EINO SIERPE PHOTOS
Cops throwing unarmed protester Nate Blair to ground at protest; he got a concussion. Police officials saw no problem with the police actions, one of many that spurred calls for a strengthened CRB.
Having a legal background is a lot less important than a commitment to serve — and show up at meetings.
That preference emerged for potential future members of the newly reconstituted police Civilian Review Board (CRB), during a discussion at Monday night’s regular meeting of the East Rock Community Management Team (ERCMT) held in the community room of the mActivity Fitness Center on Nicoll Street.
On Jan. 7, after a campaign that spanned decades, the Board of Alders passed an ordinance setting up a newly strengthened version of the all-civilian police review review board (CRB), which has the teeth of investigatory power and a budget.
Many questions remain, such as whether the CRB will have genuine subpoena power and whether the mandated $50,000 budget will be sufficient. Meanwhile community management teams are beginning to think about which of their members they might nominate to serve on the 15-member CRB. A dozen of those 15, by language of the new ordinance, must come from the city’s 12 management teams in the city’s neighborhood policing districts
The language of the legislation pertaining to membership reads as follows:
Section 3. Membership.
a. The Civilian Review Board shall consist of an odd number of members, with no more than fifteen (15), and with a quorum of seven (7), and shall, at a minimum, consist of members selected as follows: one member from each of the Police Districts in the City of New Haven, one member of the Board of Alders, and, at least two, at-large members.
b. All members of the Civilian Review Board shall be residents of the City of New Haven.
c. No member of the Civilian Review Board shall be a current sworn officer of any police department or law enforcement entity.
d. Except for the member of the Board of Alders appointed by the President of the Board of Alders, no current elected official shall be a member of the Civilian Review Board.
Allan Appel Photo
Management team attendees Mark Aronson and Sarah Locke, in a lighthearted moment before proceedings began.
“Do you have to be a lawyer?” asked Cottage Street resident Mark Aronson.
“You don’t have to be a lawyer,” answered ERCMT Vice-Chair Kevin McCarthy.
“Then what are the qualifications?” Aronson replied.
“I worked on the legislation,” said East Rock Alder Charles Decker. He said the aim was that the CRB should reflect the city’s population, its race, gender, income levels.
“Those aren’t qualifications,” Aronson parried.
Aronson pressed the issue; Do you have to be a registered voter, for example?
Decker said his recollection was that might not be the case. He said the ordinance’s authors sought to leave latitude for the future board members, for example, so that, for example, an undocumented person could serve.
“It’s a serious board,” added East Rock Alder Anna Festa. “And people have to be seriously committed to going to meetings.”
With 15 members, no meeting would be official unless a minimum of seven people attend.
“Hartford set up a board, and in the beginning it was good. But eventually they had quorum issues,” Decker reported.
Aronson and others asked how many meetings might be scheduled.
Decker said that too, deliberately, was to be left to the members to determine.
Ann Tramontana-Veno, who had represented the ERCMT on the previous incarnation of the CRB, said that meetings were at a minimum monthly, but that members had lots to study and read between meetings as well.
“It’s lots of work,” she said.
Several people around the table then went to their phones and found the old bylaws of the CRB still on the city website.
Decker promised to provide members with the text of the legislation. “We wrote the ordinance to give the board a lot of leeway,” he added.
Asked whether he himself, following the night’s discussion, might be interested in volunteering to serve, Aronson replied with a thoughtful, “Maybe.”
Why reinvent the wheel when you can find out what is wrong with it and fix it? Believe it or not, New Haven had a CRB before. The complaint that 'it did not have teeth' (no subpoena power) came up only during the City Ordinance revision. Prior to that it had been functioning well for years. We (yes I served many years with other fine and dedicated residents) had regularly scheduled monthly meetings, had bylaws, had procedures, had a representative from each of the 10 Police Districts (to ensure every neighborhood was represented) who were presented by their management teams and approved by the Mayor & Alders. Having representation from the communities where the people actually live is important because that would provide better opportunity for the community to be served rather than people serving their 'self interest'; made up of community people who are looking for truth and justice to be served. We had an Alder rep and a rep from the Board of Police Commissioners. We had access to files and general orders. In addition to monthly board meetings, each member spent 3-4 hours monthly reading assigned cases of police complaints that came to IAD, with at least 2 readers per case so as not to have a singular opinion. At our monthly meetings we discussed the cases read and recommendations made to the board of Police Commissioners for action (i.e., a General Orders written to clarify the right of citizens to record, or recommending additional training needed for an officer charged with a complaint ...). These recommendations were actually made by us and followed. Most importantly, board members need orientation from NACO (National Assoc. of Civilian Oversight) & completion of the NHPD Citizens Academy so they have better understanding of their purpose on the CRB and the jobs of the police officers whom they will have 'oversight' of. You can't be anti-cop or pro-cop. You have to want justice to be served, and be committed to serving your community.