The Salina Law Enforcement Citizen Review Board voted 4-2 to uphold the police department's determination regarding a bias-based policing complaint during their September 3, 2025 meeting.
The complaint, which was received on June 30, had already undergone preliminary review by the police department before being presented to the board for consideration. (Details about the specific nature of the complaint were not disclosed during the public portion of the meeting in accordance with personnel privacy requirement).
Board members spent significant time in executive session reviewing the case, requiring three separate closed-door sessions totaling approximately 32 minutes. Following their review, the board reconvened in open session to deliver their advisory determination.
"The board makes its advisory determination that the preliminary administrative determination of the status of the complaint is supported by substantial competent evidence," stated board chair Deborah Shutler after returning from executive session.
One board member requested that in future cases, the board be provided with copies of relevant department policies when reviewing complaints, stating that "there's a lot of policies and there's a lot of information that we don't have to make judgments on." Police officials agreed to provide policy documents related to future cases to assist board members in their reviews.
The Law Enforcement Citizen Review Board was established by city ordinance in 2020. According to the ordinance, one of the board's primary responsibilities is to "review and advise the chief of police as to whether preliminary administrative determinations of the pre-disciplinary status of all complaints of excessive use of force or racial or other bias-based policing by police officers are supported by substantial competent evidence."
