Police board under fire

“At this point, since the commissioners do serve at the pleasure of the City Council, I would be inclined to un-appoint this person and reopen that one particular seat,” Reinke said. “I am not willing to upset the whole apple cart, but I am willing to look at this one particular seat.”

Reinke proposed that the council reexamine any appointments to the commission where a police record would impede their ability to serve.

Currently, applicants for a city board, commission or committee must complete an application and answer a series of questions on qualifications, experience, education and goals. The paperwork also requires applicants to disclose whether serving poses a conflict of interest, but it does not compel them to submit to a background check or disclose prior convictions.

Councilman David Gordon cried foul, arguing the disclosure of criminal records tainted the appointment process.

“Unbelievable,” he said. “What we have before us is a reshuffling of the democratic process, the fair, impartial democratic process of this council. For some reason, this was sent as a confidential memo to influence the members of the council on this matter without the opportunity of the subject involved to explain the circumstances. That stinks.”

Councilman Dave Golonski originally requested that the council consider the possibility of an unprecedented revote on new Police Commissioners Brady and James Etter, as well as sitting Commissioners Claudia Bonis and Elise Stearns-Niesen, two days after they were appointed because the vote “was taken without complete and accurate information.”

“We had some comments made at oral communications that I think really grossly misportrayed an e-mail that was sent by a sitting member of the commission,” Golonski said. “Given the current situation that our Police Department is facing, I think that it’s incumbent upon us to do our due diligence to make sure that we’re proceeding with complete and accurate information, that we have the best qualified people that we can possibly have on the Police Commission.”

In a May 13 e-mail, then-Police Commission Chairman Joe Gunn reminded commissioners of a “major investigation going on within the Burbank Police Department.”