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Police Commission Approves Recommendations to Council

Photo by Christian Leonard / Burbank Leader
The Police Commission voted on a number of recommendations this week to pass on to the City Council, largely advising that special police programs be kept and given more funding if possible.

The Burbank Police Commission voted this week to advise the City Council that special police initiatives be retained and that new commissioners not be required to be of a certain ethnicity, gender or occupation.
The decisions made on Wednesday came after several monthly meetings in which commission members heard presentations from the Police Department on a variety of topics, including use-of-force policy and the BPD’s Mental Health Evaluation Team program. The council charged the advisory board with discussing potential recommendations after the death of George Floyd sparked nationwide protests and calls for police reform.

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Audit Praises BPD, But Disagrees on Body Cams

Lt. J.J. Puglisi, president of the local police union, explains his stance in favor of allowing officers to view police camera footage before being interviewed at a recent joint City Council-Police Commission meeting.

An external audit of the Burbank Police Department commends many of the force’s policies and reforms, though it also suggests improvements to some of its administrative practices.
One of those suggestions, recommending that the department not allow officers to review body camera footage before being interviewed in use-of-force investigations, was already declined by the department — a point of concern to several residents who called during the Tuesday joint meeting of the City Council and Police Commission.
The Office of Independent Review Group analysis of incidents in 2018 praised the BPD’s reforms over the past several years, highlighting the department’s commitment to investigating whenever racial bias is alleged against its personnel, even if the allegation is not at the root of the complaint.
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