Ferndale Considering Creation of Citizens Police Advisory and Review Board
(Crystal A. Proxmire, Feb. 13, 2023)
Ferndale, MI – Ferndale City Council is considering the creation of a Citizens Police Advisory and Review Board, to be created with an ordinance, at the Feb. 13, 2023 council meeting.
The board would be tasked with reviewing complaints of police misconduct or use of force after the Police Chief has investigated them. The board will track complaints, and may make recommendations, and those recommendations will be available to the public. Authority to impose discipline will remain with the Police Chief.
The board shall not have the authority to sustain or reverse the police chief’s finding. The board’s authority when considering an appeal shall be limited to reviewing the determination made by the police chief. The board shall not have the authority to impose discipline on any employee or to recommend that discipline be imposed or increased in a particular instance. They can, however, track such incidents and report their recommendations to the City Manager.
The ordinance would also allow for the city to receive complaints about officer conduct, and to pass those complaints along to the Police Chief to investigate.
The ordinance also has a sunset date of June 30, 2024 meaning that City Council will have to vote to remove the sunset in order for the board to continue beyond this point.
If approved, there will be five citizens appointed by the Mayor with confirmation by the council. Members cannot be appointed to the board if the person is serving a sentence for a criminal conviction, is an announced candidate for a political office in the city, works for the city’s police department, or is a city employee.
The ordinance states appointees should include people with relevant skills and experiences, “including but not limited to members from segments of the community who are vulnerable and tend to have negative interactions with police and members who have experience with mediation, mental health or social work, antiracism or equity, restorative or transformative justice, law enforcement, or criminal justice.”
Terms will be for three years, and starting out some terms will be shorter to allow for staggering. And the board will meet not less than quarterly.
The ordinance comes forth as part of Ferndale’s “Committment to Anti-Racism” that was passed on June 8, 2020.
According to the background information provided in the City Council packet, “One of the first notable accomplishments towards these goals happened in February 2021, when the City joined the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE) to help further the racial equity initiatives set forth by Council.
In July 2021, a town hall discussion was held by Mayor Piana and Councilmember James in which the City’s progress towards racial equity was detailed to the community.
In October 2021, City Council adopted a resolution that required the City Manager’s Office to research, study, develop, and prepare a report and recommendation to City Council regarding a community advisory function for the Ferndale Police Department and other departments, including whether any existing board or commission should be authorized to undertake such responsibilities or whether a new board or commission should be created.
This study found that the creation of a new board would be more appropriate to serve this function, thus prompting the convening of the Ordinance Committee to draft the Citizens Police Advisory and Review Board ordinance.
Public comment for the draft ordinance was collected in July before the final draft in September. The ordinance was first presented to City Council in October 2022. After receiving feedback and making adjustments, the ordinance committee has finalized the ordinance for Council approval.”
Councilperson Kat Bruner James, who is a civil rights attorney in her primary job, was on the ordinance committee along with Councilperson Laura Mikulski. James presented the ordinance to Council in October 2022, and is expected to present the revised ordinance Monday evening.
At the October meeting she thanked those involved, stating “I want to thank and acknowledge the work of the Ordinance Committee (myself, Councilmember Mikulski, City Manager’s Office, the City Clerk, and especially the City Attorney for doing the lion’s share of the wordsmithing). I also appreciate the time that Police Chief Emmi put into talking through these processes and providing insight from the law enforcement perspective. And special thanks to Assistant to the City Manager Danicea Woods-McSwain for shepherding this project, including providing me with the materials for this presentation.”
Councilperson James also spoke about the intent of the ordinance, stating, “I also want to take a moment to reflect on the intentions and potential misperceptions about this proposed ordinance.
“This proposed board, if established, should be neither anti-police nor pro-police. It’s intended to be pro-transparency, pro-community engagement, and pro-due process.”
She noted that Ferndale Police and the City have made other efforts to engage the public, including the Citizens Academy, multiple Streetside Roundtables, launching a transparency dashboard, “banning the box” on city employment applications, banning the use of facial recognition technology, banning source of income discrimination for renters and other policies to “strive for excellence and equality.”
Other cities that have similar citizen review or advisory boards include Ann Arbor, Benton Harbor, Kalamazoo, Lansing, Muskegon, Grand Rapids, and Ypsilanti.
For more information about the proposed ordinance, city council meetings, and more visit https://www.ferndalemi.gov/.