Council to reconsider police review board

County officials want more input on issue

Allegheny County Council will again consider the creation of an independent police review board — a proposal the body voted down in 2019.

The Committee on Public Safety met Tuesday for an “informational” discussion on bringing experts in front of the body and getting council members out in the community to discuss the bill, said committee chairwoman Olivia Bennett.

The council failed to get enough votes to create a board that would have investigated allegations of misconduct against Allegheny County police — and potentially against some suburban officers, too.

“I have a position, obviously,” she said pointing to her “J4A” shirt, signifying her support for a review board in part because of the police shooting of Antwon Rose II in East Pittsburgh. “But my goal in my position is not to just bring people in front of the committee that agree with this; it’s to bring everybody in front of the committee so that we can hear as many perspectives as possible so that we can make the most informed decision as possible.”

Ms. Bennett represents District 13, composed of the North Side, Lawrenceville and other city neighborhoods as well as Bellevue.

More council members attended the meeting than serve on the seven-member committee. Nine were present, and Councilwoman Bethany Hallam, member at-large, joined by phone.

District 10 Councilman DeWitt Walton, who represents the Hill District and Oakland as well as Forest Hills and Wilkinsburg, said he has concerns about weakening the legislation through the amendment process.

“Legislation that is impotent is worse than no legislation at all,” he said.

But others said they want to see more collaboration on the bill before it leaves the committee.

“We need to bring everybody to the table, maybe start over,” said District 12 Councilman Robert Palmosina, who represents Dormont, Green Tree, Ingram, Rosslyn Farms and Mount Oliver.

Ms. Bennett said her goal is to bring the bill for a vote in July.

“Certainly, the challenges are going to be agreeing upon the amendments, if there are going to be amendments,” Ms. Bennett said. “… Councilman Walton does not want amendments. However, if we want to pass something, then we might need to amend it. So I think that’s going to be a conversation, and there might be some tension around that.”

“It’s going to be work,” she said.