[Warren proposal] Amending the City Charter with respect to the creation of a Police Accountability Board (December 27, 2018)
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Attached is a PDF of Mayor Lovely Warren's Police Accountability Board proposed legislation. According to the Police Accountability Board Alliance, who has been working with City Council to draft meaningful legislation, the Mayor's proposal is a failure. Specifically, the legislation:
- Lacks disciplinary power; the board is advisory only and the Chief of Police retains final disciplinary authority. This is unacceptable.
- Solely focuses on allegations of excessive use of force
- Dramatically curtails investigative power; PSS must finish its investigation first and then the board may only “investigate matters not addressed” by PSS
- Review of RPD policies and procedures is limited to matters of excessive use of force only
- Fails to give majority community representation on the board; the proposal does not ensure community control over complaints of misconduct, thus limiting its independence. The Mayor is calling for a 9 member board with 3 appointments from her, 3 appointments from City Council, and 3 appointments from the Alliance.
- All board member nominations must be approved by the Mayor first before they can be confirmed by City Council
- Former law enforcement officers can be appointed to the board three years after their service ends; this is likely to cause conflicts of interest and delays in investigations because of recusals, delegitimates the board in the eyes of the community, and could cause the board to become biased toward accused officers instead of reviewing each complaint critically.
- No input from advocates or the community
- Significantly under-funds the board and does not include any investigative staff
- Prioritizes the labor contract between the City and the Police at the expense of the community
- Undercuts the democratic process by ignoring the work completed by the Alliance and Rochester City Council
Read her legislation below:
