Members of Albany's Community Police Review Board gave Common Councilors a look into the body’s operations since its powers were broadened in November 2021.
The CPRB is an independent body that reviews complaints alleging misconduct by officers of the Albany Police Department. In 2021 the board requested expanded access to police information and $2.8 million in funding to operate, but Mayor Kathy Sheehan’s budget funded the panel at the statutory minimum of 1%, approximately $598,000.
After months of holding panel discussions, fostering partnerships and hiring outside investigators, members maintain the board is crippled by lack of funds and lack of cooperation from the police.
During the two-hour session Board Chair Nairobi Vives reminded councilors Local Law J was supposed to give new powers to the nine-member board, including the ability to conduct its own independent investigations into complaints filed against police officers.
"Local Law J lays the foundation on which we will build a solid oversight structure that creates space for community members to voice concerns and to provide a structure of accountability outside of the police culture and structure," said Vives. "For the past year, we've been working diligently to improve our systems and protocols in an effort to meet the new responsibilities meted out to us by our community members."
Contract investigator Julie Schwartz of “investigations and consulting” firm T&M told councilors despite initial promises of cooperation, investigations have been bogged down by difficulties in obtaining access to case-related police video footage and officers ignoring subpoenas.
"We are left with, we get to a certain point where we're trying to move these investigations, Schwartz said. "And we have not been able to do that, because we do not have access to all the material, nor do we have access to any of the officers. So I ask of you, if you can find a way for the CPRB to get unfettered access to a complete APD case file, as was written in your law and it was voted on by the citizens of Albany. We would like to see cooperation from the APD facilitating and notifying officers to appear before the CPRB."
Mayor Sheehan, a third-term Democrat, acknowledges it may take time for both sides to reach common ground.
"We shouldn't be surprised that there are times where we may have not the same interpretation with respect to what files can be accessed," said Sheehan. "And you know, what police officers are going to be required to do. And I think, you know, we are working very collegially, with the Civilian Police Review Board, I don't view it as a, you know, a city versus them, but there are going to be natural areas where we aren't always going to agree. And then we have to work, you know, respectfully with one another, to resolve those issues. And so, you know, right now, I think that they're investigating dozens and dozens and dozens of cases. And there are two, where we have a disagreement about whether or not they have access to certain parts of investigatory criminal files. And so I think that is an important issue for the police and for the review board to discuss and to hopefully find a resolution on."
Vives told councilors she and the board are "exhausted."
"We have the rest of the year to go. And with your help, we could still achieve a lot. But if it continues to go the way it is, I'm sad to say all that hope that I had in the beginning of the year is gone," said Vives.
With a backlog of nearly 100 cases, the board has issued a Request For Proposal for an investigator to "conduct thorough investigations of alleged misconduct.” This investigator would join two others, one a private investigator based in New Jersey and the other T&M, which operates out of New York City.
