PAB MEETINGS JUNE – AUGUST 2022
PAB MEETINGS JUNE – AUGUST 2022 OBSERVED BY DEBORAH RICE GORDONJUNE 2 REGULAR MEETING
ACTING MANAGER DUWAINE BASCOE GAVE AN UPDATE:
• The IT department demonstrated the interim case management system which will be operational by June 20, the target date for receiving complaints.
• Investigations training has resumed for the next few weeks.
• The board will review, then vote on rules of investigation.
• Mr. Bascoe is reviewing a rough draft of the investigation manual, and a revision will be sent to the Board next week for review and approval.
• A meeting with Rochester Police Department (RPD) and City Council President Meléndez is scheduled to discuss access to databases, materials and policies, as well as notice of and access to crime scenes and command centers.
• Policy affairs will require funding for tabling at some public outreach events. Considering the budget freeze, requisitions will be sought to cover this cost.
• Opportunities for ride-alongs with RPD are still pending.
MICHAEL HIGGINS, CHIEF OF POLICY AND OVERSIGHT, GAVE AN UPDATE FOR THE POLICY AND OVERSIGHT DIVISION:
• New EO 203 Program (State program to re-imagine policing) will be released next week.
• Disciplinary matrix work is on-going.
• An operational rule was drafted and is now under review by the legal team.
• A report on changes to RPD’s protest policies, including 25 recommendations, have been posted on the website, https://www.rocpab.org/. The policies have not yet been released to the public for evaluation. In addition, adequate training on the new policies must be ensured. Some potential gaps have been identified based on research concerning protest responses. Police presence should be proportional to the protest and de-escalation planning should be done in advance. The Board discussed concerns with crowd control methods and use of banned chemical agents.
• The Board was provided a draft response to a number of questions submitted by City Council. The previous PAB bylaws will be posted on the website in response to a request.
Rabbi Setel noted that the regular training schedule will resume on June 9 and will cover investigation procedures and policies, report analysis and the disciplinary matrix.
NEW BUSINESS
Mr. Bascoe and Mr. Higgins reported that a meeting was held with the State Attorney General’s office concerning on-going investigations of RPD’s response to protests in 2020 and 2021. The Attorney General discussed opportunities to work with PAB.
JUNE 13 SPECIAL MEETING
A special Board meeting was held to elect a new PAB Chairperson since the Vice Chair has declined to assume the position. Larry Knox was nominated by Reverend Nickoloff. Discussion occurred about Mr. Knox’s short time on the board, the lack of sufficient meeting notice, and the need to move forward quickly. Dr. Harvey abstained and other members in attendance approved Mr. Knox’s nomination. To see this meeting, go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbA2RWdb60A
JUNE 16TH REGULAR MEETING
Chairperson Knox opened the meeting and thanked Shani Wilson for her service as Chair.
ACTING MANAGER DUWAINE BASCOE GAVE THE STAFF REPORT:
• The system to accept complaints will be live by June 20.
• A meeting was held with the Police Chief, City Council President Meléndez, City Council members, and others. An agreement for ride-alongs was reached. Access to certain databases and training will be made available.
• Progress is being made regarding the several human resource policies.
MICHAEL HIGGINS GAVE THE POLICY AND OVERSIGHT DIVISION UPDATE:
• The Division has two core functions: (1) to consider proposals for change to Rochester’s public safety system, e.g., making mass gatherings safer for police and protesters; and (2) to investigate specific subjects or address a particular questions, such as evaluating police response times for violent crimes for discriminatory impacts. This process requires an investigation plan, regular public updates, and a final report to the Board. How the Board will direct the Division must be determined. Processes for the two functions were presented.
• It was decided that a subcommittee would propose a list of initial concerns for Division action.
LARRY KNOX GAVE THE CHAIR REPORT:
• The complaint and policy recommendation process will open to the public on June 20. The public can call or go to the website to learn more. For groups hosting events, PAB outreach staff can be available to attend and handouts will be available in libraries and other locations.
• The budget has been fully funded for the rest of the fiscal year.
OLD BUSINESS:
Investigation rules were approved. Amendments will be prepared for the next meeting.
NEW BUSINESS: At the first July meeting, new Board member elections will be held. To see this meeting, go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1zcE-X_j5g
JULY 7 REGULAR MEETING
Larry Knox was elected as Chair and Arlene Brown as Vice Chair.
ACTING MANAGER DUWAINE BASCOE GAVE THE STAFF REPORT:
• Fifty complaints were received during the first week of operations and 32 the second week.
