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HomeMy WebLinkAbout(0005) IR 10340 - Police Monitor Hiring ProcessINFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 10340 To the Mayor and Members of the City Council November 12, 2019 Page 1 of 2 i r SUBJECT: POLICE MONITOR HIRING PROCESS r�rA re�a The purpose of this Informal Report is to provide the City Council information on the process to fill the Police Monitor position. The City of Fort Worth Race and Culture Task Force recommended to the City Council that the City establish a framework required to set up and appoint a Civilian Review Board (CRB), or an alternative model of civilian oversight, that will have an active role in police accountability and oversight. As a response to this recommendation, the City Manager recommended to the City Council that the City establish an office of community oversight led by a Police Monitor, who would undertake the process to establish a CRB. The first step in this process was to include the Police Monitor position along with an initial staff assistant in the city's fiscal year 2019-2020 budget approved by the City Council in September. Recruitment for the Police Monitor position began in late summer with the contracting of a qualified search firm to assist the City of Fort Worth find strong candidates for the position. The Police Monitor will be responsible for leading the activities and operations of the Police Oversight Office, provide civilian oversight over the Fort Worth Police Department and offer highly responsible feedback and guidance to the City Manager's Office, including handling citizen complaints. The Police Monitor will serve as an impartial, unbiased representative of the Police Oversight Office, furnishing information to and interacting with government officials and community representatives that will support their advocacy of oversight. This position will be a third -party principal adviser who is outside the department but understands how it functions and can look at it from an independent standpoint. They will advise the City Manager on strategic policy matters, will track the internal investigations and community complaints and produce reports to them and the police chief. The Police Monitor will also lead the long-term operational planning for the Office. Upon creation of a CRB, the monitor will assist the Board in carrying out policy directives and mission, as well as advance and direct the City's commitment to gaining the community's trust to address gaps between law enforcement and the community resulting from recent incidents. Through the work of the recruitment firm, the City Manager's Office has narrowed the search of potential candidates for the position to be interviewed and will be hosting the candidates in Fort Worth on Wednesday, November 20t' and Thursday, November 21St The City will empanel three interview groups. The ultimate decision for filling the position will be made by the City Manager. • The first will be the City Manager panel made up of the City Manager and the Assistant City Managers. • The second will be a citizen's panel made up of representatives of the community, including members of the Tarrant County Coalition for Community Oversight, members of the Race and Culture Task Force, a clergy member from Southeast Fort Worth and neighborhood association representatives. • The third group will be made up of City of Fort Worth coworkers that will be directly working with the Monitor on an ongoing basis. This group will include the Police Chief and Assistant Chiefs, a Police Officer's Association member and the City Attorney plus two additional assistant city attorneys chosen by the City Attorney. ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 10340 To the Mayor and Members of the City Council November 12, 2019 Page 2 of 2 i r SUBJECT: POLICE MONITOR HIRING PROCESS r�rA re�a The second and third panel members will provide individual feedback on each candidate. Neither panel will be asked to come to a consensus and rank the candidates as a group. All feedback will be collected by the City Manager panel to be used to come to a final decision. Additionally, an evening public forum and reception will be held on Wednesday, November 20th at the Fort Worth Central Library so that citizens can meet the candidates personally. A written document outlining the process to be used for the ultimate selection of a person to fill the monitor position was provided to the Tarrant County Coalition for Community Oversight (TCCCO) in early September after meeting with the group in late August about the process we were following. The information included the makeup of the panels. The TCCCO has agreed to serve on the citizen's panel but is demanding that the City Coworker's panel be eliminated or that only the Chief of Police be allowed to serve from the Police Department, stating that the panel "is a huge conflict of interest, and an intimidation factor for prospective candidates, for obvious reasons ". In an effort to address the concerns of the TCCCO and ensure that there are no issues with the proposed panels and process, the candidates were asked if they would have any concerns about the make up of the panels and, if interviewing with police that they would be monitoring would be detrimental. None of the candidates voiced concerns with the suggested process and believed that it would be important for them to be interviewed by the groups they would be working with. The candidates also expressed the importance of having the opportunity to interview those on the panel to assist in their determination as to whether they would take the position, if offered. Additionally, a review of other cities that recently hired police monitor type positions indicates that both the exclusion of public input into the process and the inclusion of representatives of Police Associations or the police department is not uncommon. For example, in Chicago, which was compelled through a Consent Decree to create an independent oversight office, the panels for hiring of the monitor included police association members. Conversely, in Austin the last couple appointments of the director over the oversight office has not included a public process of any type. Finally, the City Manager's Office would be concerned if any candidate for the position would be intimidated by the process as outlined above. The person in this position will need to deal with situations and issues that will ultimately be much more demanding and stressful than interviewing before any of these panels. A person intimidated by this process would not be a good fit. If you have any questions or concerns related to this effort, please contact Jay Chapa, Assistant City Manager. David Cooke City Manager ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS