Updates from the Office of the Independent Monitor and Police Civilian Oversight Board

MADISON, [7/11/2024] — Updates from the Office of the Independent Monitor and Police Civilian Oversight Board.

I. The Police Civilian Oversight Board (PCOB) is currently seeking nominations from the community to fill multiple vacancies on the Board.

The PCOB supervises and works collaboratively with the City of Madison’s Office of the Independent Police Monitor (OIM) to review and make recommendations regarding police discipline, use of force, and other policies and activities. Further the PCOB will play an active role in community engagement, supervision of the OIM’s coming rollout of the complaint process this summer, and the discussion and drafting of policy recommendations. If you are interested or know someone who would be, please do not delay in submitting an application/nomination (linked below) BEFORE AUGUST.

In considering potential nominations to serve as a member of the PCOB, the OIM and PCOB would like to highlight the following:

•    Residency Requirement: The nominees must reside within the city limits at the time of appointment. MGO 5.20(3)(b)2.

•    Limited law enforcement experience: No PCOB member shall have ever been employed by the Madison Police Department (MPD) or be an immediate family member of current or former MPD employees, or worked as a law enforcement officer within the State of Wisconsin in the ten (10) years prior to being nominated. MGO 5.20(3)(a)4.

•    Time Commitment: Board members are expected to attend two meetings (often virtual) each month while serving on the PCOB. Please also know that a term on the PCOB is 4 years. MGO 5.20(3)(c)1.

•    Expected Attendance: The full PCOB meets monthly in the evenings at 6pm. Regular attendance is expected at these full board meetings. Further, the PCOB has multiple subcommittees serving as workgroups. If a member volunteers to be part of one of these subcommittees, regular attendance is expected at all subcommittee meetings they have volunteered for.

•    Childcare Reimbursement: There is a budget for reimbursing costs of childcare to maintain the expected attendance.

•    Diverse composition of the PCOB: The Civilian Oversight Board shall strive to have a diverse composition in the following intersectional areas of lived experience and identities: homelessness, mental health, substance abuse and/or arrest or conviction records, racial and ethnic diversity, members of the LGBTQ+ community, affiliation with an organization in the fields of mental health, youth advocacy, and Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse (AODA) treatment. In addition, the Council and Mayor will consider the following additional lived experiences and identities when making appointments: age, socioeconomic status, gender, geographic residence, and work experience. Individual members may represent more than one of the categories listed above. MGO 5.20(3)(a)2.

Here is a link to the application

Here is a link to the Statement of Interests

Please submit applications by email to pcob@cityofmadison.com.

II.  Call for Attorney Applications

The Police Citizen Oversight Board (“PCOB”), in conjunction with the Office of Independent Monitor (“OIM”), is now accepting applications for attorneys in the Madison area who will be available to represent aggrieved individuals in matters against City of Madison Police Officers in front of the City of Madison Police and Fire Commission (“PFC”). These attorneys will populate the PCOB’s Complaint Representation Attorneys List (the “List”). In accordance with M.G.O. 5.19(7)(b), the List shall include attorneys that (1) have the experience required to handle cases in front of the PFC, and (2) charge a reasonable hourly rate. The PCOB has determined, after 
a review of attorney hourly rates in the area, that such rate shall not exceed $200 per hour.

To be clear, any complainant in an action in front of the PFC may retain the legal counsel of their choice for such representation, and at their own cost. However, once an attorney is added to the List by the PCOB, they will qualify for appointment by the OIM to represent aggrieved individuals in presenting and litigating complaints that have first been vetted by the OIM’s complaint process. After the OIM’s investigation, the Independent Monitor will determine if the complaint has “arguable merit.” M.G.O. 5.19(7)(b)4. If the IM so concludes, the complainant is eligible to select an attorney from the List, and the OIM will appoint such attorney to the complainant. Upon such appointment, the City of Madison will pay up to $15,000 of the attorney’s fees per complaint. All additional fees or other costs associated with such representation will remain the responsibility of the complainant.

In order to qualify for inclusion onto the List, the PCOB asks attorneys to fill out this application, and accompany this application with a resume or C.V. providing the attorney’s relevant work experience, a cover letter detailing the attorney’s skills and expertise in the areas of civil rights, administrative law, and/or hearings in front of boards, commissions and arbitrators, along with three references from the legal community and/or community organizations who support their application. During their review of applications, members of the PCOB may contact the applicant attorney to ask questions about the materials provided.

If you are interested, please complete the below application, and staff of the OIM and PCOB will contact you in due course regarding the status of your appointment to the PCOB’s Attorney List. Thank you for your service to our community in this capacity.

III. OIM Staff and Continuation of Operations Planning

Finally, the Independent Police Monitor has recently returned from a medical leave of absence which has interrupted some of the work of the Board and the Office of the Independent Monitor.  The Independent Monitor has changed their name to Robin Copley and uses they/them or she/her pronouns.  The OIM is happy to announce it has hired an Office Manager, starting on July 22nd. Further, the hiring process for the Data Analyst 2 position has resumed as well. To ensure that an unexpected absence of the Independent Monitor does not halt the OIM in the future, a Continuation of Operations Plan will be the topic of discussion at this week’s virtual meeting of the PCOB Policy and Procedure Subcommittee tonight, July 11th, at 6:00 pm.