OCTOBER 5TH AND 13TH 2022
BOARD MEETINGS OCTOBER 2022 OBSERVED BY DEBORAH RICE GORDONOCTOBER 5 REGULAR BOARD MEETING
To see a recording of this meeting, go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9F-nrbt1hQQ
Duwaine Bascoe gave a staff report.
• The number of reports received is now 197. The Rochester Police Department (RPD) was sent commencement notifications for 49 investigations. RPD has responded to 32 requests for information and provided PAB with one notification of an investigation being undertaken by their Professional Standards Section (PSS).
• Ride-alongs will be provided by the three officers previously involved rather than any other officers due to the state of emergency declared by the city.
• RPD training with PAB continues next week. Two of five modules have been completed to date.
• Pursuant to Judge Valleriani’s decision that there were technical violations of the open meetings law by PAB, Mr. Bascoe attended open meetings training on October 4. A similar training session for the Board will be held virtually on the 18th pending confirmation that the virtual session will meet requirements. The law allows for voting in executive session provided the nature of the vote and the vote count is made public.
• The language access plan has been submitted to the Board for approval. The soft launch of the i-Sight system planned for October 10 will likely be delayed due to training cancellations.
• The data transparency module from the policy and oversight division is out for public comment until October 26. The disciplinary matrix is also out for comment from the public, RPD and the Locust Club. Focus groups have been organized for the next few weeks.
• Senior community engagement positions have been approved for hiring.
The Chair’s report was given by Larry Knox.
• The city settled with Daniel Prude’s family for $12 million. That tragedy led to many hours and days of work and activism to create PAB. The focus of the PAB should be maintained to help foster change in the community and prevent a recurrence of this tragic situation.
• The internal investigation involving Executive Director Dwyer Reynolds is ongoing and close to completion. Three Board members and three city council members receive non-detailed updates from investigators. A public version of the report, containing redactions to protect some named individuals, will be released.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
• The Training Committee reports that PAB is working with Coordinated Care Services Inc. (CCSI) to schedule non-completed training. The final training on closing reports will be scheduled with the consultants. RPD training continues. The first session involved policing in Rochester, organization, functions and recruitment and hiring. The second session covers domestic violence, report issuing, de-escalation training and defensive tactics. The third training will address emotionally disturbed persons, traffic stops, firearm use and less lethal options.
OLD BUSINESS
• The charter states that the PAB should have direct access to relevant RPD data for investigations. Delays in getting this information have persisted. The process agreed to is not being followed. The RPD liaison is supposed to upload the requested information to a shared site in order to expedite transfer. However, the information is being sent to the City Law Department for review prior to release to the PAB. This step was 11 November 2022 Sunshine Corner continued from page 9 never discussed with the Board. PAB request forms have been revised to include a reason for failure to release documents. PAB sees a conflict of interest for the Law Department in this role since they represent RPD in legal matters.
• No case closures are ready to discuss at this time.
An executive session was held to discuss potential litigation and a specific employee’s disciplinary issues. The meeting was adjourned afterward.
OCTOBER 13 EMERGENCY BOARD MEETING
Chairperson Larry Knox made a few remarks prior to the Board going into executive session. He relayed that the past week has been a trying time for the PAB. Specifically, there was a conversation about a meeting that took place with staff and Acting Manager Bascoe about 11 ⁄2 weeks ago that has received a great deal of media attention. Despite health issues, Mr. Bascoe pushed himself to go to the meeting and his performance was not up to par. This was not understood by those attending the meeting. The meeting didn’t go well and could have been better. Mr. Bascoe released a statement today about that concern.
Mr. Knox has been meeting with staff and board members and is convinced that everyone is committed to the goals and work of the PAB. PAB staff is going through growing pains involving getting there all together. Regardless of what happens at the agency, the public should know that the PAB work is proceeding.
The public portion of the meeting ended and an executive session was held to talk about litigation and personnel issues.