board, with an ongoing cost of $414,092 a year afterward.

In Portland, the Independent Police Review Division operates outside the police department. It receives and refers complaints about officers to the police internal affairs unit for investigation.

The seven-person review division, with an annual budget of more than $800,000, monitors the outcome of investigations. If an officer or someone who complains doesn't like an investigation's outcome, they can appeal to the nine-member citizens review committee.

Watchdogs can tangle

As Portland's experience shows, there can be disagreements between the watchdogs.

In 2003, for example, five members of the citizens review committee resigned over a dispute with the director of the Independent Police Review Division.

The former members wanted to hear an appeal of an investigation that exonerated two officers accused of using excessive force, but the director and his boss, Portland's elected city auditor, said the appeal deadline had passed.

Civilian oversight of police investigations are "inevitaby going to lead to disagreements," said Walker, who had a book published this year titled "The New World of Police Accountability."

`It's not very productive to get into disputes over particular cases,' Walker said. `Often, they are not clear-cut, with a big neon sign that says guilty or innocent.'

The number of counties and cities with some form of civilian oversight - either auditors and boards that monitor complaint investigations, or committees that offer policy advice - grew from one in 1970 to more than 100 today, according to Walker.

Still, many smaller cities, including Springfield, do not have people from outside police departments reviewing internal complaint investigations of police officers.

Springfield Police Chief Jerry Smith said he shares the results of complaint investigations with members of an advisory group, the police policy planning task force. But in that process, Smith doesn't go into much detail. If an officer is disciplined, for example, Smith tells the panel "that we took some disciplinary measures," but not much more.

Springfield, much smaller than Eugene, gets relatively few complaints. In 2004, Eugene police investigated 53 allegations of officer misconduct. Through September of this year, Smith said, his department received 13 allegations.

"We take complaints seriously," he said. "Fortunately, we don't get a lot."

POLICE REVIEW UPDATE

Developments in the campaign of Measure 20-106, to allow the City Council to hire an auditor and appoint a civilian review board to oversee investigations of complaints against police officers.

Public meeting: This evening, supporters and opponents of the measure will present their arguments.

Time, place: 7 p.m.-8:30 p.m., Eugene Water & Electric Board, 500 E. Fourth Ave.

Speakers include: City Councilors Bonny Bettman, Gary Pape; NAACP chapter President Henry Luvert; former City Councilor Ken Tollenaar.

League handout: A handout with pro and con arguments is available from the League of Women Voters of Lane County.

Available at: Main office and branches of Eugene Public Library; the league office at 81 E. 14th Ave., and other downtown locations.