• A major investigation roadblock continues to be the inability to access needed information. Article 18 of the Charter requires that a wide variety of information be shared with PAB. On July 25, stakeholders will meet in another attempt to move this forward. The city has not provided legal arguments against access. Reverend Nickoloff encouraged the public to contact City Council members and the Mayor to demand compliance with the Charter.
• The Board received a list of recent Rochester Police Department (RPD) training sessions. A meeting will be scheduled to choose training for the Board and PAB Investigations Team.
• Adoption of the interim case management system is progressing. Investigators will receive a briefing. Cases will then be assigned to investigators based on current information.
• A meeting was held with City Council on a number of topics, and requirements for monthly updates to the Council are being defined. Restrictions regarding community engagement and complaint receipt have been lifted.
• A briefing was held on I-Sight, the permanent complaint receipt system. Customization work continues, and should be operational in August.
• Public Affairs has a 45-day plan to identify organizations potentially interested in hosting PAB information sessions. The public can contact PAB to request literature or presentations.
• Mr. Bascoe recommended that subcommittees to review investigation and complaint policies be established even though committees won’t be fully staffed due to empty Board seats. When a complaint is received, an assessment is made of available information. If the information is adequate, the Board would use it to decide if the investigation should move forward. When the investigation is completed, the Board would receive a report and decide if substantiation of misconduct exists. The goal for completion of the investigation phase is three months. PAB has 18 months from the date of the alleged misconduct to file a report. Members of the public are encouraged to follow the process rather than try to contact Board members with their concerns.
MICHAEL HIGGINS GAVE AN UPDATE ON THE POLICY AND OVERSIGHT DIVISION:
• The manner in which the Board would direct the Policy Division was previously discussed. The need to identify key needs, to get community input, and to establish a policy subcommittee were discussed. A priority is to form and approve policies.
• RPD released a summary of their new protest policies which include a ban on the use of flash bangs and tear gas, as well as a tiered approach to protests and limiting the use of Special Weapons and Tactics team (SWAT). PAB will monitor implementation.
THE CHAIR REPORT WAS GIVEN BY LARRY KNOX:
• Mayor Evans announced that David Smith is now the Chief of Police and Keith Stith is Deputy Chief of Community Engagement.
• There are two open PAB seats. Although City Council is required to fill vacancies within 60 days, Dr. McIntosh’s former seat has remained unfilled beyond that limit. The PAB Alliance provided the Council with three candidates for that seat. Council President Meléndez has recommended a candidate and urged his fellow Councilmembers to make an appointment, but they had not done so. A letter will be sent to City 12
Council asking that the seat be filled. The PAB appealed to the public to contact Council members to ask the McIntosh seat be filled at the next Council meeting. The Alliance has yet to send Council a list of candidates for the Wilson seat.
NEW BUSINESS:
A process for engaging the public during PAB meetings is needed since meetings are streamed on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube simultaneously. Vice Chair Brown will take the lead on developing alternatives for Board consideration. To see this meeting, go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XEZeBf7Zw4&t=4552s
JULY 21 REGULAR BOARD MEETING
THE STAFF REPORT WAS GIVEN BY ACTING DIRECTOR DWAINE BASCOE:
• During the month that the process for receiving complaints has been active, 111 complaints have been received. Of those, 54 have sufficient information to proceed, 31 have been assigned to investigators, and 15 of those have led to requesting information from the Rochester Police Department. A 24-hour turn-around time for that information was requested but rejected. In addition, five requests for data have been made by PAB’s Public Affairs Division. A large number of complaints had inadequate information and staff is following up with the submitters. A meeting with RPD to discuss these requests is scheduled. Other complaints are cases outside of PAB jurisdiction (e.g., Sheriff’s Department). These can be referred out after Board approval.
• Waiver forms have been given to RPD for ride-alongs. Board members who have not submitted a waiver should do so.
• A meeting was held with the Chief of Police and his Chief of Staff to review 15 training opportunities that RPD has offered to the Board and staff.
• The I-Sight system is not operational yet due to programming problems. A meeting was held to resolve outstanding issues.
• The complaint submission and investigation process was described to illustrate the staff and resources needed to carry out this work.
• Issues still exist with delayed budget approvals. Two major needs involve signage for the building and payment of pre-existing contract work that the freeze was not supposed to affect.
• The importance of maintaining a healthy workplace for PAB staff in the face of difficult work was discussed. A description of this type of program been shared with the Board.
• Social media preparation sessions are being held with Board members.
