Civilian Police Review Board member quits, cites obligations
A member of the city's inaugural Civilian Police Review Board has resigned, the board chair announced Tuesday.
At only the board's second meeting Tuesday, Chair Janet Jackson announced that Randall Sistrunk had resigned as a board member. Sistrunk's resignation letter, which Jackson read during the meeting, cited increased professional and family obligations that would prevent Sistrunk from giving as much time and dedication to the board as required.
While the review board has not yet formally adopted bylaws for how a replacement will be named, it is expected that Mayor Andrew J. Ginther will appoint a replacement.
The bylaws are currently being determined by the board members and are anticipated to be voted on at the board's October meeting.
Sistrunk, 39, is the director of business development for Orange Barrel Media and had been one of the original nine candidates appointed to the review board by Ginther.
The review board was approved by 74% of voters in November 2020 and the initial nine members were announced in late March. City Council later adopted an ordinance increasing the size of the board to 11 volunteer members and nominated two additional candidates to complete the inaugural board.
The board is tasked with reviewing allegations of misconduct by Columbus police and will ultimately hire an Inspector General to complete those investigations.
The first two meetings of the board have focused on the administrative functioning of the board, setting bylaws and beginning the process of creating the job classification and requirements for the Inspector General position.
The review board's meetings are streamed on the city's Youtube page and available for later viewing. The board's next meeting is scheduled to be held on Oct. 5.
Bethany Bruner is a reporter covering public safety, breaking news and police. bbruner@dispatch.com @bethany_bruner