Bob Markovic knows things are about to change at Springfield Police Department. As president of the Policemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association Unit No. 5 — the union that represents patrol officers and sergeants — Markovic is aware that City Council is set to pass an ordinance establishing a civilian panel to review complaints against SPD officers, giving citizens of Springfield their first official mechanism to examine actions of police officers.
But beyond the number of people on the panel — 11, one appointed by each council member and the mayor — Markovic has no clear picture of what the panel will do. Who will be eligible to serve on it? What kind of cases will it hear? What types of discipline can it recommend?
“You could have a convicted felon scrutinizing police officers,” Markovic says, although he quickly admits he can’t name any alderman who would knowingly appoint a felon.
Still, the question of whether panel members should have background checks is just one of many that remain unanswered even as the council seems poised to act on the proposal within a matter of weeks. Several aldermen have said the ordinance instituting a Police Community Review Commission, or PCRC, will come before the full council before the end of the year and that it is expected to pass.
A subcommittee taking public comment on the draft ordinance will hold its final meeting Monday, Nov. 24, at 6 p.m. in City Council chambers.
One reason answers to the big questions are in short supply is that key players have not yet met to discuss how the PCRC will work. Frank McNeil, the alderman who drafted the ordinance, has a meeting with police chief Don Kliment scheduled for next week.
But so far, no one has met with Markovic. In fact, Markovic says he received no notice of the last two subcommittee meetings and learned about them only by reading the State Journal-Register.
The city clerk’s office confirms that neither the police union nor the police chief — who is an official member of the subcommittee — were faxed notice of the meeting. Kliment also says he first learned of the most recent meeting by reading about it in the newspaper.
As president of the PBPA, Markovic holds the key to the fate of the citizen review commission. Across the country, law enforcement unions have shown they can cripple or even halt such panels by refusing to cooperate. Markovic says he and the PBPA have every intention of cooperating. That’s the good news.
The not-so-good news: The union insists that the commission would affect their contract, thereby making it a “mandatory topic of good faith collective bargaining.”
According to the contract, bargaining is required for “matters directly affecting wages, hours and terms and conditions of employment. . . . “
McNeil, who is a law school graduate, says he carefully drafted the ordinance to avoid affecting the police union contract, and points to a ruling by a former city corporation counsel to support his claim. Markovic, likewise, has legal opinions to support the union’s position.
“We have a philosophical disagreement on this,” McNeil says. “I don’t see where this is violative of their contract. And I don’t see where we have affected any working condition other than the perception in their minds.”
Markovic admits that part of his concern arises from the vagueness of the draft ordinance. The phrase “subpoena power,” for example, alarms him.
McNeil, though, says he intends that provision to be used only to obtain information not already contained in the internal affairs file.
“If an officer is part of the IA file, there would be no need to subpoena him,” McNeil says.
Other questions to be clarified:
• Will the PCRC work retroactively? McNeil says the commission will handle new cases only.
•Will PCRC members be required to attend citizen police academy? Markovic is in favor of such a requirement; McNeil says it’s “being discussed.”
• What types of recommendations can the PCRC make? McNeil doesn’t want to limit the board’s voice, but emphasizes the commission’s recommendations will be non-binding.
McNeil and Markovic both recognize they share some common goals, and neither seems willing to let the relatively small matter of how to get there stand in the way.
“We are more than willing to sit down with the City and discuss this. More than willing,” Markovic says.
“If somewhere someone says this is subject to bargaining, that’s something
we’ll have to look at and deal with,” McNeil says. “I’ve been around long enough
to understand how to negotiate this thing.”
This article appears in Nov 20-26, 2003.
