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Several community members called on Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh to veto a proposed amendment to the city’s Citizen Review Board legislation during a Wednesday morning public hearing.

The revisions, which were passed by the Syracuse City Common Council in a 5-4 vote on April 22, alter the leadership selection procedures within CRB — a local police watchdog and auditing entity. Under the amended legislation, the Common Council will select an administrator for CRB from three recommended candidates, while the city clerk will oversee its staff. Attendees said they feared the change would decrease citizens’ role in monitoring law enforcement.

Following the council’s approval of the amendment, Walsh has 30 days following the bill being presented to him to decide whether to pass or veto the changes, he said. The mayor said he hoped the mandatory hearing would help him determine the “appropriate solution” to concerns about the board’s operations.

“(CRB) is not operating to its fullest potential,” Walsh said. “I’m going to take my time and make sure I get it right … (but) I don’t intend on running down the clock.”

CRB failed to meet the six-person attendance quorum at five of its 16 monthly meetings since the beginning of 2023, which has prevented discussion of cases, syracuse.com reported earlier this month. The board also failed to release its annual report in 2023 and held only one misconduct hearing despite receiving over 80 officer treatment complaints, according to syracuse.com.

The forum featured approximately 15 speakers, most of whom were leaders across local community groups, including the New York Civil Liberties Union. 4th District Common Councilor Patrona Jones-Rowser, who voted in favor of the amendment, also gave remarks during the hearing.

Though almost all speakers recognized the ongoing issues with CRB’s operations, they argued that granting the council increased power over the board undermines the “citizen-led” nature of the initiative. They said the decision felt “rushed,” and that the council should have collected community feedback on potential improvements to CRB before introducing legislation.

“When you have an oversight such as Common Council, if they were doing the job, then we wouldn’t be here,” said Jacqueline LaSonde, a member of the Southside Coalition for Equity and Justice. “We should’ve had a chance to be heard.”

As a retired police officer, LaSonde emphasized the importance of an outside citizen-run organization dedicated to monitoring law enforcement agencies instead of allowing them to “police themselves.” She said instead of giving itself leadership over CRB, the council should evaluate and address its administrative oversight procedures for the board.

LaSonde also said she believes that the Council’s public discussions surrounding the amendment were “not accessible” to the public, as many occurred on weekday mornings during traditional work hours.

The council discussed the CRB amendment at 12 p.m. during its April 22 study session, according to its website. The subsequent regular meeting, where councilors approved the legislation, began at 1:00 p.m.

“We are the constituents. (Common Council) hasn’t come to us, and that’s a problem. Don’t be about us without us,” LaSonde said.

Since the Council’s approval of the amendment, Walsh said the Mayor’s Office has received several messages from community members. Barrie Gewanter, who previously spoke out against the CRB legislation amendment to The Daily Orange, said she delivered paper copies of letters calling for Walsh’s veto directly to him.

Throughout her remarks, Gewanter outlined some of the board’s ongoing issues, many of which were also featured in an April 19 syracuse.com article. She described how CRB has not been “fully staffed.” According to the city of Syracuse’s website, CRB currently has two vacant seats: one appointed by the mayor and another appointed by Syracuse’s 4th District Councilor.

Some positions have also not been reappointed, as three board members are currently serving a second consecutive term.

Gewanter, also a former CRB member, made several suggestions to improve the board outside of what is suggested in the amendment. She urged the mayor to consider alternative suggestions, such as creating consequences for board members who don’t attend meetings and holding public hearings prior to introducing legislation.

“CRBs are not a solution for all police-community relations issues or all police misconduct issues. No CRB in the country can do that,” Gewanter said. “They are a piece of the accountable matrix … these amendments will not fix any of the problems.”

Published on May 2, 2024 at 1:14 am

Contact Julia: jmboehni@syr.edu