Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/112475
Sarasota News Leader March 1, 2013 Do you support the continued operation of the two civilian police review panels? Have you attended any of their meetings? Atwell: I have an issue with the Police Complaint Committee. The IPAP [Independent Police Advisory Panel] I think is run ��� I was one of the ones that wanted it to unite, and they both said no, we���re doing OK. I would like to continue with the IPAP and somehow morph the Complaint Committee. I had trouble with this from the very beginning, especially complaints. So I have real issues with the Complaint [Committee], but I would support the IPAP. There���s some interesting things happening, especially with Eileen Normile and domestic violence and what she���s doing. She���s raising the standards higher. Page 14 Holland: I���ve been pretty vocal on that, pretty passionate about it and the answer is, ���No,��� particularly the police complaints panel. I understand the concept, what they wanted to achieve. I���ve gone to those meetings; you and I have sat through them for hours, and we���re the only people there. If they were designed to help the community that felt disenfranchised or felt the police were doing wrong things and needed to understand the process, then I would support it. But to my knowledge, nobody���s come to find out what���s going on. To me it���s a huge waste of time and staff. I���ve sat on a lot of advisory boards, and it���s a waste of volunteer time, too. I���d like to know what the results are. What has it accomplished? The overall panel [the Independent Police Advisory Board] ��� the couple of meetings I attended, it did not appear to me there was any particular direction. I didn���t see exactly what they were supposed to be doing. There were The Complaints [Committee], by the nature of some domestic violence initiatives that [came] out of that. I think it could have come without the name of it, I don���t like. the expenditure of funds and staff time. ��� ��� ��� ��� ��� ��� Do you support the continued operation Police consume the largest fraction of of the two civilian police review panels? the city���s budget, using more than the sum of all property taxes collected annually. Is there room for improvement in Have you attended any of their meet- how Sarasota polices itself? ings? Atwell: I���m going to start with, a lot is going Chapman: Yes. [Editor���s note: Chapman to change whether people like it or not with chaired the Ad Hoc Police Advisory Panel, Chief [Bernadette] DiPino as far as what she���s which recommended the formation of the two doing with training, domestic violence, sensitivity training. civilian police review panels.] Chapman: Yes. There���s talk of consolidating with the county, and I���m totally, unequivocally opposed to that. Do you support the continued operation Law enforcement is very important to people of the two civilian police review panels? in this community. ��� ��� ���