LIMA — It was a time of turmoil for Lima in 2008 after the shooting and killing of Tarika Wilson by a Lima police officer. In the aftermath of that tragedy, it was determined that there needed to be an avenue to create an atmosphere of confidence and accountability between the Lima community and law enforcement, and it was out of that effort that the Lima Allen County Citizens Review Board was created.
The goal of the board was to investigate complaints concerning police officers and take action to rectify the situation. However, the board has not been effective since its inception, leading to the Lima City Council Safety Services Committee holding a discussion about the board during its Monday meeting.
For 1st Ward Councilman and committee Chairman Todd Gordon, Monday’s discussion was important in the signal it could send to the community.
“The whole purpose of this was to be proactive,” he said. “The community needs to know that we’re working to try to have peace. That was the whole purpose of starting this conversation.”
One reason for the lack of the board’s effectiveness that was discussed was, according to Gordon, the board lacking any “teeth,” that is, any disciplinary authority. However, according to review board chairman Mike Hayden, granting that authority is not a local legislative matter.
“The only way that you can give us the ‘teeth,’ as was discussed, was if you made us a legal mandate from the federal government,” he said. “The Justice Department would say, ‘You have so many problems in that community that we are establishing a group that will report to us and not to anyone local.’ Then you would get a review board that is more respected.”
It was emphasized during the meeting that forming positive relationships between law enforcement and the community is the best solution, such as through the community-oriented policing program, along with having board members whose main goal is to advance the board’s objective without letting personal or corporate interests get in the way.
“There can be a piping of that relationship energy from other processes,” Hayden said. “We could network that and do things with that, and that will draw more change than just looking at [the board’s] structure.”
The Safety Service Committee voted to keep this matter in committee for further discussion.
