A commission formed a year ago to, in large part, review the City of Minneapolis’ investigations into police conduct complaints reported residents, in many cases, have been waiting more than a year for their cases to be resolved, and hundreds were backlogged as of the latest update.

“We were surprised to learn — and it was the city staff that informed us — I believe in February, that there were, at that time, 297 cases in the backlog,” Community Commission on Police Oversight (CCPO) member Louis Smith said on Tuesday ahead of a public hearing during which Smith hoped members would receive feedback on the first year of work.

Smith is a private attorney who was appointed by the mayor’s office to be one of 15 members (including two vacant seats) of the CCPO.

Most of those 297 citizen and disciplinary complaints haven’t made it to the CCPO for review, Smith said. Instead, they’re still either under investigation or waiting to be investigated at the city-level.

“Some of them are a couple, you know, two-three years old,” Smith added. “The goal is to be current so that your complaint is addressed in a matter of months, not years…So, we’re very concerned about getting our arms around that process.”

Addressing the backlog has become a top priority heading into the CCPO’s second year, “requesting that we have much more regular reporting and status updates on the backlog” from Minneapolis Police on internal investigations and from the Office of Police Conduct Review (OPCR), which is responsible for investigating citizen complaints, Smith said

As for why that backlog exists, Smith said the OPCR has blamed a lack of investigators, at least in part. OPCR did not respond to a request for comment or updated statistics as of this report.

The news of the backlog comes on the heels of a chaotic first year for the commission.

“There was a lot of learning involved. It’s been interesting,” acknowledged CCPO Chair Mary Dedeaux-Swinton.

In February, the director of the Minneapolis Department of Civil Rights was fired, and the director of the OPCR — which is under the department’s umbrella — resigned.

Then in March, two members of the CCPO resigned.

“I can’t comment on staff turnover,” Dedeaux-Swinton began when asked for her reaction on the year behind them. “But as far as the commissioners who left the commission shortly thereafter, they did cite their disappointment with staff departure.”

As for remaining members, “We’re trying to move forward and do what we have been put in the seats to do,” she said, adding, “We have work to do to build community trust, and I’m okay with that.”

Part of the reason for the public hearing on Tuesday night, Dedeaux-Swinton said, was to help build up some trust by showing their work and asking for feedback.

Although, members host monthly meetings which are open to the public.

The CCPO also live-streamed the 6:00 p.m. meeting online.