A member of the legal team that wrote the rules for the City of Bloomington's police accountability board said it can't legally perform true police oversight.
Bloomington City Manager Jeff Jurgens spoke to the city's Public Safety and Community Relations Board [PSCRB] during its monthly meeting Wednesday.
The board has been reflecting on its role based on recommendations from the Twin Cities victims' advocacy group CARE for Victims and infrequent public participation.
Earlier this year, the board selected two subcommittees to evaluate and implement certain recommendations and develop topical presentations for expanded evening meetings which take place four times a year.
Among CARE for Victims’ suggestions is empowering the PSCRB with more than policy recommendations. The board reviews citizens’ complaints, which can be filed by a person that is dissatisfied with the internal complaint review process handled by Bloomington Police.
The board can then evaluate if a complaint was thoroughly and correctly investigated by the department and/or make policy and procedure recommendations based on allegations of police misconduct.
What they can’t do is re-investigate crimes or recommend disciplinary action directed at specific officers, Jurgens said.
In his previous role as city attorney, Jurgens helped write the PSCRB’s bylaws establishing that narrow scope.
“At first, there was discussion about, well, could a citizen review board actually investigate and be the one to review citizen complaints, and to follow up on discipline and things like that,” he said. “And the answer to that was no.”
Jurgens said state law and collective bargaining agreements prevent the PSCRB from any direct oversight or disciplinary power.
“The option to have an oversight board as a board that was actually reviewing and investigating, and requiring testimony and issuing discipline was legally not something that was feasible,” he said.
In a previous meeting, CARE for Victims co-organizer Amy Endicott noted Chicago’s Civilian Office of Police Accountability [COPA] as an example of a citizens’ board doing exactly that. Members of COPA’s paid investigative team participate in a 230-hour training program before being eligible to serve in that role.
Endicott did not immediately reply to a request for additional comment.
In response to a question from PSCRB Chair Rachel McFarland, Jurgens said he's open to recommending new language to city council clarifying the board's role. McFarland noted confusion among board members as to what they could and could not ask about police investigations in recently struggling to handle the board's first complaint in two years.
“There’s not a lot of communities that do this,” Jurgens said. “There’s no rules book. This was truly created by the community. …Nobody’s going to suggest that this is a perfect system or that it can never be improved upon because we all know that it can be. But I do want to point out it’s always been a personal point of pride that we do have something like this in our community. So when we do have those situations, we’ve got this body there that can stand up, hear from the community, make recommendations and provide that guidance to the police department.”
The board has since ruled on two more complaints early in 2026, finding all police policies and procedures were followed.
Jurgens said despite its lack of investigatory power, the PSCRB still serves a critical role in providing police transparency to the public.
“What you guys do is take a look and say, well, was this complaint actually reviewed properly? Did the police department, their internal affairs, take a look at the body cam footage? Did they read the reports? Did they do any interviews? Was this complaint taken seriously?
“I think you provide an important fact-checker for the public and I think the police department—you keep them on their toes in that regard,” he said.
In addition to the PSCRB reviewing its own complaints, Bloomington Police provide monthly data to the board about all department complaints, calls for service, display or use of force and investigations involving use of automated license plate readers.
