Now we will bring the Citizen Review Board meeting to uh the start.

Um the this is Tuesday, June second, twenty twenty six, five thirty.

Uh, we do have a quorum uh for the meeting for today.

Um, first of all, I'd like to welcome the guests and uh our distinguished uh councilwoman here.

Um, the first thing we're gonna do is uh roll call from the Secretary.

Okay, Laura Elise.

You say she's coming.

Here, Mike.

Um, first thing on the agenda is that we didn't have a meeting in May, so there is no uh minutes to approve for the May meeting because of the incident that's uh we're facing right now with the uh CRB and the uh current situation.

Um the chairman report I don't have a report now because we're still waiting to see what the outcome of the uh decision for the uh case in Rochester.

Um investigations have been put on hold and are pending of that decision coming out of Rochester and the appellate court.

Um we have been holding uh events for the board.

We've been uh canvassing at different locations.

Um, just giving our information out that the CRB is uh still alive and doing well.

Unfortunately, we're not taking any new cases in for investigation.

Um the next thing on the agenda is going to be the uh administrative report from Olita Tannehill.

Friminalita Tanayel.

Good evening, everyone.

Thank you for coming out.

Uh we will start with the obvious.

As you know, the CRB investigative part orders have been suspended, and that took place on April 17th of 2026.

The CRB was instructed by Corporation Council, which is the council to the City of Syracuse and the CRB to suspend its investigative powers.

This directive was issued because of an appellate court decision concerning the Rochester Police Accountability Board in the matter of Rochester Police Lotus Club versus City of Rochester.

Um the CRB is continuing its efforts to confer with Corporation Council regarding its ability to lawfully exercise its statutory powers despite the new decision.

Meanwhile, to ensure the public still has a pathway for grievances during this transition, CRB will continue to accept complaints on behalf of the community members and to otherwise engage directly with the community relative to encounters with police.

Other investigative functions, including holding hearings, have been suspended at the council's direction.

The civilian review board, it stands um stands as the frontline for the police, serving as a primary liaison between our community and law enforcement.

We remain committed to ensuring every citizen is seen and heard.

The CRB continues bridging the gap between the public and the police, ensuring that oversight remains a reality rather than a promise.

So we are still moving and being active.

Our April engagements.

Throughout April, the CRB maintained presence at the local events to share resources and clarify our evolving role.

In late April, we successfully updated all CRB literature to reflect the change in language regarding our role, ensuring the public is accurately informed of our current functions.

So April the 1st, there was a training that Don and Julie participated in for the Workforce Central training, which is a program that we use at the city, well, use at the city level.

Chris and Don also met with API team to explain services used for data analysis, and that was April the 7th.

On April the 8th, we were at a community resource fair.

Adonia represented the CRB to provide resource navigations and information to local residents.

April 13th through the 14th, Don and myself, we went to an oversight conference in New York City where we collaborated and networked with other CRBs and legislative challenges and police oversight.

April the 18th, we participated in Shine Your Light Talent Show.

Don and myself conducted outreach and distributed CRB information to the Syracuse community.

On April the 25th, we attended 100 black men Renaissance Gala.

There were three staff, four board members, and three community representatives engaged in community networking and high-level outreach with civic leaders.

April the 27th was a TNT meeting that we showed up at, participated in the Tomorrow's Neighborhood Today meeting to engage directly with the neighborhood and stakeholders.

April the 30th, our data analysis attended a NACO data forum that was actually virtual.

And then in the month of May, May 2026, our community engagement and advocacy log says that on May 5th, we attended our quarterly meeting with the chief, myself, Adonia, and board member Elise met with the police leadership to maintain a presence in the department departmental discussions despite the suspension.

So we are still meeting with our chief of police to make sure that we are still at least meeting and getting our our name out there still.

May 6th, we did a meet and greet with Chief Rustin and Mayor Orwens.

The CRB and staff members showed up to participate.

May 7th, the Hiscock legal aid event.

Adonia participated in networking events focused on legal aid and strengthening community support systems.

On May 11th, Chris and Don met with the PAB Oversight Manager Sarah Jinx, where they are collaborating with uh exchanging some data and seeing better ways that we could strengthen our data.

May 19th, Nottingham Unified Basketball Game.

CRB staff tabled at this event to provide information and resources to the students and families.

May 21st, NAACP annual Freedom Fund award dinner.

There were three staff, three board members, and two community representation supported civil rights advocacy and reinforced partnership with community and organizations.

May 27th, we attended uh Congressman Main and Senior Fair.

Odony Dan and myself, we conducted targeted outreach and shared information tailored to the needs of the senior community.

And that's what we did for the month of May.

Um the CRB has received phone calls in regards to its operation within the community.

I want the community to know that the CRB remains committed to working diligently to remain visible, active, and responsive to the people we serve.

We will continue to process complaints and advocate for transparency as we continue our discussion with City regarding our ability to engage as we had previously.

The CRB will continue to work and serve as a vital bridge between the community and the law enforcement.

And that is my report for April and May.

And one thing that we need to add to that, we fall within the guidelines set by the uh corporate council.

So we're not outside of the scope of what council has advised us that we can and cannot do.

So we're uh we're all within that scope.

So next thing is uh any old business.

You have any old business that has to be uh addressed.

Okay.

Um the next thing we have is uh that's not on the list is new business.

The new business is that unfortunately we're gonna be losing one of our board members.

Uh Desire has decided to turn in his letter of resignation as uh affected uh as a Friday, I think it is.

Um, so we're gonna be down one, we'll be down two um board members.

We have one pending board member now that we will be bringing on board that uh Corey Williams has uh selected, and then Cho, I think has a replacement for um Desire.

So we'll be back up to the 11 board members uh hopefully very soon.

So and then come somewhere.

You want to write or off?

Yeah, something.

Okay, Julie.

Yeah, yeah.

Okay.

So thank you, Don.

Uh and uh all the community members present today.

I really want to take this opportunity to say thank you to tonight, marks the conclusion of my service as a board member of the Citizen Review Board.

And I do this with a deep sense of gratitude, humility, and appreciation.

And my appreciation goes to the community of Syracuse for trusting me to serve on this board, the common counsel at large who appointed me.

And uh and big thanks goes to uh Don Jonathan.

Uh he has really worked hard to bring the board together.

He's a good man and regardless of all that has occurred, but he's been trying to work hard to bring us together, and you could see like the sincerity of him talking to our board members, working very hard to make sure the CRB is visible to the community, but also bringing us together as board members.

So, Don, I really want to appreciate you as a person.

I also want to appreciate my fellow board members.

Thank you.

It's been a pleasure and a privilege to serve alongside people like you.

Very incredible team.

Every one of you has been having a unique perspective that they have brought to the table.

And we've been working as a team.

