New Civilian Panel to Review Police in Fairfax County

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA -- The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted 9 to 1 Tuesday to establish a Police Civilian Review Panel in Fairfax County to review allegations of police abuse.

“Establishing a Police Civilian Review Panel is a historic step in the right direction toward increasing trust and transparency between police and residents,” Chairman Sharon Bulova said. “I am proud of how far we’ve come in implementing recommendations made by the Ad Hoc Commission, and establishing this Panel represents a significant milestone.”

Supervisor Pat Herrity was the lone vote against the measure.

"Perhaps, the biggest reason I oppose the creation of the Citizen's Review Panel is that it is being done for political correctness in response to a mistake made by this Board and the Police Chief and it has an uncertain fiscal impact," he said. "The creation of this panel will take our police off the streets at a time when they are in high demand already."

"I have a lot of serious problems with this proposal: the unknown fiscal impact, that it adds to multiple lines of review, it makes us the only jurisdiction in Virginia with two review boards, a number of issues with the implementation, and the terrible impact on the morale of our great police department which keeps us the safest jurisdiction of our size in the country," Herrity said.

John Cook, Braddock District Supervisor and chairman of the Public Safety Committee, disagreed, stating: "The Civilian Review Panel will enhance community confidence in the police by ensuring that investigations of allegations of police misconduct are reviewed by independent, qualified citizens."

The Civilian Review Panel will act as another avenue or “portal” for residents to submit complaints concerning allegations of abuse of authority or misconduct by a Fairfax County Police (FCPD) Officer, according to a news release from Chairman Bulova's office. Here's more about the new review panel, from the news release:

The Panel will also have the authority to request and review completed Police Department internal administrative investigations regarding a civilian complaint against an officer. The Panel may hold public meetings to review police administrative investigations and walk through with members of the community how the investigation was conducted, including findings of fact, evidence collected and witness statements. Examples of complaints and cases for the Civilian Review Panel to receive and review may include:

• The use of abusive, racial, ethnic or sexual language;
• Harassment or discrimination based on race, color, sex, religion, national origin, marital status, age, familial status, or disability;
• The reckless endangerment of a detainee or person in custody;
• Serious violations of Fairfax County or FCPD procedures.

The Civilian Review Panel will not address potentially criminal use of force or police-involved shootings. Cases of that magnitude would likely involve an investigation by the Commonwealth’s Attorney and would be monitored by the Police Auditor. The creation of a Police Auditor was also recommended by the Ad Hoc Police Practices Review Commission and established by the Board of Supervisors in September 2016. The position of Police Auditor has since been advertised, and the County will fill the position in the near future.

Nine members to be appointed by Supervisors

The Civilian Review Panel will consist of nine members appointed by the Board of Supervisors. Panel members will serve three year terms with a two term limit. All Panel members will be Fairfax County residents and will have some expertise and/or experience relevant to the Panel’s responsibilities. The Board of Supervisors will reach out to businesses, nonprofit groups and other local organizations to nominate potential candidates to serve on the Panel. The Board seeks to create an independent, balanced and fair body to serve as Panel members.

“Fairfax County continues to be the safest jurisdiction of our size in the nation, which is due in no small part to our exemplary law enforcement and public safety officers,” Chairman Bulova said.

In addition to establishing the Civilian Review Panel and Office of Police Auditor, other recommendations from the Ad Hoc Police Commission have been implemented by FCPD and the Board of Supervisors so far, Bulova and Cook said in their joint statement Tuesday, including:

· Establishing Diversion First, which has resulted in over 300 diversions from potential criminal arrest to treatment since January 1, 2016.

· Re-engineering how our police are trained with a focus on de-escalation and the sanctity of life.

· Reorganizing the public affairs team and hiring a full-time civilian director, Julie Parker.

· Establishing a policy to release the names of officers involved in critical incidents within 10 days and providing updates on these incidents at least every 30 days.

· Collecting and publishing key data on police interactions including uses of force and officer-involved shootings.

The draft Civilian Review Panel Action Item discussed at today’s Board Meeting can be found here. The final version of the Action Item will be posted here in the final Board Package this Wednesday or Thursday.

PHOTO of FCPD police car/Patch archive