City Auditor Apologizes to Citizens Review Committee Members

City Auditor Mary Hull Caballero went to the monthly meeting of the Citizens Review Committee - an volunteer part of the Independent Review Board, which monitors police activity - to apologize.

It stems from an incident last month where a member of the committee was doused with a cup of water by an angry audience member.

"You should expect a safe and respectful space in which to conduct your volunteer service on behalf of the City," Caballero said.

"You should expect procedural advice that enables you to hear both sides of a dispute and render an impartial decision. You got neither on March 30."

The incident centered on a debate over whether an officer had grabbed the camera of an activist.

The police bureau had ruled that the complaint was not sustained.

The review committee disagreed after a more than three-hour meeting that would be charitably described as "raucous."

The committee, though, was not unanimous.

One person who voted with the police bureau was Jim Young. And his vote was rewarded with the cup of water.

"I also want to apologize to Jim Young, who was the victim of a hostile act by an angry audience member who disagreed with his vote.," Caballero said.

"That is beyond unacceptable."

Caballero also said that the committee chair had been given bad advice that she could not exclude people from the meeting for disruptive behavior when she could have.