New independent accountability auditor reports drop in citizen police complaints, outlines 2025 audit plan

Jasmine Jones, the city’s Independent Accountability Auditor, told the Dayton City Commission that citizen-generated complaints about the Dayton Police Department decreased between 2021 and 2024 and that the office will expand auditing in 2025.

"This report is pursuant to the agreement and the ordinance establishing this position," Jones said as she opened a semiannual presentation covering the IAA’s work in 2024. Jones said the office reviewed two complaint types: quick-resolution "complaint receipts" and longer citizen complaints that require a fuller supervisory investigation.

Jones reported there were 92 originating events in 2024 and 185 specific alleged complaints drawn from those events. She said the office’s review shows a 43.25 percent decline in citizen-generated complaints from 2021 to 2024. Examining outcomes for 2024 citizen complaints, Jones said 67 percent were unfounded, 22 percent were exonerated, 4 percent were not sustained and 7 percent were sustained.

Of the six sustained complaints, Jones said they arose from four separate events and involved allegations against six officers: three policy violations, two lack-of-service findings and one for discourtesy and disrespect. She said most sustained investigations resulted in training memos and one resulted in an oral reprimand. Jones noted the city policy requires administrative investigations be concluded within 90 days and said her office will review timeliness during audits.

Jones described an office reorganization after the departure of the initial IAA, Brister Moore, and said the city retained a three-person team from the law firm Frost Brown Todd to "create more capacity, more diversity in perspective, and the ability to really begin to shape" the office’s work. She named two new team members, Miss Bagley and Miss Birgit, who she said will take lead roles in investigations and auditing; Jones said she will focus on reporting, analysis and Community Appeals Board involvement.

Jones outlined 2025 plans to expand auditing to cover intake through disposition, increase participation in DPD investigations by sitting in on interviews, complete a full audit of all 2024 complaint receipts, and provide more robust analysis in future reports. "That concludes my report and I'm happy to answer any questions," she said.

Commissioners praised the presentation and asked for follow-up on several items raised in prior reports, including public access to the complaint process and whether outreach channels (such as the mediation center) remain effective. Jones said she has begun observing CAB hearings, meeting with DPD and HRC staff, and will study whether complaint intake materials or templates could make the appeals board’s review clearer.