SUMMARY MINUTES OF A CLOSED SESSION
OF THE CHAPEL HILL TOWN COUNCIL
MONDAY, JUNE 9, 2003 AT 10:47 P.M.
Mayor Kevin Foy called the meeting to order at 10:47 p.m.
Council members present were Flicka Bateman, Pat Evans, Ed Harrison, Mark Kleinschmidt, Bill Strom, Jim Ward, and Edith Wiggins.
Council Member Dorothy Verkerk was absent, excused.
Staff members present were Town Manager Cal Horton, Assistant Town Managers Sonna Loewenthal and Florentine Miller, Town Attorney Ralph Karpinos, Police Chief Gregg Jarvies, and Town Clerk Joyce Smith.
Mr. Horton called the Council’s attention to the report previously distributed to the Council.
Mayor Foy noted that the Council needed to ask as many questions as necessary, then to consider adopting the proposed resolution that would release the report.
Council Member Bateman thanked Chief Jarvies for his thorough report, and asked why Officer Walker received such a small penalty when Officer Moore lost his job. Chief Jarvies said Officer Moore was the lead in the investigation, and Officer Walker deferred to his senior officer. Officer Walker’s silence was an error in judgment, but Officer Moore perpetrated the act. Mr. Horton said that Officer Walker is a patrol officer with heavy computer knowledge. Officer Moore is an investigator, and because of hi computer skills Officer Walker was asked to accompany Officer Moore.
Council Member Kleinschmidt asked what else might happen to Officer Walker. Chief Jarvies said the disciplinary action against Officer Walker affects his opportunities for promotion for 24 months, will affect his performance evaluations, and other opportunities within the Department. Chief Jarvies said any disciplinary action of two weeks or more is considered to be a serious matter. He commented that Officer Walker had also received a severe disciplinary action in his personnel file.
Council Member Kleinschmidt asked what “severe” meant. Chief Jarvies said “severe” is used to describe actions such as fraud, misuse of funds, and the like. The other type is more general in nature, he said. Council Member Kleinschmidt noted that if the report is released, the public should know that this was a serious, serious event.
Council Member Ward asked if the Police Department has implemented any processes to prevent this from happening again. Chief Jarvies said they are looking at more cross-training so officers will understand what officers in other divisions do, such as how to conduct a criminal investigation.
Council Member Harrison noted he was struck by how disturbing it is when “written warnings” are noted in an employee’s personnel file. He asked if it was reasonable to have expected Officer Walker to report the incident. Chief Jarvies said yes, they both should have notified their superiors that others assumed they were other than Chapel Hill Police Officers.
Mayor Foy asked why Officer Steve Anson did not report it when he became aware of it. Chief Jarvies said he did report it, to Jane Cousins who is his immediate supervisor, when he was questioned by a reporter about the shirts Officers Walker and Moore were wearing during the high school interview.
Council Member Ward asked when did Chief Jarvies learn about that. Chief Jarvies said he knew about that on the Friday after the interview, when Ms. Cousins discussed the issue about the shirts. He said the combination of the shirts and Officer Moore’s comments alluding to his association with the FBI lead Ms. Erin Carter and Chapel Hill High School Principal Mary Ann Hardebeck to assume they were FBI agents. Chief Jarvies said he knew about the shirts on the 19th, but did not know about Officer Moore’s use of the business card prominently displaying the letters “FBI” until the after the Independent news article appeared.
Council Member Ward asked about the shirts bearing the FBI insignia. Chief Jarvies said it had been determined a coincidence that both officers were wearing FBI shirts. Both officers had purchased the shirts at previous training sessions. He noted that on Fridays, investigative officers are allowed to wear more casual “street clothes” while on duty.
Council Member Strom noted that we now have on the force someone (Officer Anson) who had information about this. He asked when did Officer Anson know about the business card. Chief Jarvies answered about 2 weeks prior to the incident, when Officer Moore showed Officer Anson a prototype of a card he had developed. Officer Anson instructed Officer Moore to discard the card, telling him that he would be issued standard cards when accepted in the FBI task force program. Chief Jarvies noted that Officer Moore had the prototype card in his notepad, and when he opened it in the interview with Ms. Carter, it was the only card in view and he handed it to Ms. Carter.