NATALIE BANKS GAVE A REPORT FOR THE PUBLIC AFFAIRS DIVISION:
• The Deputy Director, who started in May, learned that 75% of the community did not know about the PAB. He developed a 45-day plan to increase awareness, including engagement of the community at public hubs (libraries); meetings with community leaders about partnering with PAB, and attending community events that involve the most impacted demographics.
• Over 600 informational flyers have been distributed. One target is to attend at least 60 events by the end of the fiscal year 2023. PAB is on track to attend 80 events by that time.
• A community education program is under development including PAB’s processes, how to file a complaint, details to include, etc. Workshops on the history of policing in Rochester and other issues will be offered.
• Staff will attend training in August led by ACLU on protest monitoring.
• Low engagement of the Latino community has been identified. Work is underway to meet with leaders to develop an engagement plan and develop a partnership with the PAB.
• The PAB Social Media Specialist started in January; since then PAB gained almost 6000 site users. The growth average month-to-month is 112%; site traffic has increased by 1,400 users.
• The Communications press office has pitched three stories from the PAB launch, and all have been placed. The Communications division is overseeing translation of documents into Spanish; other languages will follow. The group is also working on developing consistent messaging. The website is still in development.
Access to I-Sight integration and full investigatory powers are needed to proceed with a full launch of the website.
CHAIR’S REPORT:
• One open Board seat has been unfilled for over 100 days, despite the requirement that the City Council fill the seat within 60 days. A second vacant seat is still within the 60-day deadline.
• A meeting is being held with the Chief of Police and City Council to gain access to records as specified in the Charter. Lack of access is causing delays in moving work forward. It appears that RPD is in agreement with permitting access but the City Council is not.
• Investigation into the Executive Director’s situation is still ongoing by an outside law firm.
COMMITTEE REPORT:
• Meetings of the Policy Committee have not been held pending the identification of additional members.
• The Training Committee will start working through the other training topics mandated by the Charter.
• A public comment period will be considered for the next Board meeting.
NEW BUSINESS:
A complaint pertaining to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office was received and the Board voted to refer the complaint to the proper agency since it was outside PAB jurisdiction.
To see this meeting, go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14mNM3J1HOI
AUGUST 4 REGULAR BOARD MEETING
DUWAINE BASCOE GAVE A STAFF REPORT:
• Between June 20 - July 31, 130 complaints have been received, of which 19 investigations are in process, and 43 remain open and under review. Another 63 are considered for closure pending Board review. Reasons for these closures include inadequate information despite numerous attempts to fill gaps, incidents involving other jurisdictions and non-investigable complaints (e.g., eviction process rather than officer complaint). The Board discussed the process for reviewing cases for possible closure.
• A meeting was held with the Rochester Police Department (RPD) on July 27 to revisit requests for information and fulfillment of previously submitted requests (e.g., body worn camera footage, arrest reports). The original request was made on July 17. No documents have been received and the Board is also awaiting RPD training materials and notices of new training, which were requested on July 15.
• Discussion was held with Chief of Staff Ince and additional information was requested by RPD including the complainant’s name. Release of this information will require the complainant to sign a waiver. RPD’s Professional Standards Section should be sending complaints they receive to PAB, but none have been received.
• A meeting was held with City Council President Meléndez requesting lifting of the hiring freeze to fill positions in public affairs, investigations and security. This conversation is on-going.
• The Civilian Complaint Review Board of New York City will present information about their training for investigations to supplement PAB staff training.
THE CHAIR’S REPORT WAS GIVEN BY LARRY KNOX
• The Board seat formerly held by Dr. McIntosh is still not filled despite the required 60-day limit. PAB has received assurances from City Council that there are enough votes to name a replacement. The second vacant Board seat formerly held by Shani Wilson is also unfilled.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
- The Training Committee held conducted a session on the draft disciplinary matrix. The Board is moving through training topics required in the Charter. Ride-alongs have been cancelled indefinitely following the killing of Officer Mazurkiewicz. Marina Pacheco discussed training materials available to Board members. Dr. Harrison raised concerns about the disciplinary matrix training which prompted Board discussion of the training process.
- The Policy Committee is not fully formed or operational at this time. The public was invited to submit relevant information to the Board for consideration by the Committee.
OLD BUSINESS
RPD information systems access was discussed further with RPD, City Council, and others. PAB is seeking access to the databases needed for investigations. The public was encouraged to contact their representatives to demand RPD and City Council compliance with the law.
NEW BUSINESS
Condolences were sent to the Chief of Police and the Locust Club concerning the death of Officer Mazurkiewicz.
An executive session was held to discuss potential litigation regarding some of the actions PAB would like to undertake. The meeting was adjourned afterward. To see a recording of this meeting, go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QI1BCRaVUN4.