Council amends ordinance to clarify citizen review board may review police recordings consistent with Indiana Open Door law

The South Bend Common Council on Sept. 22 approved an amended ordinance (Bill 53-25) making explicit that the Community Police Review Board and the community police review office director may review law-enforcement recordings relevant to complaints, consistent with the Indiana Open Door law.

Sponsors and advocates said the substitute language narrows confusing phrasing in an earlier draft while preserving the board’s ability to use public records to investigate complaints. "What we did was make sure that the substituted ordinance explained that the council or the review board and the director already had that authority subject to the Indiana Open Door law," said Bob Palmer, the council parliamentarian and city attorney, during the presentation.

The change grew out of a council committee process and a prior August discussion. Fifth District Councilmember Sherry Bolden Simpson and at-large Councilmember Dr. Oliver J. Davis presented the bill as a clarification of duties. Simpson said the revision responds to public confusion and will help board members “better execute their duties.”

Community review-board members and their attorneys addressed the council at the public hearing. Joseph Adams, chair of the Community Police Review Board, told members the clarification "empowers this council to do its job" of providing checks and balances. Bob Masters, counsel for the review board, urged approval as a reaffirmation of citizen oversight: "The review board is not asking for special powers. It's not asking that you give it powers that don't already belong to the citizenry."

Council members moved to accept a substitute ordinance at the committee stage and later voted to send the bill forward with a favorable recommendation. On third reading the council voted 9–0 to adopt the ordinance. Clerk roll calls recorded all nine council members voting in favor on final passage.

Supporters said making the review board’s access explicit will reduce misunderstandings about what the board may examine during investigations. The ordinance amendment changes Chapter 2, Article 1, sections referenced in the bill to specify that the review board and the director may "review law enforcement recordings relevant to any complaint investigated by the community police review office consistent with the provisions of the Indiana Open Door law." The council accepted a substitute clarified in committee and then passed the ordinance.

The council’s action sets the local code to mirror what proponents described as existing public-records rights under state law. No changes to the state Open Door law were proposed by the council; council sponsors and the city attorney emphasized the local change is intended to remove ambiguity in municipal code about the board’s duties.