Tucson police officers could be subject to increased accountability under a new union contract that’s coming up for City Council approval.
The proposed deal with the Tucson Police Officers Association will close a loophole that allows officers to get paid while on unpaid suspension and will adjust disciplinary procedures to make them more effective and transparent.
Police officers and city officials stand to benefit from the changes as well. The contract includes provisions that will make it easier for officers to sell back unused sick time, for example, and an adjustment to the way overtime is calculated could save Tucson about $200,000 per year.
City Council members were largely in support of the new contract when it was presented to them at their most recent meeting.
“I do see some very positive elements here,” said Councilwoman Karin Uhlich, who added that officers’ union has “openly stated they view this as a way to strengthen the department and make sure, quite frankly, that people who are not embodying the values of public service and the caliber of service that we expect, that those folks are subject to appropriate oversight and discipline.”
Police have previously been allowed to use leave or comp time to get paid even if they have been put on unpaid suspension for discipline issues. Officials have said that “defeats” the purpose of the penalty and diminishes the city’s ability to discipline officers who break the rules.
It’s unclear how many times the work-around has been used by officers, but the new contract will prevent it from happening in the future.
“I can’t tell you how frequently that was used, but that was allowable before in the way the contract was worded. Now we are closing that loop,” said Deputy City Manager Liana Perez. “The spirit and intent of giving somebody an unpaid time off is — it’s a disciplinary measure — that it should be without pay.”
Other accountability measures in the contract include the extension of misconduct investigation timelines to 210 days from the current 180-day period, according to city staff and documents.
Staff members said the change will give them “more flexibility” to ensure officers are held accountable: serious penalties, such as demotion or termination, cannot be imposed if investigations aren’t finished within agreed upon timeframes.
The contract still allows penalized officers to file a grievance if they believe their punishment should be lessened or reversed. The process is overseen by a grievance committee that has historically been composed of internal police staff, according to Perez.
An “independent police auditor” will be added to the grievance panel under the new deal. The auditor will act as a watchdog to ensure officers don’t have their punishments reduced without good cause.
Police disciplinary records will also be made available to the public in an effort to increase transparency. City staff said this is a departure from previous rules that only made records for specific investigations public, not the entire disciplinary files for individual officers.
“When we have internal discipline, a civilian is involved now, I think that was something that is a nationwide practice,” said Councilman Paul Cunningham about the internal auditor. “The other thing is that we’re going to be more transparent, or as transparent as possible, and this contract reflects that.”
Though the City Council largely praised the new contract recently, there were concerns raised about the contract’s term length and a lack of public feedback during the review process.
Mayor Regina Romero and multiple council members wanted to see the contract’s five-year term reduced to three years with the possibility of extensions, which is more typical for city union contracts. The mayor said it would allow for flexibility moving forward with the police union.
Council member Lane Santa Cruz said she was “very frustrated” by the lack of a presentation that would help residents understand the proposed plan. She said the city was “not creating the conditions where folks can give us input.”
The City Council is expected to vote on the proposed contract at its meeting Nov. 9.
Union representatives declined the Star’s request for an interview.
