CC RES 91-038 RESOLUTION OPPOSING "POLICE BILL OF RIGHTS" LEGISLATION

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• CITY OF ST. ANTHONY RESOLUTION 91-038 A RESOLUTION OPPOSING 'POLICE BILL OF RIGHTS" LEGISLATION WHEREAS, the U.S. Congress is considering adoption of legislation that would pre-empt state and local laws and require cities to impose federal standards on the conduct of internal investigations of police misconduct by the city while providing police officers subject to such discipline the right to sue cities for monetary and other damages, including full reinstatement; and WHEREAS, these provisions restrict the authority and ability of the Police Chief to investigate allegations of police misconduct or use of excessive force; and WHEREAS, definitions provided in the legislation are so unclear that interpretations could prevent any measures without the need for formal hearings; and WHEREAS, restrictions raise the issue of whether police officers would no longer be subject to normal supervision; and WHEREAS, provisions raise the conduct of such disciplinary investigations to the level of criminal proceedings; and WHEREAS, 'Police Officers Bill of Rights" imposes the will of the federal government on matters that are clearly state and local labor relations issues; and WHEREAS, some states, including Minnesota, have adopted similar requirements, while others have rejected such legislation; and WHEREAS, the legislation directly interferes with local processes governing provision of police services; and WHEREAS, provisions appear to disallow local appointment of civilian review boards and require that the entire investigative file be open to the police officer under investigation while not providing personnel file information on such officers to those investigations; and WHEREAS, congress has failed to hold any hearings or to investigate the views of police officials and others who would be adversely affected by such restrictions; and WHEREAS, this proposal is unrelated to local government efforts to fight crime, control drug abuse and reduce violence, therefore should not be included in federal • anti-crime legislation.