Council passes bylaws for police advisory board
Civilian members will no longer have to pass background checks, but the Laramie Police Department will pull criminal histories for all applicants to the board. A citizen academy is also in the works.
The Laramie Police Advisory Board is taking shape. The Laramie City Council approved bylaws for the body during its regular meeting last week, officially outlining the board’s powers and limitations.
The council amended those bylaws before passing them to remove a background check requirement for board members. Aspiring members will still have their criminal histories pulled by the chief of police — that is, a list of any criminal convictions — but not a full background check, which would be more thorough and include, for example, every contact with police.
Councilor Andi Summerville raised the issue repeatedly during the council’s meeting last week. Summerville ultimately voted against an amendment to remove background checks, but she voiced a strong opposition to not just the background checks, but also the pulling of a criminal history, and the singling out of this particular board for background checks when no other city government board requires the same.
“While criminal conviction histories are public record — you can walk into a municipal, district or circuit court and get those — what we’re doing is making this incredibly easy to access for the public,” Summerville said. “We’re consolidating all of this information. And this board is going to be heavily scrutinized.”
The Laramie Police Advisory Board will be strictly advisory and have no power to hire, fire or discipline officers. It will be tasked with reviewing police policies and training, and it will review use-of-force incidents, at least to some extent.
The bylaws themselves say the board will review any police incidents that result in death or serious bodily injury, or any use-of-force incident deemed to have high public interest by the chief of police. (These paragraphs mirror the state statutes outlining acceptable causes for the release of police body camera footage.)
“What we’re asking the board to do is evaluate the law and department policy that explains the reason for use-of-force in any given situation,” Chief Brian Browne told the council. “Our intent is to present the use-of-force scenario — hypothetically a taser deployment, use of our ASP (baton), use of a beanbag — any associated video that we have with it, answer any questions they have and then ask that board to evaluate the department policy training, department procedures and the applicable state and federal law.”
But the city’s long-standing legal opinion is that body camera footage and other materials surrounding a use-of-force incident are de facto personnel files because they could, in theory, be used for discipline or termination.
So it’s not clear how much material the city or the police chief will actually share with board members during an evaluation.
Background checks, criminal histories and transparency
The police chief will also pull up the criminal history of anyone aspiring to board membership. Specifically, the police will advise council about each potential member’s “convictions for violations of any federal, state or local law” or lack thereof.
Originally, the bylaws mandated a full background check — which would pull a wider range of information. But this was ultimately deemed too “burdensome” by the council because any background check compiled by the chief of police would become readily and easily accessed through the Wyoming Public Records Act.
If the goal is to have a wide range of representation on the board, Mayor Brian Harrington said making each member’s entire personal history public could thwart that effort by discouraging participation.
“There is a need for this board to meet and engage with the police department fully,” he said. “This needs to happen at the police department and there are requirements to do that. What we don’t want is for this to be a public record that is so burdensome or potentially damaging to someone’s position in the community that they wouldn’t then want to serve on this board.”
But Councilor Brandon Newman said it’s only fair to ask for background checks when what the people are asking for is transparency in the department.
“Transparency should be on both sides,” he said. “That’s the whole purpose. If we want transparency from the police, it should be like we’re working together, so there should be transparency altogether.”
Vice-Mayor Sharon Cumbie agreed, citing LPD’s policy of checking out everyone who enters the police station, where the board is slated to meet.
“Transparency works both ways,” she said. “We are asking, through this group, to gain more transparency within the police department and in order to do that, the individuals who are on the board need to be able to fully participate.”
But members of the public don’t have the same ethical obligations when it comes to transparency, local defense attorney Linda Devine said during public comment.
“The advisory board is not in a position of authority,” she said. “To say that the board should be transparent because we want law enforcement to be transparent, I think that’s not really justified. I can’t pull somebody over based on the color of their skin, I can’t knock somebody out because they annoy me. Not saying that’s what happens. I’m just saying I’m not the one that needs to be transparent.”
Ultimately, the councilors decided 5-4 to remove the line about background checks (the first sentence of 6.C.3) from the bylaws. The councilors then passed the full bylaws unanimously.
What will the board do?
The chief will also give an annual report to the board detailing statistics for police shootings, use-of-force incidents and complaints filed about the LPD.
The five-member board will meet at least six times a year, though any two members — with the approval of the city manager — may call a special meeting. Meetings will be open to the public and advertised at least one week in advance.
Members will serve staggered three-year terms. A selection committee is currently picking the first slate of members, and the city council plans to officially appointment those members in the near future.
Board members will also be expected to complete a police training course in the first 90 days following their appointment. From the bylaws:
To promote fluency in the Department’s policies and protocols and the ability of board appointees to responsibly perform their duties, all Board members shall complete training consisting of:
1. Scenario-based virtual training;
2. An overview of the Department’s organization, operation, equipment, weapons and Use of Force policies.
3. Participation in an initial 20-40 hour training program provided by the Laramie Police Department regarding police practices, operations and functions. Annually thereafter, participate in thirty (30) or more hours of training, including but not limited to: participation in a minimum of two ride-a-longs every year with a Laramie Police Department officer and training on police practices, operations and functions.
4. An overview of applicable law governing use of force, relevant state Statutes, Laramie Municipal Code and other City policies.
This training might ultimately be open to other members of the public.
“We’re also looking at having a citizen’s academy in coordination with this to invite all of our citizens to attend the same training, even if they’re not selected for the board, starting in October,” Browne said.
Establishing a citizen’s academy was one of the recommendations put forward by the police-community working group last year, alongside recommendations to establish an oversight board and to establish this advisory board.
The council approved the advisory board proposal, but it rejected both the oversight board and the citizen academy recommendation.