[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Socorro
as Ch. 3 of the 1977 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The following boards and commissions are hereby created and
shall be appointed in the manner and carry out such duties as are
hereinafter provided:
The City maintains a variety of committees which are created by City Council motion or resolution and serve at the pleasure of the Mayor and governing body. Such committees may include the Budget Committee, Utility Committee, Recreation Committee, Juvenile Justice Board, and so forth. These boards and committees are not created by ordinance and therefore may not be subject to the same rules as those committees, boards and commissions set forth in § 12-1 above.
Each member shall be given notice of his appointment by a certificate
which shall state his appointment date, date of expiration and shall
bear the signature of the Mayor, attestation of the City Clerk and
the City Seal. Each member shall hold office until his successor is
qualified.
All meetings of the boards and commissions shall be held at
City Hall or such other public building as may be designated.
A majority of all the members of a board or commission delegation
shall constitute a quorum for the transacting of business. A motion
shall carry upon the affirmative vote of a majority of the members
present at any meeting.
The City Council may remove any member of any board or commission named in § 12-1 by the affirmative vote of four members upon the grounds of malfeasance or nonfeasance of office or for any reason whatsoever upon the affirmative vote of all of the members.
The tenure of any member of a board or commission shall be automatically
terminated if such member shall absent himself from more than three
consecutive regular meetings of his board or commission without having
notified his Chairman in advance of the reason for such absence, provided
that the City Council, at its discretion, may continue any member
in office if sufficient reason be shown for his absence.
If a vacancy occurs on a board or commission, the Mayor, with
the consent of the governing body, shall appoint a person to fill
the vacancy for the remainder of the unexpired term.
The Mayor, members of the governing body, or administrative
officers of the City may be appointed as ex officio members of any
board or commission except the Personnel Board.
[Added 5-20-2013 by Ord.
No. 13-04-15a]
There is hereby created a Police Oversight Commission (POC)
to provide oversight of the Socorro Police Department (SPD), Socorro
Police Department policies and procedures and oversee all citizen
complaints as follows.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
A complaint filed by a citizen regarding SPD actions involving
alleged violations of the SPD Standard Operating Procedures.
When the Independent Review Officer (IRO) and the Socorro
Police Department Chief of Police (Chief of Police) agree on the finding(s)
(in its entirety) of a citizen complaint.
A file maintained at the City Clerk's office containing
all citizen police complaints and any documentation provided during
the complaint process.
Formerly defined as "motion" and "appeal" (Ordinance No.
09-10-19); the complainant's final opportunity to include his
personal opinion as part of the final record of the complaint process.
A form which is maintained at the City Clerk's office
and on which the following items are recorded:
When the IRO and the Chief of Police do not agree on the
findings of a citizen complaint.
A file maintained for each officer (at the SPD) containing
results of the citizen complaint process. A normal entry would be
the internal affairs unit disciplinary status sheet once complete
for a given complaint.
The letter sent to a complainant and the media regarding
the findings of the IRO and Police Chief. Typical items in the letter
would be:
A.
The POC shall be composed of five members who broadly represent the
diversity of this community, who reside within the City of Socorro
and who are registered voters of the municipality. There shall be
at least one member of the POC representing each quadrant of the City.
This policy shall be implemented as vacancies occur. Members shall
be recommended to the Mayor by a minimum of two City Councilors. Citizens
who are interested in becoming members may provide a resume and written
request to at least two City Councilors. The Mayor will forward the
Mayor's recommended names of potential Commissioners to the full
City Council for approval. A majority of the governing body (five)
is required for approval.[1]
B.
The following are the minimum qualifications for members of the POC:
(1)
Have not been employed by a law enforcement agency for one year prior
to appointment.
(2)
Problem-solving and conflict resolution skills.
(3)
Attend a yearly four-hour civil rights training session to be conducted
by an attorney or advocacy group;
(4)
A willingness to commit the necessary time each month for POC hearings
and a commitment to prepare and read all materials distributed prior
to the monthly POC meetings.