So I really thank you for giving me a chance and opportunity to serve uh alongside you and uh to the to the administration to Norida.

She's she's really worked very, very hard with Adonia, Chris, and the entire, you know, CRB uh administration.

They have really worked hard to be, you know, where we are.

And uh I can't, I can't really sank them enough.

Uh the professionalism and uh they have brought the visibility, as you've had Norida, you know, uh has been working hard with the CRB uh staff to make sure that uh the CRB is visible to the community, is reasoning to the community uh members, and for me, serving on this board has really taught me uh the importance of accountability, uh transparency, community trust, and also to keep preserving the integrity of our police officers, and it is a continuous walk.

And as I see many community members here today, I humbly request you to support the CRB because the CRB is a very professional board, it's been doing a great work, preserving the integrity of our officers.

Uh we are not the media likes to call us polish watchdogs, but we are not.

We really work with the officers to corroborate to make sure that uh accountability, transparency, uh inclusivity, and preserving that integrity is a continuous work, and it needs it needs to continue to be there.

And the recommendations we've been making to the police force, some have been implemented, and the CRB has really registered a lot of success.

So I ask the community to really support the board so that we can uh uh keep going because the CRB board is very different from us a board because what we do, we do the recommendation to the police.

We and those recommendations uh are really you know hard, and some of them are really implemented, and we we have been having good relationship with the Syracuse Police, and I hope it really continues.

So for me, serving on this board has given me a valuable learning experience and a deep understanding of how our institutions work, uh, governance, accountability, and civic responsibility.

And as you all know, or many of you know, I was recently appointed by Mayor Sharon Owens to serve on the uh Syracuse City School District Board of Education, and I am really privileged that what I learned from this board, I'm gonna use it where I'm going.

So I can't thank you enough.

I may God keep pressing the CRB, may God keep pressing the CEO of Syracuse, and those were my remarks.

Thank you so much.

And thank you for uh putting your time and effort in on the board.

Thank you.

Really appreciate it.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Okay, the next thing is uh we don't have any committee meeting, committee uh reports as of this time.

So what we're gonna do now is move to section eight, which is public uh comment.

Um so um the mic is gonna be open.

The rules for public comment is that you have a five minutes uh spread to um give you say.

Uh we like to keep it within that five-minute uh time frame uh so we can get to everybody's uh comments.

So I uh before you skip either section, I just wanted to be aware from the police relations thing that the chief of police has informed me that they wish to continue the quarterly meetings.

So the schedule quarterly meetings will still take place, they will take place at the new police building at 1153 West Fayette Street, and uh they are calendared for already for 2025.

So I'll simply remind everybody.

So I imagine those discussions will be relative to policy and procedure if we want to have any input.

Okay, fantastic.

Thank you, Mike.

The mic is open.

Uh, whoever wants to come up, um, please do so now.

Good evening, members of the board.

This is a boy.

My name is Liz Marie Montemayor Rollez, and I am here tonight representing the New York Civil Liberties Union.

We are here to express serious concern regarding the city of Syracuse's decision to suspend the investigatory powers of the Citizen Review Board.

This decision was based on a court ruling involving Rochester's police accountability board.

Thus, it should not apply to the local laws of Syracuse's Citizen Review Board.

For more than 30 years, the CRB has played a vital role in Syracuse by providing independent civilian oversight of the Syracuse Police Department.

Importantly, the CRB does not discipline officers.

Its role has always been to review complaints and provide recommendations.

Well, the police department retains full authority over disciplinary powers.

And with permission, I would like to distribute copies of our advocacy letter to the board.

Absolutely.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Before the next speaker comes, I just want to add one thing.

If there's any documentation about uh from the community that reflects to the CRB, if you can uh make sure that myself, as the chairman of the board and the vice chairman uh Peggy Chase get a copy of that, there are information that have been going out that we have not been privy to having, and as um as the board, we should be the first one, the first line of defense for the CRB.

So I just want to make sure that's noted with everyone.

Thank you.

Hi, my name is Al Freeman.

I'm a resident of the South Side.

And through your speech there, I was hearing you about saying about accountability and transparency.

What, as a resident of the South Side, we we don't see that.

I mean, because if you make a case against the police, the chief states, they serve out the justice.

So how is this transparency or accountability when basically they watching out for their soul?

Basically, like in Rochester, they have what?

They get a handout discipline, but we can't do it here.

So I don't understand why y'all would suspend it and shut down.

Well, and and and you're absolutely right.

There's there's no reason why the Syracuse um citizen review board should have been shut down because we do not violate the um the the um the Taylor law, we do not violate any of the things that the Rochester C CRB was doing.

Um what we're fighting hard to make sure that we stay as a viable unit to in the community.

Um, and the only way that's gonna happen is that we get to support from the citizens of Syracuse that says to the the council, to the mayor, uh to the corporate council that we want the CRB to continue the way they're continuing because you have to have a nonpartisan group watching the hand house, and that's exactly what we do.

We uh run the interference between the citizens of Syracuse and the Syracuse Police Department to make sure everything is on the up and up.

So walter resident of Syracuse in late April.

You agreed to a quote unquote temporary pause.

My understanding is that what you agreed to was a pause, not a subspension.

But you've said now yourselves, it's a suspension.

I understand you were facing a city attorney who insisted that a recent appellate court decisions striking down these powers for an oversight entity in Rochester absolutely applied to Syracuse.

It does not.

It applies only to the police accountability board in Rochester.

The decision says absolutely nothing about any other oversight entity anywhere else in the state.

I don't know how many of you have actually read the decision.

So I provide you with a copy.

And I suggest that you read the NYCLU's letter while also actually reading the decision, which some of you may have read.

You agreed to the pause or suspension.

My question is for how long?

There is no legal reason to wait for the Rochester appeal to go through the New York State Court of Appeals because that decision has no relevance to the Syracuse CRB.

At the time, there were no other written legal opinions to counter the city attorney's strident misinterpretation.

But there are now, in addition to the NYCLU letter that Ms.

Montemeor Robles provided, I'm giving you a copy of Alan Rosenthal's interpretation, which he communicated to me verbally on April 27th.

This was also shared with the City Council, the mayor, and the city attorney.

At this point, there is no reason to comply with the will of the Corporation Council.

You are a quasi-autonomous entity, and there is every reason to question her motives in telling you and the mayor and the city council that you could not operate.

The Corporation Council has never set guidelines for CRB operations.

It may be that she and the mayor want to avoid even the possibility of a lawsuit by the PBA, but it is their job to protect the people of the city and the legislation that has been enacted by its representatives, not to eviscerate that legislation or to dictate to an entity created by the legislative branch.

We have separation of powers in the United States.

It may be that the city had a history of ignoring recommendations of the CRB, which then came up in lawsuits against the city.

A previous mayor tried to dismantle the CRB's powers when it lost such a lawsuit.

