The mayor-appointed board that reviews allegations of misconduct by the Springfield police last year investigated 160 complaints, including 109 filed by members of the public, and found all but 20 of them lacked substance, according to a new report issued Monday.
The total number of complaints and citizen complaints to the Community Police Hearing Board in 2011 both represent an increase from 2010 when the board investigated 136 complaints including 99 filed by the public. The complaints not filed by the public are generated within the department.
Rev. Amos Bailey, vice chairman of the board, said Monday night the increase — an 18 percent yearly hike in the number of overall complaints, and a 10 percent increase in the number filed by members of he public — reflects increased awareness among the public that the hearing board exists as an outlet for those who have complaints against the police.
“There has been a committed effort on the part of the board to get the word out,” Bailey said.
The annual report is the second issued by the hearing board, which has seven members who report directly to Mayor Domenic Sarno.
The board was formed in 2010 amid public outcry over allegations of police brutality in the case of Melvin Jones III, an African-American drug suspect who was held down and beaten with a flashlight by three white officers in November, 2009. An amateur videotape of the arrest showed Jones being struck repeatedly.
Two officers were eventually suspended, as was their superior officer, and a fourth, Jeffrey Asher, who was identified as the one hitting Jones, was fired. He has since been found guilty of assault and battery and sentenced to 18 months in jail.
In addition to providing numbers and percentages on complaints, the report also includes a few recommendations, including:
• More community meetings by the police and by the hearing board to publicize procedures for reporting police misconduct.
• More police training to address the many complaints of “rudeness” by officers.
• The installation of video cameras in police cruisers, in order to protect the public from police misconduct and to protect the police from unfounded allegations.
Bailey said this year’s annual report is similar to its first report issued in 2011, although some of the numbers vary.
Of the 160 complaints filed this year, 109 were filed by citizens and 51 from within the department.
A year ago, there were 136 complaints, 109 from citizens and 37 from within the department.
Of the 160 total cases in 2011, 23 percent were filed by African-Americans, 19 percent by Hispanics, and 17 percent by whites. In more than 40 percent of cases, or 66 of the 160, the race of the person making the complaint is either not known or not noted.
In 2010, the 136 complaints according to race were 30 percent Hispanic, 15 percent black and 15 percent white. Unknown race accounted for 41 percent
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