Tuesday's Vote to Terminate the Provisional Appointment of the Interim Independent Police Monitor

Hi Everyone,

At our last Council meeting on October 6, District 2 Alder Ochowicz introduced a resolution to terminate the provisional appointment of the city's interim independent police monitor, Aeiramique Glass. I have signed on as a co-sponsor and at our next meeting on Tuesday, October 20, will be voting in favor of the resolution.

Several of my colleagues have posted their reasons for supporting the resolution:

District 5 Adler Vidaver: To Preserve Civilian Oversight in Madison, Interim Monitor Glass Must Go

District 14 Alder Lieberman: On The Vote to Terminate Interim Independent Police Monitor Aeramique Glass

District 15 Alder Martinez-Rutherford: Police Oversight & The Office of The Independent Monitor

District 2 Alder Ochowicz: About the resolution to terminate Interim Monitor Glass' appointment

District 10 Alder Figueroa-Cole: News, Events, Local News-PCOB Meeting and OIM Termination Resolution

I share their concerns and strongly concur with their conclusions. If you're interested in taking a deep dive, I encourage you to read them all. 

Briefly stated, the interim independent monitor (IIM) was hired principally to lead the search and hiring process for a qualified individual to serve in the permanent role. Though Council extended the employment agreement to allow for more time, very little progress has been made. Consequently, a false narrative has formed that the Police Civilian Oversight Board (PCOB) could instead directly appoint Ms. Glass to the permanent position, a narrative the IIM has done little to discourage. 

On October 2, the Common Council office released an employment review of the IIM. Based on evidence available prior to October 1st, the review stated the following:

Allowing for an initial adjustment period from the IIM hiring date of December 8, 2025, the City is almost 10 months into the anticipated recruitment process for the permanent IM position – well past the estimated period of 6 to 9 months which is the average hiring timeline for City Department/Division Heads. Regarding the recruitment to date there is: 

• No approved Position Description (PD). 
• No job posting because there is no position description. 
• No equitable hiring plan meeting (operational step not required by ordinance). 
• No community outreach/engagement completed (required by ordinance). 
• No hiring committee selected and finalized by the IIM and PCOB. 
• No completed candidate screening or interviews. 
•  No candidate(s) referred to either the PCOB or the Common Council for consideration.

In summary, the IIM has failed to adequately shepherd the PCOB in the hiring process for a permanment independent monitor. 

The employment review also notes the obligation for the IIM to "work directly with City Managers (City Department/Division Heads) and other City staff to include Human Resources, Finance, the City Attorney's Office and necessary personnel within MPD."

The IIM's refusal to follow the city's APM's is of particular concern. 

For example, APM 2-33 reads as follows:

Citywide Standard Expectations: 

A. General 

1. Employees will be courteous and respectful to all customers, co-workers, and members of the public. Employees will refrain from making false or malicious, discourteous, or abusive comments toward or about customers, co-workers, and members of the public.

There are a number of instances where the IIM has gone on Facebook Live and made discourteous and arguably abusive comments about co-workers. This is in direct violation of this particular APM and, accordingly, brings up an important point.

At our Council meeting on July 21, the day before Corey Ruiz was killed, Council President Sabrina Madison invited two representatives from the National Association of Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE) to make a presentation about the basics of police oversight. In the Q&A that followed, a question was asked about the impasse that exists between a majority of alders and the Office of the Independent Monitor (OIM). NACOLE offered clear direction regarding the importance of relationships in the work of police oversight and warned that if the impasse were allowed to continue it would threaten the legitimacy of the office. 

The warning had little apparent effect. The interim independent monitor and a member of her staff have repeatedly taken to social media to villify fellow city employees, making claims and accusations that reveal a complete lack of interest in improving these relationships.

The OIM job description states that the monitor “will set the office's operational philosophy and develop and maintain standard operating procedures to ensure all matters are handled in a thorough, objective, fair, and impartial manner." This clearly has not happened under IIM Glass' leadership.

The role of the independent monitor is to to be a neutral arbiter of facts. Instead, it is apparent the IIM has traded impartiality and objectivity for the passion of an activist. In so doing, the office has severely damanged its legitimacy and greatly diminished its ability to provide effective police oversight.

What happens next?

The last clause of Ald. Ochowicz' resolution states "the Common Council Chief of Staff shall work with the Finance Department to develop a scope of work to engage the National Association of Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement to support the Common Council's commitment to police oversight." 

Madison needs independent police oversight, but what we have now is not working.  The plan before us is to work with NACOLE to address what is lacking, looking to other cities for models that could improve upon what we have here. 

The killing of Corey Ruiz spurred the formation of the President's Workgroup on MPD Use of Deadly Force, De-Escalation, and Body-Worn Cameras Policies and Procedures, of which I am a member. We meet regularly and I will be sharing more information in the weeks to come.

These are difficult issues. I do not take them lightly. Feel free to reach out to me with your questions or concerns by emailing me at district13@cityofmadison.com.

Take care and stay safe,

Tag