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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997 Board of Police Commissioners Rules of Procedure ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES SUBJECT POLICE BOARD MEETINGS EWE DATE OF ISSUE EFFECTIVE DATE RECINDS NUMBER MAY 28, 1997 MAY 28, 1997 79-A5 (07/01/90) A10/79-A5 I. PURPOSE The purpose of this Administrative Procedure is to establish the manner in which Police Board meetings are scheduled and the order in which they are to be conducted. 11. SCHEDULING A. The Police Board shall schedule their regular monthly meetings on the third Tuesday of each month at 5:30 p.m. B. In the case of a special meeting, which may be called by the Board Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, or Acting Chairperson, each Board member shall be notified in advance of the time and place of such meeting. C. All meetings of the Police Board shall be governed by the Open Meetings Act of 1976, P.A. 267, MCLA 15.261; MSA 4.1800. Public notice of meetings shall be given in accordance with this Act. III. ELECTION AND TERMS OF OFFICE A. The Board shall, at its regular meeting in July, elect a Chairperson and Vice- Chairperson to serve for one year terms. In the event that the July meeting is not conducted, the Board shall elect a Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson at the next meeting conducted by the Board. In such a situation, the incumbent officers shall retain the positions and discharge applicable responsibilities until the next election. B. Any member of the Board is eligible for election or re-election, however, no member may be elected to the position of Chairperson for more than three (3) consecutive terms. C. The Chairperson shall preside at all Board meetings. In the event the Chairperson is absent, the Vice-Chairperson shall preside. If both officers are absent, the members present shall elect an Acting Chairperson to preside at that meeting only. D. If the Chairperson position becomes vacant prior to the end of the term, the Vice-Chairperson shall become Chairperson for the remainder of the term. The Board may elect a new Vice-Chairperson to complete such a term. IV. CHAIRPERSON'S RESPONSIBILITIES A. The Chairperson shall appoint such standing committees as are necessary to perform the administrative duties of the Board. 1 05/28/97 B. in addition to presiding at all Board meetings as described in Section III. C, the Chairperson shall perform all the duties of Board Chairperson as may be necessary or as described in this procedure. V. TERMS, QUORUM, AND ATTENDANCE A. Elected officers of the Board shall serve for one year terms, or until they are replaced in an election described in Section III of this procedure. Committee appointments are for one year terms, or until replaced by a newly elected or re-elected Chairperson. B. A quorum at all meetings shall consist of five (5) members of the Board. C. Attendance: The Lansing City Charter provides that, "The rules shall define the extent to which non-attendance at meetings may be grounds for removal from office" (City Charter Section 5-105.7). 1. The Board secretary shall record the attendance of members at every regularly scheduled or special Board meeting, and maintain attendance records for the Board. 2. A violation of either of the following attendance requirements may constitute grounds for removal from office. a. Absence from three consecutive regularly scheduled meeting. b. Absence from four or more regularly scheduled meetings in any fiscal year. 3. In the event that a meeting is cancelled in advance, by the Chairperson, or Vice-Chairperson, due to an expected lack of a quorum, those Board members who indicate their availability to the Board Secretary shall not be considered absent. in order to be considered not absent under this subsection, the board member shall notify, or cause to be notified, the Board's Secretary of their availability for the meeting by 2:00 p.m. on the meeting date. D. in the event that the attendance policy (outlined in Section V. [C.1[2.1) is violated, the Board Chairperson shall cause a written notice of the violation to be submitted to the Mayor. In the event that the Chairperson is in violation, the vice-Chairperson shall cause the same notification to be submitted. E. In addition to the above notification, the Board may, within its discretion, include a recommendation to the Mayor regarding a proposed sanction or solution for the attendance violation. In the alternative, the Board may also submit a recommendation that no action be taken due to any mitigating circumstance. In either case, the content of the recommendation must be approved by a majority of the members serving. A notification of violation Shall be submitted regardless of whether the Board decides to include a recommendation. 2 05/28/97 VI. BOARD SECRETARY The Board shall appoint a secretary or secretaries to record the proceedings of all meetings. The Board secretary shall submit a copy of this record to the City Clerk within seven days of the meeting. VII. CRITICAL INCIDENT BRIEFINGS A. For the purposes of this procedure, a critical incident shall be defined as any one of the following: 1. Law enforcement activity resulting in serious injury or death; 2. Allegations or complaints relating to discrimination or sexual harassment; 3. Any incident alleging the use of excessive force where a documented injury has occurred; or 4. Any other incident or activity which a majority of the Board deems appropriate for a review pursuant to this procedure. B. Critical Incident Briefing 1. The Chief of Police may initiate, or any member of the Board of Police Commissioners may request that the Chief initiate, a briefing session relating to any critical incident. 2. The Chief of Police, or his/her designee, shall attempt to notify every Board member of the date, time, and location of a Critical incident Briefing Session. 3. Attendance by Board members at such a session is not mandatory, and a quorum of the Board is not required. 4. The briefing session shall be limited to the following: a. The purpose of the briefing session is for informational s. gathering designed to focus upon issues of general concern and intended to primarily provide Board members with background information on the critical incident. b. At such a session, members of the Board may not, without complying with the Open Meetings Act, engage in discussion or deliberations during the session or otherwise enter into the process of addressing or resolving issues of public policy. 5. In response to any critical incident, the Board of Police Commissioners may review any administrative or advisory board power prescribed by the Lansing City Charter, such as rules of conduct, training, or advising the Mayor and Council of proposals or proposed changes in department policies and programs. 3 05/28/97 VIII. DISCIPLINARY REVIEW A. Lansing City Charter, Section 5.301.6 provides: "The Board shall act as the final authority of the City in imposing or reviewing discipline of the department employees consistent with the terms of the state law and applicable collective bargaining contracts." In furtherance of the objectives of this Charter provision, the Chairperson of the Police Board shall appoint a subcommittee of the Board to review citizen complaints, dispositions, and when applicable, corresponding disciplinary investigations and sanctions imposed pursuant to the disciplinary procedure. B. The Disciplinary Review Subcommittee may receive and review citizen complaints, dispositions, disciplinary investigations and sanctions in a closed session. Since such records are "confidential" records according to the provisions of MCL 423.501 et sec; otherwise known as the "Employee Right to Know Act (ERKA), the City Attorney has ruled that such records may be reviewed in a closed session without violating the terms of the "Open Meetings Act" (MCL 15.261 et sea). C. Limitations: In order to remain consistent with applicable law and collective bargaining agreements, the following review limitations shall apply: 1. Board members may not impose discipline pursuant to the review process. 2. Board members may not deliberate on matters contained in the disciplinary files in a closed session as such action would violate the Open Meetings Act. 3. All investigative files relating to alleged criminal activity or violation of agency rule by an employee are confidential and may not be disclosed to any third party. [MCL 423.501 et seq.] D. The purpose of the disciplinary review process is to allow the Board, through the sub-committee, to monitor and otherwise more properly discharge administrative or advisory board responsibilities prescribed by City Charter. Examples of such a function would include review and recommendations to the full Board relating to the adequacy of policies, procedures, disciplinary rules and regulations, or training needs of law enforcement personnel. BY ORDER OF: Jerome G. Boles, II Chief of Police 4 05/28/97