Lawrence review board questions transparency and scope after monthly complaint report and resignation letter

Members of the Lawrence Community Police Review Board pressed the Lawrence Police Department for more detail about two recent citizen complaints and debated whether the board’s oversight role and access to information are sufficient after receiving a resignation letter from board member Caleb Stevens.

The discussion came during the board’s monthly complaint report, when Deputy Chief Anthony Bridal summarized two investigations: a sustained training-related violation involving a trainee who stopped a motorist for a defective brake light, and a separate complaint (PC25008) from a Hispanic woman who said an officer’s tone and actions made her feel “scared and unsettled” and that the stop felt racially motivated.

The complaint summary reviewed by the board says the second stop was for an obstructed license plate, that officers asked the driver to step back to a patrol vehicle and requested consent to a pat-down (which was denied), and that the recorded encounter lasted “about 7 or 8 minutes.” The Office of Professional Accountability reviewed video of the stop, met with the complainant and…