(5)
Must be a resident and registered voter of the City of Socorro.
(6)
Must not have been convicted of a felony.
C.
All potential candidates will be subject to a background check, the
results of which may be provided to the Mayor and Council prior to
appointment.
D.
When a vacancy on the POC occurs, the City Council will fill the
position in the method described above.
E.
Each member shall serve a term of two years. The terms of the initial
members of the POC shall be staggered so that no more than three of
the members are eligible for reappointment or replacement each year.
F.
The appointment of any member of the POC who has been absent and
not excused from three consecutive regular or special meetings shall
automatically expire effective on the date the fact of such absence
is reported by the Commission to the City Clerk. The City Clerk shall
notify any member whose appointment has automatically terminated and
report to the City Council that a vacancy exists on said Commission
and that an appointment should be made for the length of the unexpired
term.
G.
The POC shall elect one of its members as the Chairperson and one
as Vice-Chairperson, who shall each hold office for two years and
until their successors are elected or until his/her tenure on the
POC ends. No officer shall be eligible to succeed himself or herself
in the same office. Officers shall be elected in the month of March
of each calendar year.[2]
H.
The POC may appoint such subcommittees as are deemed necessary or desirable for the purposes of this article, provided that membership on such subcommittees shall be defined in Article II, Section 3, Part B, of the Rules and Regulations Governing the POC.
I.
The POC and its investigative arm, the IRO, shall conduct regular
scheduled meetings at the Socorro City Council Chambers.
J.
The City Council and the Mayor's Office shall jointly provide
staff assistance at all regularly scheduled meetings and at special
meetings. All other staff support shall be provided by the IRO (as
identified in the IRO's service contract).
The powers and duties of the Commission are:
A.
To promote a spirit of accountability and communication between the
citizens and the Socorro Police Department while improving community
relations and enhancing public confidence.
B.
To oversee the full investigation and/or mediation of all appropriately
filed citizen complaints; to audit and monitor police shootings and
use of TASERs under investigation by the City's designated Internal
Affairs Officer; however, the POC will not investigate any complaints
other than those filed by citizens. All complaints filed by police
officers will be investigated by the City's Internal Affairs
Officer.
C.
To gain the cooperation of the SPD and solicit public input by holding
regularly scheduled meetings.
D.
To review all work of the IRO with respect to quality, thoroughness
and impartiality of investigations.
F.
To submit all findings to the Chief of Police. The Chief will have
final disciplinary authority.
G.
To engage in a long-term planning process through which it identifies
major problems and establishes a program of policy suggestions and
studies as needed.
H.
To conduct regularly scheduled public meetings with a prepared agenda
that is distributed in advance to the Mayor, City Council, Police
Chief and City Attorney and that complies with the New Mexico Open
Meetings Law.[1] Each POC meeting will begin with public comments. All
other meetings of the POC will comply with the Open Meetings Law and
shall be audiotaped; there is no requirement for providing live television
coverage.
[1]
Editors' Note: See NMSA 1978, § 10-15-1 et seq.
I.
To recommend to the Mayor and City Council during the City's
budget process a proposed budget for provision of such staff as is
necessary to carry out the powers and duties under this article, including
funding for the Independent Review Officer and all necessary operating
expenses. The Mayor shall propose an annual budget to the City Council
in the same manner as all other City departments.
J.
To recommend a candidate (based on the RFP process) to the Mayor
for consideration as the Independent Review Officer (IRO) and oversee
the continuing performance of this individual once approved by the
City Council.
K.
To hear all motions/appeals requested regarding concurrent and nonconcurrent
findings.
The Independent Review Officer is hereby established (as an
independent contractor of the City) and shall be a practicing attorney
in the State of New Mexico.
A.
Powers
and duties.
(1)
The IRO shall be given autonomy and shall perform all duties under
the direction of the POC. The IRO shall not serve as legal advisor
to the City and therefore there will be no attorney-client privilege
between the IRO and the City.
