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OPO reports 218 community contacts in March, details hiring, privacy upgrades and policy work with SPD
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Summary
Ombudsman Bart Logue told the commission the office handled 218 community contacts in March (714 year-to-date), certified nine cases, is advancing deputy-ombuds hiring, and expects a facilities privacy wall and continued policy work with SPD.
Bart Logue, the city's police ombuds, presented the OPO monthly report and staff updates, saying March was another busy month for the office. "We had 218 contacts with the community in March, 714 so far for the year," he reported, and said the office processed 11 cases this month and certified nine for OPO review.
Logue summarized investigative and oversight activity: he attended 16 internal-affairs interviews in March (50 year-to-date), participated in a use-of-force review board and in an extended protest use-of-force review that initiated the closing report later discussed in the meeting. He said the OPO met frequently with SPD leadership (97 meetings in March, 257 year-to-date) and engaged in community outreach and trainings.
On staffing, Logue said 18 candidates applied for the deputy police ombuds position and first-round interviews occurred April 16; Labor rules limit his participation in the first round and HR will attend second-round interviews. He said the office tried to hire a project employee for a data-analyst role but could not close the hire because benefit requirements for relocating a family could not be met; classification work with civil service continues.
Logue also reported a facilities update: a city facilities staffer and a contractor inspected the office and "they're gonna build us our wall," providing added privacy in the open office area, a long-sought improvement, he said. He described participating in a policy manual review at the Public Safety Building with Chief Hall and assistant chiefs to discuss how SPD will implement OPO recommendations.
Commissioners raised procedural items: staff said a missing February report would be posted and that the office is converting reports to an ADA-compliant, tagged format. Commissioners also asked for more data on uses of force and reporting gaps; Logue said the office has recommended adding fields to SPD reporting forms to permit audits of lower-level force (arm twists, takedowns), and that without that change there is no reliable method to audit non-reviewable force entries across police reports.
Logue closed by thanking staff and summarizing the office's recent interagency outreach and review activity. The commission accepted the report and moved on to consider the OPO closing report recommendations later in the agenda.
