Documents and audio related to Durham’s Civilian Police Review Board

Durham Civilian Police Review Board Manual (pdf)
The rules of the board were last updated in 2006. Regulations on page 11 say the board’s secretary or clerk is supposed to keep records of all recommendations the board makes, but they were not available from the clerk when requested by the Indy.

Durham Civilian Police Review Board appeal form (pdf)
Citizens who complain to the police department receive these forms after the police department investigates their claims.

Complaint statistics from 2004 to 2009 with dispositions (pdf)
Complaints against officers investigated by the Durham Police Department. Some complaints contain more than one allegation. Review board records show that in the past five years, about one in 50 complaints was appealed.

Kimberly Turman’s complaint (pdf)
Kimberly “Renee” Turman filed this complaint Feb. 19, 2008, the same day two officers pulled her over on Interstate 85 and charged her with changing lanes unsafely and failing to produce her driver’s license. The Durham police found insufficient evidence that the primary officer Turman complained against did anything wrong. It took investigators six months to get back to Turman, which was unreasonable, the review board found.

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Letters to complainants and recommendations to city (pdf)
Although these letters and recommendations were not available from the city clerk tasked with keeping them, board member Ethan Hertz recovered several from his personal files. The board has repeatedly found that investigations have been delayed or partially investigated.

Merle Carr case (pdf)
Merle Carr filed an 18-page complaint with the Durham Police in 2005. Fifteen months later, she still had not heard a response and learned the complaint had been misplaced. A 2006 newspaper article prompted the police department to locate the complaint and resolve it. But the review board did not take the opportunity to file any recommendations with police regarding the incident. According to minutes, one board member stated she had seen an improvement in the police department.

Durham Civilian Review Board record, 1999-2009 (pdf)
The clerk to the board kept these notes on the board’s appeals and findings. But there are some discrepancies:

• Amanda AllgoodAn abuse of discretion may have been found, but the findings are not listed in a clerk’s minutes.
• Betty JohnsonThese notes and a clerk’s minutes say that no abuse of discretion was found in Johnson’s case. But the board did find that police didn’t contact Johnson or her witnesses in the investigation.
• Kimberly “Renee” TurmanThe board did find an abuse of discretion in Turman’s case, saying police didn’t interview all of the witnesses and took far too long to investigate the complaint.