Post by Nigel Parry. The Board Meeting Blog is an unofficial citizen record of the meetings and does not reflect any official CPRB position or policy, and is simply offered as a quick way of keeping up with what happens at the board meetings. Watch full-length video recordings of all CPRB meetings at cprbpgh.org/for-public-record/video/
There was no quorum at the beginning of the meeting, so no official action could be taken. Any current cases under investigation automatically continue. Board members gave reports and informally discussed a variety of issues.
There was no quorum at the beginning of the meeting, so no official action could be taken. Any current cases under investigation automatically continue. Board members gave reports and informally discussed a variety of issues. Executive Director Elizabeth Pittinger (pictured above) gave an update on recent discussions.
We have received 77 complaints so far this year.
This year four board terms expire: City Council Seat #1 (Ms. Brown), City Council Seat #3 (Mr. Green), Mayoral Appointment Seat #6 (Dr. Darby), Mayoral Appointment Seat #7 (currently held by Mr. Williams, one of two law enforcement professional positions). The coming term is from November 1st, 2023 until October 31st, 2027. If any member of the public is interested in serving, they should contact their City Council representative.
The City’s Department of Innovation and Performance has upgraded the board members with new mobile technology, connecting the board members.
The proposed blog summarizing board meetings was discussed. The idea is to allow people to catch up with the board’s work without having to wait for the official minutes (often released a month later) or watch the (often) 1.5 to 2 hour long meeting videos. Board members found the summary helpful, especially during the non-quorum meeting in April. Support and general agreement was expressed by all members, emphasizing that it should be clear that these are not official minutes, to avoid any confusion.
The Community Liaison position is unfortunately delayed because it is still being reviewed by the chief operating office in the Mayor’s office. The nature of this new position brings up issues with union exemption. It is hoped this would be resolved and the position filled this summer.
Pittsburgh SWAT has invited CPRB board members to see their facilities and discuss their activities.
There has been a lot of discussion since the last meeting about the selection of the new Pittsburgh chief of police. It has become somewhat of a controversy. The process that was utilized has not been disclosed to the public, leading to a lot of assumptions and gossip.
There were three interviewing committees, one of members from the general public, one of city employees and administrators, and one from the Fraternal Order of Police (the police union) and the Bureau of Police. The Mayor’s office has been conducting background checks on the final candidate/s but has not been particularly transparent about where they are at in the process.
A rumor got out that a named individual previously employed in Idaho had been offered the job, but had a somewhat troubling background. The other two candidates are former Pittsburgh police officers, one an assistant chief, and one a commander. Members of the committees were asked to sign an NDA about the committee’s activities, which is troubling.
Ms. Pittinger raised the issue of CPRB’s ongoing inquiry into the training of supervisors for the Bureau of Police. CPRB reached out to the law department again, as discussed at the last meeting, but still has not received any response or documents.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Ms. Katie Miles-Crawford reported an experience with a police officer who has a personal relationship with her and her husband, who followed her and her husband home, and accused him of drunk driving. He passed a breathalyzer test. The officer has continued to interact with the couple and has since told others that her husband got a DUI. They have repeatedly asked the officer to leave them alone. While the police officer is not from Pittsburgh, Ms. Miles-Crawford is wanting all regional departments to look at conflict of interest policies in situations where police officers have personal relationships with members of the public they presume to police.
Note: Due to a lack of quorum, no case actions can be approved. Ongoing investigations continue automatically and an updated report back will be made at the next meeting on May 23rd, 2023.
Post by Nigel Parry. The Board Meeting Blog is an unofficial citizen record of the meetings and does not reflect any official CPRB position or policy, and is simply offered as a quick way of keeping up with what happens at the board meetings. Watch full-length video recordings of all CPRB meetings at cprbpgh.org/for-public-record/video/.