Council Member Ward asked Chief Jarvies to explain exactly what happened at the High School. Chief Jarvies described the incident as follows:
· When the interview began, Officer Moore immediately handed Ms. Carter the prototype card. Chief Jarvies said it was his opinion that this negated what Officer Moore said when he introduced himself.
· Officer Anson was out of town at this time, and did not know about the interview until two days after the interview took place. Anson was aware that Officers Moore and Walker had gone out to the high school to conduct an interview, but had no contact with the incident until he was called by a reporter from the Independent.
· The call from the Independent report came to Ms. Cousins, who referred it to Officer Anson as he is the Police Department’s only member of the FBI’s Cyber Crime Task Force. Officer Anson told the reporter, when asked, that Officers Moore and Walker were in the process of becoming Task Force members. Officer Anson also said that this was a Chapel Hill Police Department case and did not involve any other agency.
· Officer Anson then called Ms. Cousins to alert her that some students believed the officers who had conducted the interview at the High School were FBI agents. Ms. Cousins then alerted me.
Chief Jarvies said this happened the week of May 19, but did not know the exact date.
Council Member Strom ask if Chief Jarvies was aware of any other incidents when the FBI card was used. Chief Jarvies said no, adding that Officer Moore indicated he only had the one card, and gave it to Ms. Carter because it was the only card he had at the time with his contact information on it. Chief Jarvies said it was his belief that Officer Moore was attempting to intimidate Ms. Carter. He said the card was given to her at the beginning of the interview, and he mentioned the FBI several times during the interview. Chief Jarvies said it appeared to him to be an intentional act.
Council Member Ward ask who of those three officers attend the Chief’s daily or weekly briefings. Chief Jarvies said none. He noted that Police Captains have daily meetings to review cases from the night before and make assignments, and Officer Moore was in those daily meetings with his Captain. Officer Moore did report in one of those meetings that he was investigating a suspected hacking at the high school, Chief Jarvies said.
Council Member Harrison asked if the computer technical staff at the high school had already determined that there was no problem. Chief Jarvies said no, that the computer technical staff had reported the possibility and Dr. Hardebeck requested an investigation. He said that it was a week later that the computer technical staff determined that there was a glitch in the computer system.
Council Member Strom asked who would a county school normally contact if a computer hacking was suspected. Chief Jarvies said they would contact the Sheriff’s Department, who would investigate using whatever resources were available to him. If we did not have an in-house resource, we would call the SBI, or the FBI if the SBI had no one with the expertise available.
Council Member Strom asked then, in general, what resources do we have in the Department now. Chief Jarvies said Mary Powell, a records clerk, and Officer Anson. He stated that Ms. Powell has provided training to employees on the new records system, and helped to develop the web site. And, if we have any related criminal cases, both Ms. Powell and Officer Anson would assist.
Council Member Kleinschmidt asked what was Officer Moore doing that day that would make him available to interact with the public. He said he appreciates that Chief Jarvies has now adjusted the dress code to eliminate this problem, but he is concerned that anyone would wear anything that would not identify them as Chapel Hill police officers while on duty. Chief Jarvies said it was an oversight on his part, and it has been corrected.
Council Member Bateman asked what is the uniform for Fridays now. Chief Jarvies said if out of uniform, officers still must were their badges in plain site, and cannot wear any clothing with any sort of logo present. In addition to wearing the badge, they must identify themselves as police officers.
Council Member Ward asked what did we learn from this incident. Chief Jarvies said many things: how we identify ourselves, how we allow people to perceive who we work for and who we don’t, how to conduct an investigation so that all understand, how information should have been exchanged with superiors, and that all officers by policy should leave a business card when speaking to the public regarding investigations, whether the citizen asks for it or not. And, Chief Jarvies added, we are putting together an information technology division, so that we can separate general technology issues from criminal investigations. The public has a natural suspicion when talking to police offices, he said, and we have to do a better job in making sure our officers identify themselves and acknowledge the purpose of the visit or questioning.
Council Member Kleinschmidt said he is still concerned about Officer Walker, referring to a reference in the memorandum where Officer Walker said he believed Ms. Carter would be more forthcoming with information if she believed they were with the FBI task force. He said he is concerned about any conversations that took place between Officers Walker and Moore before they arrived at the high school, the coincidence of the similar shirts, and the fact the Officer Moore had only FBI business cards with him. Chief Jarvies said that Officer Moore immediately exonerated Officer Walker when the Independent article appeared and when he was questioned, saying that Officer Walker had nothing to do with what had taken place. Chief Jarvies said there was no evidence to dispute that. Council Member Kleinschmidt commented that their state of mind points to collusion.