(2)
The IRO will receive all citizen police complaints (CPC) directed
against the Socorro Police Department and any of its officers. The
IRO will review such complaints and assign them for investigation
to either the Socorro Police Department (Assistant Chief) for an internal
administrative investigation or to an independent investigator. The
IRO will oversee, monitor and review all such investigations and make
findings for each. All findings relating to citizen complaints, including
police shootings and use of TASERs, will be forwarded to the POC.
The IRO may review completed internal affairs (IA) cases and discuss
those cases with the Chief or his designee. In all cases, the Chief
of Police shall have the sole authority and responsibility for discipline.
For all investigations, the IRO will make recommendations and give
opinions regarding adherence to Departmental policies and procedures
to the POC, City Council and the Mayor as the IRO deems advisable,
provided as follows:
(a)
That investigation of all citizen complaints filed with the
IRO shall begin immediately after complaints are filed and proceed
as expeditiously as possible;
(b)
That all citizen police complaints filed with other offices
within the City authorized to accept citizen complaints (Mayor's
Office, City Clerk's Office, Finance Director's Office),
including the Police Department, shall be referred to the IRO for
investigation;
(c)
That, at the discretion of the IRO, an impartial system of mediation
may be considered appropriate for certain complaints. If all parties
involved reach an agreement, the mediation is considered successful,
no investigation will occur and the complaint will be deemed complete;
(d)
That all investigations shall be thorough, objective, fair,
impartial and free from political influence;
(e)
That all information necessary to satisfy the POC's quarterly reporting requirements in § 12-17 of this article be maintained and compiled;
(f)
That the process for finalizing findings on police shooting
cases, tasings and written claims of excessive force shall be the
same as the process for finalizing findings on citizen police complaints.
(3)
The IRO shall monitor all police shootings, tasings and claims of
excessive force;
(4)
The IRO shall have access to any nonprivileged Police Department
information or documents that are relevant to a citizen's complaint
or to an issue which is ongoing at the POC.
(5)
The IRO may make recommendations (in writing) to the POC and SPD
on specific training, changes in policy or duty manuals. SPD will
respond, in writing, to all recommendations from the IRO or POC within
60 days. The IRO shall follow up and monitor all recommendations to
verify their adoption and implementation.
(6)
The IRO shall request that the City provides staff assistance for
the POC (as herein defined) and coordinates and provides technical
support for all scheduled POC meetings, publicize (as appropriate)
all findings and reports and/or suggested policy changes.
(7)
The IRO shall play an active public role in the community and, whenever
possible, provide appropriate outreach to the community. The IRO shall
publicize the citizen complaint process and identify locations within
the community that are suitable for citizens to file complaints in
a non-police environment.
B.
Qualifications
and selection.
(1)
Qualifications for the position of Independent Review Officer shall
be determined by the POC. The qualifications minimally include the
requirement of a law degree, experience in criminal investigations
and a practicing attorney in New Mexico.
(2)
Selection.
(a)
The initial IRO will be selected by the governing body through
the City's regular RFQ/RFP process.
(b)
Thereafter, the IRO will be selected as follows:
[1]
A candidate search will be undertaken by the POC, which will
screen, interview and select three candidates to be considered by
the Mayor.
[2]
The Mayor will select one of the three candidates and forward
his recommendation to the City Council.
[3]
The City Council may accept or reject the Mayor's nominee.
[4]
In the event the City Council rejects the nominee, the Mayor
shall submit his second recommendation from the names submitted by
the POC. The City Council may accept or reject the Mayor's nominee.
[5]
In the event that the City Council rejects the second nominee,
the process shall begin with a second candidate search by the POC.
(c)
The position of IRO will be a contractual position.
(3)
The IRO will provide the necessary professional and/or clerical staff
to carry out his duties and shall prescribe the duties of these staff
members in the contract with the City. Such professional and clerical
staff will be identified and agreed to in the IRO's contract
with the City.
