Citizens’ Advisory Board: No new racial profiling complaints, use of force reports for police department

Lawrence City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St., is pictured on May 3, 2016.

In the past two months, Lawrence police officers have not used their Tasers, nor have citizens submitted a racial profiling complaint against the department, police say.

Every two months, the Citizens’ Advisory Board for Fair and Impartial Policing meets to review such instances. Monday night, four of the board’s members gathered at Lawrence City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St., for their shortest meeting in months.

The board is responsible for examining use of force reports filed when officers deploy their Tasers. They also review any new racial profiling complaints which have already been investigated by the department’s Office of Professional Accountability.

A representative of the Lawrence Police Department is always on hand during the meetings to explain the use of force reports or racial profiling complaints and to answer any questions board members might have.

Monday night, Lawrence Police Sgt. Amy Rhoads told the board there have been no new reports in either category since their February meeting.

“That’s good,” Board Chair Baha Safadi said.

“Let’s go home then,” he later added with a laugh.

Safadi then asked Rhoads about the board’s previous request for more responsibility.

In past meetings, the board has briefly discussed whether or not it should be able to accept racial profiling complaints directly, which it doesn’t currently do.

Rhoads told the board the city’s legal department was still in the process of drafting a new ordinance that would expand the board’s role. That work is not yet ready, however, she said, and will take several more weeks.

Once the legal department is finished with the draft, the work will be presented first to the board chair and vice chair for review, Rhoads said. Then it will be presented to the entire board during one of their regularly scheduled meetings.

After the board has had a chance to review any new responsibilities that might be bestowed upon them, the new ordinance will go before the city commission for review, Rhoads said.

Four members of the public attended the meeting, none of whom spoke during the board’s public comment section.