After more than a decade, Dade’s police civilian oversight board has returned

Miami-Dade County formally restarted its civilian oversight board this week after 12 years without one, reviving a panel created to examine allegations of police misconduct.

Gathering in the county’s main library in downtown Miami, the Independent Civilian Panel took no action beyond appointing a committee to help the search for a fulltime director.

The civilian panel remained defunct until last year in the wake of

George Floyd’s killing during an arrest in Minneapolis. Then-Commissioner Barbara Jordan helped pass legislation in August 2020.

“This makes me feel so good,” Jordan, who left office in November, said as the first civilian to address the board Tuesday afternoon. “We spent so much time trying to get this process re-instituted. ... You give credibility to the process.”

SUBPOENAS

The board can examine complaints against county police officers, with open hearings and findings released to the public. The board has limited subpoena power — subpoenas can be issued, but not for county employees, including police officers — and can’t interfere with investigations by existing county agencies, including the police department.

Commissioners appoint members of the panel.

The final makeup of the 13-member panel includes two former county police officers: Luis Fernandez and Raymond Melcon; along with a former mayor, North Miami’s Josaphat Celestin; a former state senator, Oscar Braynon II; and a former Coral Gables commissioner, Jeannett Slesnick.

“I’m thrilled to be here, and anxious to get to work,” lawyer Pam Perry, a member participating by Zoom, said during introductions Tuesday.

SHERIFF’S ROLE

The oversight board is forming as Miami-Dade prepares for a major shake-up of countywide law enforcement, with a new constitutional amendment in Florida requiring Miami-Dade to elect a county sheriff by the end of 2024. Currently, that power is held by the county mayor, who oversees Miami-Dade police officers.

County Commissioner Raquel Regalado urged the oversight board to “provide the county commission with some community guidance” on the best way to transfer to a sheriff system. Jeanne Baker, a longtime advocate for the oversight panel, also encouraged the board to weigh in on how to remain relevant once an elected sheriff takes office.

“It’s very important to start early, with helping the community to think through how this will dovetail when we have a sheriff,” said Baker, a lawyer. “We can have civilian oversight with a sheriff system.”