New Rochelle expects to receive consultants’ recommendations on the formation of a Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) by mid-summer, according to an update presented to the city’s Community-Police Partnership Board (CPPB) at its quarterly public meeting on Thursday, May 25. 

The New Rochelle City Council agreed to create a CCRB in the wake of the national movement in the summer of 2020 for police accountability and in response to community demands after the June 2020 killing of Kamal Flowers by New Rochelle Police Officer Alec McKenna. 

In its March 2021 police reform plan, mandated by a statewide executive order from then-governor Andrew Cuomo, New Rochelle formed the CPPB and directed it to “research and recommend a framework for the creation of a Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB).”  The Council directed the CPPB “to present its findings and recommendations to the City Manager and City Council as timely as practical and no later than one year following appointment of the CPPB, so that a CCRB can be established in 2022.”

It was not until late 2022 that the CPPB hired the Rochester-based consulting firm CGR to assist it in formulating its recommendations.  Donna Harris, who is leading the project for CGR, appeared virtually at the May 25 meeting to provide the first report to the public on the progress of its work.

Harris reported that CGR has reviewed data on civilian complaints from 2020-2022 and interviewed 22 local stakeholders, including members of the City Council and the CPPB, police officials, other city staff, and representatives of the community.  CGR has also conducted a “scan” of the memberships, powers, and procedures of civilian oversight boards across New York State and other parts of the country, and has decided to do in-depth reviews of oversight structures in Albany, New York City, Ossining, and Schenectady as potential models for New Rochelle.  These cities vary in size, and all four have review boards with independent investigative authority.  CGR also plans to speak with the Westchester Coalition for Police Reform in view of proposals to centralize some police oversight at the county level.

Harris said CGR expects to complete its research in June and present a “final draft report” to the CPPB containing an “assessment and recommendations for consideration” by July 23.

During the public comment portion of the meeting, several local residents stressed that New Rochelle’s CCRB will need independent investigative authority in order to gain the public’s trust.  And several speakers noted that the CPPB has undermined its own mandate to increase public trust by failing to provide timely notifications of its public meetings and declining to post detailed meeting agendas, minutes, and documents on the city’s website.