That didn't happen.

But perhaps the corporation council is trying to use the appellate court decision to do the same thing.

So why would you willingly comply and give up the powers authorized in your legislation?

It has not been rescinded.

There is no legal reason for the CRB to stop investigating, holding hearings, or issuing recommendations.

So I ask you to resume and continue doing what the people of the city created you to do.

But that is not enough.

But you've remained silent from the time of this pause to now.

You have said nothing except one vague quote from Mrs.

Tannehill about obstacles being opportunities to reflect, reinvent, rebuild, and revamp.

And that was in a statement written by the Corp Council and released through a police email.

You are not an entity that runs interference for the police.

You are an entity that provides recommendations to hold the police accountable.

Cooperate, yes, but hold the police accountable.

Why are you remaining silent?

If an attorney told you to remain silent, which attorney?

Was it the Corporation Council?

Or was it the attorney you retained who's from the same law firm that the Corporation Council is still associated with?

I ask you to speak out.

Tell the public that you need their support, and not just in this room.

There are constituencies in the city that are waiting for you to publicly ask for help.

Then only then will they come to your aid and voice their support for your mission.

So why do you remain silent?

There should be no restraint on your ability to ask for the public's help to preserve your existence and protect the powers that make an oversight body affected effective.

If you are concerned about the implications of speaking out when you are pressured to do nothing, then seek the advice of outside attorneys who have both independence and actual constitutional law experience.

Perhaps the NYCLU.

You are the current shepherds of the Citizen Review Board for now and for its future.

Do not bow down to undue pressure from others who do not share your mission.

Do not stay silent when the people need to hear about the jeopardy that you may be facing.

I ask you to stand up, to stand strong, and to ask for the public's support, and not only in this room on this evening.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

Peter, before before I'd like to address um uh Barry's uh comments there.

Uh uh unfortunately we have not been sitting still waiting for someone to tell us when and when not to act.

As soon as I got the uh court ruling from um Rochester, I did an um a brief that I sent over to the mayor, the council, and the corporate council on our take on what should and should not be and why we should not be hindered by Rochester's decision to um to shut down the CRB or put the CRB on hold because again, we fall nowhere near uh the the uh implications that Rochester had with the police department.

So um, and I will send you the copy of the brief that I sent out to uh corporate counsel and to the mayor and to the city council.

I'm okay, Pete.

I'm sorry.

Go ahead.

Thank you.

My name's Peter McCarthy.

In uh June of 2017, I was appointed to the Citizen Review Board by Mayor Minor.

A couple months later, the current chair of the board resigned for health reasons, and I was asked to be the chair.

So I spent about two and a half years as chair of the CRB.

The first thing I learned when I became a member of the CRB is that we had no authority to impose discipline on police officers.

Correct.

Because disciplined police officers was a matter of the collective bargaining agreement, and by state law that could not be uh up to the CRB.

Our power was limited.

We knew that.

That's why the decision from Rochester and the fact that the Corporation Council is saying it applies here, baffles me completely.

It's a completely different system.

I don't know how that system was written and in effect, so that their police advisory board, accountability board, excuse me, had disciplinary power.

That baffles me because we were told absolutely clearly that the CRB could not have their power as a matter of state law, the tailor law, and the collective bargaining agreement.

So, what power did we have?

We saw the responsibilities of the CRB on three levels.

The first was to hear complaints from people about police interactions that they were concerned with, and to investigate those complaints to hold hearings, and if uh they were sustained to make a recommendation to the police.

That's that's the visible part, and that's all the first level.

That was our main job.

The second level, which I saw is much more important because in fact the chief usually ignored the disciplinary recommendations, which doesn't mean they had no effect.

We believe that the police did take them seriously and took some actions behind the scenes and that they had some effect.

However, much more important was the fact that in our quarterly reports and especially in the annual report, the CRB makes recommendations about policy training or discipline for the police repartment department, excuse me.

And those are done every year.

And importantly, those are based on what we learned from people's complaints and from the investigations.

The recommendations didn't come out of nowhere.

They came from the investigations that we did, from what we learned from the community.

So if the CRB is now told one, you can't discipline, yeah, we know that, but you can't even do investigations when a large part of your power, and as I said, a more important part of your power comes from those recommendations than your power lifts completely.

And none of that should apply because Rochester is just completely different.

I said there were three levels.

The second one was the recommendations.

The third one is someone that is something that's not thought about very much, but it was very important to us.

We saw a role for public advocacy for particularly for those recommendations.

It took seven years for the use of force policy to be rewritten.

And that was a CRB recommendation for all of those years.

And it went back way before that, based on what people had seen here.

It went back to the advocacy from the 70s, 80s, and 90s that finally in 93 led to the creation of the CRB.

Pressure has to come from the public.

Right now, we're hearing from the public that they're not hearing anything from the CRB.

We made it our practice to relate to the public, to community organizations.

And it said in five paragraphs, the CRB has no power.

Nobody has to pay any attention to the CRB.

The CRB is advisory only.

CRB cannot affect anything.

This room, because we worked with local organizations like the NEACP, National Action Network, Syracuse Peace Council, CNY Solidarity, Syracuse Police, Accountability and Reform Coalition.

This room was filled, standing room only.

That proposal was rapidly withdrawn.

You represent the public.

This is created as an independent body, as I said, after decades of citizen action, as a result of awful things that happened.

And you were created as an independent body.

That's why there's some appointed by the mayor, some appointed by the district counselors, and some appointed by the councils at large to get the broadest representation as you can across the city.

So you have a responsibility to stand up for the public.

Take a public stand.

You're not bound by the corporation council.

And as Barry said, get other legal advice and please follow up on it.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Good evening.

My name is Jacqueline Lesand.

I'm a South Side resident, president of the Greater Syracuse South Side Neighborhood Association.

As a former law enforcement myself from New York City.

See police can't police themselves, and that's just the bottom line.

And it just disturbed me greatly to see the news conference with the mayor and the police commissioner and radio silence coming from CRB.

Now I don't know if you have some gag order.

I have no idea.

So there's that part, but of course they need to be invited in the way I understand them to work.

The lack of that, but yet you have a whole activities that you've gone here and you go on to the greeted meet, meet and greet.

That should have been fully turned out to be something more than a meet and greet with the mayor and the commissioner.

It seems as though your voices have been silenced, and yet you are the board.

You speak for us when you should be having us join you.

There's something wrong again with this picture.

So if you're doing community um outreach, community outreach does not necessarily involve it should after a fact after a while, but we're in trouble now.

We're in trouble.

That's a problem.

Period.

And it's going to continue to be a problem, and nobody seems to matter much in the news.

We don't see you.

Press conference would be definitely something that I immediately said to do.

We're waiting for our leaders.

We are what we need.

These leaders, we were they.

