Humboldt County -
 Coalition For Police Review
The Time To Act Is NOW; We need $400 for filing fees for initiatives (mouse over for more)Police Review: The Time To Act Is NOW Humboldt County Coalition for Police Review After numerous police slayings and other acts of brutality and excessive force, Humboldt County residents are coming together to get police review implemented (not just discussed) in their communities. To this end, the Coalition for Police Review is now raising money to file police review initiatives in Eureka and Arcata, as well as working with Blue Lake residents to get their City Council to implement independent civilian review of their respective law enforcement agencies. Some might ask, why aren’t we trying to get the City Councilmembers in Eureka and Arcata to do this without the effort of a ballot initiative campaign? Well, CPR did, and four years later, there’s been no substantive action to reign in the abusive activities several officers from each agency continue to exhibit. In Arcata, police review is only supported by one of the currently serving Councilmembers, despite repeated incidents of physical brutality especially targeted against students and homeless people, including the tasering of a comatose man in an alley behind the Plaza. In Eureka, the well-publicized slayings of several men and women over the last three years (which have given the city the dubious honor of the highest rate of police slayings per person in California) continue to be defended by lame justifications by the new police chief, whose new administration bears many hallmarks of the scandal-ridden one which he replaced. In both cases, elected officials have demonstrated paralysis, blame-shifting and a general lack of concern for the well-being of their constituents. While the City Council in Blue Lake, given the unprecedented level of disrepute their police department has sunk to, is showing interest in civilian review, this is not the case in Arcata or Eureka. Those governments have not acted, despite these outrages, and clearly will not act without an act of the people to make accountability a reality for EPD and APD. That’s why the police review initiatives, which have been exhaustively researched, rewritten and vetted for legality, are ready to roll out in front of voters. But that’s where CPR supporters are needed, and needed now. We need to raise the $200 filing fee for both the Arcata and the Eureka proposals this week. Thus far, thanks to three generous donations, we are $71 closer to that goal for Eureka – but $129 more for Eureka is needed, as well as the full $200 for Arcata. Any amount to help achieve this goal is vitally needed, and needed now. Please drop your cash donations by the Coalition for Police Review office at 917 3rd Street, Eureka (shared with the Redwood ACLU) as soon as you can.

Useful Links
Local
Humboldt County Human Rights Commission
Civil Liberties Monitoring Project
Location of CPR office

National and International
NACOLE
NACOLE's links;
CLMP's links;
POLICE REVIEW MISSION STATEMENT

Police officers are public employees faced with the difficult task of enforcing the law. Of necessity police officers are invested with a great deal of discretion in the performance of their duties. In performing their duties, police officers must obey scrupulously the laws they enforce. Since police officers are often in confrontative situations and violence is a frequent component, the job they do is as a matter of definition is likely to cause questions about the conduct of the police.

While most police departments have a system of internal review, the problem is obvious. A police department is investigating itself.

It is simply unreasonable in logic to expect any one to impartially investigate themselves, their friends or their colleagues.

Civilian police review is the way to monitor the conduct of police officers in the community they police.

As per the ordinance, the Police Review Commission as envisioned would have the power the investigate complaints, review police tactics and policies and report to the city council.

Citizens would have the right and the vehicle to investigate claims of police misconduct, improper tactics, or improper policies. Police officers would have a forum to show that their actions, tactics, or departmental policies are appropriate.

By having a forum to air complaints regarding the local police, it is probable that less claims under the Government Tort Claims Act will be filed against the local police agency.

Independent Police Review makes it possible for the police and the community to get on the same page and work together towards better policing of the community.

