Allegheny County Council to gather more feedback on police review board proposal

Allegheny County Council will resume efforts to gather feedback from the public, law enforcement experts and other stakeholders — including municipal officials, police chiefs and grassroots organizations — regarding legislation to form a countywide police review board.

The council Public Safety Committee, chaired by Liv Bennett, D-Northview Heights, met Tuesday to discuss a road map for moving the legislation forward.

Bennett said she hopes this effort to gather more feedback on the legislation will move council closer to voting on the ordinance by July.

“I don’t think that it’s different,” she said, comparing these meetings to community meetings held on the topic in 2018. “I think that we’re just picking up the baton and continuing to engage communities, especially communities that weren’t particularly for it. Getting out there, educating why it’s not only beneficial for civilians, but also for police. It’s more about organizing communities, continuing to educate communities.”

Council will participate in the first of several public meetings regarding the legislation Feb. 19 at 6 p.m. at Duquesne City Hall, Bennett said.

The legislation to establish the review board was reintroduced in January by DeWitt Walton, a Democrat from the Hill District, and co-sponsored by Tom Duerr, D-Bethel Park.

It is identical to a version of the legislation sponsored by Walton and Paul Klein, D-Point Breeze, in late 2018.

The unpaid, nine-member board would be responsible for reviewing complaints of alleged misconduct by Allegheny County law enforcement. Any municipality or municipal authority in the county would be allowed to opt in.

That version of the ordinance was voted down in a 9-6 vote in August following several community meetings in the fall of 2018.

Bennett said she expects council members to further probe issues related to whether the review board should have the power to subpoena individuals and procedures for cross examination.

The Public Safety Committee also will meet with representatives from the Pittsburgh Citizen Police Review Board, which was established in 1997 and oversees City of Pittsburgh police, Bennett said.

“My goal in my position is not to just bring people in front of the committee who agree with this, it’s to bring everyone in front of the committee, so that we can hear as many perspectives as possible so that we can make the most informed decision as possible,” said Bennett, who has expressed support for establishing a countywide police review board.

Committee members did agree that this round of public meetings should involve more feedback from a wider range of stakeholders, including elected officials or regional police forces that already have civilian oversight mechanisms in place.

“It’s not the people, it’s the elected officials who are going to opt in or not,” said Nick Futules, D-Oakmont. “And that’s who we need to convince.”

Bennett said she will work with council staff to develop a budget markup so council members can start exploring sources for funding the review board.

At-large council member Sam DeMarco III, R-North Fayette, said he’s confident council members will be able to find common ground as the process moves forward as long as the public and communities are included in the discussion.

DeMarco previously voted against establishing a countywide police review board and has argued that elected officials, including mayors and municipal council members, already serve as civilian oversight of local police departments.

“If we’re going to ask folks to live under something, we owe it to ourselves as part of the process to go out and talk to them about it,” DeMarco said during the committee meeting, addressing Bennett. “I’m heartened to hear that you have an open mind here, that you want to dig into this and understand what’s in place today so that as we try to craft something that addresses gaps, we’re doing something that doesn’t replicate something already in place.”