Entire State Should Take Note of Mishandled KeyPoint Report

By Matt Simpson, ACLU of Texas Policy Strategist Officials around the state should take a careful look at the Austin Police Department’s (APD) and the City of Austin’s handling of a report in the Nathaniel Sanders II investigation as an example of the damage that can be done when officer-involved shooting investigations lack transparency. Sanders, 18, was shot and killed by an APD officer on May 11, 2009. Though the officer was cleared criminally and his actions deemed justified by police, information subsequently made public has revealed a biased investigation. More recently a report by KeyPoint Government Solutions (PDF), a firm hired by the city itself to conduct an independent review, reached conclusions that were vastly different than those reached by APD, including calling the officer’s actions “reckless.” And just as the KeyPoint controversy was erupting, another large police department, Fort Worth PD, had an officer-involved shooting incident of its own when one of its officers shot and killed a 21-year-old man earlier this month. Fort Worth and law enforcement across the state of Texas can learn a lesson from the Sanders shooting: a single incident of failing to provide appropriate transparency and accountability can undermine years of work building trust between law enforcement and the communities served. When communities do not trust their police force, crimes go unreported and witnesses do not come forward. This endangers us all. Much of the report and its findings was withheld and only became public when it was leaked to the media. City Attorney David Smith has chosen to retire early from city government following details of his obstruction of transparency becoming public. Good intentions are not enough, Fort Worth Police Department and the City of Fort Worth should learn from the poor example presented by Austin’s handling of the KeyPoint report. Failing to address community concerns about police use of force can undermine public trust, which could fundamentally undermine public safety. Clearly there is a lesson here for City of Fort Worth and the City of Austin. But there is a larger lesson for the rest of Texas: accountability, transparency and community engagement are not principles to be turned on and off. A full-time commitment to these principles is the only way to build trust between law enforcement and a community. The issues raised by the Sanders investigation illustrate the statewide need for stronger transparency and accountability policies that ensure unclear policies do not undermine accountability and transparency.