BAY CITY, MI — In the wake of Black Lives Matter protests opposing police brutality across the nation, Bay City officials are considering forming a Civilian Review Board.
On Thursday, June 11, NAACP Bay City Branch President Darold Newton met with City Manager Dana Muscott and Public Safety Director Michael J. Cecchini. From that meeting, the formation of such a board is being explored, Muscott said.
Newton said he reached out to Muscott and Cecchini in light of “the situation with policing and police brutality and the whole matter of race and racism” stemming from the May 25 death of Minneapolis man George Floyd at officers’ hands. The goal was to cover directives, initiatives, and concerns from the NAACP’s national president, Cornell Brooks.
“One of the main items of concern when it comes to policing and preventing brutality was to make sure to put together a review board in situations where there may be excessive or lethal force used in situations similar to those of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and situations we’ve seen too many times,” Newton said.
Cecchini and Muscott also committed to recruiting more minorities and people of color in the police force and for empowerment opportunities, Newton said.
“They’re going to look into actually increasing the diversity,” Newton said.
A Civilian Review Board would likely form as a subcommittee of the city’s Human Relations Committee, Muscott said. Formed in 2016, the Human Relations Committee comprises five civilians — Newton being one of them — who are appointed by the mayor with the city council’s approval. They serve without compensation for two-year terms and receive training if necessary.
Currently, the Human Relations Committee investigates citizens’ complaints of prejudice, discrimination, bias, or the like from any city employee or private entity in the city.
“We haven’t had any issues to date, which is great,” said Newton, currently in his second term.
The proposed subcommittee would specifically address issues related to the Department of Public Safety, Muscott said.
“What we’re going to do is extend that Human Relations Committee and maybe add a few more key components to it so that we could actually have an independent board to review cases with the Department of Public Safety,” Newton said. “We already had something in place, but this will take it a step further so we have assurances, which is awesome.”
He added that Bay City hasn’t had any cases of police brutality or excessive force needing to be addressed, but the formation of a review board is “critical and necessary.”
Newton said details on membership are being reviewed.
“We’d like to have someone on the panel that has subpoena power as well,” he said. “Within the next week, there should be some finalization.”
Cecchini said discussions on forming such a committee are in preliminary stages, with policies and procedures needing to be drafted.
“I don’t have an issue with an independent review board at all,” Cecchini said. Such a board would not review routine matters but would be used for serious use-of-force issues, such as officer-involved shootings, in-custody deaths, and occurrences that “need a higher level of scrutiny and input from all of the stakeholders,” Cecchini said.
“In my experience, review boards of this nature are typically better when they involve all the stakeholders,” the director continued. Those stakeholders would include community members, a peer representative for the involved officer, and a representative for the city, such as its Human Resources director.
If a complaint were to go before the board, in theory its members could conduct an investigation and call witnesses. Based on their findings, a recommendation would be sent to Cecchini, who would then forward his recommendation for discipline — if it is needed — to the city manager, Cecchini said.
“I’m confident we’re doing things the right way here,” he continued. “That wouldn’t change if we present facts to a board of review.”
In 2019, the Bay City Department of Public Safety received two citizens’ complaints of officer misconduct. Both were investigated internally and deemed unfounded. The department also had supervisory-initiated investigations, both of which were sustained, Cecchini said.
“We don’t get a lot of citizens’ complaints, which is good,” the director said. “I think that shows we’re treating people appropriately and doing our due diligence in performing our duties.”
Several Black Lives Matter protests have occurred in Bay City.
“We are all in agreement that it’s something worth exploring,” Muscott said. “We’d like it to mirror the Human Relations Committee. It was a very good discussion we had yesterday with the NAACP. We were all in agreement in everything we discussed and we’re looking forward to being good partners with them going forward.”
First Ward Commissioner Jesse Dockett supports the forming of a Civilian Review Committee.
“This is in response to the greater issue happening nationwide,” Dockett said. “Our public safety department does a really fantastic job but we do want to have something in place in case of a situation. People are human and they make mistakes and do things they shouldn’t do, and we definitely want to have some kind of tool in place to handle that when and if it ever happens. Hope for the best and plan for the worst.”
The Human Relations Committee’s role and functions are:
It shall foster mutual understanding and respect between all racial, religious, nationality, and other minority groups in the city. It shall strive towards discouraging and preventing discriminatory practices toward any such group.
· It may investigate complaints of particular instances or complaints as to general conditions relative to any tension, practices of discrimination, or acts of prejudice against any person or group, and it may conduct public hearings with regard thereto.
· It shall carry on research projects and obtain factual data to ascertain the status and treatment of racial, religious, and ethnic groups within the city; and it shall make reports and recommendations to the city manager as to its findings of fact relative to existing conditions and as to the policies, programs, and legislation for relief and alleviation of such discriminatory practices and conditions. The city manager shall review the reports and findings and take steps to implement recommendations or, if a matter of policy or legislation, to submit the reports or findings to the city commission for its consideration.
· It shall cooperate with other public, governmental, or private agencies in developing courses of instruction for presentation in public and/or private schools, in public libraries, in public museums, or other suitable places, showing and illustrating the contributions of various religious, nationality, and ethnic groups to the culture, tradition, and progress of our city, state, and nation, and further showing the deplorable effects and menace of prejudice, intolerance, and discrimination.
- It shall formulate and carry out programs of community education and information with the object of discouraging and eliminating any such tension, prejudice, and discrimination.
- It shall issue such publications and reports of investigations and research as in its judgment will tend to minimize or eliminate prejudice, intolerance, race, area tensions or discrimination, or which will promote or tend to promote goodwill.
- It shall cooperate with and seek cooperation of federal, state, and city agencies and departments in carrying out projects within their respective authorities to eliminate intergroup tensions, and to promote intergroup harmony. It shall recommend to the mayor and city commission measures, including legislation, aimed at improving relations within and among the population, as well as improving the variability of various city departments and agencies to insure protection of any and all persons and groups from discrimination.
- It shall advise, and may recommend action, to any official of competent authority on any matters involving civil rights or the violation thereof.
In addition to Newton, the other four members of the Human Relations Committee are Janelle Felan, Craig Windt, Amy MacDonald, and Mitzi Zanotti Brown.
Related:
Bay City looks to form human relations committee to fight discrimination
‘Change is coming’ says protester at Bay City event that draws several hundred downtown
More Black Lives Matter protests and events happening throughout mid-Michigan June 11-15
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