Police review stands for openness, accountability, and transparency in policing our community. It does not suggest impropriety on the part of our local police agencies. It is unequivocal that no one, least of all one in the public sector, can, or should, be required, entrusted, or allowed to investigate themselves.
Police Review Blog
Public Forum: The Future Of Blue Lake Police Tuesday April 29th 6:30 p.m.
posted by Redwood ACLU on 12-31-1969 5:00:00pm
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CPR Meeting Wednesday May 14th 5:30 p.m.
posted by policereview on 12-31-1969 5:00:00pm
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HRC FORUM: Police Review In Humboldt County Thursday April 10th 7pm
posted by Redwood ACLU on 12-31-1969 5:00:00pm
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CPR FORUM: Does Arcata Need A SWAT Team? Thurs. Mar. 27th 6-8pm
posted by Redwood ACLU on 12-31-1969 5:00:00pm
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Police Review: The Time To Act Is NOW
posted by Redwood ACLU on 12-31-1969 5:00:00pm
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PRESS RELEASE: CPR Praises SWAT Dissolution, Calls For Greater Disclosure Regarding Public Safety Committee
posted by Redwood ACLU on 12-31-1969 5:00:00pm
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Coalition For Police Review Blog
news
Target targets you
posted by admin on 03-23-2007 10:31:33am
After recent police shootings heated debates took place in Eureka with most opposing the shootings and condemning the apparent kangaroo style self “investigations” and others, mostly anonymous, defending the “rights” of police to “clean up our streets” by simply shooting people on dubious pretenses. Who exactly it is that supports these extra-judicial shootings will likely [...](continued)
American Civil Liberties Union

ACLU Sues North Smithfield Police for Refusing to Release Arrest Report
03-23-2007 10:31:33am
In the latest example of a police department choosing to ignore its clear legal responsibilities to release public documents, the Rhode Island ACLU has today filed an open records lawsuit against the North Smithfield Police for refusing to turn over an arrest report to a community activist.(continued)

Maryland State Police's Heavily Redacted Spy Files on Peaceful Activists Show No Illegal Activity, Broader Time Period
03-23-2007 10:31:33am
BALTIMORE - Disturbed by the heavily redacted documents turned over by the Maryland State Police (MSP), which nonetheless reiterate the total lack of any suspected crimes, the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland today joined with our clients to demand full disclosure and to expose the dangerous and seemingly haphazard way in which state police spies entered the names and personal information of peaceful activists into their criminal intelligence database as suspected terrorists. More questions are raised than answers provided by the pages of blacked out text and scanty information contained in the documents thus far released by the MSP.(continued)

MCLU Defends Privacy Rights of ATV Riders
03-23-2007 10:31:33am
PORTLAND ? Today, the Maine Civil Liberties Union Foundation filed an amicus curiae brief with the Maine Law Court in support of the Fourth Amendment rights of All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV) riders. The case, Maine v. McKeen, involved an ATV rider who was stopped by a game warden without justification. The State claimed that Maine statute authorizes game wardens to detain ATV riders for any reason, but the Superior Court in Aroostook County said that game wardens were bound by the Fourth Amendment prohibition on "unreasonable search and seizure." The State of Maine has appealed the order.(continued)

MCLU Argues Against Police Brutality
03-23-2007 10:31:33am
PORTLAND ? Tomorrow, attorneys for Rosanna Morelli will present arguments in her police brutality case at the U. S. Court of Appeals in Boston. Ms. Morelli, who was injured by a South Portland police officer in 2006, hopes to persuade the court to allow her case to go to trial. The police never arrested Ms. Morelli, who suffered from a torn rotator cuff from the incident.(continued)

Leaders of Chesapeake Climate Action Network Wrongfully Named As Terrorists, Tracked in Maryland State Police Criminal Database
03-23-2007 10:31:33am
SILVER SPRING, MD ? Deeply troubled at learning that leaders of a large environmental advocacy organization in Maryland have received letters from the Maryland State Police (MSP) informing them that they have been named as terrorists in MSP's database, the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland today joined with the Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) and the leaders of several other environmental organizations and state legislative leaders dedicated to fighting for the environment in rallying for justice and passage of legislation to ensure such spying never again happens in Maryland.(continued)

