Recording in progress.

Good afternoon, everybody.

I would like to call this meeting of the committee on the judiciary and public safety to order.

I am Councilmember Brooke Pinto, representing Ward 2 and chairwoman of the committee.

Today is Monday, June 29th, and the time is now 2 10 p.m.

And we're conducting this markup in person in room 123 of the Johnny Wilson Building and streaming on the DC Council's website and YouTube and X at CM Brook Pinto.

We have a quorum today with Ward 7 Councilmember Wendell Felder and at large Councilmember Donnie Crawford.

We have five items on today's agenda, all for the police complaints board confirmation resolutions, Bill 26 642, 26 643, 26 644, 26 645, and 26 695.

I want to clarify that the dais print of PR 26-645 and PR26-695 have a technical change which corrects the year that they will complete their terms and updates it to the year 2028.

Without objection, we'll move the five nominees for the police complaints board and block.

Hearing none, I will proceed.

The police complaints board or PCB was created by statute in 1999 alongside the Office of the Police Complaints.

The PCB is composed of nine members, one of whom must be a member of MPD, while the other eight must have no current affiliation with any law enforcement agency.

All board members must be residents of the District of Columbia, and they serve staggered three-year terms without compensation.

The mayor nominates members to the board who must then be confirmed by the council.

The board meets on the third Thursday of every other month.

At these meetings, OPC management updates the board members about various issues, including developments and office infrastructure, outreach and personnel matters.

In addition, the board is provided with a report of the complaints received by OPC, along with the disposition of these complaints.

The board takes an active role in the work of OPC, offering guidance on many issues affecting the operation of the office.

The board is also charged with reviewing the executive director's determinations regarding the dismissal of complaints, making recommendations to the mayor, the council MPD, and DCHAPD where appropriate, regarding changes in policy that may decrease the level of police misconduct and monitoring and evaluating MPD's handling of protests and demonstrations held within the District of Columbia.

First, PR26-642, the Office of Police Complaints Board Glenn Marcus Confirmation Resolution of 2026 was introduced on April 20th, 2026 at the request of the mayor.

It will confirm Mr.

Marcus's nomination to serve on the board for a term ending in January 12th, 2029.

Mr.

Marcus would serve as a representative of Ward 3.

Glenn Marcus earned his Bachelor of Arts and Humanities from John Hopkins University.

Mr.

Marcus is now semi-retired, has served as a documentary filmmaker, press freedom advocate, federal grants administrator, school teacher, university professor, and community activist.

He has made four PBS national primetime programs and taught documentary film history at the university level, science and middle school, and GED studies in a correctional institution.

Mr.

Marcus serves on the press freedom team of the National Press Club on the board of his community association, and as vice chair of a community group advising the Metropolitan Police Department.

His grant work includes 13 years of the National Endowment for the Humanities and 12 years as PBS headquarters.

He has lectured at several national conferences and at universities from UC Santa Barbara to Penn and has presented locally at the Library of Congress, the National Archives, and the National Gallery of Art.

Mr.

Marcus is confident in his years of experience in the NYC prison system and as an EEO officer in a federal agency and confident these experiences will allow him to significantly contribute to the PCB.

If appointed, Mr.

Marcus hopes to focus on transparency between the PCB, police, and the community.

Further, he believes that given the increase in complaints, OPC and PCB should be focused on determining root causes and finding solutions to address them.

PR 26 46.

Excuse me, PR 26 4.

Excuse me, PR 26 643, the police complaints board, Dr.

Andrea Hadley confirmation resolution of 2026 was introduced on April 14, 2026, the request of the mayor.

It would confirm Dr.

Headley's nomination to serve on the board for a term ending on January 12, 2027.

Dr.

Hedley would serve as a representative of Ward 6.

Dr.

Andrea Hedley both works and resides in the district and earned her Bachelor of Science in Criminal Criminology from the University of Miami and her Master of Science and Criminal Justice and Doctor of Philosophy and Public Affairs from Florida International University.

Dr.

Headley is an associate professor and the faculty director of the Evidence for Justice Lab at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University.

She's also an affiliate fellow at the Center for Innovations in Community Safety at Georgetown Law, an elected member on the Council on Criminal Justice, an expert member of the National Criminal Justice Association's Crime and Research Alliance, an affiliated scholar at the National Policing Institute, and a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police's Research Advisory Committee.

Dr.

Headley has more than a decade of experience conducting research at the intersection of policing, public management, and social equity with a focus on police accountability, use of force, civilian oversight, and police community relations.

She believes this research is a key reason why she would be a strong member of the PCB and expressed she would view her role as a member of the PCB as one of evidence-based accountability to ensure that the complaint process is rigorous, fair, and trusted by DC residents.

Dr.

Hedley also hopes to develop a more systemic framework for measuring follow-through of PCB recommendations by MPD.

