Scott told a police commission meeting Wednesday that he is still committed to independent investigations. But he said he’s ending the joint investigative agreement because his department has) have lost confidence in the DA office after what he says was a pattern of not compliance with the agreement terms.
The 2019 agreement – between the two agencies had allowed the district attorney's Independent Investigations Bureau and police department to share information with each other while they respond to crime scenes and investigate officer-involved shootings, in-custody deaths and use of force cases. Both agencies traditionally investigated these incidents separately.
Several commissioners expressed disappointment in Scott's decision.
Last week, the police chief moved to terminate the agreement after a district attorney's office investigator testified that she felt pressured to mislead police and withhold evidence from a sworn affidavit out of fear of losing her job. The investigator worked on the criminal case against Police Officer Terrance Stangel – who is charged with battery and assault of Dacari Spiers – an unarmed Black man.
Last month, the city agreed to pay 700-thousand dollars in damages to Spiers.