MD ACLU Calls on Governor to Let Innocent People Erroneously Named as Terrorists to Copy Their Files and Benefit from Counsel
03-23-2007 10:31:33am
BALTIMORE - Alarmed that 53 innocent people who were wrongful targets of Maryland State Police (MSP) spying are getting letters this week from the MSP saying that they have been mistakenly listed as terrorists in a government database but that they cannot make copies of their files or bring their lawyer with them to review their files, the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland today is urging Governor Martin O'Malley to reverse this wrong-headed and unlawful policy. The law entitles individuals to a copy of their files and to have a lawyer accompany them to review the files.(continued)

ACLU of Maryland Filing Public Information Requests on Behalf of Wide Range of Advocacy Groups from Across Maryland
03-23-2007 10:31:33am
BALTIMORE - Pursuing the full story about covert spying on peaceful political groups by the Maryland State Police (MSP), the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland today is filing additional Maryland Public Information Act (MPIA) requests on behalf of 32 advocacy groups and more than 250 individuals associated with those groups from across the state and political spectrum. The MPIA requests are being filed with the MSP, the Washington/Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Office, and every local police department in places where demonstrations were held by the groups.(continued)

ACLU Asks Virginia Police Chiefs to Train Personnel on the Rights of Persons Who Register Voters
03-23-2007 10:31:33am
Richmond, VA ? The ACLU of Virginia is mailing letters today to every police chief in Virginia - 185 in all - asking each to immediately initiate programs to educate local law enforcement personnel on the right of individuals to engage in door-to-door voter registration drives.(continued)

ACLU sues Denver on behalf of five innocent victims of "mistaken identity" arrests
03-23-2007 10:31:33am
DENVER - On behalf of five clients, the ACLU of Colorado filed suit today against the City and County of Denver and various Denver law enforcement officers, charging that in each case, "recklessly sloppy police work" resulted in the innocent plaintiff's arrest and imprisonment?as long as 26 days in one case?for crimes with which they had no connection whatsoever.(continued)

Oceanside Police Grossly Negligent in Responding to Suicidal Persons, says ACLU
03-23-2007 10:31:33am
SAN DIEGO ? Oceanside Police mishandled a crisis negotiation in a way that may well have contributed to the suicide of a young man Grant Sattaur, 20, on December 26, 2007, the family said today at a press conference and at a hearing of the San Diego County Board of Mental Health.(continued)

MCLU Files Appeal in Excessive Force Case
03-23-2007 10:31:33am
PORTLAND ?The Maine Civil Liberties Union Foundation today filed an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in a case involving allegations of excessive force by a South Portland police officer. The U.S. District Court had granted summary judgment to the officer in a ruling in May.(continued)

ACLU of Maryland Lawsuit Uncovers Maryland State Police Spying Against Peace and Anti-Death Penalty Groups
03-23-2007 10:31:33am
BALTIMORE ? The American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland today made public what it called "shocking" documents obtained through a Maryland Public Information Act (MPIA) lawsuit, revealing that the Maryland State Police (MSP) engaged in covert surveillance of local peace and anti-death penalty groups for over a year from 2005-2006. The organization expressed alarm at the incomprehensible spying revealed in 43 pages of summaries and computer logs, none of which refer to criminal or even potentially criminal acts, other than a few isolated references to plans for completely nonviolent civil disobedience.(continued)

ACLU Seeks Investigation Into Tasing Death In Winnfield
03-23-2007 10:31:33am
NEW ORLEANS - Today, the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana sent a letter urging the District Attorney of Winn Parish to investigate the tasing death of Baron DeAundrae Pikes, who died on January 17 from electrocution while in police custody. Mr. Pike's death certificate clearly shows that he was tased no fewer than nine times ? while already in police restraints ? and that he died as a result of electroshock injuries.(continued)

ACLU Sues Denver Seeking Disclosure Of DNC-Related Purchases Of Police Equipment
03-23-2007 10:31:33am
DENVER -- Invoking Colorado's open records laws, the ACLU of Colorado filed suit today in Denver District Court, asking that Denver be ordered to disclose records related to budgeting for and purchase of police equipment dating from January 2007, when Denver was selected as the host city for the 2008 Democratic National Convention.(continued)

