Elections / Legislation

The Conservative Party of Monroe County spoke out against the Police Advisory Board in a letter to Rochester City Council dated March 26, 1963. See the scanned letter to council below in .pdf form. This document was sent to us by the City of Rochester after it received our Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request.

Below is a scanned image of a newspaper clipping regarding the insertion of the findings from the Police Advisory Board and the chief of police into the personnel fils of three unnamed officers. Specifically, the case was that of a black, 19-year-old who stated that after he was arrested for pubic intoxication, he was taken downtown and beat while in custody. The clipping can be found at the Local History Department of the Monroe County Library Downtown Branch. "Complaint Put Into Cops' Files," has no by-line.

Below is a scanned image of a Times-Union newspaper clipping stating that the Locust Club--Rochester's police union--gathered some 40,000 signatures against the creation of the Police Advisory Board. The clipping can be found at the Local History Department of the Monroe County Public Library, Downtown Branch. "Police Petitions Against Board Get 40,000 Names" was written by Vince Spezzano and published in the Times-Union on March 12, 1963.

Below is a scanned image of the very first set of appointments to the Police Advisory Board in May of 1963. The clipping can be found at the Local History Department of the Monroe County Library Downtown Branch. "9-Man Police Advisory Board Named," was written by Times-Union reporter Vince Spezzano and published on May 20, 1963. The board was comprised of three men of color and six white men, which included an accountant, a treasurer, three members of the clergy, a lawyer, the Labor Council president, a pediatrician, and a history professor.

Ricardo Adams has been active in building a more just and peaceful community in Rochester, NY.  This video was created by Rochester Indymedia to honor our comrade and friend on his 60th birthday.

CRB 1992.pdf

CRB 1992.pdf

Legislation for the Civilian Review Board from October 1992 submitted by then-City Councilmember Wade Norwood. This is the legislation that started the Civilian Review Board we have today. There were some small changes made in 1995 (also included in the .pdf above) that were passed unanimously.

PAB Legislation.pdf

PAB Legislation.pdf

Police Advisory Board Legislation, March 12, 1963

PABresponses.PDF

PABresponses.PDF

Comments from the public and different organizations expressing their affirmation or rejections of the Police Advisory Board. This document was dated March 4, 1963.

CRB 1992.pdf

CRB 1992.pdf

Here is the Civilian Review Board legislation currently used in the City of Rochester passed in October of 1992 and brought to Council by City Councilmember-at-Large Wade S. Norwood. More than 22 years after the legislation was implemented, Mr. Norwood had no comment when asked how effective he thought he legislation was.

Open Letter to Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks Regarding Rochester's Homeless Crisis

Dear County Executive Maggie Brooks,

Monroe County has a moral and, under Article 17 of the New York State Constitution, a legal obligation to care for all its residents especially our street homeless. We implore you to reverse the lock out of homeless persons from the Civic Center Garage until Monroe County puts into place a permanent plan to house all homeless.