By Marissa Payne, Des Moines Register
AI-assisted summary
- Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a law eliminating citizen police review boards in cities with civil service commissions, which control law enforcement officer hiring and firing.
- The law, effective Aug. 16, impacts at least five cities and aims to support law enforcement by ending boards Republicans say violate due process.
- While the law provides additional due-process rights for municipal civil service employees, some Democrats opposed it for blocking the boards that provide community oversight of police.
Several Iowa communities will soon have to dismantle their citizen police review boards that provide oversight of local law enforcement under a bill Gov. Kim Reynolds has signed into law.
With Reynolds’ signature May 19, at least five cities — Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, Ames, Coralville and Dubuque — no longer can operate their citizen police review boards when the new law, Senate File 311, takes effect Aug. 16.
The review boards in Iowa are a mix of decades-old panels and new ones that were created amid nationwide calls for police reform in 2020 after George Floyd’s murder by a Minneapolis police officer.
Republican lawmakers have cast the citizen review boards as fueling “unwarranted prosecutions” of law enforcement, though cities say their boards don’t have the power to unilaterally discipline police officers.
Sen. Scott Webster, R-Bettendorf, said during floor debate that the bill would show support for law enforcement and end the boards that he said violate officers’ due-process rights.
“We stand with them, we respect them and we are grateful for their willingness to put their lives on the line and protect our communities, our schools and our families,” Webster said.
The structure of the boards varies in each community, but they generally review local law enforcement data and complaints and primarily work to improve community-police relations.
The House in April voted 81-12 to send the bill to Reynolds, with 16 Democrats joining all Republicans for the measure. The Senate in March passed it in a 37-9 vote, with three Democrats joining Republicans to support it.
What does Senate File 311 do?
The bill gained bipartisan support over its provisions giving municipal civil service employees additional due-process rights, restricting their removal or suspension to violations of the law or city policies.
Cities with more than 50,000 residents will be required to have five to seven members on their civil service commissions, which control hiring, promoting, firing and disciplining of law enforcement officers and other city employees.
Only cities large enough to have civil service commissions will be barred from operating a citizen review board under the new law, which University Heights officials believe allows them to keep their community’s board intact. University Heights has a population of about 1,200.
Oleta Davis, president of the Iowa Fraternal Order of Police, which represents active and retired police officers, said in an April 18 statement to the Des Moines Register that the organization identified “systemic flaws in the civil service appeal process that did not afford police officers and firefighters’ due process.”
“Our bill fixed this by providing objective standards, fair procedures and impartiality in city civil service appeals,” Davis said.
But not all law enforcement organizations supported the provision banning citizen review boards.
Kellie Paschke, representing the Iowa Peace Officers Association, previously said in a statement that the group “supports changes to Iowa’s civil service laws that ensure due process for law enforcement officers.” It was registered as undecided on the bill, though, because of the citizen review board restrictions.
Democratic lawmakers’ support faltered over citizen review board restrictions
Several Democratic lawmakers said they backed the new protections for civil service employees, but shared heartburn over the effort to block citizen review boards that were formed with local support.
Rep. Mary Madison, D-West Des Moines, who voted against the bill, said during House debate that the citizen review board restrictions tainted an overall decent bill.
“You can’t just snuff out the voice of people living in the community to ask questions, to know how a situation developed and how the outcome affects them,” Madison said.
Stay in the know with stories that matter — visit HolaAmericaNews.com for the latest news, culture, and community updates!
Facebook Comments