ACLU Foundation of Arizona to Honor New Times Executives at Annual Bill of Rights Dinner on March 29
03-23-2007 10:31:33am
PHOENIX ? The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Foundation of Arizona will honor New Times executives Michael Lacey and Jim Larkin at its annual Bill of Rights Dinner on March 29 at the Heard Museum. The evening will feature a keynote address by Lacey, who along with Larkin, was arrested by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office for exposing police misconduct and refusing to turn over records about their readers to local law enforcement.(continued)
News Releases
Does Arcata Need A SWAT Team? -3-24-08This question and more will be explored at an upcoming forum in Arcata, whose police chief has previously stated he thought it was a "good idea" for a county-wide SWAT Team to operate in Arcata and throughout Humboldt County. While the event's sponsors are not necessarily against a SWAT Team, questions of use-of-force policies, weapons procurement and conditions under which such a team would be deployed remain unanswered, especially in light of the deployment of a county-wide team of officers who broke up a pro-homeless protest in Arcata last year. The forum will also discuss the upcoming November election, in which activists hope to see an Arcata Police Review Act on the ballot, which would create an independent civilian review board for the Arcata Police Department. The forum, sponsored by the Redwood Chapter ACLU and the Coalition for Police Review, will include speakers and plenty of time for open comment and discussion for local residents. It will be held on Thursday, March 27, 6 p.m. at the Arcata Branch Library, at the corner of 7th and F Street behind Arcata City Hall. For more information, call CPR spokespersons Greg Allen or Christina Allbright (215-5385), or visit redwoodaclu.blogspot.com or coalitionforpolicereview.info.

CPR Praises SWAT Dissolution, Calls For Greater Disclosure Regarding Public Safety CommitteeCPR Praises SWAT Dissolution, Calls For Greater Disclosure Regarding Public Safety Committee At their regular monthly gathering, the Coalition for Police Review took the opportunity to both praise recent moves by Eureka's new Police Chief, Garr Nielsen, as well as taking his bosses in City Hall to task over the lack of public disclosure as to whether the proposed Eureka Public Safety Committee will include the review functions previously promised to CPR spokespersons over a year ago. "It's certainly a welcome move on the part of Nielsen to dispense with the SWAT Team in favor of more community-oriented approaches to local police work," said CPR Spokesperson Christina Allbright. "Nationwide, SWAT Teams have again and again resulted in the needless escalation in levels of police violence, and considering the recent record of police-related deaths in Eureka, this is a well-timed decision on the part of the Eureka Police Department." CPR also praised Nielsen's revision of the cover letter given to members of the public who express interest in filing a complaint against an EPD officer 's conduct, with the threat of prosecution against "false reports" now replaced with additional resources which citizens can turn to if they are dissatisfied with the department's response to their report. Additionally, CPR now provides complaint forms on the CPR website at coalitionforpolicereview.info to alleviate the concerns and fears some members of the public have expressed with obtaining and/or completing complaint forms at the EPD headquarters. "We've received numerous reports of local residents who not only felt intimidated from filing a complaint in the first place, but also from those who didn't feel safe when they were told they had to actually walk into EPD headquarters to file their complaint," Allbright said. "There is no law or precedent which says people have to file their complaints in person, and until Nielsen follows through on making this a more user-friendly process, the Coalition for Police Review will take the initiative to make these forms available to all community members on our website and at our office." Of more grave concern to CPR members is the perception of manipulation and back-room dealing concerning the proposed Public Safety Committee for Eureka. The Coalition has received reports that the charter of the proposed committee will specifically exclude any police review functions concerning the policies, practices and procedures of the EPD, not to mention any review of specific complaints regarding officer conduct. Unconfirmed reports from members of the ad-hoc committee have alleged that their recommendations were altered after-the-fact by city officials, and that one member of the ad-hoc committee resigned in protest due to their frustration over such actions. "When we met with City Manager Dave Tyson back in the summer of 2006 when our initial Police Review Act was in circulation in Eureka, he promised us that the City would take concerted action to implement police review, and we 've since heard similar promises from Councilmembers Glass, Kerrigan and Endert," CPR Spokesperson Greg Allen said. "To see these pledges of support made false through a convoluted ad-hoc committee which completely excluded any members of our Coalition is a grave disappointment. We need full disclosure of what happened during and after these ad-hoc committee meetings, and we insist that city officials not misuse their authority to frustrate the same review procedures which Police Chief Nielsen has already expressed willingness to work with." CPR is looking forward to the Open Mic on local law enforcement tentatively set for Dec. 4th at 5:00 p.m. in Supervisors' Chambers, and will hold its next meeting on Dec. 12th, 5:30 p.m. at their shared office with the Redwood ACLU, located at 917 3rd Street in Old Town Eureka.
News
Hundreds Testify In First-Ever Public Hearing On California's Death Penalty

