Despite its lack of clout, Complaint
Committee should continue
Published: Sunday, July 1, 2012 at
1:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, June 29,
2012 at 8:04 p.m.
When two members of Sarasota's Police Complaint Committee
resigned last week, it marked a setback in the quest to ensure greater law
enforcement accountability. It should not be fatal to the cause, however.
Though clearly frustrated that the Sarasota Police
Department is overriding its recommendations, the panel should go forward as a
useful, independent watchdog.
The committee, which reviews the disposition of complaints
against city police officers after they have been investigated by the
department, is one of two created in the wake of an excessive-force case that
roiled the city in 2009-10.
That episode, stemming from the arrest and faulty handling
of a Spanish-speaking immigrant who fell out of a police car, led to lawsuits
against the city, a lengthy outside investigation, the firing of the arresting
officer and resignation of the police chief.
The Police Complaint Committee was created to help improve
relations between the police and the community, particularly minorities.
But the panel has no clout and was granted too little
authority to challenge police disciplinary decisions and processes, according
to Ronald Riffel, who resigned Wednesday along with Frank Brenner.
It's true that the panel was given no real power to effect
change. That's in part due to statutory restrictions on who investigates police
and how. There was also a lack of political will in the city to intensify oversight
of the police, many of whom are represented by a powerful union.