- CITIZEN REVIEW BOARD SHOWS ITS TEETH! - December 19, 2014 UNANIMOUS! REQUEST FOR DOJ TO STEP IN ON EIMERS CASE / BOARD WILL PROBE DEEPER INTO TASING OF MATTHEW SHAUN MURPHY “Garbage in. Garbage out.” That’s how Tom Milone, Vice-Chairman of the Citizen Review Board [CRB], described the concept of the Board relying on investigative reports furnished by KWPD, FDLE, and SAO [State Attorney’s Office] when it comes to local police brutality cases. The CRB voted unanimously on Wednesday night to make a formal request to the US Department of Justice to investigate not only the in-custody-death of Charles Eimers, but also the agencies that produced what he called, “tainted, compromised, and unreliable” investigations. Board member Joe Pais, who along with Milone had asked for the Eimers case to be put on the Board’s action agenda, didn’t mince words either: “It’s out of control here. You type in Key West Police Department [on the internet] and all you see is this case. There are so many videos out there. It’s pretty clear what happened to this guy… Who can Mr. Eimers call? FDLE, SAO? It was a complete whitewash. We need to pass this on – get some real law enforcement help in this community.” Milone cited the Board’s limited budget, which would make it impossible for them to conduct an investigation of Eimers’ death from scratch, as one of the reasons for calling in the DOJ. CRB Executive Director Larry Beaver explained that the Board’s initial annual budget of $200,000 in 2003 has since dwindled down to just $77,000 [which includes Beaver’s salary and associated expenses totaling just under $50,000]. Milone referred to the Board’s “duty to conduct an independent analysis” when officers’ use of force and the department’s subsequent actions come into question. “We are not here to parrot the reports of other agencies. We are provided investigative summaries, but I want to see the video interviews myself. I want to study the raw evidence. I don’t want to simply accept someone else’s interpretation.” In the Eimers case Milone refers to very specific reasons for having little confidence in the investigative reviews produced by local law enforcement agencies. “For a variety of reasons I am very concerned about those investigations. For one thing there is the second video. It is my understanding that the contact information was known by KWPD from day one and passed on to FDLE and the SAO. None of the agencies took any action. It was the Plaintiff’s attorney who obtained the video.” One newly appointed board member, Arthur Dennisson, showed some reticence to the concept of bringing in the DOJ. “Are we inviting them in to oversee the entire police force? If we invite them in – how do we get them out?” Milone responded, “It could lead to federal charges, an action in federal court, a consent decree… We could have federal monitoring of some kind. It they find enough – then so be it. In any event, a man died here… and the contradictions go on and on. I think we need to go ask DOJ and whatever happens, happens.” thebluepaper/citizen-review-board-shows-its-teeth/
Posted on: Tue, 27 Jan 2015 04:30:02 +0000
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