PR 26 644, the Police Complaints Board Bobby Strang Confirmation Resolution of 2026 was introduced on April 20th, 2026, the request of the mayor.

It would confirm Ms.

String's nomination to serve on the board for a term ending on January 12th, 2029.

Miss Strang would serve as a representative of Ward 7.

Bobby String is a current member of the board and is thus being renominated.

Bobby Strang both works and resides in the district with a BA in sociology and English from the State University of New York College at GENESCO and her Master of Arts in Teaching from Salisbury University.

Ms.

Strang currently works as a claims examiner with the Department of Employment Services.

In this role, she provides case management for project empowerment participants.

Ms.

Strang has been working at the Department of Employment Services ever since the fall of 2012, working in a variety of research and organizational roles.

Prior to her time at the Department of Employment Services, Ms.

Strang worked as a program analyst for the Office on Latino Affairs and at the Dorchester County Public Schools as a teacher.

Ms.

Strang currently serves as a member of the Police Complaints Board for the Office of Police Complaints and has served in the board since November of 2015.

Miss Strang is given years of experience, leadership, and dedication to the PCB.

She was part of the team trusted to hire the new agency director and assisted in leading the PCB through a period of transition.

Going forward, Ms.

Strang hopes to help the OPC serve an important role in protecting the rights of residents and visitors in the district.

In a time where federal oversight appears to threaten the rights of the district, Miss Strang is prepared to protect all residents through careful monitoring and record keeping of all complaints, especially those relating to mixed MPD and federal task forces.

PR 26-645, the police complaints board, Edward Sanders Confirmation Resolution 2026 was introduced on April 20th, 26th at the request of the mayor.

It would confirm Mr.

Sanders' nomination to serve on the board for a term ending on January 12, 2028.

Mr.

Sanders would serve as a representative of Board 1.

Edward Sanders both works and resides in the district with a BA in political science and government from Mississippi State University.

Mr.

Sanders serves as a relationship manager at the United Negro College Fund.

He also serves as the Director of Programming for Development and External Affairs at the Gloucester Institute.

Additionally, he was appointed by the Governor of Virginia to serve on the Board of Visitors at Norfolk State University and has been serving in his role since July 2024.

Prior to his time at the United Negro College Fund and the Gloucester Institute, Mr.

Sanders worked at the United States Department of State and as an analyst for the White House.

Mr.

Sanders has extensive experience organizing and overseeing large groups at Howard University and the United Negro College Fund.

He believes these experiences will allow him to contribute meaningfully to the PCB.

If appointed at the PCB, Mr.

Sanders hopes to strengthen community trust in the complaint review process through greater transparency, public outreach, and education.

He also hopes to help the PCB identify trends and complaints and recommendations that can be used to help improve police practices and accountability and positive community police relations.

PR 26 695, the police complaints board, Peter Durkin Confirmation Resolution of 2026 was introduced on May 6, 26 at the request of the mayor.

It would confirm Mr.

Durkin's nomination to serve on the board for a term ending in January twelfth, 2028.

Mr.

Durkin would serve as a representative of Ward 2.

With a Bachelor of Arts and Political Science from Union College, Mr.

Durkin most recently worked as the principal product manager at ProLegis, a technology platform providing policy research tools, aggregated legislative data and news content, and custom CRM software to public sector clients, including congressional offices and government agencies.

Mr.

Durkin worked at ProLedges for a little over three years and previously worked for Integral, a data engineering and analytics firm building custom reporting infrastructure, predictive models, and strategic decision frameworks for nonprofit fundraising programs, and at Fiscal Note, a global policy intelligence SaaS company providing AI driven legislative tracking news and analysis and constituent relationship management software to corporations and government agencies.

Mr.

Durkin also is involved in his community, serving as a neighborhood safety point of contact and as an active community advocate.

Mr.

Durkin believes his background has given him valuable skills that will make him a strong member of PCB.

His professional experience and community service have given him an understanding of residents' concerns about public safety and police relations, and he believes that accountability and public trust are inseparable.

He states that, quote, his experiences as a resident, community advocate, victim of crime, participant in lawful protests, and collaborator with MPD have given him insight into the many ways residents interact with law enforcement.

As a potential new member of the PCB, Mr.

Durkin emphasizes that his focus will be on listening and learning from the experienced members of the PCB and its history.

With that, I now move the dais print and reports of PR 26-643, PR26-644, PR 26-645, and PR26-9695.

And PR 26-642.

End block with leave for staff to make any technical editorial or conforming changes.

Is there any discussion?

Okay.

Hearing none, all in favor, please signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Great.

The ayes have it unanimously.

Thank you so much, Council Members Crawford and Felder.

And all of the resolutions passed unanimously.

There being no further business before the committee today, the time is now 2.21 and we are adjourned.