(4)
The IRO will report directly to the POC and will act as lead investigator
and manager of all complaints; will supervise all investigations of
citizen complaints against police officers; will audit all investigations
of complaints and/or police shootings, excessive force and tasings;
will recommend and participate in mediation of certain complaints.
(5)
The term of the IRO shall be for two years, commencing immediately upon approval by the City Council. The Mayor, with the approval of the City Council, shall have the option to renew or extend the contract with the IRO for additional two-year periods. Negotiations to renew or extend the contract shall be completed three months prior to the contract expiring. Should the contract not be renewed or extended, the IRO may, with the approval of the City Council, continue to serve in the same capacity until a new IRO is selected and approved by the City Council. If the IRO or the Mayor chooses not to renew or extend the contract, the POC shall be immediately notified. The POC will then immediately begin a candidate search, as described in Subsection B(2) above. If for some unforeseen reason there is a period of time during which there is no IRO, the Mayor may appoint a temporary IRO with the consent and approval of the City Council. A temporary IRO shall only serve in that capacity for a period not to exceed six months and shall meet all qualifications of the regular IRO position.
A.
Any person claiming to be aggrieved by actions of the Police Department
may file a written complaint against the Department or any of its
officers. The POC shall submit rules and regulations governing citizen
complaint procedures to the Mayor and City Council for approval, including
rules and regulations relative to time limits, notice and other measures
to ensure impartial review of citizen's complaints against members
of the Police Department.
B.
The Mayor shall designate civilian City staff to receive written
citizen complaints at various locations throughout the City. The Mayor's
office, the City Clerk's office, the City Finance Director's
office and the Police Department may also receive written complaints.
Such complaints shall be filed no later than 30 days after the occurrence
of the action complained of. The party who receives the complaint
shall transmit all citizen complaints for further investigation to
the IRO. If a citizen complaint is determined to not merit further
investigation (by the IRO), the complainant shall be notified of the
reasons for that determination by certified mail. The POC shall also
be notified of the IRO's decision.
C.
After the IRO's investigation is completed, the IRO and the
Chief of Police, or his designee, shall consider the investigation
and all other relevant and material evidence offered by the person
investigated. The IRO and Chief may confer and discuss the investigation
and findings. The IRO shall then submit his findings, together with
the Chief's position, and draft public record letter to the POC
for review and approval. The draft public record letter to the citizen
will only be sent after approval by the POC. Approval by the POC shall
be based on thoroughness and form only. Approval by the POC does not
constitute an opinion on or concurrence with the content.
D.
If the Chief, or his designee, and the IRO disagree on the IRO's findings, the POC will receive the IRO's findings along with the Chief's position for approval (as described in Subsection C above) at the next regularly scheduled meeting. The POC will treat the findings as a nonconcurrence issue and the matter will be left to the complainant to file a request for final commentary with the POC. During final commentary, the complainant may provide an alternate position which will be become part of the permanent record. A request for final commentary as described above must be filed 15 business days after mailing of the public record letter by certified mail, return receipt requested.
E.
The findings of the IRO, the position of the Chief and the complainant's
position provided in final commentary shall be referred to on the
Internal Affairs Unit Disciplinary Status Sheet. The form will be
filed in the CPC complaint file and the Officer's Retention File.
F.
The Chief shall take whatever action deemed necessary, including
disciplinary action, to complete the disposition of the complaint
in accordance with the SOP and City Personnel Manual.
G.
If the Chief, or his designee, and the IRO agree on the IRO's findings, the POC will receive the concurred-upon findings of the IRO and Chief for approval (as described in Subsection C above) at the next regularly scheduled meeting. The POC will treat the complaint as a concurrence (between the IRO and Chief) and the matter will be left to the complainant to file a request for final commentary should he disagree with the Chief's/IRO's concurrent findings.
H.
If the Chief, or his designee, and the IRO disagree on the IRO's findings, the POC will receive the nonconcurrent findings of the IRO and Chief for approval (as described in Subsection C above) at the next regularly scheduled meeting. The POC will treat the complaint as nonconcurrent (between the IRO and Chief) and the matter will be left to the complainant to file a request for final commentary should he disagree with the Chief's/IRO's nonconcurrent findings.
