The open release of datasets like CAD/RMS, use of force, arrests, officer involved shootings, and complaints give the community an ‘inside’ look of day-to-day events within an agency.
This type of transparency introduces a constructive line of communication between the community and police agencies. Problems and red flags can be identified quickly and collaboratively.
- Cities like Seattle, DC, LA, and Portland have been releasing these kinds of datasets for years.
- Albuquerque, Detroit, and New Orleans recently began releasing this data.
- Baltimore added arrest and calls for service datasets to their open data portal around the time of the Freddie Gray protests.
- NYPD recently announced the new public version of CompStat (they’re calling it CompStat 2).
Two recent incidents, one involving a pellet gun has been the subject of 91 articles, and another one about a notice of claim filed against the Mesa Policepartment two days ago has been the subject of at least 14 articles.
We all know that that there have been repercussions from mostly racial-based episodes in Missouri, South Carolina and Chicago based on how police departments and cities have tried to handle the news - not releasing real-time videos, conflicting witness and officer reports, and withholding the names of police officers involved. In one more shocking incident here last week of child abuse and sex trafficking [that's b een the focus of 194 articles] the Mesa Police Department took to the airwaves right away with full disclosure of the crime and their fast actions and response.
One of the officer-involved shootings that's resulted in a noticed of claim for a possible lawsuit was reported yesterday in the East Valley Tribune by Shelley Ridenour. The family of man shot and killed by Mesa police last month has filed a claim against the city, the police department, the police chief and the two involved officers.Chandler attorney Troy Hendrickson filed the notice of claim on Monday, for the “wrongful death” of Ivan Krstic.
The report goes on to state:
- Three phone calls and two emails to the city of Mesa seeking comment for this story were not returned to the East Valley Tribune.
- No information about the incident is on the police department’s crime log.
The city has 60 days from the day the notice was served to respond to the claim. If it doesn’t respond in that time, a civil lawsuit may be filed against the city, Hendrickson said.
Hendrickson said the claim identifies Police Chief John Meza, but the two involved officers are referred to as unnamed officers . . .
He said the city has refused to release the names of the officers who were involved in Krstic’s death, despite repeated requests for that information.
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