Charlottesville’s Police Civilian Oversight Board is once again promising it has made the changes necessary to begin effectively carrying out its mission — nearly eight years after the board was authorized.
The board — founded in response to the fatal Unite the Right rally-turned-riot in 2017, in which the police response to the violence was sharply criticized locally and nationally — has only ever had one case. The board has struggled to maintain quorum and retain leadership.
The board lost more than half of its members in May and June, and its executive director left in August for a similar position in California.
Current and former members and directors have said that the documents governing board have been the root of their problems.
The board’s most recent chair, Al Pola, and most recent director, Inez Gonzalez, have both said the wording of the ordinance that created the board rendered the body incapable of achieving its stated mission of providing objective and independent oversight of the Charlottesville Police Department.
“It is clear that the board cannot achieve its intended impact without structural reforms and meaningful support,” Pola wrote to City Council when he announced his resignation.
Fundamental flaws in the ordinance must be changed in real and meaningful ways if the board is to ever function effectively, Pola said.
“These are, in no particular order, unresolved deficiencies in the enabling ordinance which I have discussed with many of you; a lack of independent legal counsel; inadequate staffing resources; and, inconsistent support from key stakeholders. These challenges directly compromised our ability to complete investigations, conduct hearings, perform audits, and engage credibly with the community we serve, and they continue to do so.”
City Council has said it is committed to making the board work, and in a recent joint meeting between Council and the board, interim Director James Walker, the board’s only employee, discussed changes to its governing ordinance that he said will make that possible.
Council finalized changes to the ordinance last Monday, and the board met Thursday for the first time in months. Thursday’s meeting was thanks to Council appointing two new members to the board in October, allowing it to once again achieve quorum. Two seats on the board remain unfilled, but the city said it is accepting applications.
The changes to the ordinance finalized on Monday are meant as the first phase in reforming the board’s ordinance and mostly clean up its language.
“These changes do not alter the Board’s powers or duties but rather address how those duties are implemented and by whom,” according to Council agenda documents.
For example, new language in the ordinance creates an office for the Police Civilian Oversight Board.
When considering the recent changes, Councilor Lloyd Snook said there were clear issues with the ordinance that reflected issues within City Hall and the police department.
“The version we’ve been working with was written at a time when we didn’t have a city manager, we didn’t have a city attorney, we didn’t have a sitting police chief and both the council and PCOB were themselves in turmoil,” Snook said. “It’s been recognized for some time that there’s some issues associated with it, and I’m glad we’re getting them resolved.”
It is perhaps unsurprising that Charlottesville residents remain skeptical of the board, considering it has been changed before with little success.
Initially created as the Police Civilian Review Board in 2017, the board was later updated in 2019 with changes on policy review and authority to change bylaws. The board in 2021 again received an update to its founding ordinance and the name was changed to the Police Civilian Oversight Board.
“It is well known that the board is in a state of transition, and it’s been in states of transition over its history several times,” Walker said at Thursday’s meeting. “One major positive tonight is that the board has a quorum, which means that the board can make official votes and recommendations on things.”
The board discussed how to best organize itself and the idea of creating committees was floated, but no vote on either was taken.
Jeffrey Fracher, the board’s new chair, said he’d like to wait to take those votes as two empty seats on the board could be filled as early as December.
Source: www.dailyprogress.com