MAY MEETINGS 2022
OBSERVED BY DEBORAH RICE GORDONNOTE: On May 12, the Executive Director of the PAB, Conor Dwyer Reynolds, was placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation. No additional details are available from the Board as of this writing. Rochester City Council President Miguel Melendez has stated that human resource-related complaints were the cause. On May 27, the PAB announced that Duwaine Bascoe, the PAB’s chief investigator, will become acting Director.
MAY 19, 2022 PAB REGULAR MEETING SUMMARY
A recording of this meeting can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNj-4DPFF0Q&t=239s
Larry Knox, a new Board member, was introduced.
STAFF PRESENTATIONS:
• Natalie Banks reported on the Public Affairs Division which is comprised of Communications and
Community Engagement teams.
• A network of social media pages and contacts has been created. A web page was designed to inform the
community as to their rights and enable the filing of reports. A soft launch will occur this summer and will
coincide with the public launch of the complaint process.
• Recruitment efforts resulted in 1,000 applications for 30+ job openings.
• A public education campaign is planned.
• A summer youth leadership program will launch in the summer.
• Causewave Community Partners will assist with the development and implementation of an integrative
communications plan and another consultant will work with PAB on the second phase of web site
development.
• A comprehensive community communication plan including quadrant-based strategies, canvassing, group
outreach, and other elements is being developed.
• The community engagement team has two very new members and is in immediate need of other staff hires.
• Communications management would like to work with the Board to develop new protocols. Additionally,
there is a need to improve communications between the Board and the team.
Duwaine Bascoe, acting Chief of Investigations, gave a report on the Investigations Division.
• An investigation manual has been completed and is being reviewed by staff attorneys.
• Staff has been trained on police misconduct and is working with the public affairs office to develop related
information for the website.
• Training for the Investigation Academy is expected to begin on May 31 through June 17. This schedule
is dependent on the confirmed involvement of the Rochester Police Department (RPD) for ride-along opportunities and information sharing. Three meetings on this topic have been cancelled
by RPD. It has been suggested that meetings be delayed due to the uncertain status of PAB’s
executive director. Therefore, the team is asking the Board to act as a liaison to Police Chief
Smith to secure needed assistance.
Rosabel Antonetti reported on the Operations Division.
• Immediate needs include approval of numerous requisitions, information on building services availability
and hiring of a clerk, internal IT person, and an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) language-access
coordinator.
• The Division is operating out of the new office space. A staff training program was completed in April. Staff
is working with the Empire Justice Center on a comprehensive language access program. Human Resource
policies are also under development.
• A software tool, i-Sight Case Management, has just been introduced with a tentative go-live date of midAugust.
• Meetings are being held with other divisions and staff is conducting research on operation models used by
other Boards.
• The language access plan is in the final stages and a job description is being written for an ADA coordinator.
Chenoa Maye gave a report on the Legal Division.
• Support to internal divisions has included the review of legal aspects during the development of internal
rules and policies.
• Current and forecasted obstacles for Division functioning have been identified. For example, clarification
of the relationship between the Division and both Corporation Counsel (City Law Department) and RPD is
needed. Additionally, the information that will be made available to the Board needs to be defined.
• Michael Higgins, Chief of the Policy and Oversight Division, reported that the Division is amending and
drafting the disciplinary matrix, evaluating RPD’s announced changes to protest policies and evaluating
the implementation of the Executive Order 203 Plan (New York State Police Reform and Reinvention
Collaborative). The Division expects to publish these evaluations and seek public comment. A significant
stumbling block to Division work is the lack of information from RPD. Hiring is also needed since the Division
is less than 50% staffed.
An executive session was called to discuss personnel updates.
MAY 24 PAB MEETING
An Executive Session was called to discuss potential candidates for an interim administrator position. The Board released a communication entitled A Letter from the Police Accountability Board to the Rochester Community which outlines a path forward for the near term.
For more information, go to https://www.rocpab.org/pab-letter-to-the-community/.