Bradenton protesters want police oversight. Could it come from amended city charter?
As they marched through the streets of Bradenton Sunday afternoon, protesters demanded police reform. If voters approve a charter amendment in November, they might get it.
Sunday’s demonstration came as part of a nationwide response to the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died after a police officer, Derek Chauvin, knelt on his neck in an unauthorized use of force. Authorities arrested Chauvin, but protests continued throughout the weekend.
The Bradenton City Council voted last week to send several referendum questions to the General Election ballot in November. Among them, is a charter amendment that would strip the mayor’s office of its role as commissioner of police, giving the entire council the shared duty of overseeing the Bradenton Police Department.
“(Police Chief Melanie Bevan) doesn’t want to be under us for some reason. I pointed out to her in a public meeting that every other department head operates that way without an issue,” said Councilman Patrick Roff, who has advocated for a charter amendment for years. “We expect them to do a good job. They know we’re watching. There’s no micromanaging — it’s just this is the way it is and it works well.”
Discussions to consider updating the 1903 city charter began last June when Manatee’s local NAACP urged Bradenton officials to implement an oversight committee for the police department. In an interview with the Bradenton Herald Monday morning, Mayor Wayne Poston said Bradenton already has policies meant to prevent police misconduct.
“We do lots of things. We have dash cams on the cars. Officers wear microphones. We know where the cars are all the time and can even tell you how fast they’re going down the street,” Poston said. “We’ve also got a very diverse department — about as diverse as you can be.”
The mayor referred to the department as a “paramilitary organization” as he addressed the City Council’s efforts to remove his duty as police commissioner.
“The Bradenton Police Department is, like all police departments, a paramilitary organization,” Poston told councilmen. “It operates most efficiently like the military, with clear and singular leadership at the top. You cannot run a military or paramilitary organization with a group of people leading the organization. There are simply too many decisions that have to be made quickly.”
That comment alarmed Roff, he said, noting that fear of the police is what prompted the push for oversight in the first place.
“That mentality, I believe, is why we’re in the situation we’re in,” said Roff. “There needs to be a movement away from paramilitary thinking to community policing. It’s a community police force and we need residents to feel safe to call them.”
The local NAACP urged local law enforcement to take it a step further and revisit several policies that they believe adversely affect people of color.
“Locally, the Manatee and Sarasota County NAACP calls upon local law enforcement agencies in our community to engage with our offices to review policies pertaining to use of force, issuance of no-knock warrants, and penalties for failure to intervene when a witness to a crime in progress, including crimes against citizens perpetrated by fellow police officers,” the groups said in a joint statement. “We also call upon local law enforcement agencies to immediately institute Citizens Review Boards with subpoena power.”
Poston noted that the police department is already community policing, placing a familiar face in neighborhoods to help residents feel safe and get to know their local law enforcement officers.
In a statement released Monday morning, the Bradenton Police Department said it supports vocal efforts to enact change.
“The Bradenton Police Department remains committed to serving, safeguarding and protecting every life in our city,” the department said. “Peaceful protest for a noble cause is at the heart of democratic citizenship, so we encourage those protesting in a peaceful manner to continue this act of faith, with hope that things can and will get better.”
In the event of a death that results from police misconduct, Poston said he would consult with Bevan, ultimately firing the employee as quickly as possible.
“The chief and I would talk about that very quickly and be of the same mind. That’s unacceptable behavior,” he said referring to Floyd’s death. “The poor guy could’ve been in handcuffs. You could have put him in the back of the car. What we saw in that video was unnecessary violence.”
That ability to resolve situations quickly is the main reason Poston believes the city doesn’t need an oversight committee for police. In a previous interview, he accused Roff and other council members of a power grab.
“The fact remains there is no police commissioner in the city charter,” Roff said. “I’m being accused of a power grab. The power has been going on for 40 years with two mayors calling themselves the police commissioner when there is no such title in the charter.”
Bradenton voters will decide whether to remove the mayor’s power to supervise the police department on Nov. 3.
This story was originally published June 1, 2020 at 4:32 PM.