This is the community that you claim to serve.

So let's public servants.

So let's do the public servant part of it all.

And that includes, yes, the press conference.

Yes, call it an illegal piece of it all to find out what your rights, what our rights are and are not.

matter much in the news we don't see you press conference would be definitely something that I immediately said to do we're waiting for our leaders we we are what we need these leaders we we're they this is the community that you claim to serve so let's public servants so let's do the public servant part of it all and that includes yes the press conference yes call it an illegal piece of it all to find out what your rights what our rights are and are not and so that's just and continues to be this disturbing piece that just doesn't seem to do do make sense to any of us yes the public is going to lose confidence if all they see in their face is somebody talking to the press and not talking to them it's about us without us again and again please stop these practices please come back to what you say you're gonna be this room should be full but why should people come and show up for you you're not showing up for us you're not you're asking us for something you're not giving and so let's all work together because in the at the end of the day when we have our rights being violated or ignored or you know we know it's not all the bad apples but you've given them license now and the police commissioner wants to meet he shouldn't be meeting with anybody until he understands what this board is really about and it should be about the people and about the power thank you well first of all I want to make sure that everybody understand that myself norida the administrator have been asked to not say anything about this at all.

We're in this is what uh we're in right underneath a month now since this has hit the uh the airwaves uh apparently everybody in this room understands what's going on or have been informed about what's going on between the CRB and the city of Syracuse so it's not like it's in a vacuum that nobody really knows about what's going on because it's been out there the media has uh put out information about it.

Um we are in the process just because we're not out there screaming at the top of our voices that we're not doing anything because we are we're out there we're trying to come up with a plan a systematic plan on how to make sure the thing works and works for the city and the citizens of Syracuse so uh when people say well have you guys been muzzled the absolute the answer is absolutely not no one's gonna muzzle me because I'm gonna say what I need to say and I'm gonna tell the truth the way it is supposed to be told period in the conversation.

Sir go ahead my name is Kevin Revere I'm a resident on the East Side.

So I just wanted to comment on how important I believe it is to maintain the investigatory powers of the CRB.

So we all know that local not just uh locally but locally and nationally police hold a tremendous amount of power uh in fact the CRB as many of us know uh began because of numerous occurrences of excessive force that were documented by very concerned uh community members this includes uh the case of ro Raul Mora on September 8th 1980 for Syracuse police department officers beat more in a hospital parking lot for allegedly breaking into vehicles he was unarmed and died from the beating so that's just one of a few of these cases that were brought attention and then culminated into the making of the CRB.

Currently as far as I understand there are 70 complaints against local police that have been backlogged and new complaints have not been considered um I mean that sounds like a muzzle to me uh part of the mission statement of the SBD is to understand this is a quote understand the needs of the community while providing professional service and ethical treatment for everyone unquote uh I don't see how this is possible without uh full community oversight not just like visibility to the public but um the ability to have investigations and recommendations which obviously scares the police and hence why all this is happening in the first place uh the police budget is uh was over sixty million dollars last year and took up 18% of the general city funds a lot of money allocated by our elected officials yeah when it comes to police activity we are often left uninformed and unaware um so to have such a powerful police force is with such little community oversight is not conducive for a democratically just society it took a lot of fighting to get the board in action so we have to fight to make sure it has the basic power that it has had so that's why I'm here and I hope you're all gonna keep fighting for that or put up that fight.

Thank you.

Okay thank you one one of the things I want to mention when you said that there were 70 cases that are out there pending 70 seems like a large number but you have to understand how many of those 70 cases really rise to the level of an investigation we have we have a lot of clients that have come in that are mentally ill that are alcoholics that are uh when we investigate the cases no merit whatsoever to support the claims so even though you have 70 cases out there those 70 cases that we have looked at and then made a decision on whether or not they rise to the level that we need to investigate them more so

So maybe I'm glad you brought that up because that is the number one reason why you need a CRB in this community.

Because and I'll give you an example.

They have an encounter with the police.

And unfortunately, because they're they're homeless, don't have a contact, that report never gets up to the chief, never gets to us.

So what happens is that the police can do whatever they want, and if it never gets reported, then there's no action ever taken against that.

So as a CRB, if that incident happens, uh and we find out about it, and we uh we're able to then put together the report, send it up to the chiefs, so now he has visibility of what actually took place instead of just getting a report from the police department saying that uh there was an eviction or there was a transp uh uh um what's the word I'm looking for the trespass on on a property, not getting the rest of the details that go along with that.

And we bring that to the forefront so the chief and uh those in power can see exactly what's been taking place with the officers that are on the street.

So and that's that's what I say that's why it's very important that the CRB doesn't go away.

And you know, and and uh a lot of you are saying, well, if you don't come up and you don't ask us for our support, then we're not gonna be there for you.

But if we're not, if you don't support us and we disappear, then it's a loss loss both to the community and to the city.

So, you know, whether we're out there beating on your doors, asking you for your for your help, we still need your help.

You still need to understand that we need the citizens of Syracuse to come and support the CRB, because if we disappear, you you got avoid in the city, and we just cannot allow that to happen.

So, and if there's anything that I can do that can make you more comfortable with us uh as you sing being silent, I'm here.

You can give me a call on my number, you can call me.

I'm I'm always there to get out there and help.

So uh Finn Lincoln, resident of the North Side, and also reporter with Syracuse.com.

I'm wondering firstly, you just mentioned that number of a 70 isn't accurate, so I guess could you guys do you have an updated number for how many cases that you guys haven't been able to look at that or better backlog that you can provide?

You have a listing of those cases?

Okay.

We do not have that at this point.

Okay, and could you guys uh tell the public or yeah, I guess tell the people what's going to happen with those current backlogs cases?

Are they just being given to police for internal investigation?

Are you guys just holding on to them or what's gonna happen with those cases?

That right there is something that we have to wait for court counsel to to let us know.

We we are well let me let me let me finish, Barry.

We we are in taking the complaints.

We are looking at those complaints, um and if my if my understanding we are then transferring that up to internal affairs, so those those cases are going up to internal affairs.

So I guess also my last question is just what sort of message have you given to the people who submitted their uh cases thinking this was going to be something reviewed by the CRB that now, as you just mentioned, is going to internal affairs uh instead.

Did what kind of did you get give a written note or some sort of message to these people?

How did you guys uh confer that with them?

Okay, every case that we get into the office there, we send out a correspondence to the plaintiff, um, letting them know exactly what's going on with the case, that the case has either been transferred up to uh internal affairs or what the status is of that case, and then we follow up with them.

So any other questions Hey, don't be nervous.

I don't bite.

Um, but in what I'm hearing, because I'm very new to this, there's all these cases, and many of them have to do with mentally ill or drug addicted or whatever.

