FORT MYERS, Fla. — A car chase in December 2022 took headlines and prompted an investigation at the Fort Myers Police Department.
Claims of turning off body cameras, following the car out of jurisdiction, and discrepancies over disciplining those responsible are all leading to an August 14 meeting.
The Citizens Board was supposed to review this controversial car chase, but it was pushed back as the board feels it is not set up to actually find the accountability its members are tasked with seeking.
The board only has the power to look at external affairs complaints and internal affairs cases they specifically ask to see. Its members are hoping to change this as they heard about the car chase for the first time on the news.
"We believe that we should have the right to review some of the internal complaints, not all of them, just some of them that might directly affect the way citizens view the police department," Board Chair Steven Brown-Cestero said.
The board agreed to move the conversation about how the Fort Myers Police Department (FMPD) handled the car chase into September. Now, they're scheduling a closed meeting to see if they can be notified of internal affairs issues. Right now they have to ask specifically for the details of an issue, which they're saying is difficult if they don't know they're happening.
"We have asked that we'd be able to meet with the city manager, the city attorney, Councilman Streets who is basically our liaison, and other interested parties so that we can discuss this and see what's a better way of making this happen," Brown-Cestero said.
The next public meeting will be at City Hall on September 12. The Citizens Review Board will make any needed recommendations to FMPD at that time.
