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WHEREAS, the Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Conference ("G20 Summit") took place in the City of Pittsburgh on September 24-25, 2009; and
WHEREAS, although the City of Pittsburgh is generally self-insured for purposes of general liability, in order to protect limited public assets in light of this National Special Security Event, the City of Pittsburgh (the "City") procured an insurance policy (the "Policy") covering, inter alia, the actions of its public officials and its professional police officers providing services for the G20 Summit; and
WHEREAS, the Citizen Police Review Board ("CPRB") was created by referendum in 1997, and the powers, duties, and limitations of the CPRB are set forth in the Home Rule Charter of the City of Pittsburgh and in the Pittsburgh City Code; and
WHEREAS, as a board of the City, the CRPB is a part of City government and, accordingly, its actions may become actions of the City; and
WHEREAS, to date, the CPRB has identified six (6) verified complaints actually alleging improper police conduct during the G20 Summit, for which the Bureau of Police has provided copies of relevant documents; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to the Minutes of the CPRB Meeting Held on October 27, 2009 (Mtg. No. 120) Executive Director Elizabeth Pittinger asked permission of the appointed members of the CPRB to work exclusively with Sam Rosenfeld, CEO, The Densus Group, in an effort to generate a comprehensive "G-20 Report" and further noted the report would be made available as a resource to various organizations and cities preparing for a similar event; and the Board raised concerns regarding the scope of the report, availability of G-20 funding and outside contributions to the project; and
WHEREAS, the CRPB Executive Director thereafter issued and served a subpoena demanding information from the City's Bureau of Police regarding the G20 Summit over and above what is provided in response to verified complaints; and
WHEREAS, certain information pertaining to the G20 Summit has already been provided to the CPRB by the Bureau of Police and disclosure of the remaining information is imminent due to a pending court order; and
WHEREAS, thus far, at least one G20 Summit-related lawsuit has been filed that has triggered defense coverage under the Policy; and
WHEREAS, in order to ensure that coverage under the Policy is not limited or hindered by certain discretionary actions of CPRB relating to its review of police activity during the G20 Summit, the City Law Department has informed City Council that it has requested that the CPRB reconsider its immediate pursuit and receipt of the remaining information; and
WHEREAS, at this time, City Council wishes to express its respect for and gratitude to the CPRB for its diligence in seeking to examine police conduct during the G20 Summit as well as during other events in the City, while at the same time informing the CPRB of its reasonable concerns regarding any potential risk to coverage under the Policy and any corresponding financial exposure.
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NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh urges the CRPB to continue to investigate verified complaints filed alleging police misconduct during the G20 Summit.
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that Council requests that, if the CPRB is inclined to pursue its comprehensive G20 Report, it consider aligning its discovery with the discovery process in pending or to-be-filed federal or state lawsuits arising from the G20 Summit and/or until the statute of limitations has run for likely claims covered by the Policy in order to best preserve rights of coverage as well as the financial protection afforded by that coverage.