And I now hear again, after a long time, driving around, and I just can't get over the homelessness and the and the people I see who need help.

And if I if what I'm hearing now is that there's these cases that get sort of shoved away because the police say, well, he was drunk or he was crazy, then maybe some recommendations need to be made about more training for the police and maybe money being put aside so that people who know how to care for somebody who's totally drunk or on drugs or whatever when they have an altercation with the police, so that more training is done so that they can handle that.

And that would bring down that number pretty far because growing.

I mean, the police, I'm not that familiar with the police myself, okay.

But if if they're not handling those people easily, then obviously there's gotta be more training, or maybe more money put aside for people who can do that.

We have wonderful institutions in Syracuse, Hutchings and that's state-run, that have people who know how to deal with this kind of thing.

And maybe we need to raise um awareness of it.

Because I'm sure that the regular citizens in Syracuse are aware of all the folks who are asking for change in the corners and who are sleeping in places that you don't want to have to have people sleep.

And so I don't know.

I I would just think that steps can be taken to train and to find other personnel that can support the police when they come across something like that.

So they don't just say, well, he was drunk, and they go on to their next thing.

Anyway, that's I'll start now.

Unfortunately, that's that's not what I meant.

So what'll happen is that someone who's who's either mentally uh ill or an alcoholic or homeless, when something when an infraction takes place with them, they don't file the complaint with the police department.

That's where the problem comes in, is that they don't file a complaint.

And if they don't file a complaint, no one understands or under or sees what's going on with the police towards those individuals.

So when the police come involved with the situation where maybe somebody is, you know, um not functioning right, and uh another citizen says, Oh, he's on my property, or whatever it is.

If the police are trained to know when that sort of thing occurs, that they have to bring in assistance, that they have to treat it differently than just you know get him out of here or whatever.

So that you know the the person who is being um you know the the whatever the the um they can't be expected to know what to do.

It's hard for a normal citizen to know exactly what to do when something happens.

So somebody has there has to be a bridge there, and and that bridge is the CRB.

So when we see cases come in like that, then we start making recommendations to the police department that this officer did this and that that that uh offense needs to be changed.

These are the things your officers need to be retrained on how to deal with people who have mental illness or who are alcoholic who are uh homeless.

Maybe the CRV has to start finding the the training and recommended certain kinds of things because like you said, the the person there who was you know didn't know how to report that the cop maybe did something that wasn't quite right or hurt him or blew him off, or whatever it was that made him not report it, um that all would get addressed by the training to how to do that.

I'm sure there's some wonderful cops, and maybe they can work together that train each other, you know, to handle situations like that.

Anyway, I'm gonna do that.

Yeah, we we've the the CRB has really made uh recommendation regarding mentor hairs to the police officers, and they have you know trained some police officers on how to deal with people struggling with mental hairs, not to hot their emotions and know how to respond to people, you know, who are dealing with mental heirs, and that's where you are coming from.

So I really understand you.

And that's why the CRB needs to continue diswalk.

Yeah, and the other thing is is is new Americans.

Um we're looking at policies that police needs to start changing for new amount new Americans because of cultural differences and things of that nature.

So um and one of the things that we pride ourselves on is that we are data driven.

We look at the data and let the data make the decision on where things are going and how to correct things like that.

Because uh an incident after an incident after an incident means that there's a problem.

And when the data shows there's a problem, we then take that to the chief and say, hey, we see that there's a pattern developing in the community, and things need to change based on those on those policies and those procedures.

So did you want to say that?

Yes, I did want to say something.

I'm Octavia Gernhardt.

I live in the north side of the city.

Sorry, I sound kind of, I'll try to enunciate as much as I can.

I recently went to a meeting with uh Captain Petty, who is now the North Side Captain.

Um the police department is changing around, and there's, I think they're heading in a much more progressive direction than they have been.

And you know, I don't want to get in the middle of this, but I also think what Peter said about advocating a role for public advocacy.

We all know that mental health is a huge issue in Syracuse with our police department.

The police are being called to situations where they really it isn't really what they should be doing.

And I do think they're moving in a direction, they're trying to institute uh more of a social network versus just a police department, where if it's a child or if it's an uh individual that has emotional disturbance or whatever, they're trying to have more professional people come in, social workers, or you know, other people that are that really are more trained in this area.

I mean, the police aren't really trained, but I do think that we've advocated for it, and I'm not sure it's gone to the police department, but I think in a general way, it's become knowledge that this is a huge problem with our police force.

And through that, through our advocacy over a long term, and just general knowledge, we are heading in a better direction with the police force.

I do I do have a heartfelt feeling that that is what's happening.

Okay.

Um, I have something to say.

I'm Elise Baker, and um everybody may not agree what I say, but the meetings that we've had um that we spoke with, the meeting that I was at that we spoke to the um people of this city, um, we were told we were not supposed to take in anything other than um have it come in and whatever process they're gonna do, we can't do anything.

We can't investigate, we can't do anything for the people.

And over the year and a half that I've been on the board, I haven't seen a bunch of mental health cases, the ones that I've viewed.

So our problem isn't with totally the mental health issues.

They they're with the police and the stuff that they've done, and we've suggested various things.

Um we didn't have the power of making the total decisions, but we suggested.

Um we have we may not have a gag order, but we cannot do certain things, period.

Point blank, and that's just the truth.

Our mental health people do need help.

We need to get pushing a little bit farther and more so that we can get stuff out and we can make a difference.

We're here for the community, and that's my statement.

We're here for the community, and that's what we should be doing.

But the way they're trying to try to set it up in the meeting that I was at as us work more with the police department and stand there, and I myself said I cannot stand and try to say I'm gonna be this when it's for the community.

Um we have a new regime in there, and I believe that the police chief is working towards some good goals and some things, and I believe that he is a good person is gonna make a difference.

But the CRB, we're not doing nothing right now.

That's just the truth.

That's my opinion.

We're not doing anything because we can't do anything.

Not that we don't want to do anything, but we can't do anything except wait until they finish with this stuff from Rochester.

Like I said, we're not Rochester.

We're not the persons that were being um questioned.

I know my peers probably say, well, she need to shut up, but I'm not.

This is my feelings and what it is, and I'm gonna be honest with the public based on what I see and what I think we could do more of.

Yes, we can do a lot more if we go against them, but we can't go against them because they have the power to disassemble, or either they have the power to make us, we can't go any farther.

We just can't go any farther.

So we're gonna meet and see what we can do a little bit more to make a difference.

And you as a community, tell us what you want from us so that we can work towards the common goal of the people and represent them, represent them the right way.

Because the mental health is an issue in our city, and we've had cases, but the cases that I've seen for the last year and a half are not totally mental health.

There's things that have happened with the police department and their aggression, their police and a lot of things like that.

Some of them are mental, but most of them that I've seen was not mental.