SACRAMENTO -- On June 30, Californians weighed in on the state's broken death penalty system in the first-ever public hearing on capital punishment methods in the state. Family members of murder victims, clergy, legal experts, wrongfully convicted individuals and concerned taxpayers from around the state will converge on Sacramento to register their objections to the new execution procedures at a public hearing by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The hearing comes after three years without executions in California, and after legal challenges demonstrated systemic problems with the state's handling of executions in the past.(continued)
Antioch Unified School District and ACLU Reach Settlement

ANTIOCH ? Through a settlement reached with the ACLU of Northern California, the Antioch Unified School District has agreed to undertake a comprehensive series of steps designed to prevent discrimination against African American and Latino students in school discipline; ensure that school administrators and staff protect students from race-based harassment by their peers; and stem the over-involvement of police officers in the handling of student misconduct, among other goals outlined in the settlement. The settlement agreement was ratified by the district?s board at the June 24th board meeting.(continued)
Fresno Hospital Bars Lesbian From Visiting Partner And Giving Advice About Her Treatment

Teresa Rowe and Kristin Orbin attended the ?Meet in the Middle? rally in support of marriage for same-sex couples in Fresno. After the couple completed a 14-mile march in 90 degree heat, Kristin, who suffers from epilepsy, collapsed in a seizure. At the hospital, Teresa was barred from visiting her partner and giving advice about her treatment at a Fresno hospital. The ACLU sent a letter to the hospital today urging that it adopt policy changes respecting same-sex relationships.(continued)
ACLU Challenges Defense Department Personnel Policy To Regard Lawful Protests As "Low-Level Terrorism"

Anti-terrorism training materials used by the Department of Defense teach its personnel that free expression in the form of public protests should be regarded as "low level terrorism." ACLU attorneys are calling the approach "an egregious insult to constitutional values" and have sent a letter to the DoD demanding that the offending materials be changed. "It is fundamentally wrong to equate activism with terrorism," said ACLU-NC attorney Ann Brick.(continued)
ACLU Asks Sonoma County Schools to Comply With California Law on Sex Education

On June 3, 2009, ACLU-NC asked Sonoma County schools to comply with California law by replacing abstinence-only sex education with comprehensive curricula that teach about condoms and contraception, as well as abstinence. ?California law requires that sex education be based in public health science, not ideology,? said ACLU attorney Margaret Crosby. The curriculum in question, called Free To Be, exaggerates the failure rate of condoms, and suggests that sexual activity outside of marriage inevitably has negative consequences.(continued)
EFF and ACLU Planning to Appeal Dismissal of Dozens of Spying Cases

San Francisco - A federal judge June 3 dismissed dozens of lawsuits over illegal domestic surveillance of American citizens, ruling that telecommunications companies had immunity from liability under the controversial FISA Amendments Act (FISAAA). The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) California and Illinois affiliates are planning to appeal the decision to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, arguing that FISAAA is unconstitutional. (continued)
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