Syracuse Citizens Review Board Meeting - July 7, 2026

The Syracuse Citizens Review Board (CRB) held a regular meeting on July 7, 2026, with members present including Linda Back, Anna, Mike Kerwin, Pray, Samia, and Actavia (arriving later). Chairman Johnson noted that two additional board members are awaiting council approval and are expected to join by the next meeting. The board approved the June 2026 minutes by voice vote. The meeting featured public comments criticizing the CRB's handling of the suspension of investigative powers, followed by board discussion and a presentation on Right to Know data.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Barry Gwanter (Syracuse resident): Requested that the data report be posted on the website and provided in written form to the public. He noted that the city council had approved a new board member from the refugee community at a recent meeting. He criticized the CRB's public communications, arguing that the board presented legal opinions on the Locus 2 case as fact when there is a legal dispute, and that the CRB should not parrot the corporation counsel's position. He urged the board to consider directors and officers insurance to protect members and to take a stronger stance on their powers.
• Erie Solomon (Syracuse resident): Expressed concern about inconsistencies in CRB communications, citing a June 10 post summarizing the Locus 2 decision, a June 12 administrator post denying support for the investigative suspension, and a handout signed by the chairman that seemed to defer to the Locus 2 decision. Solomon questioned whether the board had a unified position and urged the city to defend the CRB's enabling legislation in court rather than preemptively conceding.
• Peter McCarthy (former CRB Chair, 2017–2020): Stated that the CRB never had the power to discipline officers—a point removed from the original 1993 statute. He argued that the Locus 2 decision does not apply to the Syracuse CRB because the board does not issue binding discipline, and he criticized the CRB's materials as implying the board cannot investigate, which he said is misleading and unsupportive of public oversight.
• Kevin (Syracuse resident): Found the CRB's “Setting the Record Straight” document misleading, particularly the framing that the Rochester ruling has no effect on Syracuse because the boards are different. He argued the public's concern is that the Syracuse CRB's investigative powers have been suspended even though it never had disciplinary authority, and that the board's messaging is insulting to the public and erodes trust.
• Unidentified speaker: Emphasized that the courts have not been asked whether Locus 2 applies outside Rochester. The speaker urged the board to present that question to the court rather than waiting passively, warning that the city may pressure the council to weaken the CRB's powers.

Discussion Items

• Chairman's Report: Chairman Johnson reported no updates beyond ongoing discussions about the CRB's hearing status.
• Administrator's Report (Nolita): Despite the investigative pause, the CRB remains active in the community. June engagements included the forced community outreach day (June 6), CNY United meeting (June 8), Sun meeting (June 9), Jazz in the City at Boys and Girls Club (June 11), flag raising ceremony (June 18), and a virtual meeting with the National Abolition Hall of Fame (June 30). Staff handled seven phone calls about filing complaints and maintained outreach to explain the CRB's role. On June 23, the administrator and Chris met with Chief Russin to discuss the Right to Know report and to coordinate a community event focused on autism awareness.
• Data Analytics Presentation (Chris): Chris presented findings from the Right to Know data releases by the Syracuse Police Department. Key findings: No Right to Know data has been released since the end of 2024; earlier releases (Q3–Q4 2022) showed a rapid rise in missing data across all variables. After the SPD changed the form to require non-demographic fields, missing data in those fields dropped to zero, but demographic missing data rates have since risen to pre-spike levels. Between three and eight percent of use-of-force incidents are accounted for in the data, likely because the legislation does not mandate tracking of high-force incidents. Recommendations to SPD: restart data releases (Chief Russin acknowledged this as an oversight and is working to release the backlog); maintain the current encounter-level format; expand or remove the 50-character limit on the reason field; provide shapefiles or standard geographic units for location data; and require demographic fields. The full report with graphs is to be posted on the CRB website tomorrow.
• Board Response to Public Comments: After several public comments, Chairman Johnson stated that the final decision lies with the court and the board must follow the law. Board member Michael moved that the board not respond point-by-point to public comments to avoid circular debate; the board unanimously supported this approach.

Key Outcomes

• Minutes Approved: The June 2026 meeting minutes were approved by voice vote.
• Data Report Release: The Right to Know data analysis report will be posted on the CRB website (syracusecrb.gov) as of July 8, 2026.
• No Committee Reports: Committees have not yet been formed; updates will come at future meetings.
• Meeting Adjourned: A motion to close the meeting passed by voice vote with no opposition.
• Pending Board Members: Two additional members are expected to join after council approval and interviews, likely by the next meeting.