So ask, tell us what you need from us as a community so that we can get behind the table and work on the things that you think it will make a difference in.

We don't want to stop the board, and we don't want to be, I don't want to be a front uh fake to you all.

I want to be real and I want it to come out real so we can make a difference in our community, not just meet around some table once a month, go to the police department, and ain't nothing gonna change, and we're being stuck and set in a place where we can't make no move to help our people because I'm not here for that.

I came because my community, not because I want to be a fake or facade to nothing.

So that's my opinion.

And of course, everybody does what they do, but we ain't doing enough.

Period.

Hold us accountable.

Hold us accountable because we need to be held accountable.

And Barry is one person that comes here monthly and she makes sure she gives us information and makes sure we stay on track with what she knows, but we can't do nothing if we don't have the people representing for the city itself, because we don't know all of what you want.

I know what I want, and each one of these people at the table know what they want to do.

But we need your support.

We need you to tell us what you think will make a difference.

We need you to say something when we ain't doing something.

All of the stuff you're doing is gonna help us become a better board.

Because we were a newer board based on the last stuff that was happening.

So we tried to build and pick up and make something different and better, but guess what?

We still need you all's help.

So please don't stop coming because of this one issue with this Rochester stuff, but keep keep coming and keep staying on us so we can become a better person for you as a representative.

Somebody behind you had their hand up.

We made that clear in the meeting that we had with all the officials that how important that investigation part is, especially that investigation part, because it helps the people that are going through the issues, help them be able to come into it and sit down sometimes at hearings and see what the facts is, watch the stuff on from the body cam.

That stuff is vitally important for the community, especially if you're being aggressive by the policemen and things come up.

So those things are very important.

Our community can write and let them know.

Because if you write, it makes a big of a difference.

Go ahead, Barry.

You asked what the public wants.

Yes.

I can't speak for the whole public.

I can speak for myself as a resident, as somebody that has been doing civil rights for donkeys years, as somebody to whom people who had gotten beaten up by the police came.

And I've sat with a lot of people while they've told me their story of how they were million humiliated and beaten.

I know this chief.

I've worked, sorry, correction.

I've worked with him productively for years.

He's taken the police department in positive, progressive directions.

And that's great.

That does not diminish the need for an act of CRB.

I can say what I perceive the people want.

The people want you to follow the law that created you.

I've heard we're not doing anything because we can't.

We have to wait for Rochester.

We have to represent them the right way.

We're waiting for counsel.

We can't do certain things.

Why not?

Nobody has rescinded your legislation.

There's not been any court decision that says the Syracuse CRB cannot follow its enabling legislation.

I do not understand, I do not understand why you have voluntarily stopped.

And then I hear things like we're trying to come up with a plan to make this work for everyone.

No.

You have a piece of legislation that says these are your powers.

Do what you have been appointed to do.

Follow the legislation, take the complaints, investigate them, make the recommendations, and don't let yourself be intimidated.

You're a quasi-autonomous entity.

And unless there's been a court order says that that says that you can't do what you do, or your law is amended to take away those powers.

There is no reason for you to stop doing what you're supposed to be doing.

What is in the legislation?

Well, Mary, I certainly understand exactly what you're saying.

Here's here's the caveat to that whole issue right there.

If we violate what corporate counsel has told us not to do, and there's a lawsuit, each and every one of the board members can be brought up as uh on a lawsuit.

Right.

People are not willing to put their lives on the line on a possibility of being sued.

Because the city will not uh sponsor the legal representation for the board because they say we told you not to do this, you went ahead, you did it, therefore you're on your own.

You have to get counsel to to uh represent you.

So we have to um trying to think of a word uh how to how to word this.

We have to sort of walk a straight and narrow line.

We have to make sure that we we have our focus on where we need to go and how to get there, and not cross over that line where all of a sudden now we become uh vulnerable to a lawsuit.

Um I would not want any of the board members to have to go through that.

Uh however, like you say, we still need to do the things that we need to do.

We just have to be careful that we don't cross that line that corporate counsel says you violated what I told you not to do, and now you're doing it, therefore you're out there on your own.

Do you have directors and officers?

Insurance.

If you do not, I suggest that you immediately go to the council for money to create your own insurance.

You go to an insurance company, you get DNO insurance, and then God forbid one of you is sir is sued.

You're covered.

You will probably be me first.

You're indemnified.

Well, that's unfortunately you don't have the complexion of protection.

Right.

I know that, and I know it's scary.

But there are ways to protect yourself.

And if the city won't do its duty to represent you when you're representing the people, then the city should pay for directors and officers insurance so that you are covered.

I certainly agree with you.

110% on that.

So Adonia.

Hi, I'm Adonia Wade, I'm the community engagement uh specialist for CRB.

Sorry, I'm literally shaken because I'm super passionate about this, and I just know our whole staff is.

Um, I might get a little emotional because I'm emotional.

Um, but we talked about mental health, and we talked about CRB not doing anything, and that just really sits the it bothers me while I'm sitting there because every single month we meet with the Center for uh Community Alternatives, which supports uh drug people that are using misusing drugs, alcohol, and have mental health issues.

We sit there, we talk with them every single month, we talk with the coordinator, and we take what we learn there to our meetings with the chief of police, and we talk to him and we um make recommendations and things are put in place.

The police, the SPD, um Mike was there, Nolita, Elise, Linda, we were all at that meeting where they talked about all of the mental health institutions that they're working with now, um, things that now when they're dealing with mental health patients and things like that, they're having uh specialists in those fields come out.

So things are being done in those fields.

We're advocating for all of those communities that that's really near and dear to our hearts, that no community goes on unrepresented by the CRB.

Um I also want to talk about uh somebody mentioned things being shoved down.

That will never happen with the CRB and this board in office.

Uh every single case that we get, no matter if you can tell from the first body camp video or the report that you read that it may not be of substance.

We sit there and we watch every single body cam video to make sure that not anything, no type of misconduct, no mistreatment goes under our scope because that's what we're here for.

That's what we're passionate about, and that's what we do.

Um yeah, I would just like to say that I hope that all of you stay with us and support us, and just don't get any type of misconstrued ideas in your mind that we're not doing anything because we absolutely are every single day that we come to work.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Okay.

Do we have anyone else that need to speak?

Hi, I'm Joan Gallagher.

I'm a citizen of Jamesville, but I work for Syracuse City School District and the high schools.

So, and I also work with C Solidarity Coalition.

And um, thank you for your time and thank you for all the work, the hard work that you guys have put in to help keep the public safe.

I really appreciate that.

Uh I don't understand why there was a pause or a suspension of the CRB.

Doesn't make any sense.

That is a obviously a ruling uh against the Rochester FAB doesn't relate to you guys because you don't uh discipline the the Syracuse police force.

