Board reverses police complaint policy on advice of legal council



On the advice of legal counsel, the executive board of the Lincoln County Communication Agency on July 15 reversed, at least temporarily, a policy to log calls reporting police misconduct.

In June, the board directed the 9-1-1 agency to open an event log when a citizen calls to allege misconduct by a law enforcement officer or other emergency responder.

Former LinCom Director Richard Glasgow, who resigned last Thursday before the board met, asked the board to back the policy in June after a dispatcher logged a call about a Lincoln County Sheriff’s Deputy allegedly speeding and driving aggressively near Depoe Bay.

Glasgow said he objected to the sheriff’s office’s request that dispatchers notify a department supervisor by phone and not open an event log when the dispatch center receives a call about officer misconduct because it is a public record. Glasgow said he worried that defense attorneys would question what else his dispatchers were not logging. The board agreed with him.

The sheriff’s office, unaware the incident was going to be discussed, did not have a representative present to explain its argument for not logging the calls.

For the complete article see the 07-21-2010 issue.

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