A.
Any person who has filed a citizen complaint and who is dissatisfied
with either the concurrent or nonconcurrent findings of the IRO/Police
Chief may present a final commentary (appeal/motion) by notifying
the POC within 15 business days of mailing of the public record letter
by certified mail, return receipt requested.
B.
If any person who has filed a citizen complaint is not satisfied with either the concurrent or nonconcurrent decision of the Chief of Police/IRO on any matter relating to his complaint, he may request an opportunity to provide final commentary regarding the original complaint and the findings of the IRO/Police Chief by requesting such a process in writing within 15 business days of mailing the public record letter in accordance with § 12-15C of this article. The complainant may submit a written position on the matter for a presentation to be heard by the POC as defined in Article III, Section 6, of the Rules and Regulations.
The POC shall be responsible for regularly informing the Mayor,
the City Council and the public by submitting quarterly reports that
contain the following types of information:
A.
Data relating to the number, kind and status of all complaints received,
including those complaints sent to mediation.
B.
Discussion of issues of interest undertaken by the POC, which may
include suggested policy and/or procedural changes, a listing of complaints
and allegations by statistical ethnicity of subject officers, statistical
ethnicity of complainants and updates on prior issues and/or recommendations.
C.
The findings of all matters and the Police Chief's issuance
of discipline on those findings and the ongoing disciplinary trends
of the Police Department, all subject to applicable personnel privacy
laws.
D.
Information on all public outreach initiatives undertaken by either
the POC or the IRO such as speaking engagements, public safety announcements
and/or public information brochures on the oversight process.
Contingent upon funding and on an "as-needed" basis, the City
Council shall issue a request for proposal for an independent consultant
to undertake a complete evaluation and analysis of the entire police
oversight process and recommend any necessary changes or amendments
that would appropriately improve the process.
On the petition of 200 or more registered City voters in the
City of Socorro filed in the Office of the City Clerk, the POC shall
hold a special meeting for the purpose of responding to the petition
and hearing and inquiring into matters identified therein as the concern
of the petition. Copies of the petition shall be filed by the POC
with the City Clerk. Notice of such meeting shall be given in the
same manner as notice given for other meetings of the POC and shall
comply with the State Open Meetings Law.[1]
[1]
Editors' Note: See NMSA 1978, § 10-15-1 et seq.
The hearing process shall be open to the public to the extent
legally possible so that it does not conflict with state or federal
law. However, upon the opinion of the City Attorney or IRO, some of
the details of the investigations of the IRO, or the designated independent
investigator, shall become privileged and confidential. The details
of investigations shall not be open to the public, subject to the
opinion of the City Attorney or the IRO. Compelled statements given
to the IRO, or the designated independent investigator, will not be
made public. The IRO may summarize conclusions reached from a compelled
statement for the report to the POC and the Chief and in the public
record letter sent to the complainant. Nothing in this article shall
affect the ability of the SPD to use a compelled statement in a disciplinary
proceeding.
The City Council believes that full participation and cooperation
of all parties involved is essential to the success of the new police
oversight process and its IRO and hereby mandates that its officers
provide honest and truthful responses to all questions by the IRO
or the designated independent investigator. If any officer refuses
to answer the questions proposed to him or her by the IRO, or the
independent investigator, he or she may be subjected to termination
or disciplinary action at the discretion of the Police Chief. Compelled
statements given to the IRO or the designated independent investigator
by a police officer will be used only for the IRO's investigation.
The actual statement will remain confidential and will not be included
in a final report or be forwarded to the POC. The IRO may summarize
conclusions reached from a compelled statement for the report to the
POC and the Chief and in the public record letter to the complainant.
No breach or violation of this article shall give rise to an
independent civil action for a claim of damages, attorney fees or
costs against the City, its agents or employees as this article is
created solely for the limited purposes set forth herein and for no
other purpose.