Um so I'm sorry the risk, I I understand that you guys are concerned that you're going to be sued.

I do agree, get insurance, all right.

It does sound like what they're telling you is a scare tactic.

All you guys do is investigate.

You just look over the information the police provides, right?

And then make recommendations.

How could you possibly be sued for that?

So and it's great that you did share with uh you did speak up about what the CRB does uh at that uh the police meeting, but I think what the gentleman in the back was trying to get trying to communicate was that it'd be good if you guys uh spoke up in a more public forum, like a news conference or a letter to the editor, because obviously most of the people are not gonna hear what is said at that police meeting.

Um so why and I am concerned about because you were talking about how you look at the cases that come through, and some of them were uh about people who had mental illness or substance abuse, and it sounded like you were kind of weeding them out.

I would say those are the ones you have to work extra hard for because they cannot advocate for themselves.

So I know it's been that's been spoken about, so I won't say more about that.

And if you have not been muzzled, then why aren't you asking publicly for help from our citizens in you know a more public format?

Um the CRB does need adequate support, allocation of adequate resources, it's crucial that you guys can function in a robust fashion.

And like I'm I'm glad that you said that you believe that the police are doing a great job.

And and I I believe that for by and large that is the case, okay.

But why would they so quickly pause and then suspend you guys if everything was rosy?

Seems very suspicious.

I thank you for the time.

Go ahead.

You want to say that.

Well, yeah, it's not the police that does the suspending this, it's the mayor in the city council is the one that's suspending this.

The other thing is, let me say this is that when you say why are not we not meeting reaching out to the community.

Understand is always a two-way street.

We need you coming to us and we need us going to you.

So you you you gotta have that back and forth communication.

If you don't come to us and say, hey guys, this is what we need you to do.

We don't know what what you're thinking.

And in the same way with us not coming to you saying, hey, we need your support to have to write a letter to the mayor or write a letter to city council, but it's a two-way street.

And when we say that about the mentally ill, is not that we don't look at their cases.

When we look at their cases, the facts that they give us and the facts that are actually there are two separate things.

So you you you got um elucinated about this happened, and then when you look at the body cam, there's no evidence that that ever took place.

Those are the things that we're talking about.

We're not talking about because they're mentally ill that we don't we don't investigate and we don't search and we don't do due diligence on each of those cases, because we do, because we want to make sure that everybody in this community has a right to have their story told, period.

Thank you.

I'm sorry.

Okay.

I I appreciate that.

Um thank you.

I had a thought.

What was the first point you said?

Oh, the first point I said was that um that it's a two-way street.

You get you gotta come to us and we gotta come to you.

Right.

It's a back and forth.

The community has to let us know what they want or what we're missing, just like Elisa said, and then we have to respond back to the community and say, we can do this, but we can't do that.

I think the big problem is as you know, what's going on in our community is where people are really strapped financially because of all the pressures that are happening.

People do not have time to a lot of people, a lot of parents that I work with, they don't have time to come to a meeting like this.

They barely have time to uh to read the the paper.

Some of them don't have access to internet.

Uh it is your job to protect them.

You cannot expect the population to always crowd this room in.

They are surviving.

They are trying to get food.

A lot of them are skipping a meal every day.

Their children are skipping meals every day.

They don't have time to come here and to drive down here.

I mean, look at the bus situation.

I mean, it's very difficult for an impoverished population to take the time every month to be here.

And I hope you guys take that into consideration.

On an average uh monthly uh communication, it's usually about five or six people here.

And this is the most because of the fact that we're under scrutiny because of the stuff that they put together.

We may not have been totally muzzled, but we were told not to speak certain things because it could be damaging because we don't may not have all the facts yet until they clear things up or whatever.

So we we know that based on the law and being it was based on law, supposedly, so we have to follow laws as well as do our job.

And if the law tell us, based on what they told us from their lawyers that we can't speak, we told we took that choice to follow that rule until we figure out what's supposed to go on and what we're not supposed to do.

Isn't I can understand?

And we hold you, but it doesn't make any sense.

It doesn't, but we have to follow that until we find out what the totality of things are.

But you can still speak.

You can still say what that you need more support, that you need to be able to take on new cases and things like that.

You know, the the mayor is so quick to suspend you guys.

Why?

Why are they so quick to shut this down?

It's because they're concerned about the bad look of the you know uh uh you know, bad press about the police.

They the mayor wants to look good, the police are doing great.

The bottom line is the mayor doesn't want it that the city to be sued, period.

So they're gonna get sued a lot worse.

Thank you when people are abused and someone dies again.

Look at the forest for the trees, you know.

All right.

Okay.

Okay, it's uh 745.

Um, can I make a comment?

I'm sorry.

Um, I just I just want people to know that we as a group are not out there stamping our feet and screaming and yelling, but we have made a real effort, despite this, to continue to be part of community meetings.

Adonia is out there every day representing the CRB and what we should be doing for the public.

So it's we're not in a position right now to be uh protesting, but we have somebody who does a really good job with going to community meetings and letting people know what the CRB is all about.

So she will continue to do that, but um to let people know that we're we're still on life support, but we are alive.

Well, and one of the things that we have now come up with, we call it boots on the ground.

So we go out and walk the streets in Syracuse handing out information about the CRB.

So we're we're where we're out there to meet the people where they're at them coming to us.

So go ahead, Peter.

You'll be the last one not to say.

I just have a question.

What law is preventing you from speaking?

You're volunteers, you're giving your time to this body to serve the people of this community, and you're not prevented by any law from making public statements to advocate for the CRB.

We know that there are legal opinions on both sides of this, and you are entitled to speak up.

You are independently placed in these positions to represent the people, not to represent the mayor or the corporation council or even the public safety committee.

Okay, your independent board, please act like one, please.

Right.

Here's my take on that.

Before I get out there and make any statement, I want to make sure I have all the facts.

Because I don't want something to come back to to bite me saying you came out with this, and this is totally the opposite of that.

So that's why I've been gathering all the information.

And like I said, I will send you guys my brief that I wrote to the city council to corporate counsel.

But but you know what?

It's just my brief, my opinion of how the law reads.

Everybody has a right.

Uh really has the right to advocate for itself.

Right.

Right.

So you do.

So please do.

It'll be easier for us to support you if the public is hearing that the CRB is advocating for itself, and we're not here, and we're getting told they're not advocating for themselves.

Why should we?

Okay.

You know what?

Interesting.

Give me an exact question.

Just a minute, because I've listened to this long enough.

No one has told me not to speak at all.

I disagree with you.

No one came to a meeting, no attorney.

We were presented with the corporation council's opinion.

And I'll ask the rest of the board members.

Did you all receive your copy in the mail that you signed for?

Absolutely.

Okay, that's the corporate counsel putting us on notice.

We've been advised legally as to what the position of the city is.

