Police chief announces plans to establish review board, pursue legislation

A leader of the Black Lives Matter movement says important progress is being made in improving relationships with the Wichita Police Department in the community.

Wichita Police Chief Gordon Ramsay announced on Facebook this week he would take three steps to better police relations in the community. The announcement came following a meeting with the Wichita Urban Professionals.

The first: He will advocate for new legislation requiring the use of independent prosecutors in cases of shootings by police.

The second: All officers must undergo “cultural competency and diversity training.”

The third: An independent civilian “police review board” will be established to review police policies and look at complaints.

Djuan Wash, a community organizer with Kansas Appleseed, said Black Lives Matter leaders did not get everything they wanted out of the meeting with Ramsay, but that “it’s important that we celebrate the small victories when we get them.”

“What an ideal review board would look like is one that would include subpoena power so that there’s some form of citizen oversight; however, here in Kansas, there are laws that prevent that,” Wash said. “ … but this is certainly a step in the right direction in terms of beginning to have some community input.”

Ramsay did not respond to a request for comment.

Some details of the proposed review board, which has not been finalized yet, include:

▪ Its purpose is to review police policy, make policy recommendations, review and recommend police training, review complaints and make recommendations for improvement with the Wichita Police Department.

▪ It would be composed of seven members, who would be appointed by the City Manager.

▪ Its members cannot be current or former members of the Wichita Police Department.

▪ It would have no authority to investigate complaints, or recommend or impose discipline.

▪ The board, though, would have access to complaint data, which is confidential data under Kansas Open Records Act. The data must remain confidential.

Without the power to impose discipline, the board has no direct authority with the Wichita police, Wash said. But he is confident Ramsay will listen to their concerns and, hopefully, act on them.

“I have confidence in this, that this is something that will be good for the city,” Wash said. “If it turns out to be ineffective, it’s always something we can revisit in the future.”

Ramsay met with leaders of the movement on Tuesday and again Wednesday, according to social media posts.

Wash said he has heard positive feedback from Duluth, Minn., residents who served on a similar board with Ramsay there.

Ramsay’s decision to pursue legislation requiring independent prosecutors in police shootings is an important one, Wash said.

“It gives the impression of a conflict of interest to have a sitting DA who is actively working with the police department be the person who is responsible for (charging) of officer-involved shootings,” he said.

This story was originally published July 13, 2016 at 6:58 PM with the headline "Police chief announces plans to establish review board, pursue legislation."