September 16, 2011

The Citizens Police Review Board sat before a sparse crowd Wednesday night to discuss how to maintain a respectful atmosphere at its future meetings.

Following the emphatic 90-minute public comment section of the Aug. 24 board meeting, board member Roger Dowis said he was worried about preserving the respectful atmosphere of the board. Dowis specifically mentioned one attendee at the meeting who wore a KKK-like outfit and held up several signs, one reading “Jail to the Chief.”

”I was caught off-guard by some of the free-wheeling actions of the audience,” Dowis said. “The City Council would not put up with something like that. They even have police on hand to deal with people who refuse to come to order.”

Board member Steve Sheltmire said he suggested the board follow Robert’s Rules of Order, the common format for running public meetings, more closely in the future.

Dowis said he thought following City Council’s example of having police present would be effective for review board meetings.

“I don’t think we need police here every time, but we could arrange to have one present when we know passions will be running high,” he said. “Having an officer here once or twice will go a long way and things might proceed more respectfully.”

Board member Betty Wilson said she thought this was an issue the board could handle without police involvement.

“I think the last thing a police review board wants to do is call in a police officer to enforce order,” Wilson said.

Dowis said he also thought Columbia residents should focus on more local issues during public comment.

“People are migrating from Columbia issues to national issues, and we have no authority to do anything about that,” Dowis said. “I don’t like people using this board as a forum to promote national issues.”

Wilson said she was hesitant to put any limits on what citizens are allowed and not allowed to say during review board meetings.

“I don’t want to put anything chilling out there to make people think they’re walking on thin ice when they come in here,” Wilson said. “I don’t think we can dictate what people talk about in their three minutes. I’d be disappointed if the public wasn’t interested enough to come speak to us.”

Board member Steve Alexander said he agreed the public should be permitted leeway to a certain extent in public comment sessions.

“I don’t have a problem if someone speaks for three and a half minutes instead of three, but I do have a problem if it’s getting to seven,” Alexander said. “Things will be fine if we just be more up-front and more forceful when we tell people to behave.”

Other business the board discussed included a new mediation program and the replacement of former board member John McClure, who departed in August for a new job in Chicago.

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