March 2024 PAB Meeting
March 7th, 2024 PAB Meeting SummaryObserved by Deborah Rice Gordon
A recording of this meeting can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbWJr1nVigo
The minutes from the February Board meeting were approved without changes.
The staff report was given Interim Executive Director Sherry Walker-Cowart:
- On February 8th a Public Safety Committee meeting was held and chaired by council member Willie Lightfoot. He invited PAB as well as other agencies to give input on public safety legislation to the Review Committee. PAB will provide that input on February 26th.
- Public Affairs is working with the Policy and Oversight team to schedule a town hall on March 28th concerning the juveniles and use of force report.
- The Policy and Oversight team is analyzing the public feedback received on the protest policy report. That report should be released to the Board in about one month.
- The Case Management team is working on 21 reports.
- The Investigations team is working on an increasing number of cases in addition to hundreds of hours of body-worn camera footage. The large amount of footage is due a delay in granting access to the footage and staff positions that were not filled. Adequate staffing is integral to the work of PAB and to meet the public’s expectations.
- The firm conducting the executive director search has met with the public groups, city council, the mayor, staff, and others for their input. The resulting job listing will be posted soon.
- The East Council board seat has been open for a much longer time than the Charter requires. This seat must be filled by city council. If anyone is interested in representing the east quadrant, please submit your application. The board seats currently occupied by Arlene Brown, Rabbi Setel and Larry Knox were re-approved by City Council.
- The new budget asks for an increase in staffing throughout the agency. The City Council reviews and approves the budget.
- PAB has an ongoing conversation with City Council and City Corporation Counsel regarding timely access to data that is specified in the Charter and is necessary for PAB to do its work. The Board would like to see resolution on this issue and clearing of barriers prior to the hiring of an Executive Director.
- Candidates are being interviewed for the director of training position. Training will be required of the Board and staff soon.
- Larry Knox was invited to participate in a panel discussion being held at a conference on police accountability. The panel was organized by Equality New York and civilian review boards from Albany and New York City.