So if we choose to vary from that position and hold investigations and do recommendations, if the police department sues, and then what I asked for.

No, I'm not done talking.

If the police department does sue, and they will, they will simply go into court and they will sue us individually for ignoring the advice of corporate counsel, our attorney who told us not to do investigations and not to make recommendations, and then we can have a bake sale and see if we can come up with an attorney to represent us in Supreme Court.

I don't plan to spend my life savings hiring an attorney because some folks decided to ignore the corporate counsel's opinion.

That's where we are.

But no one has told us not to speak.

Now I've had this opinion evaluated by two additional attorneys, not related to the city of Syracuse at all.

Their comments, in spite of everything else that I've heard, say that it's well researched, well written.

And by the way, I'm in court every day.

So if there's an appellate division decision on point, the police department wins at that point.

And then we wait to see whether the court of appeals will accept that appeal or not accept it and just let the ruling stand.

But I deal with appellate fourth decisions every single day.

We're in the appellate fourth uh uh court, and those are controlling opinions.

This would have an impact on this CRB as it relates to if the appellate division says no, that's the rule, then this this CRB would be have violated our attorney's advice by holding investigations and making recommendations.

The ultimate end result might be waiting to see if the Court of Appeals takes this case and decides on its own, hey, our previous decision was that you couldn't discipline.

We never said you couldn't do investigations.

We never said you couldn't make recommendations.

We may have to wait for that.

But I I I really think that people need to stop coming to the board and complain that we're not doing our job.

Corp counsel says we may be exposed legally if we ignore their legal advice.

And I haven't heard anything from the common counsel that they're planning on ensuring us in some way when we do get sued.

And I'm not paying out of my own pocket to represent myself when the police department sues, and they're going to.

That's their guarantee.

So that's my shift.

And now I've said what I wanted to say.

I appreciate it, but no one has told me to be quiet, just so we're clear.

And I didn't ask you to do investigations.

Someone else did.

All I asked was that this board make public statements, which they are absolutely entitled to do, in which the people of the city need to hear from you so they can do what you ask to back you up.

We're trying to get people to do that, and we're here and what are they saying?

The board made a public statement right in the beginning.

I believe that uh Miss Tannehill filed a public statement, I believe was a letter to the editor.

So the board has spoken publicly.

We also have a board policy where the board director makes the statement, not every individual person at this table, and there are probably people at this table that don't agree with anything I just said.

That's my position.

That's why someone is designated to speak for the board.

Uh, but but it gets a little, you know, if you're gonna take a shot at the board or you're gonna take a shot the legislation, you at least need to understand what the appellate division fourth department does in what it controls, and it does control us at this point.

Does I'll be up at the appellate division this coming Tuesday, a week from today.

I'll express my opinion up there when I see them.

Peter, what oh, go ahead.

Uh good evening.

Good evening.

My name is Charlene Tarver.

I'm with the Women's Economic Institute.

And the first thing I want to say is I applaud you all because you don't have a very easy job, you have a difficult job.

You have the job of making sure that our community has community policing, community representation, and more than anything else, that where there is any discrepancy regarding police conduct, that you are monitoring that process and ensuring that our residents feel safe and feel protected.

That is a very daunting task given the climate that we're in right now.

My question is about the legislation that created the CRB.

So my understanding is, and I have been away and I have not researched this, so forgive me.

My understanding is that there is legislation that created the CRB.

So I wanted to understand that.

Is there legislation?

And if there is legislation, how can your corporate counsel unilaterally set aside legislation?

I understand an opinion.

I'm sure it's not a private letter ruling.

I'm sure it's an opinion written in a letter from your corporate counsel over their or under their over under their letter head, but not a private letter ruling.

And so, what is the what is the origin of the legislation?

And can your counsel unilaterally set aside legislation outside of a private letter ruling?

That that's my question.

I think the answer is it's like uh Congress can pass any law they want.

The council can certainly alter this legislation, bring it up for debate, public forum.

Everyone comes in and decide which way they want to move, and then the council I say I I would submit would then vote on it is this is what the CRB is going to do.

Uh so what the CRB's future is, uh could be changed and altered to be more let's say a policy-oriented type board versus what it's doing now.

Okay.

I I hope that kind of answers it.

But it's a long-term, you know, take the statute, examine it, see where we can alter it to conform with the current law, and then move in that direction.

Okay if they choose to do that.

So your so your council has issued a non-legally binding opinion, essentially.

Uh corporation council has, not the common council.

No, corporation.

Yeah, yeah.

They they have offered their legal opinion as any lawyer does to their client.

You know, here's the deal, you can take it or leave it.

But I I'm warning you uh of the possible, I think Barry used the word jeopardy if you ignore this opinion.

But it's non-legally binding, and so if it's non-legally binding, they are not able to strip you of legal representation or any city privileges in terms of legal representation or funding for legal representation if you're acting in accordance with the legislation, right?

We are right now.

No, we're acting according to what the attorney has advised us how to act.

They've told us not to do investigations and not to make recommendations.

That's their legal advice.

We could decide as a board.

We could decide as a board right now to start doing investigations with that.

Okay, because I I think my question essentially is do you have legislation that in it that empowers you to act?

Yes, you do.

Can your counsel, your corporate counsel unilaterally set aside that legislation by an opinion on their letter head.

And so I think you all as a body have to make a determination as to how you want to proceed, given that understanding, right?

And again, this is a very difficult job that you all have.

But I want to say a lot happened around this country and around the globe with George Floyd.

Many of us we watched, we remembered, and there was a global response.

And I would say the climate that we are in now with ICE, with the advent of a what we're seeing kind of even with the gutting of the voting rights act.

Uh Syracuse had a monitor put in place by the Department of Justice in 1980 because of police issues here, police conduct in this city.

I think now more than ever, we are at a fever pitch.

And I think with the mayor lifting the residency requirements and allowing folks to come in, and you know, we need law enforcement.

I agree a thousand percent.

I think we all agree, but I think we still need to have a responsible body that is looking at the conduct and making sure that that conduct is representative of the police department and the training and the protocols.

And it's not all of the police department that's that is all it takes is one bad actor.

And we saw what happened even in the correctional facilities.

So I think that, you know, I would just encourage you all, just remember the severity of what you have been tasked to do.

You know, yes, we do not want to have a lawsuit because you're not in compliance with the CRB rules and guidelines.

But we also don't want to have the city be sued because of some police fatality that could have been at least better managed, right?

Uh, so those are my comments.

And again, I applaud you all.

Uh, continue to do the great work that you're doing.

Um, you make us proud and you make us safe.

Thank you.

Um, and then we'll come out.

So I need to get a motion that we can adjourn and go in the executive session.

Make a motion, we adjourn going to executive session.

Second it.

All in favor.

Any discussion?

Motion carries, we're going into executive session.