MORGANTOWN – A circuit judge has put an end to an ordinance that would allow the creation of a civilian police review board for the City of Morgantown.
Monongalia Circuit Judge Susan Tucker issued her ruling December 16 at the end of a hearing. Members of the Monongalia/Preston County Fraternal Order of Police had filed a petition seeking to have the Morgantown Civilian Police Review and Advisory Board abolished after it was created last year by Morgantown City Council.
The intent of the board was to accept complaints, audited policies and procedures and review findings of internal investigations and make recommendations to the city’s police chief. The ordinance also gave the board authority to review evidence and interview witnesses or the complainant.
Toriseva
Attorney Teresa Toriseva represented the officers. She said the board would have interfered with the city’s established Civil Service Commission. She also said it could affect recruiting and retention of officers.
The city still can appeal Tucker’s order.
The FOP filed the petition May 19 on behalf of its members, just hours after Morgantown City Council passed the ordinance that would create the board.
“Civil service laws create policing standards that result in enhanced public safety statewide,” Toriseva told The West Virginia Record when the complaint was filed. “Those civil service laws are not able to be manipulated based on the political whims of changing city governments.
“Among other things, civil service is the exclusive law for hiring, firing, promotion, and discipline of police officers statewide in West Virginia. The new Morgantown ordinance, which is politically motivated, infringes on the exclusive statutory power of the police civil service commission by creating a board with overlapping powers to investigate police officers.”
Morgantown also already has a Human Rights Commission that receives any complaints from citizens against the police department that could be the result of any form of bias.
“Despite the adoption and implementation of these policies and procedures and following several unfortunate national events between law enforcement and the public, the City of Morgantown proposed the creation of a Citizens Police Review Board,” the petition states. “The original intent of this Review Board according to the first draft of the proposed ordinance creating the board was ‘to provide for citizen participation in reviewing police department policies, practices, and procedures; to promote the availability of data relating to police practices and procedures; and to provide a prompt, impartial, and fair investigation of complaints relating to the Morgantown Police Department.”
The petition also said state law mandates that the city’s Civil Service Commission’s rules are the exclusive rules with authority of the members of the police department. The three-member Civil Service Commission has the authority to control the hiring, firing, investigation, and discipline of paid members of the police department.
“The proposed Citizens Police Review Board seeks to infringe on powers statutorily reserved for the Civil Service Commission and is therefore contrary to state law,” the petition states.
Earlier this month, City Council conducted a first reading of the ordinance. The FOP says the ordinance wrongly permits the proposed board to participate in the complaint process and authorizes it to interview witness.
“The Police Civil Service Commission is the exclusive authority to interview witnesses, propound questions to the Chief of Police, or to be involved in the decision regarding officer ‘appointment, promotion, reinstatement, removal, discharge, suspension and reduction,’’ the petition states.
During its May 18 meeting, City Council passed the ordinance by a 7-0 vote.
The FOP says the city is trying to infringe upon the authority of the Civil Service Commission.
“The proposed Citizens Review Board constitutes a substantial and unreasonable interference with the civil service protection guaranteed to Morgantown police officers as provided by law,” the petition states. “The gravity of the harm caused by the City of Morgantown’s proposed creation of a Citizens Review Board outweighs the social value of the activity alleged to cause the harm if the Citizen Review Board is allowed to operate despite its conflict with state civil service law.”
In addition to at least one earlier letter from Toriseva regarding the illegality of the proposed board, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey told Morgantown city officials the same thing at least twice in letters.
The FOP is being represented by Toriseva and Joshua Miller of Toriseva Law in Wheeling.
Monongalia Circuit Court case number 21-C-141