Board OKS disciplinary powers for panel

Citywide referendum still required; union official expects legal challenge

The Common Council voted 14-0, with one member absent, Monday night to grant the city’s police review board greater powers and resources as part of its larger police reform efforts.

The legislation still needs to be approved by a citywide referendum before it goes into effect.

It gives the Community Police Review Board a budget equal to 1 percent of the city police department, as well as the ability to hire staff, greater access to police records, the power to conduct independent investigations into allegations of police misconduct, open investigations without a formal complaint being filed and the power to issue disciplinary findings.

The board’s president, Nairobi Vives, thanked the council for its work and asked it to be open to the idea of future changes to the board.

“As I have said previously, the board and the community are looking for a board that is truly independent and that has the power to effectively review complaints and to hold APD accountable,” she said.

The legislation’s true impact will not be felt for some time as several of its components, including whether the board can subpoena officers to testify and whether it can discipline officers, will need to be agreed to through negotiations with the city’s police unions.

Councilman Alfredo Balarin said the public needed to understand that.

“I don’t want people to feel that this is the end, this is the beginning,” he said.

The patrol union’s president, Greg Mcgee, previously made it clear that he believed the legislation would result in a lawsuit.

“That’s all very clearly outlined in our collective bargaining agreement,” he said last month. “I believe this law will open the city up to a lengthy litigation battle.”

The legislation was the result of months of meetings and negotiations.

Councilman Kelly Kimbrough, a former Albany police officer and chair of the public safety committee, said he had heard from police officers who thought the law went too far and from community members who thought it fell short.

“This wasn’t an easy process,” he said. “It’s about building trust; it’s not meant to be punitive. It’s about providing transparency and accountability.”

The law is the last of three pieces of police reform legislation the council proposed last June to pass.

The other two laws require the police department to collect more data on traffic stops and put more oversight over the department’s body camera policies.

Several council members made it clear they believed the review board legislation was only one step toward broader reforms.

“This is only the beginning of what the people are looking for,” said Councilman Derek Johnson.