Council Member Bateman said it was disgusting that someone would use their position to intimidate a minor. She asked what the Council should do. Mr. Horton said the Council was not being asked to do anything, that disciplinary actions had already been taken.
Mayor Foy said the Council needed to decide if the report provided by the Manager was to be released.
Mayor Foy asked Town Attorney Ralph Karpinos when the minutes of this meeting would be released. Mr. Karpinos responded there was no reason why the minutes could not be released once they are prepared.
Council Member Ward questioned the last reference on page 3 of the Manager’s report regarding the wearing of the FBI shirts. Chief Jarvies said there was no evidence to support that Officers Moore and Walker discussed wearing the FBI shirts prior to their arrival at the high school. He said that during the investigation into the incident, Officer Walker remarked that when he reported to work, they even commented to each other that they were wearing similar shirts.
COUNCIL MEMBER WIGGINS MOVED TO ADOPT THE RESOLUTION TO RELEASE THE MANAGER’S INVESTIGATIVE REPORT TO THE PUBLIC, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER KLEINSCHMIDT.
Council Member Kleinschmidt asked what changes have been made in the Police Department to prevent this type of incident from happening in the future. Chief Jarvies said the dress codes have changed, and many other policies are in the preliminary stages of review. He noted that plans are being made to cross-train officers from different divisions so there will be a better understanding of what each divisions’ responsibilities are, as well as separating technology issues from criminal investigations.
Council Member Bateman asked if anyone had asked if Officer Moore had done this before. Chief Jarvies said he asked that question during his investigation, and Officer Moore had indicated that he had not. Chief Jarvies said there was no evidence that Officer Moore had done this before.
THE MOTION TO ADOPT THE RESOLUTION TO RELEASE THE INVESTIGATIVE REPORT WAS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY (8-0). The resolution as adopted reads as follows:
A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE RELEASE OF THE REPORT OF JUNE 5, 2003, FROM THE CHIEF OF POLICE TO THE TOWN MANAGER RELATED TO THE INTERNAL INVESTIGATION OF AN INCIDENT AT CHAPEL HILL HIGH SCHOOL (2003-06-09/R-15)
WHEREAS, the Town Manager has recommended to the Town Council that the report of the Chief of Police dated June 5, 2003, to the Town Manager related to the internal investigation of an incident at Chapel Hill High School be released to the public in order to maintain public confidence in the administration of city services; and
WHEREAS, the Town Council has considered the report and met in closed session with the Manager and Chief of Police to discuss the report; and
WHEREAS, the report contains matters related to the employment status of members of the Chapel Hill Police Department; and
WHEREAS, this report contains information generally protected from disclosure by North Carolina General Statute Sec. 160A-168; and
WHEREAS the release of this report is authorized by a provision of that statute which allows for the release of personnel information upon a determination that such release is “essential to maintaining public confidence in the administration of city services or to maintaining the level and quality of city services”; and
WHER EAS the Council determines that the release of the report is essential to maintaining public confidence in the administration of city services;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the public release of the above-mentioned report of the Chief of Police is hereby authorized and the Manager is directed to make the report available publicly following the conclusion of the Council’s closed session on June 9, 2003.
This the 9th day of June, 2003.
Chief Jarvies stated that on April 29 a 19-year-old male was stopped on Craig Street, was taken out of his vehicle, handcuffed for approximately 15 to 20 minutes, and ticketed for speeding. Also, he said, two passengers in the vehicle were asked to raise their hands when the officer approached the car. Chief Jarvies noted this was standard procedure when an officer approaches a vehicle. He stated that because the driver was handcuffed, the officer went into the glove compartment to find the vehicle registration.
Chief Jarvies said the citizen has complained that his treatment was unnecessary and inappropriate. He noted that an investigation was conducted and the findings have been received, but were put aside to deal with the incident at the high school. Chief Jarvies said he has not conducted a full review of the findings, but anticipates that by the middle of the week he will have reviewed the report, followed up with the investigator, and decided how to proceed. He stated he has contacted the young man to let him know how the Department is progressing with the investigation.
The Closed Session was adjourned at 11:42 p.m. The Council then moved into open session and adjourned.