Debate on county police review board is extended
The Allegheny County Council Committee on Public Safety will reconvene Wednesday to continue talks regarding the creation of a countywide Independent Police Review Board.
If approved, the nine-member board will be tasked with reviewing allegations of misconduct against county police officers and officers in municipalities that choose to opt in.
Previous attempts to establish the board have been unsuccessful, but one bill remains. In its current form, the bill would: allow council to appoint four members; allow county Executive Rich Fitzgerald to make four appointments; allow both to compromise on a ninth appointment.
On Wednesday, the committee met via Zoom to discuss a number of amendments to the bill, although no final vote on the bill was taken.
The amendments discussed at the meeting were proposed by at-large Councilwoman Bethany Hallam, a Democrat, and included exonerations for officers who received improper training and keeping verbatim minutes of board meetings.
The discussions on the amendments led to several debates between Ms. Hallam and at-large Councilman Sam DeMarco, a Republican who chairs the Allegheny County Republican Committee.
Three of the proposed amendments failed by 4-3 votes, but a compromise on an amendment regarding the recording of board minutes was reached following input from multiple members.
Ms. Hallam initially proposed verbatim minutes of all board meetings be kept, along with written opinions on board findings — similar to the U.S. Supreme Court — for the sake of transparency.
Mr. DeMarco argued if meetings were recorded verbatim, a person coming to the board with allegations would forever smear the reputation of an officer if those allegations were found to be false or were withdrawn.
Following the input of Councilwoman Cindy Kirk, a compromise between the two sides was seemingly reached when they agreed verbatim minutes would only be kept for board hearings on specific cases, while action minutes — those used when making decisions, not discussions — would be kept for regular meetings.
A vote on the amendment was tabled.