CHARLOTTE, N.C. — For the first time in its history, Charlotte's Citizens Review Board found an error in how the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department disciplined an officer after a controversial arrest that took place in March 2016.
“You had the rough equivalent of the trial with eight members of the Citizens Review Board serving at the same time, serving as judge and jury,” CRB attorney Julian Wright said.
The 11-member board reviewed body camera video that shows Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers arresting James Yarborough after he ran from police. Officers tried to stop Yarborough in connection with a theft investigation, court records showed.
"I think he feels good the board heard the evidence and found for him," Luke Largess, attorney for Yarborough, said.
[ [PAST COVERAGE: Body cam shows man chased, tackled, arrested by CMPD officers] ]
The video shows Officer Jon Dunham pointing a gun to Yarborough's head and saying, "I will kill you.”
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney and the city of Charlotte have said the actions of Dunham were indefensible, but maintain the use of force did not violate department policies.
An internal investigation by the department also concluded that Dunham’s use of force did not violate CMPD policies and/or directives. It was recommended that Dunham receive additional verbal communication training following the incident. Dunham later resigned from CMPD.
The Citizens Review Board found that the discipline wasn't enough and members will write a recommendation to Putney about what should happen to the former officer.
Putney is expected to get those recommendations next week.
"One person's actions can have ripple effects on the way that our community sees all of us," said Rob Tufano, CMPD Public Affairs Director.
Tufano said CMPD would be as transparent as possible in releasing the specific recommendations handed down from the Citizens Review Board.
CMPD also announced that they're making four key changes in light of this case, including random audits of body cam video.
Largess said Charlotte should take comfort that the Citizens Review Board isn't a rubber stamp for police.
"The people on the board right now take their role seriously at a time where there is a lot of interest in police-community relations, and I think they see themselves in a key role," Largess said.
Putney was blunt in his letter to Yarborough, dated Sept. 6, saying the police officer’s actions that day "constituted a violation of the CMPD rules of conduct (unbecoming conduct), was a violation of training, and was not in keeping with the highest standard of the law enforcement profession and brought the CMPD into disrepute."
Yarborough's attorney provided Channel 9 with the letter, which was presented as evidence in the hearing.
"There was no public release of this letter. This was just sent to Mr. Yarborough in an effort to get him to resolve his appeal," Largess said.
Largess believes the letter played a significant role in the historic ruling against CMPD.
CMPD released this statement after the decision:
Since the Citizens Review Board heard the initial appeal of this case, CMPD has made policy changes in response to concerns raised by board members. Those include:
- Creating a unit to randomly audit body worn camera video from all officers with the intent of identifying organizational training gaps and individual policy violations.
- Giving immediate attention to tactical concerns noted in use-of-force cases, regardless of whether policy violations also are involved.
- Treating all complaints brought to CMPD Headquarters or a Division Office in person, as formal complaints, any time they involve issues reviewable by the Citizens Review Board.
- Completing and adjudicating internal investigations, even if officers leave CMPD before the process is completed.
Chief Kerr Putney welcomes any recommendations the board sees fit to make and is committed to fully reviewing each of those to determine whether they can help us more effectively serve our community.
Yarborough was charged with resisting a public officer, felony assault on an officer and possession of a firearm by a felon. All three charges were dismissed.