KXAN - News 36 Austin, Tex.
Austin’s Police Union plans to pull the plug on the city’s Office of Police Monitor effectively ending an agreement for citizens to review internal police files.
He was cleared in court of any criminal wrongdoing, but Monday, Officer Scott Glasgow received a 90-day suspension for his actions leading up to the shooting death of Jessie Lee Owens a year ago.
In a statement from the Office of Police Monitor, the Citizen Review Panel publicly recommended that Office Scott Glasgow should have been terminated rather than suspended.
“It seems to me that it’s totally consistent with the function of this office that these citizens were able to look at the Internal Affairs files and make recommendations to the Chief of Police, the City Council regarding various issues,” Austin Police Monitor Ashton Cumberbatch said.
The concept of citizen review was created by the Austin’s Police Association through its three year contract with the city of Austin.
Union members say in the case of Scott Glasgow, police oversight went beyond its legal boundaries to either ask for a new investigation or recommend training improvements.
“If you’re going to scrutinize us, don’t crucify us. We only ask that you respect the processes that we have already in place to sit and watch what we do and the performance of our duties,” Kim Nobles with the Austin Police Association said.
The Police Union’s contract with the city of Austin expires February 23, and board members say they will not renegotiate with the city which will effectively end civilian review.
“Our issue us is for officers not to be involved in that political process where it’s beyond the scope of the intent of the content. To protect our officers, that is our primary concern at this point,” Noble said.
The Police Union elected a new spokesperson Tuesday other than President Mike Sheffield, and she says the union will not negotiate with the city until the political atmosphere changes.